| Index | Recent Threads | Unanswered Threads | Who's Active | Guidelines | Search |
 |
World Community Grid Forums
Category: Support
Forum: Suggestions / Feedback
Thread: The Claims 'fArce Majeure'! |
| No member browsing this thread |
|
Thread Status: Active Total posts in this thread: 36
|
|
| Author |
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Checksums can be faked, but hashes can't.
The problem then would be allowing for the many, many official builds. It's just not practical. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Not only is it impractical, a hash protection system won't work. You could build a bogus BOINC that computes credits honestly when it does not see a file named time_to_cheat in the BOINC directory. Then you give your bogus BOINC to WCG so they can test it to see if it is honest and worthy of being added to their list of acceptable BOINC agents. Of course your bogus BOINC will not see file time_to_cheat when WCG runs their tests so it will perform honestly and will win WCG's approval. Later you give your bogus BOINC to all your team members and tell them to also place a file called time_to_cheat in their BOINC folder which turns on the cheat function. Is your job as a cheater done? Of course not!!
Later, using a different name, you submit a second bogus BOINC to WCG for testing and it wins approval too. Then you tell WCG the first BOINC is a cheater and tell them to test it with file time_to_cheat in their BOINC folder. Then WCG realises they've been tricked and out goes the hash protection system and they solemnly swear to just ignore the naive element who think the cheating can be stopped. Then, if WCG bothers to take your bogus BOINC off their list of approved BOINCs you simply give your second approved BOINC to your team and the cheating continues uninterrupted. Think of the mayhem and fighting you could create if you played all the grid projects with 1 or more variations of the above devious plot. Think of all the teams you could embarass by planting a bogus BOINC in their midst and later denouncing them and proving they are cheaters. That's the can of worms we open if we follow a hash protection scheme. |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
......very few care about the tiny bit of cheating here at WCG. If they do then where are they? Where are the posts expressing their concern? Have to agree on this point - as has already been said, I'm not sure its a great problem here at WCG, and even if there are large numbers using optimised clients, then the validation system seems to reduce their impact to a such a degree as to make it pretty negligable. If this is true, then all the effort required to deal with what is a minor problem, is in my mind wasted - I would rather we concentrated all that effort on more important improvements. I think most here just want to get on with the crunching and finding cures, and although I am proud of my contribution, display it prominantly (Dagorath  ) and enjoy the rivalry - I frankly couldn't care less if someone gets a few more points than me, its not why I'm here.One thing I like here as opposed to some 'other' projects, is that we seem to be genuinely happy for other teams and their members achievements and the absence of such fractious debates on this issue would indicate that its not something that most here are concerned about. Ady  |
||
|
|
Sekerob
Ace Cruncher Joined: Jul 24, 2005 Post Count: 20043 Status: Offline |
okay, i started it, so let me close, expressing my total trust, that if it gets out of hand, The WCG powers will act!
----------------------------------------PS, be amazed what chatter is ongoing in team threads and places like The Alternate BOINC Forum
WCG
Please help to make the Forums an enjoyable experience for All! |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
Oh, we know there are cheaters out there. The real question is, why do they cheat? Points are only good for bragging rights, and if you cheat you don't get to brag - in fact, you get mercilessly mocked.
And, of course, we take precautions so that cheaters don't benefit. I find it amusing that some have the gall to come here whining about their inflated claims being thrown out, though. Surely there are more important things in life? |
||
|
|
Former Member
Cruncher Joined: May 22, 2018 Post Count: 0 Status: Offline |
why do they cheat? Because cheaters simply prefer getting more credits to getting the normal amount of them, I think. Which would you choose, getting more money or less money, when you've worked same length hours in a month? Or they don't know even the system of granting credits. Just ignorance. [Edit 1 times, last edit by Former Member at Aug 17, 2006 5:57:15 PM] |
||
|
|
|