We’ve conducted a big survey 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.

What’s the reality? Let’s put some of these myths to the test.

Myth #1. Chatbots are hard to tell from humans

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 mastered the Turing test. 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!

Chat style. Bots tend to have a more formal or mechanical communication style, while humans may use colloquialisms, jargon and more expressive language.
Response speed. Bots often respond very quickly and consistently, while humans may take a while to respond because they need to think through their response.
Limited topics. Bots may have limited knowledge and fail to understand the context or nuances of a conversation the way that a human does.

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… but less like a textbook.

Myth #2. My smartphone tracks my movements

Two-thirds (67%) of respondents are sure their smartphone tracks their geolocation all the time. Well, there’s no law against this opinion. In most cases, such “tracking” is voluntary: users often hand over oodles of permissions to apps, allowing them to feed data to their developers — at least for marketing purposes, but possibly also for real surveillance (albeit unlikely).

And let’s 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’s no spyware on their device. And all that takes is to install reliable protection. Sure, if you’re a bona fide celeb, you can employ the life hack of Sarah Connor from Terminator — she went so far as to carry her phone in a bag of chips to block GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals. But chips these days ain’t what they used to be…

Myth #3. Airplane mode prevents surveillance

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’re in a public place. Believe us: this anti-spy method is ineffective, and here’s why.

There are Trojans that can record ambient sound — even if the infected smartphone doesn’t have internet access. And as soon as you turn off airplane mode, the malware immediately transfers the collected data to the attackers’ server. The Trojan used in Operation Triangulation, for instance, had this functionality. A far more effective way to guard against cyberespionage is to install a dedicated security solution. And leave airplane mode for flying.

Myth #4. Public Wi-Fi is safe

At least 39% of respondents globally think so — respondents, it seems, who didn’t read our study of public hotspots in Paris. 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 — many protected by outdated security protocols. The results apply to any city in the world — things are hardly different in, say, Moscow, Berlin, Tokyo or Sao Paulo.

So avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi unless if you absolutely must, in which case:

Don’t buy anything online.
Don’t log in to personal accounts without two-factor authentication.
Enable a reliable VPN on your devices, as well as a firewall on your laptop.
Disable file-sharing and AirDrop on your devices.

Myth #5. My actions are invisible in incognito mode

Four out of ten people concur. We’re among the other six out of ten who understand that incognito mode won’t make your surfing totally private. Sure, it doesn’t save your browsing history, doesn’t remember information entered on visited sites, and doesn’t store data in the browser cache — in other words, incognito mode leaves no traces of browsing on your device. But it doesn’t hide your IP address, so someone could get a fix on your location if desired. It’s also possible to expose your identity if you’re logged in to a site.

Incognito browsing is perfect for when you want to leave minimal traces on your device. For example, when searching for gifts for family — especially if you all use the same computer and browser. This way, the browser won’t remember your actions or spoil the surprise with untimely contextual ads. For more tips on what else you should and shouldn’t do in incognito mode, see our separate post.

Five myths down – plenty more still to go…

One of the missions of Kaspersky — of our Kaspersky Daily blog in particular — is technological evangelism. We tell you all about new technologies and threats, uncover the most sophisticated scams, and do everything we can to shatter digital myths and superstitions wherever they may be.

But the contents of this post are just the tip of the digital iceberg; our original report is bursting with even more eye-popping myths. Help us bust them all by sharing this post with family and friends — especially if they’re just starting out building a cybersecure future for themselves.

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