{"id":52070,"date":"2024-09-02T05:17:30","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T09:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=52070"},"modified":"2024-09-02T05:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T09:17:30","slug":"busting-digital-superstitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/52070\/","title":{"rendered":"Busting digital superstitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve conducted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/myths-and-reality-of-digital-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">big survey<\/a> of 10,000 people and have found that many still believe in digital myths. For example, they think that connecting to any public Wi-Fi is totally safe, and that smartphones track all their movements by default.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the reality? Let\u2019s put some of these myths to the test.<\/p>\n<h2>Myth #1. Chatbots are hard to tell from humans<\/h2>\n<p>Almost half (47%) of respondents think so. At first glance it might indeed seem a tricky task to differentiate between AI and human chats, given that bots have now <a href=\"https:\/\/humsci.stanford.edu\/feature\/study-finds-chatgpts-latest-bot-behaves-humans-only-better\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">mastered the Turing test<\/a>. Nevertheless, it is possible to tell them apart, and we turned to a chatbot to find out how. Come on, AI, tell us how to unmask you!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Chat style.<\/em><\/strong><em> Bots tend to have a more formal or mechanical communication style, while humans may use colloquialisms, jargon and more expressive language.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Response speed.<\/em><\/strong><em> Bots often respond very quickly and consistently, while humans may take a while to respond because they need to think through their response.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Limited topics. <\/em><\/strong><em>Bots may have limited knowledge and fail to understand the context or nuances of a conversation the way that a human does.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thanks, chatbot! What do you notice about the AI responses? Dry, matter-of-fact, lots of repetition, and minimal deviation from the topic. The information is spot on, and any human expert would say much the same thing\u2026 but less like a textbook.<\/p>\n<h2>Myth #2. My smartphone tracks my movements<\/h2>\n<p>Two-thirds (67%) of respondents are sure their smartphone tracks their geolocation all the time. Well, there\u2019s no law against this opinion. In most cases, such \u201ctracking\u201d is voluntary: users often hand over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/five-permissions-android-games-do-not-need\/36636\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">oodles of permissions<\/a> to apps, allowing them to feed data to their developers \u2014 at least for marketing purposes, but possibly also for real surveillance (albeit unlikely).<\/p>\n<p>And let\u2019s not forget about spyware: nasty little programs that like to masquerade as legitimate apps, but in fact record your calls, read your messages, and sometimes track your movements. Their nastiness is why we advise every single one of those 67% to make sure there\u2019s no spyware on their device. And all that takes is to install <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/premium?icid=gl_bb2023-kdplacehd_acq_ona_smm__onl_b2c_kdaily_lnk_sm-team___kprem___\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reliable protection<\/a>. Sure, if you\u2019re a bona fide celeb, you can employ the life hack of Sarah Connor from Terminator \u2014 she went so far as to carry her phone in a bag of chips to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/smartphone-spying-protection\/31894\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">block GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals<\/a>. But chips these days ain\u2019t what they used to be\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>Myth #3. Airplane mode prevents surveillance<\/h2>\n<p>Surprised? No less than 28% of respondents turn off their phone or switch it to airplane mode during a face-to-face conversation. Moreover, 26% do this whenever they\u2019re in a public place. Believe us: this anti-spy method is ineffective, and here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n<p>There are Trojans that can record ambient sound \u2014 even if the infected smartphone doesn\u2019t have internet access. And as soon as you turn off airplane mode, the malware immediately transfers the collected data to the attackers\u2019 server. The Trojan used in <a href=\"https:\/\/securelist.com\/trng-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Operation Triangulation<\/a>, for instance, had this functionality. A far more effective way to guard against cyberespionage is to install a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/premium?icid=gl_bb2023-kdplacehd_acq_ona_smm__onl_b2c_kdaily_lnk_sm-team___kprem___\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">dedicated security solution<\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/protecting-from-airplane-wi-fi-evil-twin\/51809\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">leave airplane mode for flying<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Myth #4. Public Wi-Fi is safe<\/h2>\n<p>At least 39% of respondents globally think so \u2014 respondents, it seems, who didn\u2019t read <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/how-safe-is-wi-fi-in-paris\/51772\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">our study of public hotspots in Paris<\/a>. In July, on the eve of the Olympics, we analyzed the security of around 25,000 unique Wi-Fi hotspots in the French capital, and found a full quarter of them to be wholly insecure \u2014 many protected by outdated security protocols. The results apply to any city in the world \u2014 things are hardly different in, say, Moscow, Berlin, Tokyo or Sao Paulo.<\/p>\n<p>So avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi unless if you absolutely must, in which case:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t buy anything online.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t log in to personal accounts without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/what-is-two-factor-authentication\/48289\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">two-factor authentication<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Enable a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/vpn-secure-connection?icid=gl_kdailyplacehold_acq_ona_smm__onl_b2c_kasperskydaily_wpplaceholder____vpn___\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reliable VPN<\/a>\u00a0on your devices, as well as a firewall on your laptop.<\/li>\n<li>Disable file-sharing and AirDrop on your devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Myth #5. My actions are invisible in incognito mode<\/h2>\n<p>Four out of ten people concur. We\u2019re among the other six out of ten who understand that incognito mode won\u2019t make your surfing totally private. Sure, it doesn\u2019t save your browsing history, doesn\u2019t remember information entered on visited sites, and doesn\u2019t store data in the browser cache \u2014 in other words, incognito mode leaves no traces of browsing on your device. But it doesn\u2019t hide your IP address, so someone could get a fix on your location if desired. It\u2019s also possible to expose your identity if you\u2019re logged in to a site.<\/p>\n<p>Incognito browsing is perfect for when you want to leave minimal traces on your device. For example, when searching for gifts for family \u2014 especially if you all use the same computer and browser. This way, the browser won\u2019t remember your actions or spoil the surprise with untimely contextual ads. For more tips on what else you should and shouldn\u2019t do in incognito mode, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/incognito-myth-how-private-browsing-works\/51408\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">separate post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Five myths down \u2013 plenty more still to go\u2026<\/h2>\n<p>One of the missions of Kaspersky \u2014 of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kaspersky Daily<\/a> blog in particular \u2014 is technological evangelism. We tell you all about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/mozilla-privacy-preserving-attribution-explained\/51997\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">new technologies<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/new-spy-for-android-smartphones-lianspy\/51923\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">threats<\/a>, uncover the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/cryptowallet-seed-phrase-fake-leaks\/51607\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">most sophisticated scams<\/a>, and do everything we can to shatter digital myths and superstitions wherever they may be.<\/p>\n<p>But the contents of this post are just the tip of the digital iceberg; our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/myths-and-reality-of-digital-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">original report<\/a> is bursting with even more eye-popping myths. Help us bust them all by sharing this post with family and friends \u2014 especially if they\u2019re just starting out building a cybersecure future for themselves.<\/p>\n<input type=\"hidden\" class=\"category_for_banner\" value=\"premium-family\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even in 2024, the world is rife with digital paranoia and superstition. Is my smartphone tracking me? Will incognito mode make me invisible? This post answers these and lots of other related questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2706,"featured_media":52071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1788,9],"tags":[1140,43,714,768,321,812,174],"class_list":{"0":"post-52070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-privacy","8":"category-tips","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-privacy","11":"tag-spyware","12":"tag-surveillance","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-tracking","15":"tag-wi-fi"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/52070\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/27937\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/23232\/"},{"hreflang":"ar","url":"https:\/\/me.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/12042\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/30518\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/28113\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/27688\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/30418\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/29185\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/38164\/"},{"hreflang":"tr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.tr\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/12812\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/22200\/"},{"hreflang":"pt-br","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.br\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/22969\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/31628\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/busting-digital-superstitions\/37172\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/busting-digital-superstitions\/28248\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/34047\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/busting-digital-superstitions\/33708\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/tag\/technology\/","name":"Technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2706"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52070"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52075,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52070\/revisions\/52075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}