We've all seen it. Hollywood can't seem to get the Internet right (at least on screen). Computers are so unrealistically displayed in movies that even the least geeky geek has to laugh. From the incredibly simple password that the young Matthew Broderick "hacked" in 1983's "Wargames" to hokey representations of email in more movies than I can count. Even one of my personal favorites (and the movie that is directly responsible for me becoming interested in computers and security), "Hackers", depicts a fantasy land where hacking into a computer involves just a few keystrokes. One notable exception is "The Matrix Reloaded" where Carrie-Anne Moss's character uses nmap and a real world SSH exploit to break into a power plant's computer systems. While some movies remain favorites despite their short coming ("Hackers" in my case) and others are just plain annoying, sometimes Hollywood gets it wrong on purpose (mostly due to licensing issues). The Wall Street Journal has a great look at Hollywood, how it depicts the Internet , and why it gets things wrong on purpose (sometimes).

Note: The link below opens in a new window. I did this, because you may have to click the link twice to get to the article thanks to the Wall Street Journal's advertising set up.

Hollywood's Take on the Internet Often Favors Fun Over Facts [via Digg]
Technorati Tags: movies computers Internet hacking