Plura Processing
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General Questions

Java Application & Java Signed Applet Questions

Java Applet Questions

Flash/Flex Questions

How much bandwidth will Plura use?

Plura should use an average of 25 kilobits/second when utilizing 100% of a client's CPU.

What version of Java does Plura require?

Plura will run in Java 1.6 and above.

How can I ensure that Plura will not do anything malicious to my clients' computers?

Plura runs with a very strict security policy. Plura cannot do anything detrimental to a client computer--it can't read or write files, execute applications, or touch a client's computer in any way.

Why does the Plura iframe have a width of 150px and a height of 100px?

We require affiliates to visually disclose their use of Plura. If you use Plura in an iframe, the iframe must be visible to the web page visitor.

Who uses the processing power that my client computers provide?

You can view some applications that utilize Plura resources here.

Who are some of your existing affiliates?

Plura technology is embedded in many websites, games, and downloadable applications. See some of our affiliates here.

How can I maximize my Plura revenue?

See the "Improving your revenue" section of this blog post for tips.

What functionality does Plura's Java Application API provide to my Java application or signed applet?

Plura's Java Application API allows you to embed Plura into your Java application or signed applet. This means that you can control Plura from your application code--start Plura, stop Plura, and change the percentage of client CPU that Plura is using at any given moment. You can also track how many Plura work units each of your clients complete, which gives you the opportunity to reward people who are making you money! Because Plura is embedded in your application code, you have the ability to run Plura on any client that installs your application, regardless of how your application is distributed to the client.

What does the JavaPluraConnector do to run Plura?

The JavaPluraConnector uses a URLClassLoader to load a JAR file from Plura's website. It then adds the classes in this JAR to the application's classpath. The JavaPluraConnector source code is included in the Plura JAR distribution (download here).

How does the JavaPluraConnector communicate with Plura?

The JavaPluraConnector communicates with Plura's servers on port 80. The exact server that your application communicates with may vary from time to time, but it will always match one of these 2 URL patterns: www.pluraserver.com OR *.pluraserver.com.

Since I'm integrating Plura code into my installable application, how can I ensure that Plura will not do anything malicious to my clients' computers?

Plura was originally created to run as an Applet in web browsers. As such, the Plura code runs within the very strict browser sandbox (see http://java.sun.com/sfaq/) and cannot do anything detrimental to a client computer. That said, we recommend that you limit the system access of the Plura code in a policy file. In this way, you can explicitly prevent Plura from performing file I/O, executing external commands on the client computer, etc. Plura simply requires the permissions associated with the browser sandbox, as well as SocketPermission to * on ports 80, 8080, and 443.

What is a policy file?

A policy file is Java's mechanism for limiting the system access of specified code. A policy file may be created to explicitly limit Plura's system access. A Java security policy can easily be implemented. View Plura's policy file here, and see instructions on how to implement the security policy here.

Can I track how many Plura work units my Java application clients complete so that I can reward them?

Yes. See the client tracking sample code and Javadocs for more information.

What functionality does Plura's Java Applet API provide to my Java applet?

Plura's Java Applet API allows you to control Plura from your applet code--start Plura, stop Plura, and change the percentage of client CPU that Plura is using at any given moment.

What does the AffiliatePluraConnector do to run Plura?

The AffiliatePluraConnector calls JavaScript methods that are inside the JavaScript source file that you must include on your webpage. These JavaScript methods dynamically set the source of the Plura iframe to match your specified parameters. The AffiliatePluraConnector source code is included in the Plura JAR distribution (download here).

Can I track how many Plura work units my Java applet clients complete so that I can reward them?

Plura tracks the number of work units for your clients, as long as your pass the clients' ids into AffiliatePluraConnector. However, you cannot ask Plura how many work units your clients have completed from an unsigned Java applet. You CAN track this information from a Java application or a signed Java applet, so it is possible for you to track this information in your server code, if you have client-server architecture. See the Plura Java Application documentation here.

What functionality does Plura's Actionscript API provide to my Flash/Flex application?

Plura's Actionscript API allows you to control Plura from your Flash code--start Plura, stop Plura, and change the percentage of client CPU that Plura is using at any given moment. You can also track the number of work units that your customers complete and reward them accordingly.

What does Plura's Actionscript API do to run Plura?

The Plura Actionscript code calls JavaScript methods that are inside the JavaScript source file that you must include on your webpage. These JavaScript methods dynamically set the source of the Plura iframe to match your specified parameters.

What version of Actionscript does Plura require?

The Plura Actionscript API is written in Actionscript 3, and it is not backwards-compatible with earlier versions of Actionscript.

Can I track how many Plura work units my Flash application clients complete so that I can reward them?

Yes. See the sample code for more information.