explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

853: Consecutive Vowels

2019-09-16T20:12:06Z

172.68.206.88: voyeur has 4 vowels not 5

{{comic
| number = 853
| date = January 28, 2011
| title = Consecutive Vowels
| image = consecutive_vowels.png
| titletext = But the windows! What if there's a voyeur watchi-- wait, now I'm turned on too.
}}

==Explanation==
After running some analysis on a database, [[Cueball]] shows [[Megan]] a chart depicting the relationship between sexual arousal and consecutive vowels, showing that a high amount of consecutive vowels is linked to higher sexual arousal. At first, it could be theorised to be due to drawn out moans or screams during lovemaking and orgasm (Ooooh! Yeeeees!).

Megan says she doesn't get it, but Cueball interrupts her with "queueing", a word with 5 consecutive vowels. This {{tvtropes|CoitusEnsues|immediately arouses Megan, who grabs Cueball and shouts "FUCK ME NOW."}} It turns out that the consecutive vowels themselves appear to cause arousal, rather than arousal causing the use of consecutive vowels.

The title text shows that Cueball is fearful that there may be a voyeur peeking at them, but as "voyeur" has 4 consecutive vowels because "y" is a vowel in this case, Cueball gets turned on as well.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands at the left while Cueball comes from right holding up a chart.]
:Cueball: I was running a factor analysis on this huge database, and check out what it found:

:[An xy-graph plotting "sexual arousal" against "consecutive vowels." The trendline through the dots is a smooth exponential increasing curve.]

:[Frameless panel:]
:Megan: Huh? This chart makes no sense. What-
:Cueball: "Queueing"

:[Zoom in, Megan grabs Cueball.]
:Megan: ''FUCK ME NOW.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Sex]]

Talk:2194: How to Send a File

2019-08-28T06:55:06Z

172.68.206.88:

Anyone else find it annoying to have the regular comic co-opted for advertising a book? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 20:30, 26 August 2019 (UTC)
:There probably are, but I'll excuse Randal because he provides* such entertaining comic for free.
:''*usually and arguably'' [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 21:00, 26 August 2019 (UTC)
:I don't mind. If it was a frequent occurrence perhaps, but this is, what, twice in over a dozen years? And he includes humor in the ads, so it's not like we completely miss out. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:08, 26 August 2019 (UTC)

Pedantry section: If you have a dockable tablet computer - I do - then the files are in the screen part, and the keyboard and trackpad probably can't contain files. Also, you don't need scissors to separate them, there's usually a button to press or magnets or something. And technically you probably could mail the tablet... but I usually wouldn't. rja.carnegie@gmail.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.31|162.158.154.31]] 21:54, 26 August 2019 (UTC)
:If you start being pedantric... Google the meaning of the word "usually". Let's talk again afterwards. Also you do not need to (but I guess you are allowed to) put your email as a signature. If you want to be reachable/track your comments/etc. You can just easily register to this wiki, and then have your profile added instead of that random IP. I personally never recieved spam, etc. from this site. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:18, 27 August 2019 (UTC)

I annually have to send several terabytes of data to a co-worker who needs to analyze and then retain it for some months. We snail mail SS hard drives around since we own them, and the data is originally accumulated on them. Short of switching to SD cards I am not sure there is a better way even in 2019.... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.22|108.162.241.22]] 02:20, 27 August 2019 (UTC)
: Depending on how the data is accumulated, ongoing data synchronization is often how it's done in 2019, at least for businesses. Every time data changes at point A, those changes are automatically (either immediately, or possibly nightly) sent (over an Internet connection, usually encrypted) to point B, so Point B is always close to being a clone of Point A (and the converse is also possible). That way over a long period of time, terabytes worth of data can be transferred, because you are not trying to do it all over a short period of time, and only what's changed is transferred. The initial transfer might still be done using a hard drive mailing, though, and this requires special software running on both sides, something the average user probably doesn't have. On the other hand, rsync is free, as is ssh with encrypted tunneling. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 14:51, 27 August 2019 (UTC)

It is important to know which part of the computer your files are in. Mine are usually in the little rectangular prism stuck in the side. No need to cut up the computer, as I can just pull out the rectangular prism after telling the operating system I am going to do that. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 04:49, 27 August 2019 (UTC)
:If you read the linked chapter, he does show an example of just handing someone a thumb drive. For the comic he chose to show a more amusing method.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:07, 27 August 2019 (UTC)

Missed the obvious chance to make a pun: butterfiles. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.54|162.158.92.54]] 13:32, 27 August 2019 (UTC)

The linked chapter ends with sending the butterflies with pouches of DNA. That's not optimal. If you instead put your data inside butterflies DNA, they will take care of redundancy and error recovery as well. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:27, 27 August 2019 (UTC)
:A cell contains a few picograms of DNA. Relying on reproduction limits a butterflies capacity to a fraction of one cells DNA. Using the pouch of DNA increases capacity by at least a billion. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.88|172.68.206.88]] 06:55, 28 August 2019 (UTC)

2176: How Hacking Works

2019-07-15T16:36:57Z

172.68.206.88: /* Explanation */ {{w}}

{{comic
| number = 2176
| date = July 15, 2019
| title = How Hacking Works
| image = how_hacking_works.png
| titletext = If only somebody had warned them that the world would roll them like this.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SMASH MOUTH. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In similar spirit to [[538: Security]] this comic deals with how many people perceive hacking and security best practices. Specifically, the comic points out the flaw in the argument of some security minded people that writing passwords down on a sheet of paper is a massive {{w|OPSEC|operational security}} vulnerability, not accounting for the {{w|threat model}} of the general public: reused passwords being leaked from seemingly benign places.

While it is true that storing passwords on paper is generally a bad idea, one has to keep in mind the alternatives—password reuse or unencrypted password documents on a computer—that non-technical people might otherwise engage in. These are far easier to exploit for a casual attacker that goes for quantity over quality. The trade-off of course being that targeted attacks (for example by a family member or close friend) are more easily possible.

The second panel goes into detail how such an attack is usually executed: First, a database containing usernames/emails and associated passwords/password hashes is stolen from an improperly secured website. Randall's example uses a fictional breach of a small forum dedicated to the band Smash Mouth, but even large companies are {{w|not immune}} to leaks. Assuming the passwords were not hashed, the crooks then go on and automatically try to log in to a popular payment service, Venmo, with the harvested credentials. Even though the success rate might be just fractions of a percent, due to the scale and cheapness of the attack it is likely still profitable. Such an attack has previously been discussed in [[792: Password Reuse]].

The title text is referring to Smash Mouth's song, {{w|All Star (song)|All Star}}, where the first line of the lyrics is "Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Two panels with a caption below each panel:]

:[Panel 1]
:[Three masked characters standing near a desk with a computer inside a home]
:Masked Character 1 [holding a walkie-talkie]: Control, we have flown to the USA and breached the target's house.
:Masked Character 2: They wrote all their passwords in a book labeled "Passwords"!
:Masked Character 3: The fool!
:Caption: How people think hacking works

:[Two characters, each sitting on opposite sides of a desk with computers in front of them]
:Character 1: Hey look, someone leaked the emails and passwords from the Smash Mouth message boards.
:Character 2: Cool, let's try them all on Venmo.
:Caption: How it actually works

{{comic discussion}}