As many as 1 billion computers are on all day and night but only a tenth of that is being used for computing, the rest used for email and reading appliances. What about the remaining 99.9%? People don't know how to install boinc or don't know what it is for. That is why people who utilise boinc should attempt to teach what it is for and where security precautions exist. Copied directly off volunteer as a helper page off Berkeley boinc page:
So if your friends are skeptical about boinc explain it to them. And if they still need convincing then refer them to the help page here: http://boinc.berkeley.edu/help_lang.php?lang=English please advise them against the user hiahia15 please when contacting for help or more information.Volunteer computing is contributing to research in many areas of science - biology, medicine, environmental study, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and others. The more computing power is available, the faster these research projects can reach their objectives, and the more new projects will be attracted.
Of the 1 billion PCs in the world today, only 1 million - a tenth of a percent - are participating in volunteer computing. What about the other 99.9%? Many of them are owned by nontechnical people, who use them as web-browsing and email-reading 'appliances'. There are many reasons why such people would resist, or have difficulty, participating in volunteer computing:
Many nontechnical people are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with tasks (such as downloading and installing programs, typing a URL into a web browser, and copying and pasting text) that are routine for experienced computer users. As a result, the process of installing and using BOINC seems daunting to them.
Nontechnical people often have (well-founded) concerns about the security aspects of volunteer computing. These concerns can often be addressed by explaining how BOINC prevents the obvious attacks.
The basic function of BOINC - a single program that automatically downloads other programs from the Internet, and switches back and forth between them - is unusual, and may need to be explained.