Computer Myths And Urban Legends
from the just-so-you-know dept
Seems like a fairly slow Monday morning, but PC World has put out their own version of Snopes-style urban-myth debunkings for a variety of technology legends that (for the most part) just aren't true at all. So, stop worrying about magnets getting near your PC and feel free to yank out USB cables (as long as no data is going over them) without "stopping" the devices first.
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Shutting down Windows
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Dangerously misinformed
For almost every "legend" the article debunks, they mention (but omit detail on) the truth behind the legend -- static kills microchips, surge protectors help but a UPS is better, the Gov't can read your email if they feel the need, powering down a PC can result in it not coming back, hackers could destroy your data (and some worms target certain date file types), and the "opt out" links in spam will get you more spam, not less, etc.
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USB? Most of the time...
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Such an irresponsible article
And the one about phones on planes, they rate it as a myth even though their explanation clearly states that tests have proven otherwise. WTF?
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