Warning: Public public software may be installed and activated witout permission!

[Paul H]

Do you wonder why your fan is running when your computer is idle?

FYI:
Found a program running on my Sony VAIO VPCF2190X laptop that Sony installed without my permission to use my computer publicly when I'm not.

It is called "World Community Grid".

What gets me very upset is that NO ONE ASKED MY PERMISSION to activate it!

Found this link to Sony Computers to install BOINC (WCG) on new Computers.

Others seem to have the same concern:

I don't want this crap on my computer! We are a business and bought a high end Sony laptop for a work at home graphics artist consultant. While checking user accounts I find a boinc_master and a boinc_project in the Administrators group. I said "what the heck is that?" Only after a lot of searching on the web do I find this forum and a few others with some info about BOINC. There is nothing about it in Sony literature, no (W7) All Programs folders, nothing in (W7 Control Panel) Programs and Features.

Would like to hear comments and opinions.
Thanks,

Paul

[Offender_Mullet]

"World Community Grid"? Sounds very New World Order-ish. One of the main reasons to build your own is so you're not bogged-down with all the crap programs that come with a branded computer.

I have the bare minimum of programs. Nothing out of the ordinary. You can disable Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance in Windows. There are also 6 other services with the term "remote" in them which are usually safe to disable. All depends on personal preferences.

[Al_The_Strange]

I just recovered my computer from a severe crash (damn thing wouldn't load the OS anymore; I wound up installing a new hard drive and a new copy of Windows); I'm really flipping amazed as to how fast and efficient the thing runs without all those darn progams running in the background. I'm going to have to keep a lookout for stuff like this. Also a good time to start upgrading my security (better check on firewall, virus scanner, malware detector, and a proxy).

[rob.sparrow]

Find a copy of a windows disc (legally of course) such as an oem disc from a retailer or borrow available disc from a friend who has one that its the same as your os ( ie vista, 7 etc ) and do a clean install. Especially windows 7 as it is the most secure and fully functioning.

If you can't, uninstall everything from the laptop from the manufacturer like dell/sony etc.

InWindows 7 especially, windows update will find and instal any graphics, sound wireless card etc. if you have an earlier windows, go to the manufacturer website and get the basic drivers and nothing else.

You Will find the os much quicker. Then once you have installed your own programs make a backup disc and voila. Clean quick and with a backup in case

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by rob.sparrow

Find a copy of a windows disc (legally of course) such as an oem disc from a retailer or borrow available disc from a friend who has one that its the same as your os ( ie vista, 7 etc ) and do a clean install. Especially windows 7 as it is the most secure and fully functioning.

If you can't, uninstall everything from the laptop from the manufacturer like dell/sony etc.

InWindows 7 especially, windows update will find and instal any graphics, sound wireless card etc. if you have an earlier windows, go to the manufacturer website and get the basic drivers and nothing else.

You Will find the os much quicker. Then once you have installed your own programs make a backup disc and voila. Clean quick and with a backup in case

Thanks; I'm one step ahead of you. Since I bought the computer refurbished, it didn't come with its own Windows disc or any applicable booklets. I probably could have restored everything from the recovery drive, but I didn't want to wipe the drive. This was a good chance to upgrade to Windows 7 anyway (Vista has proven quite bothersome ). So I got it all up and running last night; drivers worked beautifully like you said. I just need to reinstall all my software.

I just hope Sony or some other company doesn't dump more junk on my PC now that it works again.

[McBain]

Here's the press release off Sony's web site. It should be voluntary.

SONY ASSISTS RESEARCHERS WORLDWIDE WITH HUMANITARIAN RESEARCH PROJECTS

Offers VAIO PC customers shortcut for becoming World Community Grid volunteers

SAN DIEGO, Calif. Oct. 21, 2010 – Sony Electronics today announced that its VAIO® computers now come equipped with IBM’s World Community Grid software, helping provide scientists around the globe with the computing power to help solve humankind’s biggest challenges.

All fall line-up of Sony VAIO® PCs – excluding laptops with Intel® Atom processors – will come equipped with World Community Grid software that users can opt to run.

Once activated, the software connects VAIO users with World Community Grid, a network of PCs which pools their surplus processing power to create a free, virtual supercomputer for researchers to tap. The program detects idle time in a volunteer's computer activity and requests work data for a specific project from World Community Grid’s server. It then performs computations on this data, sends results back to the server, and requests more work. Each computation performed and every PC added provide scientists with critical information that accelerates the pace of research.

“We are excited to partner with World Community Grid to further the development of life-changing solutions,” said Jamey Gottlieb, vice president, Business Development at Sony Electronics. “VAIO PC owners can support research projects that tackle global causes while the World Community Grid program runs during idle mode, getting work done while you are not working.”

“I know the scientific research community is grateful to Sony and its many customers for helping to make World Community Grid even more successful,” said Robin Willner, IBM's Vice President of Global Community Initiatives. “We are confident that volunteers will get immense satisfaction knowing that they are joining a growing and vibrant community intent on transforming the world into a better place.”

The World Community Grid network of PCs has the potential to help scientists cure cancer, battle AIDS, eliminate world hunger, and develop clean energy resources. The collective power of more than 1.6 million PCs gives scientists the equivalent of one of the world's fastest supercomputers, speeding up research by crunching numbers and performing simulations that would take hundreds of years to perform on typical computers.

To put its size into perspective, World Community Grid currently receives seven computational results from volunteers' PCs every second of the day -- more than 500 million in all -- since World Community Grid started up six years ago. In fact, if World Community Grid were just one computer, it would have performed computations for the equivalent of 392,000 years. With hundreds of thousands of volunteers joining together, the possibilities are endless.

When idle or between keystrokes on a lightweight task, the PCs request data from World Community Grid's server, which runs Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) software, maintained at the University of California, Berkeley and supported by the National Science Foundation.

Computer users who are interested in joining the Sony VAIO team on the World Community Grid effort can also register and download the software program from http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/re...mID=4S2BQ7WCX1.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by McBain

Here's the press release off Sony's web site. It should be voluntary.

"Should be voluntary" seems to be hopeful thinking but in reality I'm finding out that this is turning out to be a rampant misnomer. The potential for "big brother is watching" could also be an imminent possibility given human involvement.

Example quote from another person affected on a different forum:

Originally Posted by jpride

I don't know if they changed anything with your model, but on my F13, it was already installed and running in the background until I uninstalled it. After that, there was a bunch of stuff left behind as well that I then deleted.

Then when I did a clean install on my laptop and was installing some Sony utilities, I got a pop up asking if I wanted to participate in the program and I said no. That not only stopped it from running, but it did not install it at all and I see no remnants of the program on my computer.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Paul H

Do you wonder why your fan is running when your computer is idle?

FYI:
Found a program running on my Sony VAIO VPCF2190X laptop that Sony installed without my permission to use my computer publicly when I'm not.

It is called "World Community Grid".

Others seem to have the same concern:
Would like to hear comments and opinions.
Thanks,

Paul

This is not malware, spyware or some type of rootkit software. It's a Folding@home™ application, whereby unused CPU resources from idle PCs are used for distributed computing, more specifically, scientific research involving simulations of protein folding, so that researchers gain a better understanding of certain diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, even cancer.

Rather than scientists and researchers commit funds from donations toward the purchase of supercomputers (which are prohibitively expensive), the installation of a Folding@home™ client app allows a user to perform a small simulation task on their PC, and the results are sent back to the F@H server in an encrypted format. No personal information is gathered from the user; the only thing sent and received from any PC are F@H-related tasks and results.

Is this legitimate? Yes, and this activity is not only endorsed, but encouraged on tech forums.

Installation of this software may not be recommended on a laptop/netbook, only because it will sap battery power, but if you run a desktop, I would encourage everyone to become involved. It's one way for us to become involved in finding a potential cure for afflictions that may affect us or someone we know.

[master_8ball]

Thought this was fitting, was in the local paper last week. Could be just propaganda to drum up support for the cyber bill though.

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - The United States needs to be more wary of computers and other electronics imports that could be laden with malicious software, according to a leading congressional expert on cyber security.

Hackers are injecting bad codes into components at overseas manufacturing plants, planting tools to help them launch cyber attacks on the United States, Representative Jim Langevin told Reuters after speaking at a cyber security event in Rhode Island.

He said the problem affects consumer electronics as well as corporate technology systems, which can hold secret corporate and government data.

“Corrupting hardware and software is embedded in the supply chain,” he said. “We have a real challenge on our hands to better secure the supply chain.”

So far only a handful of cases of tainted components reaching the United States have been reported.

Dell Inc last year disclosed that it had sold computer servers infected with a virus designed to steal private data. It issued replacement motherboards.

The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team in March 2010 warned that software distributed by Energizer to optimize battery charging had a back door that could allow hackers to take remote control of a PC.

In May of last year International Business Machines Corp distributed tainted USB thumb drives to security professionals attending a conference sponsored by Australia’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team.

Corrupted supply chain components are a growing threat to the United States, particularly in military operations, said Doug White, a cyber security expert and professor at Roger Williams University.

“It’s not something that a lot of people have thought about in the past. They should have thought about it,” he said.

“What if you went on a battlefield and hit a button and everything stopped working? It’s pretty scary stuff,” White added.

Langevin and White spoke at a news conference in Providence on a new state program to combat cyber threats, the Rhode Island Cyber Disruption Team.

Langevin sits on the U.S. House of Representatives committees on Armed Services and Intelligence and is privy to information about cyber threats that the government has not publicly disclosed.

He is sponsor of the Executive Cyberspace Coordination Act of 2011, one of the most closely watched cyber security bills in Congress. The areas it addresses include providing U.S. government assistance to utilities and other companies that manage key U.S. infrastructure projects.

Embedded malware is just one of many challenges that the U.S. government and businesses face in fighting cyber attacks, said Alan White, director of security and risk consulting for Dell’s SecureWorks computer security division.

“The public and private sector is constantly attacked by hackers,” he said.
Source

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Paul H

"Should be voluntary" seems to be hopeful thinking but in reality I'm finding out that this is turning out to be a rampant misnomer. The potential for "big brother is watching" could also be an imminent possibility given human involvement.

As stated in my previous reply, this is not a rootkit app or some sort of spyware. SONY was involved with rootkit apps in the past (one of my CDs was embedded with this), but this is not one of those occasions.

To learn more about folding@home, I would recommend using a search engine (keyword: Folding@home) or just visiting Stanford's website.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

This is not malware, spyware or some type of rootkit software. It's a Folding@home™ application,..................................Is this legitimate? Yes, and this activity is not only endorsed but encouraged on tech forums, it involves the participation of numerous universities, the most noteworthy being Stanford.

In an ideal society your quote would seem to be correct but just the definition of the word "legitimate" means conforming to the law or to rules and the reality seems to be definitely having flaws.

Paul

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by master_8ball

Thought this was fitting, was in the local paper last week.

Hey, I value my privacy (much moreso than some folks here) and the notion of "big brother is watching" makes me uncomfortable and worrisome, but let's not give in to FUD or the rants of a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist either.

Here's the thing: we should be wary about pre-installed software on a PC or any electronic device, but in most cases, the onus falls on the user to inform oneself on what exactly is installed on their device before and after it leaves the store. If you hate any pre-installed software, remove it, but if you want to be certain about no remnants left behind, format the HDD, do a clean install of the OS, then install only the apps that you want. Don't share or borrow software, and avoid P2P sites. This is all common sense stuff, but far too many people are either indifferent on the subject or have their trust and priorities misplaced when they entrust others to make decisions they think are in their "best interest".

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Paul H

In an ideal society your quote would seem to be correct but just the definition of the word "legitimate" means conforming to the law or to rules and the reality seems to be definitely having flaws.

Paul

The synonyms that I had in mind when I used the word "legitimate" include accredited, accepted or genuine. If you knew my past, "conforming to the law" isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind.

[master_8ball]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

Hey, I value my privacy (much moreso than some folks here) and the notion of "big brother is watching" makes me uncomfortable and worrisome, but let's not give in to FUD or the rants of a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist either.

I wouldn't say its coming from a conspiracy theorist, more so coming from someone who wants more control over cyber space.

"He is sponsor of the Executive Cyberspace Coordination Act of 2011, one of the most closely watched cyber security bills in Congress. The areas it addresses include providing U.S. government assistance to utilities and other companies that manage key U.S. infrastructure projects."

[McBain]

Originally Posted by Paul H

"Should be voluntary" seems to be hopeful thinking but in reality I'm finding out that this is turning out to be a rampant misnomer. The potential for "big brother is watching" could also be an imminent possibility given human involvement.

I take Sony at its word when it says "users can opt to run." If this isn't so, it's a valid concern that should be taken up with the company. What did Sony tell you?

[Albatross365]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

As stated in my previous reply, this is not a rootkit app or some sort of spyware. SONY was involved with rootkit apps in the past (one of my CDs was embedded with this), but this is not one of those occasions.

To learn more about folding@home, I would recommend using a search engine (keyword: Folding@home) or just visiting Stanford's website.

It's not folding@home it's World Community Grid

I run it already...it's using 3 of my 4 cores even as I type - I have it running all the time.

They do lots of different projects - AIDS research, Cancer Research, Protein Folding etc.

All it'll do it download project files and upload the results.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by McBain

I take Sony at its word when it says "users can opt to run." If this isn't so, it's a valid concern that should be taken up with the company. What did Sony tell you?

Didn't ask Sony. The software was activated in my laptop without my knowledge or permission and because of that I uninstalled it. That is one way a user can "opt to run" it or not. In other technical forums I'm discussing with people having experienced this issue about where to look on the HDD for program related remnants so I can delete as much of it as I possibly can.

Information I've contributed on the Sony Owners' lounge forum:

The program is called World Community Grid and it was the last program on the list in my "Uninstall a program" list. Also there is a significant file on Local Disk (C: ) > Users > boinc_master, that I believe Sony has installed specifically for this program and it is setup as "State Shared" with the User's computer name.

It is interesting that on my first use of the back-up feature on this computer I got two "check results" messages.:

It stated: "The backup completed but some files were skipped."

"Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:Users\boinc_master\Contacts. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))"

"Backup encountered a problem while backing up file C:\Users\boinc_master\Searches. Error: (The system cannot find the file specified. (0x80070002))"

- and would keep giving me this message until I added a folder named Contacts and one named Searches in the boinc_master folder; So I don't know what message if any I will get if I delete the complete "boinc_master" file in C:\Users.

Paul

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Albatross365

It's not folding@home it's World Community Grid

You're right. Folding@home is a Stanford project, while World Community Grid is Berkeley's. The only thing that they have in common is that both are distributed computing projects.

[fairchild]

I also do distributed computing on my system and have done it for over 8 years with no problems (I do folding@home). As other's have mentioned WCG is safe to use if you feel the desire to contribute to a cause.

I do agree though it shouldn't be ninja installed on people's computer's without their knowledge and/or agreement to run these programs since they cause your CPU and sometimes your GPU to be at 100% load which causes more heat (plus noise depending on your cooling) + a larger electricity bill.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by master_8ball

I wouldn't say its coming from a conspiracy theorist, more so coming from someone who wants more control over cyber space.

I may have jumped the gun with my initial response. I did a bit more reading on the bill being proposed by congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI); on the surface, what he's asking for seems reasonable (as it relates to cybersecurity).