Joining the Firefox Folding@Home Team

If you want to help spreading Firefox and the understanding protein folding, protein aggregation and related diseases, you should join the Firefox Folding@Home Team.

You can choose to run Folding@Home without ever seeing it using a console client, or use a graphical client when you want to see the proteins folding. Folding does not interrupt your work nor slows down your computer, because it just uses the unused CPU cycles. Of course you can also set the client up to only fold when you are away, but then you will make slower progress.

Not convinced yet? Check out why you should fold!

If you want to join, it's really easy:

1. Download a Folding@Home client for your operating system. When you're not sure what to choose, get the "Windows NT/2000/XP Graphical client";
2. Run the installer (graphical client) or, if you chosen the console client, copy the file you downloaded to the directory you want to install it and run it. You'll be asked a couple of questions;
3. First, you need to choose a username. You want a new and fresh username (unless you've folded before), so search in the userlist if the username you chose isn't in use already;
4. Then, you'll be asked for your team number. Fill in 39299 here, the team number of the Firefox Folding@Home Team;
5. You can leave the other settings to their defaults, unless you have multple CPUs (you'll need to change the machine number so it has a unique number), or want to fold only when your machine is idle instead of having Folding@Home use all unused CPU cycles.

And then, you'll be folding for Team Firefox! It might take a few days or weeks for your username to show up in the team statistics, depending on when your machine has finished its first WU (which again depends on how much your machine is folding, the speed of it and the size of the WU).

Of course you should also spread the word about the team. You can do this in a lot of ways, including by putting some banners on your site, blog or in signatures.

If you then still have questions, or just want to tell you joined, feel free to post in the forums!