CSR: Small: Towards Confederated Web-Based Services

今天的用户可以使用范围广泛的免费、基于网络的社交服务。所有这些服务都在类似的模式下运行：用户将他们的个人信息和内容委托给服务提供商，作为回报，服务提供商通过将用户提供的信息货币化并将结果出售给第三方(例如广告商)来免费提供他们的服务。本质上，用户通过将他们的数据(即放弃他们的隐私)提供给提供商来为这些服务付费。该项目正在使用云计算来重新构建基于Web的服务，以便使最终用户能够重新获得隐私和对其数据的控制。在这种方法中-联合架构-每个用户提供必要的计算资源，以支持其通过云提供商使用服务。所有用户数据都经过加密，不会泄露给任何第三方，用户保持对其信息的控制，用户像往常一样通过网络浏览器访问服务。今天基于网络的服务令人难以置信的流行导致了对隐私和用户对数据控制的严重担忧。解决这些问题需要重新思考当前流行的基于网络的商业模式，不幸的是，现有的提供商没有动力这样做。这个项目的影响可能会被数百万使用当今流行服务的用户感受到，他们将获得今天商业模式的替代方案。

Users today have access to a broad range of free, web-based social services. All of these services operate under a similar model: Users entrust the service provider with their personal information and content, and in return, the service provider makes their service available for free by monetizing the user-provided information and selling the results to third parties (e.g., advertisers). In essence, users pay for these services by providing their data (i.e., giving up their privacy) to the provider.This project is using cloud computing to re-architect web-based services in order to enable end users to regain privacy and control over their data. In this approach---a confederated architecture---each user provides the computing resources necessary to support her use of the service via cloud providers. All user data is encrypted and not exposed to any third-parties, users retain control over their information, and users access the service via a web browser as normal.The incredible popularity of today's web-based services has lead to significant concerns over privacy and user control over data. Addressing these concerns requires a re-thinking of the current popular web-based business models, and, unfortunately, existing providers are dis-incentivized from doing so. The impact of this project will potentially be felt by the millions of users who use today's popular services, who will be provided with an alternative to the business models of today.