[elliotz]

I agree. Although the article content is good and reaches a good, nuanced conclusion, the title is going to confuse people. Many people will only ever encounter XTS when setting up full disk encryption with dm-crypt, where they'll be presented with the choice between XTS and CBC-ESSIV. This is already a confusing choice with no good context to help a user make a decision. Remembering this headline, I bet some people are going to pick CBC-ESSIV over XTS, which is wrong.

The title is also somewhat link-baity, since I clicked expecting bombshell revelations about XTS. I suggest the mods to change it to "You don't want XTS (except for full disk encryption)."

[tptacek]

Since the article doesn't really endorse XTS in any context, I'm not sure your proposed title is accurate.

I didn't write the article for the front page of HN. I wrote it so that the next time someone says "we're going to switch from CBC to something more advanced like XTS", I can point them at the article instead of writing a long comment.

[elliotz]

> Since the article doesn't really endorse XTS in any context, I'm not sure your proposed title is accurate.

But it's also not saying that you shouldn't use XTS for full disk encryption. In fact it seems to say it's probably OK for full disk encryption: "It’s certainly better than ECB, CBC, and CTR for FDE. For the crappy job we ask it to do, XTS is probably up to the task."

> I didn't write the article for the front page of HN. I wrote it so that the next time someone says "we're going to switch from CBC to something more advanced like XTS", I can point them at the article instead of writing a long comment.

Understood. Unfortunately it's on the front page of HN now and I think it (the HN article) needs a better title considering the audience.

[tptacek]

My issue with your proposed title is that it endorses disk encryption. People should use FDE, but FDE sucks.