Misconceptions

It is worth keeping your distance from the popular misconceptions of even nontechnical hoaxes. If someone tells you one of these urban legends, just walk away.

The Internet is Controlled by the Government!

Not. The Internet was started by the U.S. Department of Defense, but now it's a loose collection of thousands of separate networks (a network of networks, in fact) that have all chosen to use the same communications protocols. And no, Al Gore didn't invent it.

Internet Web Sites Can View My Hard Drive!

Nope. If you visit a Web page that displays your hard drive, it's just a prank. Technically, it's an HTML trick that shows you what's on your own computer. The Web site never sees it.

One Day, the Internet Is Going to Crash!

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