BOINC

BOINC, or The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing, is a software that allows any group or individual who wishes to run calculations in a distributed setting to setup a BOINC project website and server. Volunteers attach to one or more chosen projects and allow their computer's idle time to process the work. SETI, or Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, is the most popular of the BOINC projects. SETI searches for radio signals from outer space that might be a sign of alien life and worlds. There are many BOINC projects that compete for volunteers. For example, it allows individuals to use their computer to find the structures of proteins, a cure for the disease malaria or the very structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way.