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SEPTEMBER 1998
Year 2000 Update: How Safe is Your Money?
Each month this section will explore issues dealing with the year 2000 problem (known as Y2K). For basic information about the problem click here, and visit a Y2K FAQ site at Western Michigan University, written by Doug White.
This month we will examine the impact the problem may have on the U.S. banking industry. Suppose you deposit money in an interest earning account in January 1999 and withdraw the money in January 2000. You should earn interest for one year. This period is calculated by subtracting the deposit date from the withdrawal date (2000-1999=1). However, if your bank's computer system deals only with two digits years, the calculation will look like this: 00-99=-99. This program may then conclude that you actually owe the bank 99 years worth of interest on your money.
Fortunately, federal regulators, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), are attempting to ensure that all U.S. banks are prepared for the year 2000. According to the FDIC, 88% of the institutions it supervises are making satisfactory progress in their Y2K projects. However, not all banks will be prepared. Many small banks have not even begun their Y2K projects. Federal regulators may force these banks to merge with larger banks that have successfully completed the Y2K transition. Regardless of how your bank handles the problem, some financial transactions may be disrupted. For example, many foreign banks and financial institutions have not completed their transition. Therefore, international transfers of money may be a problem.
What can you do to protect your money? First, find out if your bank is Y2K compliant. This might not be easy, as it is likely that the teller in your local branch does not know. But be persistent. Second, keep good financial records. If the worst does happen and your records at the bank are affected you will be able to use your copies to recreate your account. Finally, if you have over $100,000 on deposit at a single bank, spread your wealth around. The FDIC protects deposits only up to that amount.
For more information click on these links:
- Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
- Y2K Timebomb Site (covers all industries including banking)
- House Banking Committee
Quick Tip of the Month
If you're tired of hunting through the Windows 95/98 start menu for applications you use all the time or documents you work on frequently, here is a quick way of adding them as icons on your desktop:
- Open Windows Explorer.
- Find an application or document to add to the desktop.
- Be sure you can see both the Explorer window and a portion of the desktop. If the Explorer window takes up the whole screen, click the middle button in the upper right-hand corner of the window.
- Click on the application or document, and hold down the left mouse button.
- Drag the icon and drop it onto your desktop.
Now whenever you start Windows 95/98 the new icon will appear on the desktop and you will not have to hunt for it. If you want to remove an icon from the desktop, just click on it and press the delete key. This will delete the icon, but not the actual file.
Don't Stand in Line for Those Textbooks: Order Them from Amazon.com
Each month this section will profile a company using information technology to gain a strategic advantage in its industry.
Tired of waiting in long lines to buy your textbooks? Is the bookstore out of stock? This month's company, Amazon.com, can probably help. Amazon.com is one of the largest online retailers, selling books and music entirely over the World Wide Web. The company opened its virtual storefront in July 1995 and went public in March 1997. Today Amazon.com offers over 3 million books, CD's, and other items for sale through its virtual store. It has sold books to over 3 million customers worldwide.
Amazon.com has leveraged the growing popularity of the Internet into a hugely successful business. This success had led traditional bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble, to open their own virtual storefronts. However, Amazon.com has entered into marketing agreements with many of the most popular web search engines, such as Netscape, Yahoo!, and Excite which provides Amazon.com with a strategic marketing advantage.
While most people have by now heard of the Internet, many people and organizations have not yet heard about intranets. An intranet is a private computer network that operates on the same standards and protocols as the Internet. The development of a corporate intranet allows greater sharing of information. Technologies that were originally developed for the Internet, such as search engines, can be run on intranets. Users access the intranet via their favorite web browser (Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, and so on.). This standard graphic user interface makes using intranets easy. The intranet can be connected to corporate databases, providing users with up-to-the- minute information. The addition of chat rooms and bulletin boards can streamline collaborative group work.
For more information on intranets, click on these links:
- The Intranet FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- The Intranet Research Center
- Some Intranet Case Studies from Netscape
A cookie is an entry in a special file on a web surfer’s computer that allows web sites to keep track of user information. For example, this file can be used to keep track of a login id or password, the date of your last visit to a specific site, or site preferences. These entries are stored in the file called cookies.txt. The cookies.txt file usually resides in the subdirectory that contains your web browser software. You can look at your file by using a text editor (like Windows Notepad).
The file will probably look something like this:
# Netscape HTTP Cookie File
# http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html
# This is a generated file! Do not edit.
homeadvisor.msn.com FALSE /dl/neighborhoods FALSE 34940413 controls0 frm0=_d00:MD*_d01:p%3A8840*_:Go%20to%202*
www.gap.com FALSE /onlinestore FALSE 944035200 SHOPPERMANAGER%2FGAP PNUHCBU22JSH2NR300L44FB8EABTSVXN
In this sample of a cookies.txt file, the first cookie keeps track of user information pertaining to Microsoft's home advisor site. The second cookie stores information about the user's preferences when shopping at the Gap's online store. These entries are automatically generated, and it is not a good idea to edit your cookies.txt file.
Some people have become concerned that cookies may lead to an invasion of privacy. While cookies cannot allow a remote user to read the contents of your hard drive or discover your financial information, they can be used to get information about sites you have visited. Most web browsers allow users to turn off the automatic setting of cookies (click here for Microsoft Internet Explorer instructions). If you do turn off automatic cookie setting you can expect to get many messages asking for permission to set a cookie. It is then up to you to decide if the cookie will enhance your web surfing or not.
For more information on cookies, click on these links:
- The Unofficial Cookies FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- Dept. of Energy - Computer Incident Advisory Capability Report
- Oreo Cookie Site (has nothing to do with this topic, but they taste better)
On August 15, 1998, Apple Computer launched its new personal computer called iMAC. The iMAC features a compact design that combines all of the computing components in the monitor case. The user needs only to connect the keyboard and mouse. The computer uses a 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor and comes with 32 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), a 4 gigabyte (GB) hard drive, and a CD-ROM drive. The system includes a 15-inch monitor. The iMAC also comes with an Ethernet networking card and a 56K modem. The price for the system is $1,299. The iMAC has caused some controversy, as it does not come with a floppy disk drive, which can be purchased separately.
On June 25, 1998, Microsoft released the latest version of its Windows operating system, called Windows 98. Windows 98's main improvements over Windows 95 are enhanced performance, closer Internet integration, and increased support for peripheral devices.
Enhanced performance means applications load faster, and the machine shuts down more quickly. In addition, a new version of the file allocation table (FAT) utility, called FAT32, may save hard disk space. The FAT keeps track of where files are located on the hard disk.
Windows 98 offers closer Internet integration by allowing users to access local files from Internet Explorer. In addition, users can get to web pages from the start menu or right from the desktop.
Windows 98 provides support for many new peripheral devices and the universal serial bus (USB). If your computer is equipped with a USB, Windows 98 will make it easier to set up scanners, sound cards, modems, and so on. You need only connect the device, and set-up will proceed automatically. Windows 98 also supports many new devices (such as digital versatile disk) and standards (such as MMX).
Beer and Diapers? - Finding Patterns Through Data Mining
A major convenience store chain recently made an interesting discovery. Many young men who purchase beer in the early evening hours also purchase diapers. The discovery that young fathers who pick up diapers on their way home from work also pick up beer was made by "mining" a vast database of purchase information.
Data mining is the process of extracting valid, useful, and previously unknown information from large databases and using it to make crucial business decisions. The goal in data mining is to find patterns, like the link connecting beer and diapers. Data mining is powerful because each "discovery" may be something nobody ever thought to look for in the past.
Here are some additional resources on data mining:
Blazing Speed for Web Surfing Over Normal Phone Lines - Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
Even the fastest standard modems available (56.6 Kbps) require almost five minutes to download a full-color, full-size image over the Internet. A new technology, called Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), offers connection speeds of 256Kbps to over 7Mbps. This technology promises to cut your download time for that same image to only 10 seconds. Because DSL works over standard copper phone lines, it likely will be less expensive than other high-speed connections. DSL works by employing different sections of the spectrum for voice and data communications.
So what do you need to set up a DSL connection? The exact equipment will vary depending on your local telephone service provider. However, a typical installation requires an Ethernet card (a special networking card installed in your computer), which is connected to a DSL modem. The DSL modem is connected to your phone line. The cost for the service varies widely and will depend on the connection speed you require. However, prices currently run from about $40 per month to over $300 per month.
For detailed pricing and availability in your area, contact your local telephone company:
Watch Your Favorite Band Perform Live on RealVideo
Realplayer is add-in software that works in conjunction with your web browser to bring you full-motion video. You can download the software for free from RealNetworks (real.com). Once you install it, you will be able to watch news broadcasts from the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN). You can also watch live music concerts from liveconcerts.com, listen to radio broadcasts from around the world (timecast.com/stations), and subscribe to your own personal newscast from dailybriefing.com. Real Networks also provides software that allows users to create their own audio and video content.
A programming oversight in the popular Web browsers, Netscape Communicator (versions 4.0 through 4.05) and Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express (versions 4.x), and in the E-mail package Eudora, may allow hackers to execute a malicious program on your computer. When an E-mail or newsgroup message is sent, a header is attached. This header tells the E-mail software what type of message it is (an Excel spreadsheet file for example), how long it is, and other technical information. The problem occurs because the E-mail software does not check to see that the header is the proper length. This may allow a clever programmer to attach a program to an E-mail that will run on your computer when the E-mail is read.
Fortunately, protecting yourself from this threat is relatively easy. All of the major software vendors affected by this problem have already posted fixed versions (called patches) to their Web sites.
For more information (including some patches) click on these links:
- Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
- Netscape Security Page
- Microsoft Security Page
- Qualcomm (makers of Eudora) Security Alert Page
| ©1999 Prentice-Hall, Inc. A division of Pearson Education Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 |