Technology has advanced our society over the years; there’s no hiding it. And if we look at IT technology, in particular, we can safely say that it has had a major impact on our quality of life.
The only problem with these fascinating new inventions is trying to understand how they all work. Far too often rumors circulate, confusing many of us in the process. That’s why we’ve made this list to debunk common IT myths.
Incognito is completely anonymous
Incognito mode is a regularly used feature on the Chrome browser; however, we won’t go into much detail on why it’s used so much. We’ll leave that to your imagination. Other browsers offer a similar feature, although they typically call it something different.
It’s a frequent misconception that incognito makes you anonymous, but this isn’t the case. In reality, it wipes your browser history on your device during the session.
There’s still a chance that the searches you’ve made are being recorded by your internet provider. Moreover, it’s been reported that the search provider always keeps a log too. Chrome has started to explain how users aren’t completely anonymous, but the misconception persists still.
Larger IT service providers are better
When procuring new IT services, there’s a common myth that a company should look for a provider with a high amount of resources and a large presence. This simply isn’t the truth. Since businesses come in many shapes and forms, a “one size fits all” approach to IT won’t work out for everyone.
For example, a small business requires services from a managed service provider (MSP). Some of the larger ones won’t be able to help them as they focus on supplying services to big organizations such as Walmart and Target. And by the off chance that they’re happy to engage with a smaller company, they will likely have limited resources and time compared to the larger clients.
Now, if we flip this around, a boutique-managed IT service provider can actually offer you more customized and dedicated services. Looking to find one for yourself? Get in touch with MyTek.
More megapixels make a smartphone camera better
If you’re unfamiliar with what a megapixel (MP) actually is it simply means one million pixels. So, the more megapixels, the larger the image size can be. Unfortunately, the term is often used as a marketing gimmick.
In modern phones, it’s no longer true that more megapixels will enhance picture quality. The only real benefit from having more is the ability to crop and enlarge photos without seeing singular pixels. Other factors such as post-capture image processing and AI play more crucial roles in improving picture quality.
Generally, many photographers that use smartphone cameras say that if you get any more than 12 to 16 MP, it’s a waste. So, don’t be fooled by clever marketing tactics that are waving big numbers in your face!
Built-in browser and computer security are all you need
Although IT technology has advanced rapidly over the years, there are still weaknesses that can leave users and their personal information vulnerable. In 2022 alone, Forbes reported Google Chrome was successfully hacked, causing 3.2 billion users to be at risk.
If you’re sitting there thinking that just because you have an Apple product you’re safe, we’ve got some unfortunate news for you. A security vulnerability has been recently discovered in Apple’s Safari browser, meaning that users’ information could be stolen.
Moving on to computer security, different operating systems (Windows, ChromeOS, and Linux) provide their own security ecosystem, and they’re pretty good. But is it enough? The problem is that cyber threats are continually evolving and can sometimes outpace security applications provided. So overall, the computer and files that are stored on it can still be at risk without additional protection.
Macintosh is virus free
Over the years, this statement has been thrown around in the air regularly in the IT technology world. There have even been situations where businesses have swapped out their Windows computers for Mac alternatives purely because Macintosh seems to be “invincible” when it comes to cybersecurity.
The truth is that windows have over 75% of the market for operating systems. Therefore, it’s in a hacker’s best interest to target Windows users. However, nothing is stopping them from designing software to target Mac users, and this does happen. Over the years there have been many successful viruses and malware that have caused havoc to owners of Mac desktops.
Charging your mobile overnight kills the battery
It’s hard to know anybody without a mobile phone these days, and many individuals like to spout their “knowledge” about what you can and can’t do with them.
When batteries are concerned, it’s impossible to cause damage by charging them for a long period of time. This is due to protection chips inside smartphones and the general advancements in battery optimization. If the battery hits its full charging capacity, then charging stops. The only downside of charging the phone overnight is that electricity will be constantly pumped into the phone when the battery percentage falls to 99%. So, if you’re trying to reduce energy bills, you may want to stop doing this.
Outsourcing IT support is costly
The initial shock of upfront costs that come with IT support has given outsourcing companies a bad rep. However, if you put overall costs from IT services next to an in-house IT team, there is a clear winner.
Think about it—an internal team must be hired, trained, and managed. This means that not only must salaries and benefits be paid to employees but other costs too. And let’s not forget about the required equipment, office space, and computer software.
On the other hand, Managed IT requires some start-up fees and a lower monthly fee thereafter. Once SLAs are signed, all tasks assigned are completed in an efficient manner by the professionals. There is also the benefit of paying a one-time fee for complex problems to be effectively dealt with, especially if the problem has left the internal IT team scratching their heads. As a result, the actual cost of IT services is usually a lot lower in the long run.
Viruses and Spyware slow your computer down
When unwanted viruses or spyware invade your computer, they have one major objective to start with—don’t get caught.
The best way to achieve this is by allowing your PC to run normally. After time, they will then find the optimal time to strike. Obviously, if the goal is to steal sensitive information without you knowing, then the idea is for you never to find out.
ILOVEYOU is a long-standing virus that has caused over $10 billion in damages. Opening something as simple as an email attachment can unleash the virus onto your device, allowing it to spread throughout your network. The consequence of this happening is a large range of file types being wiped, and if there aren’t any backups, you’ll never see them again.
As the ILOVEYOU virus works rapidly to infect a variety of systems, it needs them to be quick to keep going, so computers aren’t slowed down.
So, just like all the other ones we’ve mentioned, not everything you hear that relates to IT or technology will turn out to be true. Research is key!
The world of IT is ever evolving. If you need help from a team of IT experts to keep your data safe, contact MyTek today!