Let ’s be very clear about one thing – you absolutely , positively can not charge youriPhonebynuking it in the microwave oven . But in the age of the internet and " fake news , " misinformation burst , one grounds an cyberspace service supplier critical review situation decide to round up a list of the most common technology myths .

Victoria Merinda , faculty researcher at HighSpeedInternet.com , survey 350 citizenry across the U.S.to feel out which technology myths Americans consider most in 2019 .

" A few of the myth we ’ve listed are just plain silly , " Merinda says via email , " but there are a quite a little of tech myth that are circulated on the internet that are nuanced and have both some truth and some lie to them . I was shocked to see 12 percentage of surveyed masses said they trust that once something is edit from a twist , it is work forever . " But , of row , nothing is ever really deletedfrom your severe effort , and that ’s just one of the many untruths the survey uncovered . Here are five of the big myths .

taking scenery shot with smartphone Torres del Paine, Chile

Myth 1: Charging Your Cell Phone Overnight Damages the Battery

More than half of canvass respondent conceive that provide their cell phones plugged in all night damage or even deflower the gimmick ’s battery . It ’s not true . Your smartphone is an advanced electronic equipment , one that ’s levelheaded enough to prevent overcharging .

Start by understanding that yoursmartphone batteryhas a modified life no matter how you charge it . Current batteries might last for around 400 to 500 charging cycles ; after that , you ’ll likely start noticing areduction in your battery lifethroughout the daytime .

This myth has origin in oldernickel - ion battery applied science , which suffered from a phenomenon cry " memory effect . " In short , if you did n’t totally debilitate these bombardment before recharging them , the cells " forgot " part of their mental ability . That ’s not an issue with today ’s lithium - ion batteries . However , to maximise battery life story , you should buck it when it ’s between40 and 80 percentcapacity .

results from a survey on popular tech myths in America

Myth 2: Airport X-ray Machines Can Wipe Files From Your Devices

We get it on that ecstasy - rays can peer into our bodies and provide ghostly image of our bones . So , we might cogitate that security X - irradiation machines at the airport will irreversibly damage files on our laptop computer and smartphones through some kind of radiation .

Only that ’s not at all dependable . Yes , ex - rays are a type of electromagnetic Energy Department . Yes , your personal devices are sophisticated electronics . But hard drives andflash memory cardsjustaren’t affected by X - rays . X - beam are n’t magnetically charged , and computers and smartphonesdon’t have partsthat are sensitive to spark or XTC - rays .

Film photographers , however , have reason to fear . For decade it ’s been known that rolls of film , peculiarly those rated at ISO speeds of 800 or higher , may be damaged by X - beam of light . But not too many people channel moving picture any more .

With esteem to your laptop computer , what you should really fear is metal detector . Those security devices air out strong charismatic pulses thatcan possibly ruin datastored on your hard drive .

Myth 3: Cameras With More Megapixels Take Better Pictures

A thumping 86 percent of respondents come down for this one . Whendigital camerasfirst appeared , tv camera producer raced to find a way to market the newfangled gadgets to general audiences . Thus , thegreat megapixel war began , in which companies vaunt the ever - increase number of light - capture squares ( pixels ) on a tv camera ’s sensor . A exclusive megapixel refers to 1 million of those squares .

As it turns out , however , jamming more and more megapixels into a camera does n’t needfully make for best pictures . Instead , the quality of those pixels matters more than the amount . Making each pixel larger can improve photo caliber without increasing the number of pixel . It ’s usually easier for luminance to line up its elbow room to a camera detector with larger pixels , which also mean improved active compass , color data and humbled - light capabilities . Cramming forever pixels on to the circumscribed space of a television camera ’s sensing element often has the opposite effect .

In cattiness of that , you could bet that manufacturers will keep shoot a line megapixel specification for age to amount , if only because it ’s a proven sale technique that just wo n’t go aside .

Myth 4: Shutting Down Your Computer at Night Ensures Proper Performance

Like many myth , this one has roots in world . Early computers , by nature of their very newness , were n’t necessarily the most reliable contraptions – they failed on multiple levels , and strong drives , in particular , once in a while crashed and burned , taking your data with them . So , many users took to shut down their information processing system every Nox inhopes of extending the aliveness of their machines .

Today ’s computers are ( mostly ) a much more dependable grouping of gadget . If you apply your information processing system several time per day , and in the morning and at night , you ’re better offsimply bequeath it on all the time , allowing it to pass into Sleep mode when you ’re not using it .

You do n’t pull through much muscularity by turning off your figurer at night , and close down and re-start every day is a waste of your time . Rebooting once in a while – say , about once per week — can upchuck the machine ’s retentiveness and stop any unnecessary processes that may be cause lag .

Myth 5: Mac Computers Don’t Get Viruses

Back when the consumer calculator mart was in its infancy , there was some truth to the idea thatMacsweren’t as susceptible to viruses and malware . Why ? BecauseWindows - found PCs made up more than 90 pct of the marketplace , soto the chagrin of Microsoft and similar companies , that ’s wherehackers targeted their endeavor .

These days , Windows still controls76 percentof the worldwide computer grocery store , but Apple commands a larger share than it used to , virtually 13 percent . That means that malware developer fend to gain a stack of potential victim through Mac attack . So even though Macs do have extra build - in rubber feature that PC do n’t , it does n’t mean that hackers ca n’t drop a line malware for these machines . So , no matter which operating system you choose for , be proactive about protect yourself by using ( and regularly update ) antivirus software .