https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=ZeroSD 2026-04-11T16:32:30Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1121:_Identity&diff=403269 2026-01-10T07:14:43Z

<p>ZeroSD: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1121<br /> | date = October 15, 2012<br /> | title = Identity<br /> | image = identity.png<br /> | titletext = Not sure why I just taught everyone to flawlessly impersonate me to pretty much anyone I know. Just remember to constantly bring up how cool it is that birds are dinosaurs and you'll be set.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> [[Cueball]] lost the server password and is asking [[Megan]] what it is. Megan correctly comments that she can't be sure through text-based messages that it's really Cueball asking for the password; it could be someone impersonating him attempting to {{w|Social engineering (security)|socially engineer}} access to the server. Cueball answers by starting to develop a cryptographic protocol they can use for proof of identity, probably something like {{w|Off-the-Record Messaging|OTR Messaging}} as implemented in many {{w|XMPP}} chat clients or {{w|Fiat-shamir protocol|Feige–Fiat–Shamir identification scheme}}. In reality, it would already be too late for that — they should have prepared something beforehand. Before he even finishes, Megan answers &quot;It's you&quot;, meaning that no one else is so geeky that they would answer like that. Cueball, dismayed at the fact that his geekery has become such a defining characteristic of his that Megan considers it proof of identity, and also at a lost opportunity to devise his protocol, shouts [texts?] &quot;NO!&quot;.<br /> <br /> In the title text, [[Randall]] suggests that this is, in fact, his own personality, and that anyone reading the comic can now impersonate him. For a bonus, he notes his own fascination with the fact that [[1211: Birds and Dinosaurs|birds are just modern dinosaurs]], which one could use to impersonate him as well.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :Cueball: Hey, I lost the server password. What is it, again?<br /> <br /> :Megan: It's— ...Wait. How do I know it's really you?<br /> <br /> :Cueball: Ooh, good question! I bet we can construct a cool proof-of-identity protocol. I'll start by picking two random—<br /> :Megan: Oh good; it's you. Here's the password...<br /> :Cueball: ''NO!''<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br /> [[Category:Psychology]]<br /> [[Category:Internet]]</div>

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