I wondier if the cost to keep one's computer running all the time is worth the savings of a free Internet account. As they say, there is no free lunch. kelly >FEBRUARY 02, 15:49 EST > >Juno Announces Web Service Plan > >By ANICK JESDANUN >AP Internet Writer > >NEW YORK (AP) — Juno Online Services Inc. may require subscribers of its >free Internet service to give up additional control of their computers, >prompting >complaints about privacy and security risks. > >Juno, which now compels those users to view ads and share marketing data, >wants to raise additional revenues by selling unused processing power from >subscribers' >computers to research institutions and corporations. > >In such a scenario, Juno software would run whenever subscribers leave >their computers idle for a given period of time. The software would >operate much >like a screen saver and halt when the subscriber resumes computer use. > >New terms posted on Juno's Web site in recent weeks and publicized by the >company on Thursday give Juno the right to require new and existing free >Internet >subscribers to leave computers on around the clock. > >A user's computer could even be programmed by Juno's software to >automatically call Juno's systems with computational results if the user >does not access >the service frequently enough. > >Users would have to pay for electricity, computer maintenance and in some >cases long-distance telephone charges. Juno and its partners would keep >any profits >if the computations generate anything of commercial value. > >Richard Smith, chief technology officer for the Privacy Foundation, has >qualms about opening up computers this way: ``How do I know somebody isn't >messing >with my data?'' > >``I have concerns about how well their customers will be aware of what's >going on,'' he added. > >In announcing the Juno Virtual Supercomputer Network initiative Thursday, >chief executive Charles E. Ardai called it ``a way to derive new forms of >revenue >from assets we already have.''' > >Purveyors of free Internet access have struggled as revenues from online >ads dwindle. > >In December, online search portal AltaVista cut off some 3 million users >from its free service. NetZero, Juno and BlueLight.com are the only major free >services remaining, and Juno hopes to remain so. But the company has yet >to show a profit. > >Juno claims more than 14 million registered users, 4 million of which it >says log on at least once a month. They include the free users and those >who pay >for premium services. > >The Juno initiative is a form of ``distributed computing,'' a way of >breaking complex tasks into smaller pieces that individual computers can >work on. It >is already done on a volunteer basis by astronomy buffs probing for >extraterrestrial life. > >Ardai said the company has not secured any deals yet to sell its >supercomputing services, but he envisions signing up biotechnology >companies as customers. > >Demand for such computational power is expected to grow rapidly as the >budding field of bioinformatics takes off. Bioinformatics, which requires >massive >number crunching, is the use of computerized databases to help scientists >decipher genetic information needed to combat disease and prolong life. > >At first, Juno's supercomputer network will be tested using volunteers. >But if Juno needs more computing power, said spokesman Gary Baker, the >company may >require it of the heaviest users or of all users of the free service. > >Subscribers would have the option to upgrade to a paid service to avoid >the requirement. > >George Kurtz, chief executive with security company Foundstone Inc., said >that while Juno's service appears free, ``you're paying for the service >with privacy.'' > >Kurtz is concerned about what might be monitored on a subscriber's >computer, how that information might be used and, from a security >perspective, what kind >of code would be run. > >Bruce Murphy, chief executive of another security firm, Vigilinx, warned >of ``electronic Armageddon'' if malicious software is distributed despite >Juno's >best intentions. > >Baker said Juno would institute unspecified safeguards to prevent its >partners from commanding computers inappropriately. He also said Juno had >no interest >in snooping. > >``This system is designed to use the processing powers of these computers, >and not to look at hard drives, read cookies or do anything of malicious >fashion,'' >Baker said. ``These things are not required to do what we need to do.'' VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html