Juno Wants Your Brain
N E W Y O R K, Feb. 2, 2001 -- 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 sharemarketing data, wants to raise additional revenues by sellingunused processing power from subscribers’ computers to researchinstitutions and corporations.
In such a scenario, Juno software would run whenever subscribersleave their computers idle for a given period of time. The softwarewould operate much like a screen saver and halt when the subscriberresumes computer use.
New terms posted on Juno’s Web site in recent weeks andpublicized by the company on Thursday give Juno the right torequire new and existing free Internet subscribers to leavecomputers on around the clock.
A user’s computer could even be programmed by Juno’s software toautomatically call Juno’s systems with computational results if theuser does not access the service frequently enough.
Users would have to pay for electricity, computer maintenanceand in some cases long-distance telephone charges. Juno and itspartners would keep any profits if the computations generateanything of commercial value.
Richard Smith, chief technology officer for the PrivacyFoundation, has qualms about opening up computers this way: “Howdo I know somebody isn’t messing with my data?”
“I have concerns about how well their customers will be awareof what’s going on,” he added.
In announcing the Juno Virtual Supercomputer Network initiativeThursday, chief executive Charles E. Ardai called it “a way toderive new forms of revenue from assets we already have.“‘
Purveyors of free Internet access have struggled as revenuesfrom online ads dwindle.
In December, online search portal AltaVista cut off some 3million users from its free service. NetZero, Juno andBlueLight.com are the only major free services remaining, and Junohopes to remain so. But the company has yet to show a profit.
Juno claims more than 14 million registered users, 4 million ofwhom it says log on at least once a month. They include the freeusers and those who pay for premium services.
The Juno initiative is a form of “distributed computing,” away of breaking complex tasks into smaller pieces that individualcomputers can work on. It is already done on a volunteer basis byastronomy buffs probing for extraterrestrial life.
Ardai said the company has not secured any deals yet to sell itssupercomputing services, but he envisions signing up biotechnologycompanies as customers.
Demand for such computational power is expected to grow rapidlyas the budding field of bioinformatics takes off. Bioinformatics,which requires massive number crunching, is the use of computerizeddatabases to help scientists decipher genetic information needed tocombat disease and prolong life.
At first, Juno’s supercomputer network will be tested usingvolunteers. But if Juno needs more computing power, said spokesmanGary Baker, the company may require it of the heaviest users or ofall users of the free service.
Subscribers would have the option to upgrade to a paid serviceto avoid the requirement.
George Kurtz, chief executive with security company FoundstoneInc., said that while Juno’s service appears free, “you’re payingfor the service with privacy.”
Kurtz is concerned about what might be monitored on asubscriber’s computer, how that information might be used and, froma security perspective, what kind of code would be run.
Bruce Murphy, chief executive of another security firm,Vigilinx, warned of “electronic Armageddon” if malicious softwareis distributed despite Juno’s best intentions.
Baker said Juno would institute unspecified safeguards toprevent its partners from commanding computers inappropriately. Healso said Juno had no interest in snooping.
“This system is designed to use the processing powers of thesecomputers, and not to look at hard drives, read cookies or doanything of malicious fashion,” Baker said. “These things are notrequired to do what we need to do.”