Year: 2000
Predicted outcome: End of the world and technology as we know it
Actual outcome: Accidental alarms, slot machine failures, incorrect dates on Websites
If you were around for the turn of the millennium, you undoubtedly heard something about and its potential outcomes. Then you probably felt like it didn't live up to the hype when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000, and nuclear missiles didn't start automatically launching themselves.
The "millennium bug" actually could have happened at the turn of any regular ol' century--. The concern was valid: Many computing systems used two digits to store the year, and so the rollover from 99 to 00 could cause various logic errors (such as recognizing the New Year as 19100) that would cause the system to fail.
Luckily, technicians were aware of the issue (it was first mentioned in print as early as 1984), and . While the fear-mongering media no doubt overhyped Y2K, it was a real problem that would have caused some large-scale issues had your trusty IT guys not been on the ball.
Years: 2008-2009
Predicted outcome: Not applicable
Actual outcome: An estimated 10 million home/business/government computers under its control
The (also known as Downup, Downadup, and Kido), first detected in 2008, was a . The worm used advanced malware techniques to take over machines and turn them into that the worm's authors could control remotely. The was believed to be one of the largest computer infections since 2003, and analysts have suggested that were affected.
Conficker : It attacked vulnerability in the Microsoft Server service, it guessed administrator passwords, and it infected removable devices with an autorun file that executed as soon as someone plugged the device (such as a USB flash drive) into another machine. The for its ability to spread rapidly throughout business networks; home computers were less likely to be infected.
The last known variant of Conficker was effectively quashed in mid-April 2009, but the authors of the worm remain unknown. The threat was so serious that Microsoft and ICANN offered a for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Conficker's authors.They are still at large.
Years: 2004-2009
Predicted outcome: Not applicable
Actual outcome: The fastest-spreading e-mail worm ever
In January 2004 a new e-mail worm began spreading around the Net, appearing as a transmission-error message with an attachment. If the victim ran the attachment, the worm would not only send itself out to everyone on any address book it could find but also would attach itself to any copies of to spread via peer-to-peer networks.
The worm eventually gained the name , courtesy of a McAfee employee who was one of the first to discover the virus.
Mydoom has resurfaced intermittently since then, and a variation on the worm was a part of the on South Korea. The original author of the worm has never been found, but security firms have speculated that it was commissioned by e-mail spammers and that it originated in Russia.
Year: Reported in 2007
Predicted outcome: Hackers on steroids, "The Internet Hate Machine"
Actual outcome: , DDoS attacks on Scientology
In 2007, KTTV Fox 11 News in Los Angeles ran a about a group called . According to the KTTV report, this "Internet hate machine" was to be feared for such devastating crimes as spoiling the end of the new Harry Potter book. The report was rife with creepy, faceless pictures and lurid phrases such as "hackers on steroids" and "domestic terrorists."
Unfortunately, KTTV's fantastic report was wrong: Anonymous is not a specific group at all, just a name for any random collection of from various online communities and IRC networks working together (rather, in the same direction) at any given time. has more accurately described Anonymous as a group of "supremely bored 15-year-olds."
Crimes--Internet annoyances, really--that have been include DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks on (including that of the Church of Scientology, and, more recently, Websites that ) and assorted cases of .
Years: 2002-Present
Predicted outcome: The government will be able to track your every move
Actual outcome:
, or RFID, is a technology for tracking assorted objects. RFID most commonly appears in the form of tiny chips, or "tags," which can be attached to an object for identification and monitoring; currently they're embedded in a variety of things, including passports, security passes, and store inventory. to an RFID reader, which transmits frequency waves that "wake up" the chip.
RFID technology has been , and it's : Even if manufacturers put chips in products without intending to invade people's privacy, the technology can be exploited easily. In theory, everything from shopping and spending habits to someone's exact location.
Year: 2000
Predicted outcome: Not applicable
Actual outcome: Over 50 million computers infected; over $5.5 billion in damages
The ILOVEYOU virus was a . Similar to other e-mail worms, the virus required that users run the executable file (written in Visual Basic Scripting, or VBS). To induce victims to do so, the worm disguised itself as a text file by putting .TXT into its name; when people saw that the file was called "LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs," they thought they were opening a harmless text file.
Once the victim opened the file, the worm would send copies of the e-mail to the first 50 contacts in the user's Windows Address Book, and then make changes to the system (it would , including all .JPG and .DOC files, with copies of itself).
The was particularly effective for two reasons: It was sent from "safe" senders (those already in the recipient's address book), and the file resembled a text file. As a result, the virus managed to reach an estimated 50 million computers (only Windows computers were affected) and cause an estimated $5.5 billion in damages--the Pentagon, the CIA, and the British Parliament all had to shut down their e-mail systems.
Just a day after the , police in the Philippines arrested two computer programming students. Unfortunately, the authorities were unable to convict the two of any crime, as there was no law, at the time, .
Years: 2000-Present
Predicted outcome: Planes falling out of the sky
Actual outcome: Lies
That's right, the TSA will take away your bottled water and your nail file, but they'll let you keep your smartphone--despite the fact that the in-flight crew will warn all passengers to for the duration of the flight or .
There has of a cell phone causing interference with a plane's navigation system. Obviously--do you really think that they'd let everybody waltz onto a 500-ton metal aircraft with a potential bomb in their pocket? That would certainly make terrorists' jobs a lot easier.
Year: 2004
Predicted outcome: Not applicable
Actual outcome: First worm to carry a destructive payload; infected 12,000 machines
The Witty worm, first detected in 2004, was an for a number of reasons--namely, it was the first worm to carry a malicious "payload" that slowly destroyed the host computers it infected.
Although Witty infected only about 12,000 machines--none of them home PCs--the worm was still . It in Internet Security Systems firewall and security software packages, and it spread rapidly just days after the vulnerability was announced. The was called the "Witty" worm because the payload featured the phrase "(^.^) insert witty message here (^.^)."
The worm was particularly frightening for network administrators because it infected computers that should have been more secure (because of the ISS software).
Years: 2008-Present (new variants)
Predicted outcome: Not applicable
Actual outcome: Still not dead
, introduced in 2008, is a computer worm that . It can infect all three of the major operating systems--Windows, , and Linux (to a limited extent)--and can gain , but not financial information, from infected computers.
"Koobface" infects users . Unlike some worms, Koobface requires some effort on the part of the user in order for it to . First, it delivers a with a link from the account of an infected user. The potential victim must then click on the link, download a file (usually disguised as an update to Adobe Flash Player), and then run the file. If they do so, Koobface can infect the computer and use it to send more messages.
Koobface has infected an estimated , and it because it sends messages to "friends" of infected Facebook users, usually with tantalizing, legitimate-sounding subject lines such as "Spring Break Bikini Mud-Jello Wrestling Youtube Video LOL!!!"
Year: 2012
Predicted outcome: End of the world; end of
Actual outcome: ???
The year 2012 is (at least, according to some people) the last year in a 5125-year cycle on the Mesoamerican (Mayan) Long Count calendar. More specifically, December 21, 2012, is the last day of the cycle.
The date is not only the final date in a 5125-year cycle, it's also full of ones and twos--and we know how superstitious the world is when it comes to numbers. So naturally, people speculate that everything from the to a spiritual awakening to absolutely nada will happen in 2012, despite the fact that the .
If the world does end, that probably means the end of technology as we know it. If it doesn't, though, we have , in cars, and to look forward to.