What is Crackin blocks?

[Fuzzmuncher]

Sorry for ignorance. Sounds interesting, but don't understand. Anybody?

 

[Train]

"Blocks" Refer to units of work in the RC5 distributed computing challenge, each block is a group of keys that are checked to see of they are the correct keys to unlock the message.

RC5 is AnandTech's most popular distributed computing project, but there is also, OGR (Optimal Golumb Rulers) SETI@Home, or S@H (Search For Extra-Terrestrial Inttleigence @ Home) and a bunch of others im not sure of, but basically you can get a good idea of RC5 and OGR at Distributed.net

im sure a seti guy will point you to a link for that if you want to learn about those as well.

If you decide to take up a project, be sure to join team Anandtech after your up and runing, we could always use more members.

- Train

 

[divide by zero]

RSA is the company that creates encryption algorithms that are used for secure data transmission, such as credit card transactions on the internet. They have issued a challenge. They have encrypted a string using their 64-bit encryption algorithm and have challenged all comers to find the key that decrypts their message.
http://www.distributed.net has created software to perform a search through the keyspace testing all possible keys. This software is a client that can be downloaded to almost any computer to assist in finding the key. The client runs at the lowest priority so it doesn't slow down any other software. After you download the client you then download a block of keys to check (1*2^28 keys). Searching a block of keys has been called "cracking" a block since you are trying to "crack the code" to decrypt their message.

Distributed.net keeps statistics on how many blocks have been cracked by each person that has downloaded the client. Anandtech members formed a team to be the first to find the key, hence TeamAnandtech. We've recently reached the number one spot in terms of total blocks cracked to date - almost half a billion - out of hundreds of teams. However, there is another team that is outperforming us on a daily basis and unless can increase our crackrate we will lose our first place position.

The stats are addictive! Members of the team have set up servers for us to dump our blocks to so that we can have even more stats! The blocks go from these servers to distributed.net so they are also counted in the overall statistics. Its a lot of fun!

To learn how to get started look at the FAQs.

 

[blade47]

It refers to running RC5. Since I run seti and not RC5 I'll let one of the other guys explain what it actually is.

If you click the top link in my sig it'll take you to the Team AnandTech DC website. There you should find all the info and links you need.

Edit: Darn it you guys posted while I was typing.

 

[divide by zero]

Talk about synchronized replies!!! All three of us replied almost at teh same time... half an hour after the original post.

Amazing!

 

[Train]

maybe we are part of the collective mind and dont even know it yet...........

 

[blade47]

I hope not!!!!

 

[divide by zero]

Uhhhhh, maybe not! ;P