Could aliens use SETI@home to take over Earth's computers?

by Jordan Running Nov 26th 2005

The Guardian Unlimited reports that particle physicist Richard Carrigan is warning that evil extraterrestrials could use SETI@home to infect the Earth's computers with malicious code. Since SETI@home, a project in which participating volunteers donate some of their computer's processing time to comb through signals from outer space in search of signs of intelligent life, distributes extraterrestrial data all over the world simultaneously, Carrigan says aliens could take over massive numbers of computer networks simultaneously. What they might do then is anybody's guess, but if Jeff Goldblum is still alive, he can always just send back a virus of our own and save the world.

[Via Boing Boing]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Joid said 5:31AM on 11-27-2005

LOL @ Richard Carrigan

Jake Boxer said 4:43PM on 11-27-2005

Even though Macs and PCs can barely communicate with one another, I'm sure aliens will have no trouble writing malicious code that is compatible with our systems.

gem said 3:34AM on 11-28-2005

ha. i think we should worry more about mean, terrestrial human beings writing malicious code and plotting to take over Earth's computers.

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