• NZ Urges Care in Diagnosing Any New Year Glitches
  Time: 07:58 EDT/12:58 GMT News Source: Yahoo Daily News Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The world will be watching New Zealand carefully for Y2K breakdowns on January 1 and any misdiagnosed chaos scenario could damage the country's economy, the New Zealand Y2K Readiness Commission said on Thursday.

  New Zealand will be the first industrialized nation to roll into the new millennium, on local time, and could serve as an early warning center on whether computers may mistake 2000 for 1900, and crash or misbehave.

  ``Perceptions of New Zealand management of the Y2K risk will create attitudes, and could in fact create attitudes in the finance markets which could be detrimental to New Zealand,'' Commission chairman Basil Logan said.

   
• New cyber-assault methods pop up
  Time: 07:50 EDT/12:50 GMT News Source: MSNBC Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  As the pre-Y2K hype enters its final phase, computer watchdogs have identified two new techniques for bringing Internet sites down: One of the denial-of-service attacks is nicknamed TFN2K, the other is called the “Mac Flood Attack.” Neither of them is directly related to the Year 2000 computer bug itself, but the failures they cause could be misinterpreted as New Year’s glitches.

  The two attack strategies were reported Tuesday in an advisory from the CERT Coordination Center, headquartered at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. A spokesman for the institute, Bill Pollak, acknowledged that there wasn’t any “explicit connection” to the potential Y2K problem, which could arise if computer chips fumble the rollover from 1999 to 2000.

  However, he added, “use of the tools described in the advisory may cause significant service outages that may be mistaken as Y2K failures.”

   
• Y2K bug behind credit card debacle
  Time: 07:42 EDT/12:42 GMT News Source: MSNBC Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A Y2K-triggered failure in credit card swipe machines caused frustrating delays for thousands of retailers and customers trying to ring up purchases across Britain on Wednesday. The machines, manufactured by Racal Electronics and supplied by HSBC, one of Britain’s largest four banks, improperly rejected credit cards because of a failure to recognize the year 2000, a bank spokeswoman said.

  Merchants who tried to swipe Mastercard and Visa cards through some 20,000 machines beginning on Tuesday found they were improperly rejected, said HSBC spokeswoman Nicolette Dawson. Lines grew as retailers were forced to telephone for further authorization.

  The failure, characterized as minor by Dawson, comes just days before the New Year, when most Y2K glitches are expected to begun to be felt. Experts say the seriousness of disruptions will depend on the quality of Y2K remediation.

   
• Web sites wary of New Year's mischief
  Time: 07:35 EDT/12:35 GMT News Source: USA Today Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Web site operators and people who run computer systems will be watching for more than the Y2K bug on New Year's Eve: They will be on guard for viruses and other mischief spread by hackers looking for some start-of-the-millennium attention.

  The threat has prompted several Web site operators to shut down beginning on Friday. For some companies, security breaches could cause greater problems than year 2000 glitches.

   
• Officials make final Y2K preparations
  Time: 07:30 EDT/12:30 GMT News Source: USA Today Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Federal officials said Wednesday they are prepared to respond quickly and can draw on resources from as many as 26 federal agencies and the Red Cross if any Y2K emergencies arise this weekend.

  The Federal Emergency Management Agency has established 10 regional centers around the country to monitor any potential difficulties in the United States or U.S. territories. Beginning Thursday, FEMA will have its emergency support team in full gear 24 hours a day through Jan. 2. Roughly 800 personnel will be working through the weekend.

  ''FEMA is confident that nothing serious will happen, but we are prepared to respond just like we would for any other natural disaster or any other emergency situation,'' said Robert Adamcik, associate director for FEMA response and recovery.

   
• Western U.S. Power Plants to Cut Output on Dec 31
  Time: 07:26 EDT/12:26 GMT News Source: Yahoo Daily News Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Major power plants across the western United States will operate at reduced rates on New Year's Eve in a move that will allow electric companies to increase power output in case of any Y2K problems.

  The reason for the limit, which takes effect around 9 p.m. PST on Friday, is to allow more power plants to operate, thereby reducing the impact should a unit trip off line during the transition.

  ``We're limiting the amount of generation out of some of the larger base load plants,'' said Bill Comish, Y2K coordinator for the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC), a regional electric reliability council for 14 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces and a small part of Mexico.

   
• Pentagon Pay Agency to Shut Web Site for Y2K
  Time: 07:24 EDT/12:24 GMT News Source: Yahoo Daily News Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The Defense Department agency that pays military personnel and contractors temporarily will shut its Internet site to protect against computer hackers during the changeover to the year 2000, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

  The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which disburses $24 billion a month, will take its Web site offline from 6 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. on New Year's Day. A notice of the shutdown was posted at the agency's site (www.dfas.mil).

  ``We're taking the site down, basically to protect ourselves from hackers,'' said agency spokeswoman Lisa Anderson.

• Fox pounces on TV fan Web sites
  Time: 16:32 EDT/21:32 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  On the popular TV show "The X-Files," FBI special agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder crack the bizarre and paranormal cases other agents can't handle.

  On the Internet, it's the show's fans who are up against powerful forces, trying to get through to 20th Century Fox executives who want to clamp down on Web sites devoted to TV characters.

  The Web serves as a venue through which enthusiastic fans can share their passion for a particular TV show. But the way Fox network executives see it, some sites go too far and may infringe on copyrighted work.

  In a statement, Fox said it "appreciates" fan sites but "requests that sites using Fox's copyrighted and trademarked materials comply with guidelines that protect the creative integrity of the series."

   
• Net founders seek clearer Net policy
  Time: 16:29 EDT/21:29 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Is television part of the Internet, if you can watch programs online? And what about new Web-based mobile phones?

  Policymakers proposing Internet regulation must settle on a solid definition for today's Internet or face increased confusion as the technology matures, a high-profile Internet think tank warned today.

  The advice came in a paper drafted by MCI WorldCom vice president Vinton Cerf and Corporation for National Research Initiatives president Robert Kahn, who jointly helped create the technology that allows computers connected to the Internet to communicate.

  "Governments are passing legislation pertaining to the Internet without ever specifying to what the law applies and to what it does not apply," the pair wrote. "This area is badly in need of clarification."

   
• Experts, officials confident Y2K will arrive smoothly
  Time: 16:25 EDT/21:25 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  A number of government officials and industry experts join the growing chorus of dignitaries who say the transition to the new year will be a smooth one.

  Government officials took to the weekend talk show circuit yesterday to explain away any doubts over whether the nation is ready to tackle potential problems caused by the so-called Year 2000 bug.

  Repeating his familiar message from the last four months, John Koskinen, the White House's top gun on Y2K, said the date change should cause very few technology problems. Americans should make no more preparations for New Year's this year than they would for any long winter weekend, he added.