explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1855: Telephoto

2017-06-26T15:02:11Z

RAND bytes: added basic description of comic and title text

{{comic
| number = 1855
| date = June 26, 2017
| title = Telephoto
| image = telephoto.png
| titletext = I was banned from the airliners.net photography forum by concerned moderators after the end of my lens started brushing against planes as they flew by.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Telephoto lenses are special lenses for cameras that have a longer focal length than standard lenses, which allows the photographer to zoom in on an object. The joke is that Cueball did not want to spend the money on buying a new telephoto lens, and instead added many many "converters" and "extenders" to his existing lens to get the same effect. This results in him spending the same amount of money as he would have spent buying a new lens. The title text continues this by saying he was banned from [http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=7 the airliners.net photograph forum] because his new modified lens got so long from all of the attachments that it started brushing against planes as they took off. It would seem that having a greater than 100 foot lens set up on or near the runway, along with the potential to damage planes in-flight, being banned from an online forum would be the least of his worries.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

1820: Security Advice

2017-04-05T14:32:22Z

RAND bytes: Changed tag to reflect edits

{{comic
| number = 1820
| date = April 5, 2017
| title = Security Advice
| image = security_advice.png
| titletext = Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Incomplete. TBD:Complete tip explanations Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic depicts a conversation between [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]], discussing the fact that giving people security advice has failed to improve their internet security, and in some cases even made things worse (such as requiring complicated passwords leading to people leaving post-it notes with their passwords on their screen, leading to huge security risks). As a result Cueball suggests {{w|reverse psychology|giving bad advice instead}}, in hopes of a positive effect. The last panel contains a list these security tips, which are parodies of actual security tips.

The last tip on the image is most likely a reference to Ingmar Bergman's film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal#Synopsis The Seventh Seal].

===Security Tip Explanations===
{| class="wikitable"
!Security Tip
!Explanation
|-
|Don't click links to websites
|The usual tip is "Don't click on ''suspicious'' website links." The comic's variation instead implies don't click on any links to any websites, or don't use the internet.
|-
|Use prime numbers in your password
|
|-
|Change your password manager monthly
|
|-
|Hold your breath while crossing the border
|This in its self, wouldn't do anything, but if you hold your breath for too long you could pass out when crossing, or look stressed/suspicious. Overall, this would not help you.
|-
|Install a secure font
|
|-
|Use a 2-factor smoke detector
|A new way to keep accounts secure is 2-factor authentication, which usually means you enter your password, and then look for an email (or go into a mobile app) with a code which you then enter into the website. A 2-factor smoke detector would be useless, because it would require you to verify that there is actually a fire with a code, when the purpose of smoke detectors are to warn you about fires you ''don't'' know about.
|-
|Change your maiden name regularly
|A common security question (a type of 2-factor authentication from the previous tip) asks you for your maiden name.
|-
|Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
|The usual security tip is "Don't plug strange USB drives into your computer," because sometimes attackers put viruses that infect your system when plugged in. This tip implies that you should "put USB drives in a bag of rice overnight" which is a common technique for drying out water damaged devices, due to rice's absorbent qualities. This would not clean the drive of viruses, and unless the drive was wet (perhaps because you found it outside due to it being called "strange") it would not do anything.
|-
|Use special characters like & and %
|
|-
|Only read content published through Tor.com
|
|-
|Use a burner's phone
|
|-
|Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
|
|-
|If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.
|This tip is likely a reference to Ingmar Bergman's film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal#Synopsis The Seventh Seal]
|-
|Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name. (Title Text)
|
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:Ponytail: We've been trying for decades to give people good security advice.
:Ponytail: But in retrospect, lots of the tips actually made things worse.

:Cueball: Maybe we should try to give ''bad'' advice?
:Ponytail: I guess it's worth a shot.

:Security tips
:(Print out this list and keep it in your bank safe deposit box.)
* Don't click links to websites
* Use prime numbers in your password
* Change your password manager monthly
* Hold your breath while crossing the border
* Install a secure font
* User a 2-factor smoke detector
* Change your maiden name regularly
* Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
* Use special characters like & and %
* Only read content published through Tor.com
* Use a burner's phone
* Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
* If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.

{{comic discussion}}

1820: Security Advice

2017-04-05T14:31:04Z

RAND bytes: Added title text tip

{{comic
| number = 1820
| date = April 5, 2017
| title = Security Advice
| image = security_advice.png
| titletext = Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Incoplete. TBD:Add list Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic depicts a conversation between [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]], discussing the fact that giving people security advice has failed to improve their internet security, and in some cases even made things worse (such as requiring complicated passwords leading to people leaving post-it notes with their passwords on their screen, leading to huge security risks). As a result Cueball suggests {{w|reverse psychology|giving bad advice instead}}, in hopes of a positive effect. The last panel contains a list these security tips, which are parodies of actual security tips.

The last tip on the image is most likely a reference to Ingmar Bergman's film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal#Synopsis The Seventh Seal].

===Security Tip Explanations===
{| class="wikitable"
!Security Tip
!Explanation
|-
|Don't click links to websites
|The usual tip is "Don't click on ''suspicious'' website links." The comic's variation instead implies don't click on any links to any websites, or don't use the internet.
|-
|Use prime numbers in your password
|
|-
|Change your password manager monthly
|
|-
|Hold your breath while crossing the border
|This in its self, wouldn't do anything, but if you hold your breath for too long you could pass out when crossing, or look stressed/suspicious. Overall, this would not help you.
|-
|Install a secure font
|
|-
|Use a 2-factor smoke detector
|A new way to keep accounts secure is 2-factor authentication, which usually means you enter your password, and then look for an email (or go into a mobile app) with a code which you then enter into the website. A 2-factor smoke detector would be useless, because it would require you to verify that there is actually a fire with a code, when the purpose of smoke detectors are to warn you about fires you ''don't'' know about.
|-
|Change your maiden name regularly
|A common security question (a type of 2-factor authentication from the previous tip) asks you for your maiden name.
|-
|Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
|The usual security tip is "Don't plug strange USB drives into your computer," because sometimes attackers put viruses that infect your system when plugged in. This tip implies that you should "put USB drives in a bag of rice overnight" which is a common technique for drying out water damaged devices, due to rice's absorbent qualities. This would not clean the drive of viruses, and unless the drive was wet (perhaps because you found it outside due to it being called "strange") it would not do anything.
|-
|Use special characters like & and %
|
|-
|Only read content published through Tor.com
|
|-
|Use a burner's phone
|
|-
|Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
|
|-
|If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.
|This tip is likely a reference to Ingmar Bergman's film [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Seal#Synopsis The Seventh Seal]
|-
|Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name. (Title Text)
|
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:Ponytail: We've been trying for decades to give people good security advice.
:Ponytail: But in retrospect, lots of the tips actually made things worse.

:Cueball: Maybe we should try to give ''bad'' advice?
:Ponytail: I guess it's worth a shot.

:Security tips
:(Print out this list and keep it in your bank safe deposit box.)
* Don't click links to websites
* Use prime numbers in your password
* Change your password manager monthly
* Hold your breath while crossing the border
* Install a secure font
* User a 2-factor smoke detector
* Change your maiden name regularly
* Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
* Use special characters like & and %
* Only read content published through Tor.com
* Use a burner's phone
* Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
* If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.

{{comic discussion}}