Russians explained the habit of photographing the iron before leaving the house

Among the Russians surveyed, 20% take photos of irons, stoves, and other electrical appliances turned off before leaving home. This is stated in the results of the Kaspersky Lab survey, which were reviewed by Izvestia on March 18. These pictures help most people feel calmer.

At the same time, 11% of respondents do this regularly, and 9% do it from time to time. At the same time, 95% of them admit that such pictures help them feel calmer outside the house.

Marina Volkova, a clinical psychologist and editor of the online psychotherapy service Yasno, explained that such actions have a deeper psychological meaning than their everyday meaning. This may be the fear of the unpredictability of life and the desire to control it, the need for security. For example, as a result of suppressed aggression or traumatic experience, when it is important that something terrible does not happen again.

"And such manipulations can also be due to an internal conflict, if, on the one hand, a person needs changes, and on the other hand, he is afraid of them and feels threatened by his "I". Such behavior, as part of the "anxiety—complacency" cycle, is associated with complex mental processes, but people are usually unaware of them. Yes, it can slightly reduce anxiety at the moment," the expert added.

According to her, the images do not solve the problem of excessive mental stress, because they do not work with its source.

"In some cases, it may be part of a symptom complex of OCD or ADHD. However, you should not engage in self-diagnosis and it is better to consult a psychiatrist and be prepared for the fact that you will need not only psychotherapy, but also pharmacological support," said Volkova.

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At the same time, cybersecurity experts have warned that the habit of storing a wide variety of information in the form of photos or screenshots may be unsafe, especially when it comes to passwords and logins from different services, as well as payment data.

"When it comes to the habit of photographing or taking screenshots of confidential data, such as usernames and passwords, so as not to forget or worry," said Dmitry Galov, head of Kaspersky GReAT in Russia.

He drew attention to the fact that such actions can play into the hands of intruders, because it is unsafe to store secret information in the smartphone gallery or in text notes.

"For example, our colleagues recently discovered a new SparkCat malware. She analyzed the text on the images in the gallery of the infected smartphone. If the steeler found the data needed by the attackers, for example, phrases to restore access to crypto wallets, it sent the attackers a picture," Galov said.

He recommended using special password managers to store secret information and photos.

Earlier, on February 21, Nikita Chugunov, head of the bank's digital business department and senior vice president of VTB, told Izvestia that among the unreliable passwords are variants with a sequence of consecutive digits (9876543210 or the user's personal number), with simple words (password), personal data (date of birth or wedding, phone number). Also among the unsuccessful variations is a "transparent" hint in the password prompt ("wife's name and last year" or "street name and apartment number").