To make things more interesting, some people have decided to work together in groups (rather than individually) and thus increase interest and participation. It is important to note that this is not about one team versus another, or about who actually cracks the key. This is an effort to demonstrate that a collection of amateur internet enthusiasts can break strong 64-bit encryption using only their existing computing resources.

Teams are optional! They are fun and the rivalries between them help to increase project participation but you are not required to join a team if you don't want to. Also there are no official teams for anything. Some people might claim that their team is the official team for an operating system or group, but you are not required to join it. You can simply run for yourself, or run for others if you wish.

For those of you who participated in the Bovine RC5-56 project you should be aware that teams are being handled differently this time around. Previously a team was identified by the email address of the team coordinator. To join you had to submit blocks using that address. This time around we have set up a true team structure. Individual contributors should report all checked blocks under their OWN email addresses. They can then choose to affiliate themselves with a particular team. If they do so their individual stats will continue to report their total effort but their contribution will also be counted in their team's total.

If you want to create a new team, simply visit http://stats.distributed.net/newteam1.php3 Be sure to carefully read the notice that appears. You only need to register if your team doesn't already exist. If you really mean to join a pre-existing team proceed as follows. First, get the ID number of the team you wish to join (this can be done using the Search for Team facility on the stats page). Then, from your individual stats summary page, you can affiliate yourself with your team by choosing the Edit Participant Information button. Note that this last step requires a password. If you don't already have one you can get one automatically mailed to you from the link at the bottom of your individual stats summary page.

One other note about joining teams. If you've never joined a team before then ALL the blocks you have checked will go to bolster your team's stats when you join. If you do already belong to a team and then switch to a different one only new blocks that you check will be attributed to your new team. Old blocks stay with your old team. In either case your individual stats always show your total contribution since starting the effort regardless of whether or not you have joined a team or switched teams.