Blue Screen of Death, press any key to continue...

[faithinfire]

Has anyone, in a movie or similar, ever made plot use of the concept of Ctrl-Alt-Del? Specifically, of the fact that on all modern Microsoft systems, it's in theory physically impossible to log on one-handed? As a way to build tension in a scene (eg, the hero is trapped under a fallen bit of office ceiling with only one hand free, and has only X

Comments

[vequinox]

See, _I_ thought you were gonna say he could use his peen. :D

*runs*

[faithinfire]

*splorf!*

Naaaah, that would be too unrealistic. No guy's accuracy with his genitalia is even close to that good!

[vequinox]

*giggle*

[i_am_marky]

Specifically, of the fact that on all modern Microsoft systems, it's in theory physically impossible to log on one-handed?

There's a Ctrl and Alt on the right hand side of the keyboard right near to Del so can easily be done one handed...

[faithinfire]

Spot the guy who didn't read the cut. ;)

[olithered]

I was going to say that too :-P

The reason for the designated keypress is that it is interrupted directly by the operating system and so by using it you cannot be fooled into typing your password into a fake prompt.

[faithinfire]

Fair enough, I imagined there was some valid reason. I just want to know why it has to be spread all the way across the keyboard like that!

[koilungfish]

... wait, since when did you need to CAD to *log on*? :: blink blink ::

[simont]

You can configure Windows systems to require CAD before displaying the login prompt at all. The idea is to get people into the habit of pressing it every time; the real security benefit comes when you habitually press CAD even if you're already looking at something that appears to be a login prompt, because as olithered says, that distinguishes a real login prompt from a mockup created by someone after your password. In theory, at least.

faithinfire: now I've got this image of a heroic chimpanzee swinging in on a vine and using their really big free hand to press CAD, thereby saving the day.

[koilungfish]

So ... it's some sort of mass Pavlovian training?

[simont]

The day Windows causes me to salivate, I'll really need help.

[faithinfire]

...ah. I didn't know that!

[dragoness_e]

I think you can also set up Windows for "Accessability", such that you can press keys sequentially or some such.