Talk:1820: Security Advice

2017-04-06T17:29:31Z

Tractarian:

Secret questions are not 2-factor authentication (2FA). They are just a really shitty password, something that you know. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 14:33, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Secret questions are more like 0-factor authentication, since they typically ask for public data. Shirluban [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.106|141.101.88.106]] 14:39, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Even when it isn't public it is often very unsecure - like: "your password has to have upper and lower case letters, numbers" and other requirements - if you forget it just enter the brand of your first car, there are about 20 likely answers (make it 40 if you need to additionally see wether or not it has been capitalized) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.46|162.158.92.46]] 15:18, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Use prime numbers in your password: this would only limit the number of possible passwords for a hacker to check.

Use special characters like & and % : this advice is thoroughly handled in https://xkcd.com/936/ Changing characters into a special one does adds just very little to the search space.
<small>However, a video from Computerphile suggests ''inserting'' a random character somewhere in the password which might actually be rather helpful</small>

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.211|162.158.111.211]] 14:53, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Maybe you really should use a secure font [https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/MS15-078 Font related bug] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.161|162.158.79.161]] 15:13, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Should the blue check mark tip be noted as only being useful on Twitter? Usually, the advice doesn't apply to emails, which are significantly more likely to ask for your less-secret account details, but also significantly less likely to have a blue check mark. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.10|162.158.2.10]] 15:15, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

"If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.", do any of you know exactly what is the original advice here? This is probably different in different countries, but if I recall correctly you can't prevent them from seizing your device, but you are not required to provide them your passwords (but they may give you a hard time or deny your entry if you are not a citizen). Anyone can confirm this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.22|108.162.216.22]] 15:16, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

The rice trick doesn't even work for wet phones. http://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Water-Damage-Prevention-and-Recovery.pdf [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.211|162.158.111.211]] 15:33, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

:Yeah - beat me to it! The rice trick doesn't work...not for phones or anything else for that matter. So this is double bad advice. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.39|162.158.69.39]] 16:06, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Border guard - I'd like to see a bit more explanation, please, on how Ingmar Berman's film shows a man playing chess with Death, and possibly the infamous subversion of this trope in Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey. As it is, the explanation is only the ''bare bones''. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.52|172.68.34.52]] 17:35, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

Checking the padlock icon in your browser is not enough to make sure you're really connected to the site you think. You have to check the domain too, to make sure you're not on a typosquatter domain (e.g. explianxkcd.com instead of explainxkcd.com). For really important thing like banking, you should check for an Extended Validation Certificate (Firefox shows the name of the organization running the website beside the padlock to indicate an EV-Certificate). This means, that the CA checked if the website operator really is who he pretends to be (and take a hefty sum of money for the process). Yeah, i know, security isn't easy. Using the brain still can't be replaced. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.160|162.158.202.160]] 20:14, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

''These two characters are often disallowed in passwords because of their relevance to SQL (a common database query language). A badly written security system using SQL could have severe bugs (and vulnerabilities) if these characters were used in a password.'' So instead of fixing the bugs, users are kindly requested/forbidden to use & and % because that would break the system? Relying on empathy instead of fixing the problem, similar to "please don't break in, we're too poor to afford a decent lock". Sounds like Black Hat in a role as security advisor could come up with. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.211|162.158.111.211]] 21:01, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
:: I once saw a funny notification at a login screen. It read: "Only log on if you are an authorized user". Hilarious... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:03, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

"Turing-complete kerning specification language in OpenType fonts" needs a citation. Is this just referring to the TeX language in general?

"the US banking system, where there is very little security for direct account drafts, and because of that it is advised there to keep the account number as secret as possible. In contrast, in Europe..." also needs citation. Why is giving out your bank account number more secure in Europe? I googled around a bit but couldn't find any verification of this (aside from discussions on chips vs. magnetic strips, which is a different issue).
--[[User:Tractarian|Tractarian]] ([[User talk:Tractarian|talk]]) 17:29, 6 April 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1152: Communion

2012-12-28T16:06:18Z

Tractarian:

This was one of the reasons early Christians were persecuted by the Romans. They thought the Christians were cannibals. [[Special:Contributions/76.20.159.250|76.20.159.250]] 00:53, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:Did they actually though that or did they only used it as pretext for persecution? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:20, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Isn't he making fun of that doctrine?[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 07:16, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Transubstantiation isn't about bread literally turning into flesh. I don't know how to explain it properly, but it is based on Middle Age Christian philosophy (scholastic, St. Thomas, I think) that differentiates the accidents (appearance, taste etc.) of a thing from its true substance. Transubstantiation means that the bread becomes flesh (acquires the substance of Jesus' flesh) even though it retains the appearance and all qualities of bread.
This doctrine is of course highly outdated and I can't think of why the Catholics haven't dropped it yet. It also causes a lot of confusion. --[[User:Artod|Artod]] ([[User talk:Artod|talk]]) 09:07, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:If it's middle age Christian, what was the explanation before that? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:20, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

::I would think that the original interpretation is symbolism. Jesus and his diciples were eating the {{w|passover}} meal, and the central piece was a {{w|Korban Pesach|sacrifical lamb}}. I think that it's a way for Jesus to say that the purpouse of the lamb is becoming dated, cause I'm about to be murdered, and that is what will save you in the end, not sacrifices. From start christians have called him the {{w|Lamb of God}}. Hope you had a merry Christmas! -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:14, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

::Thomism (the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas) is built on Aristotle's thought and thus this understanding has always been applied to the Eucharist, albeit possibly not as explicitly as through Thomism.

:::In fact, Wikipedia does have a pretty good article about transubstantiation.--[[User:Artod|Artod]] ([[User talk:Artod|talk]]) 11:53, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

::::It does seem quite good. Were you thinking about anything in particular? -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 19:25, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

The 'punchline' and title text are two of the most macabre things I've ever seen Randall write in this comic - and the hilarity still comes across!--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 16:22, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Has anybody figured out what the '1970s murder victim' reference in the hovertext is referring to? Lot of people died then - I have no idea how to even start narrowing it down [[Special:Contributions/76.116.83.55|76.116.83.55]] 16:39, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Just remind me of a film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baby_of_Mâcon

Speaking as a Catholic, my first reaction was "Oy, I've never heard ''that one'' before (eye roll)". It is a pretty old gag, but Randall definitely has a gift for putting comedic timing into 2-dimensional comic panels; I still laughed. [[User:Tractarian|Tractarian]] ([[User talk:Tractarian|talk]]) 16:06, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1820: Security Advice

Talk:1152: Communion