Question

Downloaded software, but all I get is repeated:

Could not get ID from serve. Retrying....
Couldn't send HTTP requests to server
Could not connect to Primary Assignment Server for ID
Couldn't send HTTP request to server
Could not connect to Secondary Assignment Servier for ID

Is this something to do with my works LAN that is out of my control maybe? Haven't tried it at home yet.

 

Sounds like your work has a proxy server for HTTP - you'll need to set that up when you install the program. I think there is a setting to "use Internet Explorer settings" (yes/no) - and you can set the proxy yourself manually if you know it.

If that's the case then providing you can get the right details (proxy server address, port number) should work fine. If you need any help we can guide you through the setup

 

How do I get back to the set up to make those changes...it just tries to immediately run the program now and not give me options. I have the details I require as I'm the website administrator

 

As I type, my first fold is taking place

I have a question........can someone explain how the computerized process between Stanford and my computer takes place, particularly with relation to the security aspect of my own computer. Layman terms please - my husband kinda freaked when I told him what I was doing, and I don't have the facts clearly in my head to assure him this is ok. I'm actually surprised I can't find the answer to this on the Stanford site...surely he's not the first to ask it?

Thanks in advance

 

Im by far not an expert lev, but from what i understand heres how it works. Your folding programs asks the stanford computer to semd you a unit which is a piece of data. Then your piece downloads the data (sorta like a math problem/equation) and then goes to work solving it. Then it gets sent back to standford to be complied with other results. Nothing security risks to be really worried about.

 

It's not like a rootkit, which would be my worry. You can uninstall it easily enough. The only problems I've had is when trying to do something while it is communicating the results with home base, it's fustrating to loose 3-4 days of work (and the points) because the computer is apparently locking up.

 

Colemanguy - yeah this is my understanding of how it works too. I guess there has to be a degree of trust there, in that nothing malicious is downloaded when my PC gives the go-ahead.

My thinking is I trust Goldie and others here who are dedicated to folding. They have powerful computers that they would not compromise the safety of, so the little bit my regular computers can do to help, Stanford are more than welcome to

 

Hi, Lev, and welcome aboard. I run 2 computers 24/7 with folding clients on each and have been folding since mid-Dec. 2005. I am very security minded and monitor running processes very regularly with Windoze Task Manager. I have not seen any unexpected new processes while running the folding clients and the only time it is connected to the net is when it needs to up or download work units. I have never had any threats to my systems associated with the Stanford link.
Your 'little bit' added to many other little bits makes big bits and that is what distributed computing is all about. From one team member to another, thanks for helping. Who knows, that 'little bit' just may be the key to unlocking a cure for some nasty diseases. That's why I do it.


Greyhawk
P4 2.0 GHz OCed to 2.35 GHz, 512 MB RAM
P4 3.0 GHz OCed to 3.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM
Folding @ home does NOT make you go blind or cause hair to grow on your palms! That's fondling at home. GO GEEKS!!!

 

Ok as a security guy, I can give you a decent idea of the risks associated with FAH.

When you profile the risk of an application, you take the "surface area" of attack vectors. FAH is not a server - i.e. you cannot connect to it from another networked computer. It is a client - which means it makes connections to a central server from your machine. So if a malicious user was scanning your network (which happens frequently) then nothing would show up.

There is one way in which you could compromise a computer using FAH. You would need to poison a DNS server - causing the FAH client to connect to a malicious server rather than an authentic server. From there you could give the clients a "broken" WU which could cause code execution on the FAH client computer. However, the FAH servers implement authentication, error checking and hashing to ensure that all WUs downloaded are authentic. No only would the attacker have to either steal or recreate the FAH server software, they would also need to forge a lot of stuff in order to prevent the client failing authentication. Not only that, they would also need to poison an ISPs DNS - which is quite hard!

In other words, it's secure enough not to worry about it. As long as you've got all other normal security in place (firewalls, antivirus and so forth) then you're fine. Still, you should keep your software up to date and keep an eye on the FAH website to make sure you find out about any bugs or security holes in the software as soon as they pop up.

 

Thanks guys that's really helpful....and I've completed my first fold

 

(I've completed my first fold )

Thanks Lev for your first fold and please do many more!!!!!!

 

Thanks much for fighting through the confusion of your first fold. It's great to have you aboard. Keep up the good work.