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Monitoring Your Monitor

Posted by michael on from the blackout-curtains dept.

bje2 writes "Rememeber this story from a couple months ago about reconstructing data from the blinking LEDs of modems...well, CNet is running a story about reconstructing the display of a computer by using special hardware and the reflected glow of the monitor." Kuhn's paper (400k PDF) is available.

1 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Practical in the "REAL" world? by RobertAG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Until that's resolved, the safest solution is to compute with the lights on. "

    Or just close the window shades.

    It seems like you can read the contents of a monitor under optimal conditions, but how often do you get optimal conditions? More often that not, a person sits in front of a monitor as he or she works. At best, then, you'd only be able to get bits and pieces of what's on the screen. You also have to contend with different grades of wall paint and/or wallpaper (not to mention furniture behind you) which might make this endeavor fruitless in most cases.

    It's a nice trick in a lab, and probably worth publishing. But I think there are too many uncontrollable variables to make this practical.