Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 23:03:58 -0500
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Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
From: Bob Rankin
Subject: TOURBUS - 04 Jan 2000 - Y2K News Flash!
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TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: Y2K NEWS FLASH!
The Year 2000 seemed to arrive without much ado. Telephones, power
grids and computers all over the world escaped unscathed for the most
part. Sure, there were some minor glitches like the guy who was told
he owed a $91,000 late fee for a video rental, and the bank customer
in Germany who found an extra 13 Billion in his account. But we knew
silly stuff like that would happen.
Read on for my summary of Y2K's failed prophets, bugs and hoaxes, but
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-------------------------
Y2K Prophets Blather On
-------------------------
Some Y2K doomsayers are making embarrased apologies, while others are
clinging to the notion that Unknown Horrors may still be lurking. One
of the most adamant in the latter category is Gary North. His website
confidently predicted catastrophic failures in every sector and
advocated that people should quit high-tech jobs to prepare for an
agrarian lifestyle in the next decade. Some samples, from
http://www.garynorth.com
> Will programmers quit and leave town in 1999? I'm betting
> my life on it. The exodus will begin no later than 1999...
> Months before January 1, 2000, the world's stock markets will
> have crashed...
> Tens, possibly hundreds of millions, of computer chips will
> begin to shut down the systems they control... a nightmare
> for every area of life, in every region of the world...
> The problem will not be fixed. Everyone in authority will deny
> that time has run out, right up until December 31, 1999. They
> are paid to deny this. I'm saying that it's over.
Instead of apologizing to the world (and especially to all those
unemployed high-tech farmers), North STILL maintains that the
"institional noise" of undiscovered Y2K bugs may worsen and create a
domino effect severe enough to topple Western Civilization. Sigh...
------------------------------
Y2K Bugs, Viruses And Hoaxes
------------------------------
Another no-show in the new year was the horde of hackers armed with
Y2K viruses that was supposed to attack en masse at the dawn of
January 1st. I was disappointed beyond belief when Ed Yourdon, noted
author of the book "Time Bomb 2000" wrote January 1st on his website:
http://www.yourdon.com
> My plan was to start up my backup machine this morning, observe the
> rollover, run through a series of tests and then log in on the
> Internet to see if a horde of viruses would destroy the machine.
A seasoned computer veteran like Yourdon should know better. Viruses
do NOT sneak into your computer and spring to life. You've probably
heard Patrick and me say it before, but I will repeat it here:
YES, nasty computer viruses can be sent by email, BUT... if your web
browser and email program are up to date, you CANNOT get a virus
unless you do two very stupid things:
1) Save an unknown email file attachment to your hard disk.
2) Open or launch that file without doing a virus scan.
Trust me on this. Even if your friend's neighbor has a cousin who
swears it's not so.
--------------------
Y2K Bites Browsers
--------------------
If you use Netscape Navigator 4.06 or older versions, or MS Internet
Explorer 4.5 (or older) for Macintosh you could get a scary-looking
warning when making online purchases. But the problem isn't a lack of
security at the merchant's online store. It's because the digital
certificates built into the browser software may have expired on
December 31st.
You can safely ignore these warnings and still make a secure online
transaction, but it's always best to stay current with your Internet
software. Visit the Netscape or Microsoft website and grab the most
recent version of your browser.
http://www.netscape.com/cms/certinfo.html
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download
------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------
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That's all for now, see you next time! --Bob Rankin
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