FormulaBoinc Forum

JeromeC wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 10:42 am Everybody is now (logically) thinking : if *this* was done by *that* team on this particular project, and we can see for a long time that this team has been grossly dominating the competition (at least the sprints, but not only), it is no surprise that we all think that this team probably had a similar behavior on other projects.

But of course it requires technical skills and investigation time to find elements that could lead to further conclusions, that I will not make.

Hiya

The issue is that these "benchmark hacks" are known about and *anyone* can cheat. So, investigating EVERY BOINC volunteer is impossible.

And yes, it does mean that if anyone cheats, then any league table, on FB, on BOINCstats, on Free-DC, that relies on the projects to provide statistical data on how many credits each member and each team has been awarded, is going to be based on people who are being dishonest.

So, in an ideal world, the projects should do more to ensure that all credits are valid, and commensurate with the efforts made by each CPU and each GPU. Some projects are already doing this and others might not be.

But it would be good if the originators of the BOINC software made it impossible for cheating to take place by preventing the benchmarks from being edited and by the BOINC validation system preventing credits being awarded which are vastly higher than the average (for any specific CPU and/or GPU).

regards
Tim

I've never liked that people can hide what computers they are using, it could be made a condition of the competition that computers are public which then would enable some degree of auditing by anybody who chooses to. Admittedly it still wouldn't be 100% foolproof but at least it closes one door.

UBT - wbiz wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 4:31 pm I've never liked that people can hide what computers they are using, it could be made a condition of the competition that computers are public which then would enable some degree of auditing by anybody who chooses to. Admittedly it still wouldn't be 100% foolproof but at least it closes one door.

I find this a pretty good idea and (hopefully) not complex to implement with the current available data / stat export : "if you want to compete you can't hide your machines, else they will not be counted". But of course this is only possible if this information is publicly exported in the stat data from all boinc projects.

JeromeC wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 4:56 pm

UBT - wbiz wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 4:31 pm But of course this is only possible if this information is publicly exported in the stat data from all boinc projects.

It is, both boincstats and Free-DC have breakdowns to computer level where the user permits.

There are some projects that mess it up (three of my computers appear as one on one project exports) but as long as there is a right to reply about any accusation it shouldn't be a problem, I don't think its a common problem.

UBT - wbiz wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 4:31 pm I've never liked that people can hide what computers they are using, it could be made a condition of the competition that computers are public which then would enable some degree of auditing by anybody who chooses to. Admittedly it still wouldn't be 100% foolproof but at least it closes one door.

Hi

I think the issue is more about privacy and how much information can be assimilated, in order to create a profile that would be helpful to the likes of Meta/Facebook, Google, Twitter/X, Amazon/eBay etc. These firms all have huge data warehouses, shuffling millions of bits of data around and using this data for their own needs.

And all this data is available (across multiple platforms) if only someone (something, maybe like AI?) could start splicing all this info together, about you, your hobbies, your pets, your children, where you live, what car you drive, and how many computers you have at home crunching BOINC tasks etc etc - and then they can use this collection of data, to sell to anyone who wants to pay for it.

And of course there are issues already about companies testing your DNA (for reasons such as family history research) and then going bust (Atlas Biomed and maybe 23andMe) and potentially selling off peoples DNA results data to, say insurance companies?

So it's no wonder if you use Chrome browser, to view say, a washing machine website, and then see in your Facebook feed, some adverts for...washing machines !

regards
Tim

UBT - Timbo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 5:44 pm So it's no wonder if you use Chrome browser, to view say, a washing machine website, and then see in your Facebook feed, some adverts for...washing machines !

100 times yes!
Today I saw an ad of a game I've uninstalled a few weeks ago. It was saying "COME BACK!" I am scared a bit...

Why am I not surprised?

Looks like Sebastien has activated the new code and it's working fine.The table has been cleaned up.

FritzB wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 10:03 pm Looks like Sebastien has activated the new code and it's working fine.The table has been cleaned up.

Very good news

dj.walnut wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 10:32 pm

FritzB wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 10:03 pm Looks like Sebastien has activated the new code and it's working fine.The table has been cleaned up.

Very good news

Indeed it is!