Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Green Receipt who wrote (5823)	5/25/1999 10:07:00 PM
From: C.K. Houston	Respond to of 9818

GEEZ. What next??? Y2K COMPUTER VIRUSES Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) According to Mr. Phillips, there are more than 130 computer viruses that are set to activate at the stroke of midnight 2000. Most of these viruses are harmless, falling into the "nuisance category." A number of the known viruses (10-12), on the other hand, are designed with specific malicious intent. If these viruses all strike at the same, time they have the potential to make a bad situation worse. Systems administrators, already stressed with ensuring the seamless Y2K roll-over, may be pushed to a breaking point increasing the probability of human error and widespread system failures. MALICIOUS VIRUSES: The most dangerous "strains" of millennium viruses are being developed by groups that are small, well financed, and located outside of the United States. In some cases, the programmers who design the viruses have set up companies in neutral countries that do software/computer consulting. Profits from their legitimate activities are then used to finance more nefarious projects. The malicious millennium viruses, if left unchecked, could cause serious damage to various areas of the international infrastructure, especially the international telecommunications infrastructure. One virus, for example, specifically targets major companies' telephone Electronic Switching Systems, randomly rerouting calls. Three other malicious viruses will actually lock a processor in a divide by zero loop, which, if left running for a sufficient amount of time, will overheat the Central Processing Unit, causing it to melt down and effectively reducing the computer to scrap metal. Similarly, a different virus will wreck monitors by tampering with the video card, causing them to overheat and be destroyed. Another virus effects applied industrial systems that monitor key processes such as conveyer belt operations, the temperature regulation in power plants, labeling of food products, and even payroll systems. What the virus does is disregard the true information, inserting random quotes where information is requested. This could cause the total recall of a product because it was falsely labeled to be safe for children, when in actual fact it is not. Lastly, there are two viruses that affect the Domain Name Service (DNS) automated directory assistance for the Internet, linking the name of a web site with the corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) address. These two viruses are non memory resident parasites, meaning that they need an application that is integrated in the DNS server in order to exist. These parasite viruses shuffle the directory systems (the resolution tables) so that the web sites no longer match their IP numbers. As a result, for example, rather than reaching the CNN web site, a totally different web site is accessed. As systems security expert, Sam Schubert, points out, "depending on which DNS server is targeted, viruses of this nature have the potential of crippling the Internet." csis.org Cheryl