It will NOT run as a screen saver.
Too bad. The screensaver paradigm is something the unwashed masses can easily understand.
I have been running the distributed prime search software (see my .sig) for about two months now. [2^1398269-1 is prime!] If you haven't tried this software, I'd urge you to do so now. Not only because it might make you famous, but because it will give you some ideas how a distributed DES crack might work.
I always liked the screen saver idea, but a crack using screen savers only works while the screen saver is active. The mersenne prime program runs on the lowest priority thread under Win95/NT/Linux. It works even while you are working, using all the idle cycles it can find, while at the same time having no effect at all on any of the work you do. Install it and forget about it. It's better than a screen saver.
I agree with Lucky. It may not be as easy for the great unwashed to comprehend, but the low-pri thread is the best way to go to maximize cpu time on the project. I too am running the Mersenne software on my system (and 5 others), but that project will go on hold once a stable version of the DES cracker is available. Btw: the person implementing the software may want to take a look at the software the GIMPS search is using. It is simple, yet effective. amp ------------------------ Name: amp E-mail: amp@pobox.com Date: 01/07/97 Time: 06:51:34 Visit http://www.public-action.com/SkyWriter/WacoMuseum EARTH FIRST! We'll strip mine the other planets later. ------------------------