Myths and legends about computer viruses: what malware can and cannot do. Legends of dragon mania on the computer Final Fantasy VIII and its Squall Leonhart

Once upon a time, in the late 90s and early 2000s, Tamagotchis were very popular. These are handheld devices that imitate a pet. He had to be fed, treated, he could be played with, and the pet grew. This is roughly where the legs of the concept of our game today grow, as in, for example, . You can download Legends of Dragonmania to your computer using our website, but the game was originally made for smartphones. This is what makes it even more similar to Tamagotchi - the pet must be available at any time - although here, of course, everything is not so critical. In the old days, a pet could die from lack of attention. In Legends of Dragonmania, it is quite enough to enter the game once a day to visit your favorites. For example, . has similar gameplay.

About the game.

Probably, human nature has a need to develop something, to go from less to more. The game Legends of Dragonmania is built on this. Initially, you have nothing, but step by step, bit by bit, you will create your own dragon world here, for which you have been allocated an entire island. Dragons grow, new species are hatched, each one needs to be monitored and cared for. Subsequently, you can assemble a team and enter the arena with your pets to find out whose dragons are stronger. Thanks to this opportunity to demonstrate your achievements in front of other users, the game may have received worldwide recognition.

The developers offer us more than 350 types of dragons. Excellent, cartoonish graphics and cool design will make you fall in love with your pets. And to achieve great success in battle, train your dragons, improve them, spend more time with them - the result will not be slow to show itself in the arena.

Description of the gameplay.

At the beginning of the game, we are asked to enter our age and gender, after which they begin to introduce us to the situation. It turns out that the Vikings tore the Dragon Academy to pieces, and the former coach is no more. All that's left here is a cute little dragon. The first thing to do is stroke it. The dragon's reaction to this is indescribable; the game is literally created to evoke tenderness. In addition, diamonds are given here for any actions, including stroking.

Next we need to feed our pet. To do this, drag the fruits from the basket towards the dragon. As it becomes saturated, the dragon's level increases until it finally moves on to the next one. As one increases, so does his appearance: it's getting bigger.

Dragons produce gold, which must be collected as you play by logging in daily. Thus, the three main local currencies are diamonds, gold and fruits. Their number is indicated at the top of the screen.

As a welcome, the game gives us 15 diamonds and 2000 gold coins. From this it is clear that diamonds are most likely a rare, donated currency. Let's see how much influence the donation has on the game.

Then we are offered to build another dragon's dwelling. For construction you just need coins. In addition, construction takes time. The first construction lasts 25 seconds, but we are persistently offered to speed up the process by spending one diamond. This time it’s easier to wait, but in general the scheme is clear - it is used almost everywhere. The same one, for example, works on absolutely the same principle.

A new dragon immediately appears in the new home. In addition, we are given a diamond for construction. If you like dragons, download Legends of Dragonmania on PC and start playing!

After this, the main enemies appear - the Vikings. Professor Hogwin, the head dragon trainer of Dragonland, has been kidnapped by them, and they demand the dragon codex for his return. But there is no code - it's just a legend. However, it is not so easy to convince the stubborn Vikings, so we move on to our first battle.

Safety is a separate issue for each of us. Whether you are choosing a car, buying a home or buying household appliances, each of us is concerned about safety.

We always try to avoid risks associated with this or that phenomenon in our lives. Of course, there are people who take risks with or without reason, but now we will talk about those who are interested in stability in business.

Business security is a very broad concept, so I would like to focus on our company profile and the experience we have gained

Namely, on the side of business security from the point of view of the organization’s IT systems.
By purchasing new computer, most people are confident that they don’t have to think about it for a very long time. This is wrong.

Each computer and each of its components has its own service life. For example, a hard drive is designed for a certain number of write cycles.

After which, it can fail at any time, and the data will be lost and sometimes it is not possible to recover it from a damaged disk.

The problem was the following: the computers rebooted themselves, did not log in, and constantly produced errors. Some documents disappeared, some stopped opening. When asked whether you have antiviruses, the answer was “yes.” As it turned out later, one of the employees, having reported that his Internet was slowing down due to the antivirus that was purchased and installed on all PCs of this organization, installed another antivirus on top of the existing one.

Moreover, his arguments seemed convincing to three more employees, since he was considered the most competent user in this company. As a result, not one of them worked.

Within a few hours of work, through these 4 computers, so many viruses got into the entire network that it took a lot of time to eradicate them.

At the same time, the company experienced downtime, which meant losses.

There are many such stories. But how to solve this problem? How to secure your network and data from illiterate users? In our work, we use various solutions based on the division of rights and powers of network participants.

By applying these solutions, we receive protection from illiterate actions of employees. Only those who are authorized to do so can install programs and make settings; a password system has been implemented.
Network members have divisions of authority. Some can change documents, edit, erase, while others can only read and watch them.

In the general information storage on the server, access is also limited.

Thus, we get a system where each employee works on the network within the scope of their competence, which reduces the risk of data loss and stability of the network as a whole.

Similar solutions are used to combat industrial espionage, which has long been a reality and, unfortunately, has become a part of our lives.

In conclusion, we would like to emphasize that the security of systems and a company’s network does not appear on its own.

It is not enough to buy new equipment and anti-virus software (software).

The virus wars that have unfolded in the 21st century require an integrated approach from people involved in virus protection.

When solving a security problem, it is necessary to take into account all aspects of the organization's work.

Output to maximum level network security, database security.

This is painstaking work of very qualified specialists. Therefore, when solving this problem, contact only those specialists whose qualifications you do not doubt. You should not entrust company security issues to illiterate people.

We don’t think that if a person needs personal security, he will hire an eighth-grader for 100 rubles a day. This example may seem funny to you, but how many schoolchildren like this set up computers in organizations?

Dragons are mystical creatures that are recognized as wise and powerful in many cultures of different nations. Of all the legends, perhaps none are more epic than the legends of dragons. Mighty lizards capable of flying, burning everything with flames from their mouths, causing floods and rains, destroying villages or helping people in difficult times - legendary dragons are like real gods. Are you ready to take control of them? In “Legends of Dragon Mania” you will lead a small island of dragons, where you will breed and develop a variety of dragons in order to repel the Viking invasion - this is the plot of the game. On the island you will be primarily engaged in the construction and improvement of various functional buildings and, most interestingly, the real breeding of dragons! To repel enemy attacks, your dragons must be strong, and for them to be strong, they must be cultivated wisely! In total, there are about a hundred dragons of various elements in the game - and in order to get new ones, you will need to cross the old ones. By crossing dragons of different elements, you get a powerful multi-elemental baby that can become much stronger than its parents if you feed and entertain it in time. There are many combinations of dragons, and creating a new dragon is always interesting and rewarding. The battles in the game are carried out step-by-step, 3 on 3. Dragons of different elements interact with each other in different ways - for example, the attacks of air dragons are practically useless against earth dragons, and even a very powerful and developed air dragon can lose to the cub of an earth dragon. Therefore, multi-elemental dragons are very useful and convenient creatures, making every fight challenging and interesting. The course of the battle also depends on your reaction - by making an attack in time, you will inflict more damage on the enemy. “Legends of Dragon Mania” also features a multiplayer mode on PC and Mac. After completing part of the story and leveling up to level 11, you will be able to participate in battles with other players in the Arena, and this is where both tactical and strategic skill will come in handy. Make your dragons the strongest and win every battle!

Introduction.

Quite often we come across various kinds of rumors, stories, myths about any events, people, objects that, at first glance, do not arouse suspicion of their truth. However, after a detailed examination and reflection on the roots of the origin of such rumors, it becomes clear that they should not be taken seriously. It is rumors and myths that will be discussed in this article. We will consider computer and near-computer myths due to the specialization of the resource. Due to the focus of the article on novice users, we will not delve into the very jungle. Let's start with the largest section of the article, namely with myths about computer hardware (components).

Myths about computer hardware.

- Intel processors are more reliable than AMD
- The reliability of processors is a relative value and cannot be measured in any specific units. There is a concept of mean time between failures, which is measured in thousands of hours. This value for Intel and AMD processors is quite great importance and, as a rule, it does not play a role in the final lifespan of the computer; the motherboard, hard drive, etc. fail much faster. Components also become obsolete.

- DDR2 is faster\cooler than DDR1 because there are 2, not 1
- A half-true statement. If we consider the principle of obtaining useful frequency, then DDR2 memory looks more promising. However, due to increased delays throughput memory has decreased along with the increased latency of the memory subsystem. As a result, we have an approximate equality of DDR - 400 CL2.5 ~ DDR2 – 667 CL5.

- Cathode ray tube monitors emit radiation
- This story dates back to the 80s, but even then there was no talk of any radioactive radiation. The monitor emits electromagnetic radiation, usually many people confuse it with radioactive radiation, and in order to give their beliefs the status of proven ones, they sometimes talk along the way about a couple of their friends who are in the hospital/who died a long time ago from radiation sickness, due to prolonged exposure to CRT monitors. It is enough to bring an ordinary dosimeter to the monitor to be convinced of the banality of such a statement.

- The more Gigahertz in the processor, the faster it is
- This myth dates back to the advent of processors Intel Pentium 4. Then the competitor AMD, with a lower core frequency, demonstrated clear superiority in almost all applications. It was then that Intel had no choice but to raise the frequencies of its processors, because... it took a long time to create a new kernel. Some conference participants proposed slogans like “give 10 GHz by 2007!”

- The larger the size of the buffer on the hard drive, the faster it works
- Let's start with the fact that the very principle of successful and fast data buffering depends on a number of factors, at the end of which is the buffer size. Smart data caching is sometimes much more useful than a large buffer size. This statement was confirmed several years ago by the hard drive manufacturer Hitachi (IBM), when models with 2MB of memory cache successfully outperformed competitor models with 8MB of memory in operations aimed at actively using the disk cache. But don't underestimate the buffer size. With different volumes of disk cache memory (on identical models), a disk with a larger buffer volume looks more attractive. The performance gain in this case is estimated from a fraction of a percent to several percent and even up to ten percent when copying a large number of small files, or when multi-threaded copying/reading from disk.

- The higher the cost of the computer/component, the cooler/faster it is
- This belief would make sense if all computer stores were selling components and computers at prices that are current today. The harsh reality is that you can buy a year-old component at a price that exceeds its more productive counterpart. This is taken advantage of by active managers who try to “sell” stale goods at unfavorable prices to buyers who have little computer knowledge. “Familiar programmers” do the same, who, after asking for advice on what to buy, nobly sell half of their system unit sacrifice and in return buy themselves newer and more productive hardware. This does not mean that you can’t trust anyone, it’s just that before buying it is recommended to ask the advice of 2-3 different people, then the chance that you will be deceived is much lower.

- AMD processors run hotter than Intel processors
- A very vague statement. Both companies have processors aimed at different positioning On the market. Among these models there are models consuming from 35W to 135W. I note that companies measure TDP (typical heat dissipation) differently for their processors. AMD products have a built-in memory controller, while Intel's memory controller is located outside the processor. But, even despite these differences and different methods for obtaining the TDP level, the vast majority compare these indicators.

- HyperThreading gives a 2x increase in performance
- First, let's figure out what Hyper-Threading is. This technology allows the system to see two logical virtual cores instead of one physical processor core. This separation in some cases gives an increase in performance, in a number of other cases performance, on the contrary, decreases due to the fact that the task manager tries to load two virtual cores evenly, but in reality we have one core that processes requests one by one, as a result of which we can observe a general drop productivity. Perhaps it is precisely because of this Intel company the next generation of its microprocessors did not support Hyper-Threading technology.

- The more legs a processor has, the faster it is
- An unsubstantiated statement. You can, for example, compare modern processors Intel Core2Duo (has 775 pins) and AMD Athlon X2 (has 939 or 940 pins). Intel Core2Duo processors are faster, despite the smaller number of pins.

- The larger the amount of video memory on the card, the cooler/faster it is
- If we consider cards of the same family and the same model, then a slower memory with a longer delay time is installed on a card with a larger amount of memory. Consequently, we have a card with lower memory frequencies. This rule is not the main one, but it does exist. Some manufacturers, on the contrary, increase frequencies and install faster memory chips on cards with a larger memory capacity compared to analogue cards. Let's not forget that modern games require 256MB of video memory and even more. An extremely small amount of video memory can negatively affect performance despite the high frequencies of the chip and card memory.

- The more watts indicated on the power supply, the better
- “Not all watts are equally useful” is exactly how one should respond to such a statement. Many manufacturers indicate on the label the peak power of the power supply, at which the power supply operates according to the datasheet for no more than 60 seconds. There is no need to talk about increased power. Almost all low-priced Chinese-made power supplies suffer from this.

- Microsoft mice and keyboards work better with Windows
- Some mice and keyboards produced by Microsoft are OEM models from other manufacturers. Those. A company produces a mouse/keyboard and then sells it to another company for retail sale.

- The more powerful/faster the computer, the more noise it makes
- The power of the computer and its speed indirectly affect the level of energy consumption and heat dissipation. Consequently, more efficient components heat up more and require better heat dissipation. Computer noise depends on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the cooling system used. A good example A liquid cooling system operating in passive mode, which does not make any noise and at the same time can cope with the heat dissipation of a fairly powerful computer, can serve.

- Overclocking the processor\video card\... they burn out
- Components burn out due to a failed cooling system that has failed or did not provide a sufficient level of cooling. Almost nothing is burned from the overclocking process itself, except when the voltage (voltmode) increases above the permissible norm.

- Overclocking does not improve performance
- It is enough to look at the test results of the computer in nominal mode and after overclocking so that such thoughts do not enter your brain. 

- Dual-core AMD processors "work jerkily" when Intel processors"work smoothly"
- Another statement that is not supported by any facts and is based on measurements “by eye”. I don’t think I need to say that this statement makes as much sense as the advice to wrap yourself in foil at night so that alien guests don’t scan your brain.

- You cannot operate the computer at 100% processor/video card\... otherwise it\it\they will burn\yat
- Of course, with 100% loading of components, large quantity dissipated energy in the form of heat. But even this is clearly not enough to bring the component to the combustion process. Servers with uninterrupted operation time at 100% processor load, measured in months and years, are an example of this.

- AMD processors cannot be overclocked
- Even on resources dedicated to hardware that are not related to overclocking to any extent, you can find articles and reviews comparing the performance of AMD processors in nominal and overclocked states. serves as a convincing argument.

- Cacti near the monitor absorb radiation and grow better as a result
“You don’t have to be a biologist to understand that radiation doesn’t make living plants grow any better.” The emission of radiation scattered from the monitor contains neither phosphorus, nor nitrogen, nor any other components, therefore, this will not make cacti grow any better. However, in almost every accounting department of any company you can see cacti on the desktop, standing near the monitor. Some cacti are arranged in the form of stars, triangles, squares and other geometric shapes, citing this as better absorption of radiation and other harmful radiation...

- A computer is a “screen” to which a keyboard and mouse are connected, “and this gray box is not needed at all, it just makes noise”
- Unfortunately, the level computer literacy Our population still leaves much to be desired, which is why we periodically hear similar phrases.

- The more buttons on the keyboard/mouse, the cooler/better it is
- Another misconception imposed by fans of keyboards similar to control panels of galactic starships. The quality of a keyboard has nothing to do with the number of buttons on it. For mouse-type manipulators, a large number of buttons only interfere with the work, which serves to speed it up. The author had the misfortune of trying to work with a mouse that has 14 (!) buttons. Believe me, I remember those minutes for a long time...

- The more speakers in the speaker system, the cooler/better it is
- The quality of acoustics is determined by completely different parameters, such as the signal/noise ratio, the level of nonlinear distortion, actually reproducible frequency range etc. The number of speakers can only affect the comfort and realism of sound perception, provided that the source supports a given number of channels.

- A programmer has a better understanding of software/hardware problems/breakdowns compared to an administrator or service engineer
- This myth dates back to the very first PC AT\XT computers, when programmers meant people who knew the computer inside and out. Currently, a programmer is a person who knows how to write program code in various kinds of programming languages ​​and in the vast majority of cases such a programmer does not understand hardware, computer operation, hardware and software problems. However, a very large part of the population of our country calls absolutely everyone who can distinguish a mouse from a motherboard programmers.

- UPS (source uninterruptible power supply) guarantees complete safety and reliability of devices connected to it
- The UPS guarantees (subject to a load not exceeding the maximum permissible) operation of the connected equipment for a short period of time. Some UPS models are equipped with surge protectors, a filter to protect network equipment, etc. None of the devices can guarantee complete reliability and safety of connected devices. An example is equipment failure due to physical wear, thermal damage, etc.

- Any LCD monitor is harmless to the eyes and health
- This is also an incorrect statement based on a lack of knowledge. An example is rapid eye fatigue when the monitor flickers due to the coincidence of the flickering frequency of the monitor backlight lamps with the flickering frequency fluorescent lamps installed in the same room.

- Any LCD monitor has a cooler\better\... image compared to any CRT
- As in any field, everything depends on the tasks being solved. For example, a budget LCD monitor on a TN matrix will not look competitive with a good CRT monitor when doing graphics. In general, LCD monitors have brighter and higher contrast images than their CRT counterparts. At the same time, let’s not forget about viewing angles (especially important for monitors on a TN matrix), matrix response time, color gamut, etc. Among LCD and CRT monitors, there are both very budget models that do not stand out as anything remarkable, as well as good specimens aimed at professional use. All monitors cannot be lumped together and treated as a single product. Among any type of product, there are products positioned in different categories. It is in one category and based on the assigned tasks that competitors must be considered.

- Any CRT monitor is outdated and only the lower strata of the population buy them
- This statement is a continuation of the previous one. It clearly shows how CRT monitors how the class is trying to be combined into one whole and viewed from the point of view of the home user.

- Dual-core processor is 2 times faster compared to a single-core analogue
- It is correct to say “up to 2 times faster.” Applications that do not support multi-threading receive virtually no performance gains from additional processing cores. On the contrary, applications that support parallelization receive a noticeable increase, sometimes reaching a twofold increase.

- There is a Pentium 5
- “No, son, this is fantastic!” This is how one should respond to such statements. To prove the absurdity of such a statement, you can go to the manufacturer’s website www.intel.ru and look at the lists of manufactured products.

- Surge filter for 100 rubles. enough to protect against any power surges in the network
- A classic surge protector that costs $2-3 is a regular extension cord with a fuse. This product does not protect against any surges. In rare cases, there is a filter that protects against interference and interference. Even if we consider the design of a more expensive and complex surge protector, which provides protection from high voltage, then it will not be able to provide stable operation in the event of low voltage, because in this case, a completely different design called a stabilizer is required.

- When calling a part of a computer a “processor,” they usually mean the system unit
- Regular confusion that is widespread, caused by a low level of computer literacy and understanding of the computer as a device.

- NEC CD\DVD drives are the best\reliable\quality\...
- Nothing is ideal. NEC drives also have a number of disadvantages. Various models drives have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Considering all the drives as a whole, we can only say that the drives from this manufacturer have a good price/quality ratio, are well represented on the Russian market, and sometimes have lower media reading quality compared to competitor drives. As a result, we have a quality product that we can recommend for purchase. But of course, it’s impossible to call it the best, the highest quality, or anything else.

- The video card should be selected based on the chipset of the motherboard; on the chipset from NVidia you should only install NVIdia card, on a chipset from ATI\AMD ATI\AMD card
- Various video cards get along well with chipsets from different manufacturers. There is no connection to a specific platform or set of system logic.

- ASUS products are ideal\best\glitch-free\...
- A similar situation was observed with NEC products. ASUStek products can be described as above average products with a fairly high price. Again, it should not be put forward in first place according to the criteria of ideality.

- When turning off the computer, it must be disconnected from the network (from the outlet), otherwise it will consume a lot of energy
- When you turn off your computer, you cannot unplug it from the network, otherwise something may burn out
- We will consider these two misconceptions together, because... both have the same purpose - disconnecting the computer from the network after turning off the power. When turned off, a standby voltage is supplied to the computer system unit, to which the electric meter does not respond. At complete shutdown system unit, this standby voltage is not supplied and in order to save the computer settings (BIOS), power is supplied from a 3V battery, which is installed on motherboard. Depending on the frequency and time of use of the computer, the battery must be changed every 6-24 months to avoid resetting the BIOS settings and, as a result, constantly resetting the system time and date. There is no need to talk about the absurdity of the second judgment. Just think about the essence of the phrase, which tells us that when the equipment is de-energized, something in it burns out. It turns out to be a kind of disposable computer.

- The mouse will not work properly without a mousepad
- Modern optical mice can be used freely without special mouse pads. Laser mice work fine on almost any surface, including glossy and polished ones. There are also quite a few cases where the mouse moves jerkily on a rug that has a 3D pattern on the surface.

- If it’s not enough random access memory\video memory\..., then it can be increased by overclocking (similar to the bus width)
- The overclocking process is, first of all, an increase in the numerical characteristics of any product, above the recommended or factory ones. The physical essence of overclocking is such that with any manipulation we will not increase the amount of memory. An additional chip will not appear on a video card or on a RAM stick, adding precious thousands and millions of bytes.

- The performance\reliability\... of computers can be judged by the inscription "Made in China"
- A large number of components are produced in factories in the USA, Europe, etc. The final assembly takes place in China. Such an inscription has only an educational and informational component and does not speak in any way about the quality of the product.

- A factory-assembled computer is of higher quality\stable\... compared to computers assembled in a store
- There is still some logic in this statement. Computers assembled at the factory undergo tests for stability, fault tolerance and component compatibility before serial production. Computers assembled in a store are deprived of such verification in most cases. At best, installation can act as a check operating system on assembled computer. Let's not forget that for factory assembly and testing they charge an additional fee, sometimes quite large.

- Frequency multi-core processor must be multiplied by the number of cores
- The frequency of each core is individual. It cannot be multiplied, because As a result, we will not get a performance increase measured in multiples of the number of cores.

- Memory in dual-channel mode works 2 times faster compared to single-channel mode
- Dual-channel memory mode usually means a 2-fold increase in the access bus. This increases memory bandwidth. As tests and practical studies show, the increase from using a dual-channel mode compared to a single-channel mode averages from 5% to 15%, depending on the application.

- The laptop is as powerful as a desktop PC at the same price
- First of all, a laptop is a mobile portable computer. Portability and battery life come primarily at the expense of performance. Modern laptops have already achieved enough high level, they are quite powerful central processors, large amount of RAM, writing DVD drives, but at the same time have a small volume disk subsystem and a weak video subsystem. Buy a laptop instead desktop computer Highly not recommended if you are purchasing it to use as a gaming center.

- Inside hard drive there is a vacuum
- On the hard drive case you can see a special bypass valve that equalizes the internal pressure inside the drive with atmospheric pressure. If there was a vacuum when the disk was opened, it would pull nearby objects into it.

- LCD monitors with a glossy coating are much better\brighter\cooler\... compared to similar LCD monitors that do not have such a coating
- In terms of characteristics, monitors with a glossy finish do not stand out among ordinary monitors. The only thing we can note is the mirror effect, which is present both on the monitor turned off and on. A monitor with such a glossy surface reflects the light falling on it at the same angle (mirror principle). And if there are no brightly lit objects (including you) and/or light sources reflected in the screen, then the picture will appear brighter and more contrasty. Otherwise, glare and reflections will ruin everything. In an LCD monitor with a matte finish, the incident light is scattered in all directions. This makes the panel itself appear a little grayish, and the resulting (perceived) brightness and contrast levels are less bright and have less contrast. Another case is when the light source is behind you. In the case of a monitor with a matte finish, the light will be scattered just as evenly, but in the case of a monitor with a glossy finish, the light will be reflected from the surface directly into the eyes.

- The more channels (sound outputs) an audio card has, the better it is
- Quality sound card is determined by completely different characteristics, namely the signal/noise ratio, the level of nonlinear distortion, etc.

- All fans in the case must work on blowing
- To organize proper air exchange inside the case, some fans are installed for injection (usually in the front) and part for exhaust (usually at the back).

- A video card is needed only for games (you can work in the office without it at all, even the built-in one)
- A video card is, first of all, a device used to display images on a monitor and, secondarily, it is a 3D graphics accelerator. In the recent past, a video card and an accelerator were two different boards, but over time, progress has combined these two devices into one. Now each video card carries a 3D graphics accelerator on board, and they differ in the number of outputs/inputs and the performance of the accelerator. The conclusion can be drawn that without a video card we will not only not see the displayed image, but we will not even be able to start the computer.

Myths about software.

- Linux is used only by real hackers
- A similar conclusion was made Windows users after a quick look at Linux. However, as statistics show, it is easier for people to understand Linux than Windows if the user has not seen either of these operating systems before the first acquaintance.

- If you have access to the Internet, hackers will be able to eavesdrop on telephone conversations
- We can only add that in many cases the Internet is connected without telephone wires(WiFi, ADSL over optical channel, Satellite Internet etc.) If we are talking about IP telephony, then it should be noted that voice packets go over the Internet channel, and therefore can be intercepted and decrypted.

- The presence of an antivirus is 100% protection against viruses
- Even the most advanced antivirus has an up-to-date deadline antivirus databases. Over time, new viruses and new vulnerabilities appear. Without long-term updating of anti-virus databases, even the most advanced anti-virus will have low effectiveness. Let me remind you that today there is no antivirus that would detect 100% of viruses. Even heuristic analysis does not provide complete confidence in detecting virus code.

- If you increase the bitrate of an audio file, the quality will change for the better (the ideal option is to convert MP3 to CD audio)
- First of all, the parameters and characteristics of the audio file will change, but the quality will remain at the same level as that of the MP3 file. Misconceptions probably appeared due to programs that change the bitrate and, at the same time, carry out a number of “cosmetic” improvements (expansion of the stereo base, etc.). Which ultimately creates the impression of higher quality sound during the listening process.

- For Windows XP it is better\more stable\... most suitable AMD processor Athlon XP
- The abbreviation “XP” carries different meanings and other than a random coincidence, they have nothing else in common.

- Windows is an extremely unstable\buggy\... operating system
- Again, you shouldn’t attribute the crookedness of your hands to the glitches and instability of the operating system. As an example, I’ll give you a friend of mine who has had Windows 98 for more than 6 years without reinstalling; he uses his computer once every 1-3 days.

Instead of results.

Instead of conclusions, you can wish everyone to remain reasonable and before repeating other people’s sayings, think carefully about their plausibility, so as not to look ridiculous in the eyes of others. On this optimistic note, I bid you farewell until we meet again.

This and other articles can be discussed in the appropriate

Today, computers have almost become household appliances: at a minimum, they are sold in electrical stores along with televisions, vacuum cleaners and kettles. But nevertheless, at the threshold of the 21st century, a sufficient number of myths were piled up around computers, the Internet and others like them. Therefore, you need to figure out where is the truth and where is fiction, and what can be of benefit from a computer and what can be harmful.

MYTH 1. A computer has a “thinking of its own” that can influence a person.

In fact, a computer is (may programmers forgive me) a bunch of hardware, or, as one cartoon character put it, “a bag of megabytes.” The most intelligent Pentium-3 has no more intelligence than a Do-It-Yourself construction kit. And it works exclusively in accordance with the program that an ordinary living person wrote for it. Attributing a mind of its own to a computer? This is for science fiction writers: once upon a time they also attributed different human properties to cars and airplanes. As you can see, a whole century has passed, and not a single car or plane has yet gone berserk on its own. It's the same with computers. And of course, the computer itself does not affect the human psyche. Those who are sure that all computer scientists are not of this world confuse cause and effect: it is not communication with a computer that drives people crazy, but people with an inadequate view of the world find it easier to communicate with hardware than with their own kind? And all program failures also depend only on the person: they can be easily dealt with without any consequences for yourself by rebooting the entire system: as programmers say, “seven troubles - one reset.”

MYTH 2. The computer is dangerous to life and health.

It is believed that monitor radiation is the most dangerous. But all liquid crystal (flat) screens and portable laptop computers do not emit radiation at all. As for the ?ordinary? monitors, then they are sources of electromagnetic radiation of ultra-low frequency? but no more than other electrical appliances? and certainly less than a TV. And all the radiation received in an average year of sitting in front of the TV is approximately equal? one session of fluorography. So calculate how significant the result is" computer radiation". The monitor is a source of many other radiations? X-ray, infrared, ultraviolet. But the level of x-ray radiation from the monitor is much less than the natural background radiation. And the infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the monitor are negligible compared to the impact electric lamps? This is the same case when “fear has big eyes.” Only fairly old (released 5-7 years ago) monitors can be dangerous in this regard. But even in this case, you can purchase a protective screen separately.

Working on a computer can probably cause the greatest harm to your eyes (but again, no more than TV). Ophthalmologists, by the way, recommend two basic things for those who have to sit a lot in front of a monitor: short breaks from work and eye exercises. It's enough! And of course, it is better to choose a monitor with a so-called “grain” of no more than 0.26 and a screen refresh rate of 60 hertz or higher. And if you want to have a complete guarantee of health safety, your monitor must meet TCO standards 92, 95 or 99. A consultant in any computer store will help you decide on all these parameters.

Another possible health hazard from computers? sedentary lifestyle, and in particular, excess weight. During intense intellectual work, the brain often requires sweets, and if this sweet is given in too large doses, then the excess will begin to be deposited in various other places of the body. But this can also be easily dealt with: you should definitely compensate for the lack of physical activity with at least five minutes of daily morning exercises.

And computer viruses are generally not transmitted to humans. Their danger to human health is, perhaps, only in one thing: if the results of many years of work are lost due to viruses, another user may well have a heart attack. And seriously speaking, you just have to have good antivirus programs, and backup copy important data. Or better yet, both together.

MYTH 3. A computer in the house is only a means of entertainment, so it is not necessary to buy it.

Not at all! A computer, if used correctly (again, everything depends on a person!), can do the most various jobs- including homemade ones. It can be a smart typewriter; business assistant; a means of finding, transmitting and storing information; developing and teaching aid; and even a housekeeper (take the same electronic culinary encyclopedias, programs for counting calories in the diet or programs for managing home accounting!) And last but not least, it is a means of entertainment. It all depends on how YOU want to use it!

MYTH 4. The computer is especially harmful to children, so the later the child gets to know it, the better.

Many people say differently: “If you buy a child a computer, he will be unsociable.” Here again they confuse cause and effect! The computer itself does not affect sociability: it’s just that if a child initially has difficulties communicating with peers, then, of course, he will find it more pleasant to communicate with a computer. And he will spend more time with him. Therefore, if you are so concerned about your child’s unsociability, you should take a closer look at his problems, and not anathematize the computer. Our children will have to live and work side by side with computers. Therefore, the sooner the child masters it, the better. After all, now there are computers in almost every home (and soon they will be in everyone). And if you are afraid that your child will “be subject to the corrupting influence of bad programs,” it makes all the more sense to get a computer yourself and personally select games for your child. Otherwise, he will spend all his time on his friend's computer, and you will never know what he is playing there. And a little later, when the basic techniques of working on a computer are mastered, you can move on to training programs. The effect, as a rule, will exceed all your expectations. After all, educational programs correspond to the main rule of successful study: you need to have fun learning in order to study well! You can start using such tutorials together with your child - this, by the way, will also be a reason for your additional contact.

But here, perhaps, we come to main reason, why many parents are categorically against buying a computer for their child. Parents are simply afraid (often without realizing it) that their child might become smarter than them! How is it that they are afraid to approach this computer at gunpoint, as if it will bite them, and the child will easily communicate with this machine? And how can parents control their child’s games if they themselves don’t understand anything about it? Of course, you can master this simple literacy yourself, but for many mothers and fathers, unfortunately, it is easier to give up the computer altogether and strictly forbid the child: they say, it’s harmful! And all computer phobias of adults are most often based on the fear of feeling, excuse me, stupid in front of their own children (if this is not the case and your fear of the computer is more serious, then it is already neurotic in nature).

Today, not teaching a child how to use a computer is, if you like, the same thing as not sending him to school. Almost any workplace requires “PC knowledge” first and foremost. So if you don’t want your child to vegetate in the last rows all his life, then suggest that your offspring learn to work with a computer as early as possible. (The only requirement is, again, not to overload your eyes and follow a natural measure). And at the same time, start learning this yourself: who knows, maybe as a result you will be promoted?

MYTH 5. Almost all computer games promote cruelty.

Although a computer is a gaming console in the very last place, it is nevertheless not a sin to sometimes have some fun “after the labors of the righteous.” Moreover, there may well be benefits from computer games, if, again, you choose them wisely. Games can be not only shooters: they can also be educational (including logical thinking), general education, and good training (for both children and adults). There are very good toys for very young children (from three to eight years old), the so-called interactive cartoons, which teach not cruelty at all, but kindness, the desire to help, and often teach them to take care of their health and spend money wisely.

And among the so-called “flying and shooting games” there are many that psychologists would not object to - quite the contrary. Sometimes a person just needs to shoot virtual enemies so that there is no desire to grab the gun in reality. In other words, throw out your own aggression in a socially acceptable way, and not bring it down on the heads of others. Of course, this is not shown to everyone and not in large doses. And those who, again, feel bad in their own lives, immerse themselves in games. And if such a child (and even an adult) is simply prohibited from playing, then he will look for another way to care. A computer games, unlike drugs, do not cause physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms. Therefore, as soon as a person finds another interesting thing to do, as soon as he discovers something attractive in real life - only you saw him playing with toys!

A little about the Internet.

There are a number of myths around this information network, which, perhaps, are not worth listing. But in fact, at its core, the Internet is a big, big reference book. For the most different topics. Therefore, you should treat this network accordingly. In general, today it is already planned to make access to the Internet almost using regular TVs(by the way, teletext is the first step in this direction). So this worldwide network is approaching our vacuum cleaners and kettles at tremendous speed. And being afraid of her is like being afraid of a telephone book.

You can find a lot of useful information on the Internet: latest news; content of newspapers and magazines (coming soon electronic copy will be faster and cheaper than subscribing to publications); free advertisements (which you can place on the network yourself directly from home computer); different databases - addresses and telephone numbers of institutions and citizens, availability of drugs in pharmacies, etc.? Of course, there is so much information that it’s easy to get bogged down in it, but this is only at first. Then you will find the pages you need on the Internet and access them specifically, without spending a lot of time.

And there is much more useful information on the Internet than harmful information! Yes. You can come across pornography, sadism, and fascist propaganda - but no more often than in ordinary life. (by the way, now many search engines so-called family filters are introduced, making such “bad” pages inaccessible during searches). And again, a lot depends on the person himself. In the end, if he stumbles upon the book “Mein Kampf” and then joins a fascist organization, it means that he himself was internally prepared for this. And it doesn’t matter where he found this book: on the Internet, on a library shelf or from a friend.

But information is only one part of the Internet. The second (and perhaps the main) is communication. On the Internet you can find a lot of different interest clubs, talk, and exchange messages. This is especially true for those who are not capable of real communication - primarily for people with disabilities. And then for those who find it easier to meet virtually. They say that, for example, if the same shy person is allowed to meet people on the Internet, he will never learn to communicate with people. But still, the Internet is better than sitting alone within four walls because of the same shyness! Virtual communication can serve as a kind of training for real communication. And then everyone is free to decide for themselves what they like best: stay on the virtual level or slowly move on to the real thing.

This type of communication, such as sex, also sometimes moves into the virtual realm. But this is not as dangerous as is commonly believed - of course, if you look at who prefers a virtual bed to a real one and for what reason. People who have sex primarily using a computer are divided into four groups. (I don’t mean those who work on the computer to compensate for the lack of sex as such).

?Shy?. Those who are still embarrassed to buy a cool cassette or book of erotic content to shake up their own libido. Is it the same on the Internet? and free of charge, especially since you don’t have to reveal your incognito... Therefore, the most advanced people no longer buy any cassettes, but connect to the Internet. Is this the most harmless category? The main thing is, again, not to shake yourself up to the detriment of real sex, if there is any.

?Men in masks?. People who strive to realize their secret fantasies: to walk in someone else's shoes. For example. a man who wants... to be a woman. Wearing lingerie on yourself? It’s somehow inconvenient, and not everyone will go out into the street wearing it. Moreover, you still need to buy this underwear, which not all men can do either. But a computer is available to many of them. Then they get on the Internet and start communicating there under a female pseudonym. Fortunately, no one asks for a passport and no one sees anyone. In the same way, timid people who want to try to become brave and decisive put on such a ?mask? at least when communicating with partners on the Internet. This is also not bad: if a person suffers from some personal qualities in real sex and is therefore deprived of sexual pleasure, why shouldn’t he wear the desired mask? for a while and try to be different at first, at least in a virtual bed?

?Wrestlers with appearances?. These people have a different problem: they don’t need a mask, they need no one to ever see them. Because they are sure that their appearance repels their partners, that they are incredibly scary and that in the real world no one will love them. Often they are completely wrong about this and their problems are far-fetched and painful (here is another reason to meet with a psychotherapist), but they absolutely cannot enjoy sex. Because in bed they only think about where to hide from their partner. The figure is too full, too thin, bad skin, short legs, short height... Do people really have reasons to dislike their own appearance? again, sometimes completely undeservedly! But you can move into the realm of virtual communication. In the world of computer sex, they don’t have to worry about where to hide: moreover, they can describe their appearance as they want. A fat person will say that he is thin and short? that he is tall, and so on. Go check it out! Not true, of course, but is it pleasant for a person?

?Strange people?. They didn't get the computer specifically for sex? this is in their life too best friend who always understands them. These are people with such a non-standard vision of the world that they almost never find a common language with those around them. That's why they go into the virtual world. Can we say they sleep, eat, study and relax there? where should they have sex then, if not in virtual reality? But total computer sex, unfortunately, contributes to even greater personal disunity of its participants in real life and does not solve their problems, but only aggravates them. But this kind of sex, if I may say so, also has a tangible advantage. Yes, you can pick up computer viruses over the Internet. But the AIDS virus is not transmitted this way.

Naritsyn Nikolay Nikolaevich,

psychotherapist, psychoanalyst

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