Parasites perform long multiplication

Vulnerabilities in the internet have been put to use by boffins who have used the combined power of servers around the world to perform complex calculations.

Scientists at Notre Dame University sent many different components of a complex problem to servers around the world and used their combined processing power to create a virtual super-computer and solve the greater problem.

The parasitic process works along similar lines as the SETI search for extraterrestrial life where the necessary power to perform complex procedures, beyond the capabilities of one server or computer, is distributed across a network of thousands or millions of internet connected machines.