SETI@home enables more than 3 million computer users worldwide to join in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by sharing unused PC power to create a data-analyzing supercomputer of sorts. Using a similar program, however, all David McOwen found because of his foray into distributed computing were legal troubles. This week on "CyberCrime," you'll see how taking advantage of unused computer downtime almost cost McOwen some time of his own -- 120 years in prison.

What McOwen, formerly an IT administrator at DeKalb Technical College in Georgia, saw as helping to test a new encryption key, the state of Georgia considered computer theft and trespassing. The crime: Without permission, McOwen downloaded a distributed client onto dozens of the college's computers.

Worse computer crimes than this are committed every day, so why did authorities choose to target someone with seemingly good intentions? Tune in to "CyberCrime" this week to find out.
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