We Fix Computers presents information debunking common computer myths. Some key points addressed include that magnets today do not erase data from devices like SD cards or hard drives unless they are powerful lab equipment. Hackers also generally do not try to destroy data but instead want to hijack systems for spam or attacks. Older concerns about fully draining laptop batteries are also outdated as modern lithium batteries prefer partial charges. Computers do slow down over time due to various factors like dust, wear, and newer software requiring better hardware, rather than being intentionally designed for planned obsolescence. The article concludes with some fun computer facts.

1. We Fix Computers Presents
Busting the Biggest Computer Myths

2. Magnets Zap Your Data!
FACT
• A cheap dollar store magnet will ruin data!
On old 3.5” floppy disks
TRUTH
• Most modern storage devices, such as SD and
CompactFlash memory (camera storage) are immune to
magnetic fields.

3. Magnets Zap Your Data!
BUT WHAT ABOUT HARD DRIVES?
FACT
• The only magnets powerful enough to scrub data
from a drive platter are laboratory degaussers or
those used by government agencies to wipe bits
off media. "In the real world, people are not
losing data from magnets," says Bill Rudock, a
tech-support engineer with hard-drive maker
Seagate

4. Hackers Can Destroy EVERYTHING on
your Hard Drive!
FACT
• The MyDoom.f worm that was written is just
one example of data destroying infections.
•MyDoom.f sniffed around on infected PC’s
looking for Word, Excel, and graphics files and
then randomly deleted some of what it found.
Of the people whose PC’s got the worm, 40
percent lost Word files and 60 percent lost Excel
files.

5. Hackers Can Destroy EVERYTHING on
your Hard Drive!
FACT
• Today's hackers want to hijack systems, not
destroy them. Rather than wipe out
data, worms and viruses want intact PC’s to
send spam or to attack Web sites. "Just like a
biological virus, if a computer virus kills the
host before it propagates, it can't propagate.

6. If you don’t run your laptop battery
down to zero, you will lose battery life!
FACT
• This was a syndrome that plagued old laptop
NiCd batteries.
• Newer laptops now use Li batteries that
prefer a partial charge rather than a full charge.
• Running new batteries down to zero, every 30
charges or so, will recalibrate the fuel gauge
(the little indicator that tells you how much
juice you have left)

7. My 4-Year Old Computer is slow now
but wasn’t before!
• A computer is considered “obsolete” after a
maximum of 2 years. (They just don’t make
them like they used to).
• Software & internet applications become
exponentially more sophisticated faster than
hardware can keep up.
• Dust, normal wear-and-tear, & hardware
degradation all contribute to the overall
slowdown of computers over time.

8. My 4-Year Old Computer is slow now
but wasn’t before!
FACT
• Manufacturers actually want to constantly sell
you new computers to make $$$ which is also
why “They don’t make them like they used
to”.
• Just like the 60’s Cadillacs. They could make it
wear the bumpers don’t fall off but they
won’t!

9. FUN COMPUTER FACTS!
Bill Gates' house was designed using a Macintosh computer.
On eBay, there are an average of $680 worth of transactions
each second.
80% of all pictures on the internet are of naked women.
The first computer mouse was invented by Doug Engelbart
in around 1964 and was made of wood.
The average computer user blinks 7 times a minute, less
than half the normal rate of 20.

10. FUN COMPUTER FACTS!
For every 'normal' webpage, there are five porn pages.
The first domain name ever registered was Symbolics.com.
Facebook reports over 110 million registered users. Were it
a country, it would be the tenth largest, just behind Mexico.
There are approximately 1,319,872,109 people on the
Internet.
The average 21 year old has spent 5,000 hours playing
video games, has exchanged 250,000 e-mails, instant and
text messages and has spent 10,000 hours on the mobile
phone.

11. SHAMELESS SELF EXALTATION
APPLAUSE!!!