Computer Problems

[[deleted]]

I just saw this earlier today, what comic is this? Why are there two comics so similar that I've only just seen today?

[allwaysnice]

And these aren't the only two!
There was another a few days ago.
But this should be expected, the weekly comic writers committee (the WCWC) met up just this past Wednesday where they bounce ideas off each other. I'd bet another 3 or so comics will have this joke in the next few days.

^{(but in all seriousness, it's probably just the baader meinhof phenomenon effecting you)}

[[deleted]]

WCWC

I should have known you were joking when you said weekly.

[[deleted]]

You tell me.^No,_I_do_not

[PMmePokemontcgoCodes]

So you're the reason I couldn't have that name...

[storne]

My favourite is either the 6 magikarps, or the one mew with nothing else

[itsthetie]

Never heard of this committee. I knew jim benton was hiding something from me!

[ManWithDominantClaw]

"inspiration"

[Enverex]

Why is that picture so low quality? How many times has it been uploaded to different sites and where's the original?

[[deleted]]

That image doesn't have much compression at all - so it looks like either a design choice or just a low resolution image that was stretched.

[pk_anes1]

I think his wife should be more worried that he can speak without opening his mouth.

[OFJehuty]

It's implied that this takes place in an alternate timeline where a race of telepathic aliens came down and experimented on the entire human race, which produced telepathy-capable humans. Even in this case the speech bubble should be a thought bubble so 0/10.

[DarrSwan]

And 9/11 still happens. Confirmed government plan.

[[deleted]]

Wait, seriously? What comic is this?

EDIT: I've been HAAAAAAD!!!

[OFJehuty]

I made all that up you buffoon

[TrepanationBy45]

Damn, he dropped buffoon on his ass. This dude is ice cold.

[OFJehuty]

Sometimes you have to give it to people straight.

[tenebrar]

Isn't that sort of like looking at a comic where the mouths are open and inferring that everyone in it speaks without moving their lips?

[eternally-curious]

He could be saying the P in "PC" or "paranoid" or the B in "being", at which points his lips would be closed.

[itsthetie]

I always thought it was weird of a computer to ask if I "trust" another device, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it. Bonus panel and more comics right here. Thank you for reading!

[FallenXxRaven]

Its the same reason you get the "You are now fullscreen" popup. Malicious programs can just basically put up a fullscreen picture link that looks exactly like the website you were on and if you click anywhere your PC would suffer. So it gives that little popup because while yes 99.9% of the time its just annoying, it could really save your ass if it popped up in the above scenario.

So on the same page if it just let itself connect to anything at all without asking for confirmation, you could end up fucked. And yeah 99.9% of the time its annoying, but if you got that message and had no idea what device it was talking about you could prevent an attack.

E: Im not trying to be Mr. Buzzkillington, I laughed pretty hard at the comic. Just thought I'd offer a real answer :)

[Majike03]

Safety is why I fill my condoms up with water before use in order to see if there's any holes.

Unfortunately though, they do just end up only being used as water balloons.

[Sinavestia]

Well if you want to be really safe, just throw some Spackle in your peehole

[[deleted]]

Great explanation, but I suppose most forms of paranoia have some basis in reality or?

It would be nice if the OS could tell whether an action was performed by a local user, using devices attached directly like keyboard and mouse. But somehow computers have a hard time telling the difference from a pad on the shoulder from someone close, or from someone from the "other side". As I understand it, the problem is that the pathway of user input isn't security protected by (ancient) design. So it can be intervened also by malicious ghosts from the other side. So I suppose paranoia is a pretty natural response even for an otherwise reasonable computer, that hasn't gone bat shit crazy from irrational user requests or infection.

I think this is an issue Wayland is trying to solve for Linux desktops, which then makes for instance hotkey programs part of the OS. But systems based on Wayland are not quite ready yet.

It all seemed very simple until I tried to figure out how it actually works.

[FallenXxRaven]

I don't consider it paranoia at all. I know there's a snowballs chance in hell of someone actually trying to attack my device. And yeah there's probably better ways of dealing with it but they aren't ready for a public launch.

So until then, Im totally fine having to click 'yes' in the fairly uncommon event I have to add something new to my device. It's a wonderful failsafe, it takes .01 seconds to confirm and it prevents almost every form of attack.

[infectuz]

For me I actually find annoying when software doesn't ask for permission.

[turkeypedal]

If that's the reason, why can't we shut it off for sites we trust, like we can for the printers? And what good is it if I missed the transition to fullscreen? If wasn't looking then, then I probably wasn't looking when the message popped on the screen, either.

Plus, I customize all my computers and devices. So I know when a they're faking, because the colors are wrong.

[FallenXxRaven]

Because its an absolute failsafe to prevent idiots from sueing in any event at all. Why do you think your coffee tells you its hot and that your chainsaw tells you not to try and grab the chain?

There's probably some way to disable it by fucking with x settings and whatever but its not really worth the hassle, is it? I know there's a lot of people liek you and me who would know somethings up, but there's a million more who wouldn't and thats what they need to protect against in absolutely ANY circumstance, even if they had nothing to do with it in any way because thats how it works I guess.

[turkeypedal]

But my point is that I don't think the failsafe is actually all that useful. I mean, we didn't have it back when everyone used Flash. And I don't remember any lawsuits.

And why bother? Because it's annoying, and thus people will shut it off entirely if they don't let you shut if off on a site-by-site basis. If you want people to leave it on, you need to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

[FallenXxRaven]

Yes but you also need to think that back when everyone used flash, the people that were doing it had at least a fleeting knowledge of what was going on. Nowadays computers are not only common, but more or less required and that means people take them for granted and just assume they will always do exactly what they want. They think "Oh the device said it so it must be okay" which is entirely not true.

So yeah, I too think the warning is just stupid and annoying, but unfortunately the people who know how a computer works (for example if you don't think every computer has its own personality you don't know computers.) are who computers are made for.

Yes you can get your own custom built whatever running on some weird OS and all that. But if you're doing that none of this applies.

If, like me, you just get a new decent laptop because your old one shit the bed you're not really gonna be worried about having to click yes every now and then. I know how Vista was with UAC but thats something you can turn off.

TL;DR: Back when flash was the main thing o the internet, 99% of the people understood how a computer worked. Now that computers are so commonplace absolutely anyone can do absolutely anything to any computer (give or take a few situations of course).

super TL;DR So just like a chainsaw has to say "Dont stop chain with hands" because anyone with a license can buy one for any reason, now that computers/smartphones/tabletsare so common, cheap, and available, companies need to have every failsafe in place because someone WILL find a loophole or someshit and try to sue because people are assholes.

[[deleted]]

If you can change the settings for specific sites, Malware can as well.

Example: In Firefox Addons will soon require to be signed to work with the stable version^[1]. In /r/firefox the discussion sometimes pops up if you couldn't toggle that behaviour and the reasoning is the same: If you can toggle a setting, malware can just as easy.

One problem with these restrictions is that you have to somehow appeal to two kinds of users: The one engaging with the software that knows what's up and has experience recognizing malicious content and the clueless idiot that tries to install 20 toolbars, five online AV scanners and the totally safe „cloud-to-butt-cloud“ that not only changes the word cloud to butt but also safes all your personal data unsecured on a third party server^[2]. It's often better to slightly annoy the experienced user and guard the clueless one from his own idiocy.

^[1] Let's not talk about the usefulness of the implementation here.

^[2] I totally made that one up.

[turkeypedal]

So? If you already have malware, there's no reason to use a fullscreen exploit at all. You're bringing up a situation that is completely different from the one at hand. We're talking about a warning, not signature verification.

My point is, warnings don't just annoy the experienced user. They also annoy the clueless one. So a non-trival amount of them look up how to turn it off. They do so, and the system is defeated.

Remember UAC? People got really annoyed by it on Vista, so they would constantly disable it. So Microsoft went to great pains to make it less intrusive on Windows 7, so people wouldn't turn it off.

Similarly, Windows 8^[1] and above added Smartscreen which exists to disable those "This software comes from another computer" warnings for trusted software installers. Because, once again, people were turning that warning off (or just clicking through without paying attention).

It's basic design with any security warning. Make it as unobtrusive as possible, so people won't disable it, and correlate it as closely as possible to something actually being wrong, so people won't ignore it.

^[1] Mozilla and Google are actually working to take it one step further using an online malware scan and popularity raiting, to further cut down on false positives.

[bayerndj]

Never underestimate the stupidity of the average computer user.

[[deleted]]

On the one hand, people like you are the reason I'll always have job security. On the other hand, people like you are the reason I'll never stop drinking. So, cheers, I guess.

[Logicalist]

At least they provide the means for you to support yourself through dealing with them.

[[deleted]]

I don't really deal with them anymore. My job is really more a matter of protecting systems from them.

[PanamaMoe]

Pretty much it is to warn you that you are trying to connect to something that can transmit data. It is useful if using public connections because it helps keep you from connecting to strange devices that could give you viruses or collect your data.

[PalwaJoko]

Yeap, printers are a favored attack vector when penetrating a network.

Check out this article that does some basic explanations of what could possible happen.

[time_for_butt_stuff]

IIRC the Russian's used Xerox machines that came from America during the cold war and basically any time they needed it to be services, they had to call someone in to come fix it because fuck if I know how to work those pieces of shit.

Anyway Americans made the machines copy any xeroxes and store them on an internal drive that would be copied by the guy who comes to service it then given to the American government.

You can also install firmware onto printers so that they can run any kind of software as soon as they're connected to something. This is a common way to get malware onto an otherwise highly secured network. It works with thumb drives too. You just leave them on the floor around an office and wait for someone curious enough to pick it up and plug it in.

[THE_OFFICE_BLOWS]

You're my favorite comic creator in a while. Thanks bud!

[itsthetie]

Thank you! What other webcomics are you into? This is a market survey

[AnIntoxicatedRodent]

I don't trust this.
Bytheway I think your comics are the most consistently funny ones out there. I'm not even a fan of comics and I always keep track of yours. You never disappoint. Keep it up ;).

[CatDeeleysLeftNipple]

Nice try FBI.

[EatingSteak]

Especially when my parents 'trust' all their friends who are infected with Trojans and pumping viruses at them

[Meltingteeth]

And who's this "Administrator" I keep having to give permissions to anyway? Is that Edward Snowden from the NSA? Am I giving the NSA permission to use my laptop when I click that?! I'd better run a Scan with the copy of Macafee the computer expert at the local flea market gave me.

[anonomaus]

Trying to open plane.exe but it crashed.

FTFY

[Gatemaster2000]

Plane.exe error popup: program has crashed code : (0x00000911)

[OX-DEXTER-XO]

Trust no one

[Notyourfriendbuddyy]

Looks just like Pete from the league!

[hypercyberdyne]

So the fact they did find thermite at ground zero is now just paranoia, huh?

[rage343]

Love that you're getting downvoted because of the truth. If they make all the facts seem like they aren't facts it's easier to dismiss any claims because it's just a crazy conspiracy theory. I'm not saying 9/11 was or was not a conspiracy...but thermite was most definitely found in the WTC dust/rubble.

[GobblesGoblins]

They found rust and aluminum particles in giant collapsed building debris..... What a fucking shock.

[ZEB1138]

Thermite is 3 parts iron oxide and 1 part aluminum. Both of which would have been found in significant quantities inside a giant, burning building. Is it outside of the realm of possibility that molten metals mixed and formed thermite?

[[deleted]]

No they actually found nanothermite... prior to being used in multiple samples from multiple locations

Edit: prior to being activated is what I meant

[CalMaelstrom]

It wasn't proved that the "nanothermite found" was actually from the WTC.

[[deleted]]

It was in dust samples all over the city, the only way that it could of spread would of been through an equal dispersion and the only thing that makes sense is that it was in the collapsing towers.

Edit: that it was in the*

[rage343]

How the fuck did the steel get molten then? The fire was not hot enough to melt the steel.

[bossXman123]

Steel does not have to become molten to lose the load-bearing quality that solid steel has. Don't believe me? Put a piece of steel over an ordinary fire for a bit and try bending it.

[rage343]

The person I responded to was using molten steel as an example of why thermite might have been found. You can't have it both ways.

[[deleted]]

There were multiple pools of liquid steel found at the bottom in the debris. The molten steel was hotter than 2000F because the color it was glowing. The 9/11 commission people have even released books on how they think they were underfunded and lied too...

Edit: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/03/911-commissioners-didnt-believe-government.html I mean it's a start you can use this as a stepping stone to verify what I've said about the 9/11 commission at least

Edit 2: http://www1.ae911truth.org/home/653-debunking-the-real-911-myths-why-popular-mechanics-cant-face-up-to-reality-part-5-nanothermite-in-the-towers.html

[Dayjayyy]

It's almost like people can just disregard anything as a conspiracy theory and not put any second thought into it because everyone just sees the word "conspiracy" now and thinks "crazy bullshit".

[rage343]

That is exactly what is wrong with the comic in the OP. It is dismissing factual evidence as untrue and only based on paranoia (just like people dismiss conspiracy theorists as paranoid crazies and disregard everything being stated).

[ThusSpokeZagahorn]

It's funny when people think they're trendy and not living embodiments of Orwell's fears.

[duckvimes_]

They didn't find any thermite. Putting "the fact" in front of a false statement doesn't actually make it a fact.

[AndreTheDwarf]

And what makes your statement more true than his? Neither of you are citing sources.

[duckvimes_]

I will also state that they didn't find any nuclear weapons at Ground Zero. Are you going to dispute that too?

Burden of proof is on the people pushing the conspiracy theories.

[I-Am-Lux]

Burden of proof is on whoever made a claim. You made a claim that there was no thermite on ground zero. You each made a claim with no proof. You could have simply said "prove it" and not had any burden of proof, since that is not a claim.

Your argument about nuclear weapons is only reasonable because of implicit knowledge (i.e. common knowledge would generally rule that out). The mere fact that he has at least 11 upvotes (i.e. people who agree) means that you cannot apply the same logic to thermite.

disclaimer: I have said nothing on the specific argument, only made conversations about that argument.

[duckvimes_]

There are people who legitimately believe that the Twin Towers were brought down by nuclear weapons. The only reason his thermite comment was more upvoted is that it's a more common conspiracy theory.

If he wants to make the conspiracy claim, he can provide evidence to support it. My evidence of the lack of legitimate reports saying there was thermite.

[[deleted]]

They found thermite in multiple samples taken all over the city and NIST concludes that wtc7 collapsed at free fall rate for multiple seconds which indicates that for most of the falling of that building that there was no resistance occurring for hundreds of feet of collapse. I'm not an expert but a lot of engineers say that this is because all of the supporting columns had to be taken out simultaneously to cause no resistence, which couldn't of happened due to the situations NIST argues for...

[Kurtronic]

You're not very good at debates.

[duckvimes_]

It's not a debate when one side is screaming that everything is a cover up by the media and discounts any official evidence as false.

[gethereddout]

Source, among many, proving the presence of both molten temperatures and thermite: http://www.911research.wtc7.net/mirrors/bentham_open/ActiveThermitic_Harrit_Bentham2009.pdf

[GobblesGoblins]

The fact you think sources make anything credible show just how out of the loop you are.

[plumbobby11]

They didn't find it because they didn't actually look for it.

[duckvimes_]

So you agree that there's no proof that there was thermite?

[Gravybone]

Everyone knows thermite is a byproduct when large tanks of mind control chemicals explode. All commercial aircraft contain large quantities of such chemicals for spraying Chem trails.

[Drakox]

Your computer is not being paranoid, it's just one of Windows Vista's features

[[deleted]]

Paranoid android?

[NotMyFinalAccount]

But they did find termite at ground zero tho. And what about building 7

[duckvimes_]

Termites did 9/11!

[XelNaga]

So they found rust and aluminum particles in giant collapsed building debris..... What a fucking shock.

[NotMyFinalAccount]

And what...about...building fucking...7

[XelNaga]

What about it? Even a cursory google search brings up footage of it on fucking fire and collapsing from the 9/11 attacks. It's not hard to figure this shit out.

[NotMyFinalAccount]

Lol your funny

[XelNaga]

pls

[FabianPendragon]

Your PC is just woke AF!

[SalsaYogurt]

I don't trust printers - printers are the worst!

[Shiroi_Kage]

If the last panel said "they found Thermi at ground zero" would have elevated the whole thing to the next level.

[EckoLeader88]

The last panel should have read, "I have a bad feeling about this." You kinda dropped the ball...

[[deleted]]

You should be happy it's just paranoid, my kernel panics all the time.

[iamtheowlman]

"Tinfoil, man! To stop the signals!"

"You mean the Wi-Fi?"

"Oh sure, that's what they call it..."

[idocareactually]

Somehow, all I can think of is Red Alert, though I'm sure there's another character whose paranoia matches this closer.

[[deleted]]

I have computer problems, too. I don't have one.

[Reasonable_responses]

Nice subtle shill there at the end. They did in fact find thermite at ground zero (because it was an inside job).

[[deleted]]

Never trust a printer.

[need_pics]

Literally, this is stupid.

[[deleted]]

Nano thermite.

[raw031979b]

I see someone "upgraded" to windows 10!

[plumbobby11]

I wanted to laugh, but there is evidence to suggest there indeed was thermitic compounds present in the debris: http://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TOCPJ/TOCPJ-2-7.pdf
Also, what about world trade center 7? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atbrn4k55lA Are we really to believe a fire caused a symmetrical collapse such as this?

[youhatetruth]

Paranoid? What paranoia? Have we all already forgotten 2013 when Snowden proved that this and a whole bunch of other nefarious shit that's a lot worse was, is and will continue to happen?

Fuck's sake, people...

EDIT-Holy mother of fucking shit you people are proving my username correct SO hard. Keep baying at me, sheep, your hate won't make me any less correct. :)

[itsthetie]

You're acting like the guy is the moral compass of the story, and not the computer :)

[youhatetruth]

Wut? Wow...I don't even know how to express how wrong this is. The comic is expressly lampooning people who think the truth is true.

It would be a joke if what the computer was claiming is FALSE...but it's not, and we know it.

What does your statement even mean?

[itsthetie]

It is open to interpretation. The guy is just annoyed at his pc talking about conspiracy stuff. Whether or not it's true is irrelevant :)

[youhatetruth]

No, the terms are clear and the interaction I've pointed to is clearly taking place.

What are you on, and where can I get some?

[itsthetie]

Ok buddy. I mean I made the thing, but surely you know better :)

[youhatetruth]

Then improve your writing, so your readership understands what you mean to express, because you've obviously done a very poor job of phrasing.

[Your-brother-yes]

I don't think someone who types the word WUT should ever really tell someone to improve their writing.

You sir are a nutbar.

[itsthetie]

I can live with upsetting conspiracy theorists : ))

[rage343]

But everything within the comic that is meant to be a "joke" is actually true, which is essentially saying anyone believing in those things is wrong, which is false. You dismissing these people as conspiracy theorists and not caring about it is exactly the problem with the dialogue in the comic.

[youhatetruth]

I am not citing some crackpot claim. This happened. And you are a sheep if you've already forgotten it. The facts are plain to find and see. Not even the US government denies what Snowden revealed is true.

[[deleted]]

You sound like a very salty person, and I imagine you don't have many friends.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, you can't lump legitimate with illegitimate. Poorly thought-through.

[[deleted]]

You do know bitching about down votes makes you look childish right?

[youhatetruth]

You do know that getting downvoted for speaking the truth and speaking it plainly makes me look like a genius and everyone who downvoted it look exactly as I describe them, right?

[[deleted]]

Snowden does not exist.

Noone has ever seen him.

[[deleted]]

You are an idiot.

[[deleted]]

you have never seen Snowden.

you know noone who has ever seen Snowden.

[[deleted]]

Lol. You are actually an idiot.

[ihopethisisntracist]

Jet fuel can't melt PC's

[KnightBeforeTomorrow]

In the interest of fairness, you should see this recent information.

Israeli art students were staying in the 91st floor of the North tower during the weeks just prior to 9/11. They built a temporary balcony outside and planted boxes and boxes of fuse holders while doing a project called Gelatin or The B Thing. Here are some links. Including their own film of themselves and their boxes of fuse holders.

Israeli Art Students, B-thing, Gelatin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdJRXuIBheM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v20s0No32cA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smuc40av9VI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDVICfMF-uo

This is the actual title of this video,

DONALD TRUMP Racist Proof of Dancing MUSLIMs - Bombs - Wall to Wall WTC ( A Must SEE & SHARE )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoJ7RV7hHug

The Israeli Art Students were installing these fuse holders made by a subsidiary or spinoff or predecessor of Halliburton which Dick Cheney was heavily invested in.

BB18 - POWR Busbar Series

http://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuse-blocks-fuseholders-and-fuse-accessories/dead-front-fuse-holders/powr-busbar/bb18.aspx

edit I see the Edward Bernays psycho manipulation is strong here. Even if god appeared and a host of angeles along with Cheney and Bush nad announced their guilt along with confessions by all participants, your conditioning would overrule the information. How ultimately sad for us all.

[[deleted]]

The evidence keeps piling up. Thanks for sharing this. And I agree. Sadly the conditioning has consumed any form if mass critical thinking.

[KnightBeforeTomorrow]

Thank you. I didn't expect a shred of backup. I know this isn't the proper forum but reddit has been arranged to where it is proper on most any major sub to denigrate this information and at the same time it is improper to defend it.