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Comment by dgritsko | Hacker News Reader

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dgritsko

If you're like me, and immediately clicked on all the XKCD links:

#3. http://xkcd.com/927/

#11. http://xkcd.com/386/

#12. http://xkcd.com/538/

#46. http://xkcd.com/936/

#60. http://xkcd.com/327/

#64. http://xkcd.com/605/

#69. http://xkcd.com/378/

#78. http://xkcd.com/810/

#91. http://xkcd.com/1053/

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I'm quite surprised #3 has only been mentioned 197 times (well, a few more after this thread) in 14 years.

Linked 197 times, possibly referenced more than that; plus it’s a neatly exaggerated example of a joke that I’d imagine has been made many more times again:

“I have a problem I’m trying to fix with X.”

“Ah, so now you have 2 problems.”

I find it very hopeful that that particular one has been linked to so many times, maybe it's sinking in? :)

Surprised that 552 is not among these. One of my favorites:

https://xkcd.com/552/

My personal experience is that posting this leads to and instant surge of downvotes

The semi-inevitable downvotes may be because xkcd links are seen as cheap canned injects that although relevant and often funny don't really add anything novel to a debate. And perhaps - the horror! - they might not actually always be correct in a specific case.

Disclaimer: I really love xkcd.

Probably because someone posts "correlation does not imply causation" as a rote "I am very smart" reply to any published study, regardless of the actual contents and claims of the study.

#11 literally changed my life. I used to debate people online and get irrationally upset when I couldn't change their opinions. Reading that xkcd was like getting a dope slap. I still debate but I rarely let myself get upset and if I do I try to hold that in my mind.

I'm honestly surprised that the Wisdom of the Ancients xkcd [0] isn't on the list...

[0] https://xkcd.com/979/

The only thing worse than that is when they come back and say, "Oh nevermind, I figured it out." and don't post the fix.

Surprised 2347, Dependency [1], didn't make the list. But it's pretty recent.

[1] https://xkcd.com/2347/

#3 makes sense (I believe I've posted it in a few comments) because HN has a lot of news on new standards

Some XKCD comics have been translated to Chinese:

https://github.com/stevenliuyi/xkcd-cn/tree/master/pics

I've combined them side-by-side with the English:

https://mega.nz/folder/modDRIYB#uxRKw78Fcv6mpclovOTRbw

I'd also like to transcribe them for use with Pingtype, but didn't get around to that yet.

936 is my personal favorite.

My understanding is that diceware is no longer considered secure though.

Aren't there wordlists that just consist of combining dictionary words, rendering diceware more dangerous than a password manager?

There have always been dictionary attacks.

You're judging it from the wrong position. Diceware is an improvement upon the usual kinds of passwords people feel forced to come up with, and then re-use everywhere.

A password manager is better than diceware, and whilst it feels like less friction to people who use them, people can be unwilling to use one.

Just rejecting passwords found in HIBP's stolen passwords list had me receive death threats and long rants about how password security isn't my responsibility and I was putting up too much friction.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying for my slow self.

Edit: Also

> rejecting passwords found in HIBP's stolen passwords list had me receive death threats and long rants about how password security isn't my responsibility

That is amazing in a horrifying sort of way. I'm sorry you went through that.

The comic calculates entropy with the assumption that the attacker knows that your password is four common words. Even if they run a dictionary attack on your password, it will still be secure.

Diceware passwords are still recommended by security experts over any other method.

https://www.eff.org/dice

#78 -xkcd 810 broke my brain. Nice !

Will add to my list of things I’d look into if I had more time.

Haha, just #927, nothing else. #927 XKCD receipt about everything

I thought we'd see #91 (1053/"Ten Thousand") but it's lame having a 4-digit XKCD in the top 100

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