From taping up your webcam for fear of being spied on by the FBI, to feeling guilty for removing your USB stick “before it is safe to do so” -these are only some of the many things that can stress you out in your daily technological life. However, these well known situations in reality are nothing but urban legends. You need worry no more about entering your bank account details online! Here is a list of urban myths about computers, that we are about to clarify for once and for all!
1/ The FBI can access your webcam
Which is why you have it craftily covered with some insulation tape… In fact, it is not outside the bounds of possibility that a hacker could take control of your webcam, but in order for the FBI to go filming you, you’d want to be of significant interest, politically speaking. They’re unlikely to be on your case for a few illegal downloads. Spread the word!
2/ You should never send your bank account details by email
Your credit card number or the security cryptogram, okay, that we understand, probably best not to, but you are taking (almost) no risk by sending your bank account number and sort code in an email.
3/ Apple Macs never get viruses
Sure, Macs have less viruses than PCs, but they aren’t completely immune to them. That said, the Linux has even less chance of contracting a virus. The reason is logical: as well as Apple’s closed circuit, there are fewer Macs in the world than PCs, making them less appealing to hackers.
4/ You should never remove your USB stick from your computer without having stopped it properly
Do you feel mild pangs of guilt every time you whip your colleague’s USB stick out of the computer without having “safely removed” it? You needn’t worry, there is (almost) no risk. Because you have a higher chance of winning the lotto than having all your information deleted. On the other hand, you shouldn’t remove the device when files are transferring to or from it.
5/ You need to let your battery run down fully before recharging it
At the beginning of the technological era, the early batteries (which are nowadays obsolete) had a ‘charge memory’ which adapted to the amount of charge they needed. Nowadays, batteries are made from lithium and don’t work in the same way.
