Musicians are also concerned with disadvantages to the Net such as, accessibility and freedom. They are upset because the Internet provides their music online at no charge to consumers. File-sharing services, such as Napster, provides copyrighted songs to all Internet users. The main concern is - the music is free! Musicians feel “they are not getting paid for their work”. Because of Napster, it is almost impossible to close down all file-sharing services; there are too many of them to count . Legal cases have developed across the country with copyright owners declaring that their music is being plagiarized by people on the Internet .
Another major disadvantage of the Internet is privacy. Electronic messages sent over the Internet can be easily snooped and tracked, revealing who is talking to whom and what they are talking about. As people surf the Internet, they are constantly giving information to web sites . People should become aware that the collection, selling, or sharing of the information they provide online increases the chances that their information will fall into the wrong hands. Consequently, they will become a victim of identity theft, one of the worst privacy violations with potentially devastating financial consequences . When giving personal information on the Internet, people should make sure the Web site is protected with a recognizable security symbol. On the other hand, this does not mean they are fully protected because anyone may obtain a user’s information . In other words, “the most common Internet crimes are frauds and con games” .
Today, not only are humans getting viruses, but computers are also. Computers are mainly getting these viruses from the Internet; yet, viruses may also be transmitted through floppy disks. However, people should mainly be concerned about receiving viruses from the Internet. Some of these dangerous viruses destroy the computer’s entire hard drive, meaning that the user can no longer access the computer. Virus protection is highly recommended.
Despite all of the terrible disadvantages of the Internet, there are numerous advantages. In fact, the advantages out weigh the disadvantages. Alcestis Oberg uses elderly people as an example of those who benefit the most from the Internet; a GREat deal of elders are shut in their homes due to health problems. She also claims the Internet “became one more social avenue in our lives” .
The most common thing the Internet is used for is research. Children and students are among the top people who use the Internet for research. Today, it is almost required that students use the Internet for research. Thirty percent of teachers give assignments requiring research from the Internet. In the classroom, sixty-six percent of teachers use the Internet to teach . The Internet has become one of the biggest sources for research. Almost everyday, research on medical issues becomes easier to locate. Web sites have become available for people to research diseases and talk to doctors online at sites such as, America’s Doctor. During 1998 over 20 million people reported going online to retrieve health information . 2008-06-14 00:00:00 来源：liuxuepaper.Com 双击单词自动翻译
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet Ten years ago, the Internet was practically unheard of by most people. Today, the Internet is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. The Internet is a collection of various service
