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SETI Finally Finds Something

🙂

I don't pretend to understand how the SETI software works but wouldn't a simple router prevent that from happening?
 
Originally posted by: geecee
🙂

I don't pretend to understand how the SETI software works but wouldn't a simple router prevent that from happening?
Click to expand...

No, it would not.

The software works like this. You are sent a file full of data collected from a radio telescope. Your computer takes hours to process it and then sends back a summary to the master server.

I had high hopes when I saw the topic.
 
Originally posted by: Staples
No, it would not.

The software works like this. You are sent a file full of data collected from a radio telescope. Your computer takes hours to process it and then sends back a summary to the master server.

I had high hopes when I saw the topic.
Click to expand...
That part of the software I understand. What I don't understand is that it can get your machine's IP address (non-NAT as in behind a simple router) and send that back out? Or am I simply misunderstanding the whole thing? 😕
 
Originally posted by: geecee
Originally posted by: Staples
No, it would not.

The software works like this. You are sent a file full of data collected from a radio telescope. Your computer takes hours to process it and then sends back a summary to the master server.

I had high hopes when I saw the topic.
Click to expand...
That part of the software I understand. What I don't understand is that it can get your machine's IP address (non-NAT as in behind a simple router) and send that back out? Or am I simply misunderstanding the whole thing? 😕
Click to expand...

The router itself is basically assigned an IP address from the ISP. All internet traffic flows through that router, then is directed by the router wherever it needs to go within the home network. The PC's actual network IP address is irrelevant, because the router is communicating with the outside world via the IP address assigned to it from the ISP. The cops then presumably used that ISP address to attain an actual street address from the ISP. Hope that makes some sense, I may not have been very clear.
 
Originally posted by: Crafty35a
The router itself is basically assigned an IP address from the ISP. All internet traffic flows through that router, then is directed by the router wherever it needs to go within the home network. The PC's actual network IP address is irrelevant, because the router is communicating with the outside world via the IP address assigned to it from the ISP. The cops then presumably used that ISP address to attain an actual street address from the ISP. Hope that makes some sense, I may not have been very clear.
Click to expand...
No, that part I also understand (but thanks 🙂 ). What I don't understand is how SETI received the laptop's actual, unique IP address. Whoever had possession of the laptop would have had to be using the unique IP address of the machine (for the whole world to see), for it to be identified, right? Otherwise, if it were behind a router, it would be the address of the router being sent out right? Isn't that the whole point of simple NAT firewalls? Again, I'm not a network tech, so I could have this completely wrong. 😕😱
 
One volunteer, James Melin, a software programmer for a county government agency in Minnesota, runs SETI(at)home on his seven home computers, which periodically check in with University of California servers.
Click to expand...

Hope he doesn't use his computers at work. 😀
 
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