What's so scary about the Y2K38 incident? Is it like Y2K in 2000?

The cause of the Y2K problem is that a computer program developed in the 20th century is programmed to recognize the last two digits of the year so they cannot tell the difference between the years 2000 and 1900. In 2038, it is predicted that there will be a Y2K38 incident, 38 is not the last number, so what's so scary about the Y2K38 incident? Is it the same as Y2K in 2000? Let's learn about Y2K38 according to the article below.

What's so scary about the Y2K38 incident? Is it like Y2K in 2000? Picture 1

Y2K . problem

In 2000, the whole world seemed to be 'paralysed', the computer misrepresented the time and returned to the landmark from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Y2K is a computer bug that causes problems with software and computer programs after the last day of the 20th century - December 31, 1999. The Y2K crash is also known as the 'millennium' problem, the 'K' stands for kilo (used to represent the number 1000), so '2K' is the year 2000.

The Y2K number is related to the date. Computer programs developed in the 20th century were programmed to recognize the last two digits of the year so they could not tell the difference between the years 2000 and 1900. For example, 1978, the programs The program will recognize 78 as the year.

However, this date system has not been active since January 1, 2000. Engineers found that programs and software could not recognize 00 as 2000, but identify as 1900. Thus, computer programs recognized January 1, 2000 as January 1, 1900. . It is speculated that systems that rely on exact computation of dat will inevitably fail because of incorrect identification.

Fortunately, however, experts around the world were able to promptly repair computer systems, changing the year field to 4 digits, not 2 digits anymore, so there was no significant disaster. as the world entered the year 2000.

What is the Y2K38 problem?

The reason for the name of the Y2K38 incident is simply that it will happen on March 19, 2038. It is assumed that the 2038 crash will occur due to limitations of 32-bit processors and the systems running on them.

What's so scary about the Y2K38 incident? Is it like Y2K in 2000? Picture 2

What's so scary about the Y2K38 incident? Is it like Y2K in 2000?

The researchers say that at 03:14:07 UTC on March 19, 2038, systems running on 32-bit processors will not be able to cope with the date and time change issue. Computers started counting time on January 1, 1970. But 32-bit systems are only capable of counting up to 2,147,483,647. So at 03:14:07 UTC on 19/3/2038 2,147,483,647 seconds will have elapsed from 1/1/1970 and all 32-bit computer systems will boot back to 1970.

The question is what happens when the 32-bit system's clock crosses the threshold of 2,147,483,647 seconds. Some speculate that all of these computers will stop working altogether.

Of course, between now and 2038 the computer and software industry will see many changes. It is said that data security professionals will have to change the way they deal with areas such as national security, SSL certificates, Internet of Things devices and Cryptocurrency.

The simplest solution that data scientists offer to deal with the Y2K28 crash is to upgrade the system to a 64-bit processor. Simply upgrade the 64-bit system, the capacity will be much larger, the ability to count up to 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 seconds.

In fact, many computers run 64-bit systems. Microsoft Windows computers have run 64-bit versions since Windows XP Professional 64-bit, which was released in 2005.

Even Apple's OS X computer software runs exclusively on 64-bit systems after Apple released Mac OS X 10.7 Lion in 2011. Although Unix systems support web servers and other hardware, it's still are using a 32-bit system will most likely be upgraded to a 64-bit system.

Gangnam Style video record

Practice has proven that upgrading to 64-bit systems is the right thing to do, the same technique was used by YouTube in December 2014. On December 3, 2014, Spy's Gangnam Style video on Youtube broke. the record for views, the number surpassed 2,147,483,647. However, YouTube was running a 32-bit system, could not exceed this number and the page was suspended. Engineers working at YouTube quickly fixed the problem by upgrading the system to 64-bit.

The technique YouTube uses could be applied to other systems before 2038. There's plenty of time between now and 2038 to upgrade the system and make the necessary changes to limit it. problem Y2K38, does not pose any danger to software and programs.

Kareem Winters

Update 20 September 2022