Leaving PC on 24/7

ballooba

I'm working on an application that has to be able to receive text messages at the moment. The SMS providers charge €25 per month to have a pc connected to their server. That's 300 yoyos p.a. which I don't think I can afford.

The alternative is to have a pc running 24/7 with a GSM modem and a internet connection. I don't want to do this with my current p.c. for obvious reasons. What I'm wondering is, will my PC go on fire if I leave it running 24/7. It won't be used for anything else other than maybe holding music/movies.

zilog_jones

Decent PCs are designed to run permanently. If you have sufficient cooling (i.e. your PC doesn't run too hot), decent airflow, and a half-decent power supply in your PC it should be able to run for a long time. A lot of businesses and stuff never turn off their systems... unless they break ^_^

Random

My PC is on 24/7 about 5 days a week. No problems whatsoever and I use it for gaming etc too.

p.s. I'd be interested in an application for recieving and sending texts from my PC if you wanted to share

ballooba

Well I haven't got a price back for the application I wish to use but i reckon it will be slightly expensive for day to day texting.

I built a Java App which did this for my Final Year Project last year. The App for receiving SMS was a bit crude as all it had to do was receive an SMS and parse it into a web address (HTTP URL and GET variables).

The website for sending texts was nice though.

Ruu_Old

I used to use ICQ for sending and receiving texts, im not sure if it works anymore because i dont use ICQ now.

SouperComputer

its unlikely ot go on fire!

Whay not get a crap laptop with a broken screen? Less space, less noise and less power consumed?

Random

Laptops tend to overheat if left on 24/7. They're not designed for it.

An old P2 350Mhz or something would be ideal

Capt'n Midnight

Use a low power PC as electricity costs will add up over a year.

http://www.esb.ie/main/energy_home/urban_charges.jsp

12.73 c/kWh + VAT @ 13.5% ( one unit = 1,000 Wh )

8,766 hours a year x € 0.1273/kWh x 1.135 = € 1.266 per Watt per Year

eg: a 60 Watt bulb = €75.96 per year :eek:
a laptop should be less than half of this

OR if you setup a Wake Up on Ring the power will be only a few Watts.

If worried about fire - metal doesn't burn as well as plastic or wood - so locate the PC away from flamable stuff and don't block the vents. On the other hand I did a training course with someone who lost a server at home. Eventually had to track it down by following the cable. .

zilog_jones

Yeah, an old PII or something similar will cost you nothing (most businesses will just send them off to be recycled - it's cheaper for them if someone like you takes them ^_^) and will consume a fraction of the power. I reckon a PII system running idle will probably consume about 50-80W - a lot less than a modern PC (the CPU alone will consume that much!).

Gaillimhtaibhse

If you stay on 24/7, what are you doing to ensure that someone doesn't install a RAT and enslave you?

ballooba

Gaillimhtaibhse wrote:

If you stay on 24/7, what are you doing to ensure that someone doesn't install a RAT and enslave you?

RAT, as in the four legged variety? with a tail?

Sorry, you've lost me. This won't be a server in the IP networking sense. It will be firewalled with Sygate and have AVG running with auto update switched on. It will be making outgoing calls to methods.

Gaillimhtaibhse

ballooba wrote:

RAT, as in the four legged variety? with a tail?

Sorry, you've lost me.

RAT = Remote Access Trojan.

ballooba

So the RAT would be used by someone else to make my computer do their work using my CPU, RAM etc.

[also] given that pc is on a wireless network wouldn't it be difficult to get an IP for it from a remote location?[/also]

riptide

Make sure it doesn't have a Q-tec power supply... that will bring down the chance of fire by......... 99.9%

Gaillimhtaibhse

ballooba wrote:

So the RAT would be used by someone else to make my computer do their work using my CPU, RAM etc.

[also] given that pc is on a wireless network wouldn't it be difficult to get an IP for it from a remote location?[/also]

RATs (Remote Access Trojans) are relatively new in the world of malware. First read about them in a Wired magazine a couple of months ago. There was also some news Stateside (Downey, California?? Wherever this is...?) that told of some cracker who had enslaved hundreds of online computers using RATs, harnessing their collective power unbeknown to their private owners. He bragged online about it, someone noticed, was caught, and is now being prosecuted.

Not a lot is known about RATs, and they are evolving quite rapidly in terms of how they are installed on your system without your knowledge. The anti-virus, anti-malware programming companies are running far behind RAT evolution.

Read an article (cannot remember where), that suggested your system might be infected with RATs if you noticed that it was showing extraordinary activity when online. On MS OS XP2, opening the Windows Task Manager and reviewing Processes and also the Performance graphs might reveal a problem.

In general, PC WORLD reported in their March 2006 issue, "The New Virus Fighters" article, that from 70 to 100 new viruses, worms, trojans, etc., etc., were occurring daily, and that the anti-malware/virus companies could not keep up and were running behind. Their proposed solution was to find anti-malware programmes that used "heuristics" to anticipate what future malware might look like and then block their entry. They ranked 10 programmes, with BIT Defender 9 Standard highest for heuristics. There were also some freeware in the top 10 in case your budget is tight.

Speaking of freeware, I have had some luck running a bundle of multiple anti-malware programmes (Ad-Aware SE Private, Spy Bot Search and Destroy, MS AntiSpyware Beta 1, and Spyware Blaster). None of these programmes have conflicted with each other, as of this writing. Ad-Aware SE Private seems to be the best (Lavasoft, Sweden), and my system has never fun faster since I started using it.

Doing a little research might be worthwhile? Good luck! We will all need it!

cregser

^ If your interested, look up Distributed DoS attacks with regard to 'zombie' computers and how trojan makers use these tools to extort small-to-medium businesses (where once it was large corporations).

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_service

alantc

ballooba wrote:

Well I haven't got a price back for the application I wish to use but i reckon it will be slightly expensive for day to day texting.

I built a Java App which did this for my Final Year Project last year. The App for receiving SMS was a bit crude as all it had to do was receive an SMS and parse it into a web address (HTTP URL and GET variables).

The website for sending texts was nice though.

So what exactly are you trying to do? I just bought a pcmcia -> pci adaptor and a nokia gsm cardphone. Cost me less than €30 off ebay, though I haven't tested the cardphone yet.

I've got Meteor free texts so the plan is to put a Meteor SIM in my computer, send a text to it from my phone for free and get the computer to logon to the Meteor website and forward it to the real recepient. And so, get free texts to everyone!

Would you mind sending me your code? And more details on your final year project.

Gaillimhtaibhse

cregser wrote:

^ If your interested, look up Distributed DoS attacks with regard to 'zombie' computers and how trojan makers use these tools to extort small-to-medium businesses (where once it was large corporations).

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial_of_service

Thanks for the info. Remembered something else about how the Downey RAT was able to install his malware and enslave (a.k.a. zombie) hundreds of online computers. Somehow he mimic'd trusted sites and got unaware users to install his RAT either through automatic updates or with the approval of unwary users.

Once again, it would appear that hope might lie in building heuristic "RAT traps," that get them before they are installed. Some hacker could really make a lot of money if they were to write a programme that would do this. If I remember, PC WORLD said that the heuristic effectiveness, at best, would only anticipate malware about half the time, while the others got through undetected. And in their top 10 anti-malware rankings, some of the lesser programmes were only 8 percent effective (leaving a lot of room for a hacker to come up with an RAT trap algorithm that is superior to what now exists).

Syth

If you're concerned about security, then try a secure operating system, like <a href="http://www.openbsd.org">OpenBSD</a&gt; or a <a href="http://www.kernel.org">Linux</a&gt; distribution.

And I don't think 'RATs' are a new thing. Perhaps a new thing in Windows malware. I read, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo's_Egg&quot;&gt;'The Cuckoo's Egg'</a> a true story about a systems administrator who tracked down a cracker. It happened in the mid-1980s, one of the things the cracker does is install a new login programme, so it can capture usernames and passwords as people try to log in. A interesting book, highly recommended.

ballooba

I regularly look at my task list to ensure that nothing strange is running. This is a lot less common occurence since switching from Microsoft IE -> Mozilla Firefox, Norton Anti-Virus -> AVG, Windows XP SP2 (Firewall) -> Sygate Firewall.

A lot less pricks targetting those brands.

Alan TC, I wouldn't like to go releasing my FYP code (and not just because DIT owns it for the next few months ) If i do up something else i would be happy to forward it on. Also if you have any questions I would be delighted to help you write your own code.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry.

Redrocket

my pc goes on fire ALL the time...

Ruu_Old

just keep a bucket of water handy

SeanW

Sometimes, in rare cases, I use my PC as an alarm clock it's not an ultramodern powerhouse so it probably doesn't use too much power, turn off the monitor, plug out external DSL modem etc.

Generally you should be fine leaving your PC on 24/7 frankly it would have to be a really crappy machine for you to have problems.

PooperScooper

Have a P4 dell pc about 2 years old.

It's powered on since the start of last summer (provides wireless internet connection around house)

No fires yet!, doesn't seem to overheat - no major use though.

Old P2 pc blew up when i plugged it in before and some neighbours monitors blew due to lightening/power surge etc but u can get safety adapters these days!

Melinge

keep the screen of while ur not using it mines on 24/7 its actually better to leave it on 24/7:D

rogue-entity

ballooba wrote:

Alan TC, I wouldn't like to go releasing my FYP code (and not just because DIT owns it for the next few months )

DIT owns your code? I never knew that. Do all colleges claim the rights to students code? I was planning on making the source code to any useful applications I write available under an open licence.

RoyalMarine

you shouldnt have a problem leaving it on. just use the right protection on-line, the right surge protection and just keep an eye on the machine the odd time to make sure its ok.
as for damaging other hardware inside the p.c, no it wont. unless something drastic happens and something burns out. but that "could" only happen if the hardware was faulty. most computer hardware is made to be used to that extent.
the office where i use to work had a few hundred computer's running 24/7 for years. and the maintance staff just did a check here and there every now and then... no problems from what i saw.



oh and 1 last thing....
had to laugh at this...

ciaranfo wrote:

My PC is on 24/7 about 5 days a week. No problems whatsoever and I use it for gaming etc too.

24/7 for 5 days a week?? LMAO

Capt'n Midnight

rogue-entity wrote:

DIT owns your code? I never knew that. Do all colleges claim the rights to students code? I was planning on making the source code to any useful applications I write available under an open licence.

Yes, same with most employers. It's the bit about if you use thier equipment or do it on their time.

techguy

In the evenings when I come home from work I turn on my laptop and its on for about 5-7 hours non-stop.. Its gets hot .. Is this actually bad for it. What will it do in the long run.. I am half thinking about buying a desktop to leave on a lot of the time..

the_syco

ciaranfo wrote:

My PC is on 24/7 about 5 days a week. No problems whatsoever and I use it for gaming etc too.

I highlighted the bits I found funny:D

Oh, and unless you run dody programs (BF2, after the newest "patch" from EA), it sould run grand.

Creamy Goodness

well windows poops out for me after about 3 days left on, by poops out i mean certain programs won't load ie. steam games, winamp, vlc etc.

a quick reboot and it's back to normal.

Lump

I've had windows 2000 running on a P333 for about 16 days now, and it's fine

John