Real Life Internet Evil: Brilliant Digital Entertainment

 Our purpose with this series is to use real life examples of
deception, fraud and other evil to show how you can better
protect yourself. The examples cited in these articles are
intended to demonstrate best practices and recommendations.

What would you think about allowing someone to have unlimited
access to your computer system without your knowledge or
permission? Now, how do you feel about letting that person rent
out your CPU, spare disk space and extra memory? Do you like the
idea of these strangers downloading programs, data and lord knows
what else to your machine and using your bandwidth?

A company called Brilliant Digital Entertainment has been quietly
preparing to do just this. They have been distributing their
"free" 3D advertising technology since last fall, and along with
that software they have quietly been installing file-swapping
software called Kazaa.

Brilliant Digital Entertainment has stated as a part of their
SEC filing that they will soon be turning on a vast,
multi-million machine P2P (point-to-point) network. This network
consists of the machines belonging to those people who have
downloaded and installed their software. The network is known as
Altnet.

What does Brilliant want to do with this vast network? They have
some very grand plans, but one major task is using these
personally owned computers to store and serve ads (banners and
other things). Their logic is described in an excerpt from their
SEC filing:

"An example of Network Services is ad serving. When a user opens
a new Web page, and the banner ad which appears on that page is
delivered by a third party ad serving company, such as
DoubleClick, the third party ad serving company incurs
infrastructure, management, bandwidth and processing costs for
every single banner ad which gets served. Often times, the same
ad gets "served" millions of times each month. Using Altnet's
proposed solutions, all of those ads could be delivered to the
users via the Altnet network, thereby saving costs for third
party ad serving companies."

Brilliant does have some vague plans in place to compensate the
people involved in the network, at least some of them. Here's what
their SEC filing says about that:

"To maximize the efficiency of the Altnet network, selected
users with higher than average processing power, significant
free space on their hard drives and broadband connectivity to
the Internet, will first be engaged by Altnet to become main
hubs on the network. We refer to each of these hubs as a
qualified PC, or QPC. We intend to enter into an end user
agreement with the owner of each QPC pursuant to which we will
compensate the owner for access to and use of their computers
while logged onto the Internet. We have yet to finalize the
terms of compensation, however we anticipate it will be a
combination of non-cash components, which may include gift
certificates, products and/or access to video content, and we
expect to initiate this process some time in Q2 2002."

According to other news reports, the end user will have the
option to opt-out from this grand plan. The opt-out method (as
well as the compensation for those who opt-in) is unspecified at
this time, but will most likely be insignificant.

The SEC filing is a very interesting document, and goes on to
explain in exhilarating terms the benefits and uses of this
network. It's very clear that Brilliant see's lots of dollar
signs in this concept.

Now for the big question: what is the benefit to the end user?
Absolutely nothing. In fact, the end user's computer gets used to
serve advertisements and perform other tasks as determined by
Brilliant.

The disadvantages of this scheme are many:

Your computer gets used by others - Do you really want unknown,
unnamed third parties to have direct access to your hard drive,
memory and CPU power as well as your bandwidth? Do you want to
trust this company, who covertly installed this software (yes,
there is a clause in the Terms and Conditions, but it's pretty
small and in legalize) throughout the world?

There is a risk of contamination - In theory, viruses and other
dangers could be loaded onto your system. This is just another
way for hackers and others to gain access and do whatever they
want.

Your own documents could be at risk - Who knows what this software
allows the vendor to do? Perhaps they are looking over your hard
drive...

Automatic updates could damage your system - Ever installed
something on your computer which caused it to become unusable or
damaged? Well, I'd bet this software will have (or already has)
the capability to update itself with new versions. Do you want to
take the risk?

How do they protect your privacy? - Do you think this company has
any real concern for your privacy? These guys want to make money.

I could go on and on about this concept and software. My advice
is simple and straightforward - delete it or don't install it.
This is a stupid idea and it deserves to be buried with the
other bad internet concepts.

About the Author

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets
at http://www.internet-tips.net - Visit our website any time to
read over 1,000 complete FREE articles about how to improve your
internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.

 Richard Lowe

More Articles 

Affordable entertainment for your family - Stephanie Foster
When you’re trying to save money, it can be hard to find fun things to do as a family. Fortunately, there are many options to keep within your budget. First let’s go over your free options. Going to the park, lake, beach, etc. are all good...

Entertainment Attorney to Speak at Indie Music Week - Daniel Harrington
Entertainment Attorney to Speak at Indie Music Week Nashville, Tennessee - Indie Music Week has announced that Charles J. ("Jeff") Biederman, entertainment and intellectual property attorney, will be participating as an Indie Music Week...

All- Star Games Always Bring Entertainment for Everyone - Cathy Jones
Some of the best players on the NBA got together last Sunday 19th for the NBA All-Star game that was played in Houston. The winner had been the Western Conference for three straight games until, with Allen Iverson, the East pulled a...

Wedding Planning; Tips on Hiring Reception Entertainment - Reese Thomas
Congratulations, you're planning a wedding! Whether you are arranging a wedding for someone else or taking an active role in planning your own, here are some tips that will make the job of selecting your reception entertainment a little easier....

Las Vegas Entertainment - Colin Mochrie Brillant Comedy - Gary Long
Colin Mochrie is a highly successful Canadian comedian, who first got involved in improv comedy through theater sports, before moving to the famous comedy theater, "The Second City". He performed in both the British and American version of...

Plastic Surgery and the Entertainment Industry - Jaci Rae
In an industry where you are judged primarily on your looks and your age, plastic surgery is almost mandatory for any age group. It's becoming just as important in the corporate world, too. Artists and executives are more likely to get hired if...

So You Want To Make It In The Entertainment Business? Here's the Secret... - Jaci Rae
As a musician, bands have it easier than a solo artist in terms of cost to make a CD. Other than that, there are little or no differences. For bands/artists who wish to start the process of making, distributing, and getting radio airplay by...

Ultimate Sports Entertainment Announces Sports "Answer to Disney Land" - Rajinder Dogra
Ultimate Sports Entertainment, Inc. unveiled plans for the worlds first, sports-mega-resort complex in Las Vegas. The complex will sit on 116 acres of land near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The project is based on a hybrid casino,...

Dice - the Ultimate Educational, Portable Entertainment for Kids! - Lindsay Small
How do you keep the kids amused for the long summer holidays? What do you do when the inevitable rainy day blues strike and everyone gets fractious and argumentative? And how do you cope when you are forced to play the waiting game … in doctors'...

MobileChilli - Worldwide Mobile Entertainment - salil mahajan
LavaCards.com is pleased to launch it's new website - MobileChilli.com www.MobileChilli.com a Mobile entertainment service which enables the users to download mobile videos, polyphonic ringtones, mobile phone wallpapers, screensavers, operator...

Wedding Entertainment - selecting a quality DJ - Todd Mumford staff writer
Wedding Entertainment – selecting a Quality DJ By Todd Mumford Months in advance of your wedding ceremony, comes hours and hours of planning – how many people to invite, what food items to provide, drinks, wedding flowers, and more. Finding a...

Entertainment and Media Production for your Business. Why? - Justin Grover
You are a business. You do well. Why do you need to worry about what Entertainment and Media Production companies can do for you? Why would you need to hire some weird artist to make your company's exposure to the public more attractive?...