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RF-Blocking Wallpaper
spitefulcrow writes "Silicon.com is reporting on a new application for RF-absorbing materials: Wallpaper that blocks Wi-Fi. BAE, the British defense contractor, has announced that the same material used to foil radar by stealth bombers can be used to selectively block certain frequencies and prevent wireless networking signals from entering or exiting a building. Is this the next take on lining the walls with lead?"
Tinfoil is just so passee these days.
a new application for RF-absorbing materials: Wallpaper that blocks Wi-Fi.
Ok, I know it's not tin foil....
But the important question is, can I use it to make a hat?
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
We hear a lot about the need for tinfoil hats - it looks like that problem just got a modern-day solution.
Bet it kills mobile phones too, though.
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
Ok, its nice. This wallpaper blocks a lot of RF radation. This means that you can not use WLAN, cellphones and terrestrial TV/Radio. Is this really what you want?
Tin foil is so, well, passe. Some bright stripes, or maybe some flowers, would be soooo chic.
Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
I will be wonderful when the adhear this technology in movie cinemas so that the wankers sitting behind me who answer there phones during the films, can't take their "important calls".
___
internet, productivity blog
You still need a good Faraday cage to block everything.
..looked far cooler!
Dude! Couple this with some lead-painted shingles, and a couple of those dentists X-ray aprons for curtains, and my house will finally be impenetrable to their prying eyes (and ears).
At last! A sanctuary!
...to block RF? I'm sure you can select what frequencies by the size of the mesh. Though not as cool as wallpaper, that's for sure.
A blog like any other.
Sounds good if you're doing a makeover of, say, a secure military area.
Obviously you can still pipe stuff through wires. (you know, those plastic/rubber coated strings of metal? remember them?)
If you were concerned enough about Wi-Fi security to buy this stuff, wouldn't you consider Wi-Fi enough of a security problem to ban it from your network environment? And what if this stuff doesn't come in the right color? Also - does anyone use IPSec on Wi-Fi networks? (given that WEP can be cracked with a large enough data capture)
Have you any idea how much harder it is to make hats out of wallpaper than it is out of tinfoil?
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
I mean, if you have such sensitive data that you need to install this, why not simply use copper cables, and spare yourself the hassle (and sleepless nights in case the cat tears the wallpaper).
business owners are real people
Ok, its nice. This wallpaper blocks a lot of RF radation (sic). This means that you can not use WLAN, cellphones and terrestrial TV/Radio. Is this really what you want?
It's what defense contractors, the government, and businesses worried about industrial espionage by employees, want.
And given that Witchfinder General Ashcroft and Big Blunkett are in power, I'm sure it will not only sell well, but be heavily subsidized by government, and probably required on certain government contractors.
Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
But what if someone opens a window?
A conductive mesh layer in some wall paper.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
we prefer the term reality-challenged.
:(
Hey, I had to make a joke about something. 3 other people took my tin-foil hat joke
This means that you can not use WLAN, cellphones and terrestrial TV/Radio. Is this really what you want?
Quoth the article:
The company has produced panels using the technology to produce a screen that will prevent outsiders from listening in on companies' Wi-Fi traffic but let other radio and mobile phone traffic get through.
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
10 years from now todays encryption will be easily breakable but many secrets still relevant/important
(no access, no loss, no liability...)
I guess you can use WLAN inside your apartment, as long as you use this kind of wallpaper on your outside walls only. Then the radio waves can pass through the inner walls, though not outside (your garden, e.g.).
Cellphones won't work, but TV and radio could, if the antenna is outside (on the roof) and the signals are distributed via cable. And cable TV/radio works too, of course.
I'm not sure how big the market really is. A few people are concerned with the increasing amount of radiation (TV, GSM, UMTS, WLAN, DECT...). Regarding health issues, there is no definitve answer. So if the price of the wallpaper is not too high, I'd guess that some people are better safe than sorry, especially if they have small children.
My cats ate my karma. They also wrote this comment.
Seriously. The parent sounds like a valid application of this technology.
copper is more expensive than wallpaper
copper is clutter
alarm goes off
For sometime i've wanted to have my main workstation off the network, grid and inside a faraday cage. But think about how ridiculous that would be/look? The other machines in the house would be okay to leave alone, but i'd want at least one that i knew was safe (data transfers would be on extreme need only, i.e. data sets into and encrypted messeges written inside).
But i'm getting away from my original point: this is sweetness. No, it's not exactly what i'm looking for, but it's a stop in the correct direction. Think you've never had a neighbor whom owns a 900MHz scanner? Anyway, i think this is great. You and i both know that information, its protection, secure dissemenation, and reliability of said information are the weapons of the upcoming century. You need to have your data safe whether you think so or not, so the more things like this the better.
The Government put in a backdoor! I know it!
Wi-Fi blocking paint.
I'm having a 70s flashback right now of all the awful wallpaper...
Obviously you need to read the article .*roll*
"Will prevent outsiders from listening in on companies' Wi-Fi traffic BUT let other radio and mobile phone traffic get through."
Quite usefull for setting test environments as well. In fact, extremely useful if you are working on cellular infrastructure or any other radio equipment that operates in a licensed band.
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
What about the windows and doors? RF goes through them too. I could just see somebody wallpapering their ceiling also. (It's such a lovely print though!)
It really strikes me as a product for the "Security-Concerned-But-Uninformed", because I really wonder how many companies that want to use this will block other means of RF egress. And those that don't will simply have a false sense of security and a big hole in their "defenses".
Believe me, I'm literally right across the hall from a "RF-Secure" room at times, and that has EVERYTHING covered in every direction, windows, doors, floor and ceiling.
@Whee
I want to put this stuff on my car.
No more radar speed traps!
If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
It is your house. No matter how secure it is, they still know where you live!
That's right. All your base.
June 18 2004, by Ron Coates
UK defence contractor BAE Systems has developed a stealth wallpaper to beat electronic eavesdropping on company Wi-Fi and wired LANs. The company has produced panels using the technology to produce a screen that will prevent outsiders from listening in on companies' Wi-Fi traffic but let other radio and mobile phone traffic get through.
The FSS (Frequency Selective Surface) panels are made in the same way as printed circuit boards - layers of copper on Kapton polymer - and used on stealth bombers and fighter jets. They come in two varieties: passive, which is effectively permanent, and active, where various areas can be switched on and off to enlarge or limit the area of the network.
The panels are 50 to100 microns thick and can be applied to most surfaces including glass. A company spokesman claimed that they also helped reduce "noise" in buildings where a number of companies operate their own separate LANs.
BAE Systems developed the new material with 145,000 of funding from the Radiocommunications Agency, which is now part of Ofcom. BAE says the material is cheap and it will be developing it commercially through BAE's corporate venture subsidiary.
There is no timescale for its commercial availability.
Good greif.
It's high tech, it can block wifi! So can standing in front of the antena.
Find a tastefull way to tape aluminum foil to all your walls, without looking like a kook, and I guess you can make a million.
I would rather be ashes than dust!
that's the same as a Faraday cage. No signal in means no signal out!
Does that mean I can't patent my own copper wire net?
Can you patent the laws of physics?
If yes, I patent the gravity and demand fees for using my patent....
Grundgesetz * 23. Mai 1949 - 30. November 2007 - http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/
would be to cover my car with this material to prevent getting snapped by one of the 20,000 GATSO speed cameras in the UK... rd
Cool... Be the first kid on your block to own your own flower wall paper stealth plane.
Assuming that you cover the walls with this stuff, you still have to worry about the floor, ceiling, windows, doors, ventilation ducts, plumbing and electrical wiring, plus any holes or gaps in the shielding. Then there is telephone, LAN and video wiring to worry about.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
...the British defense contractor, has announced that the same material used to foil radar by stealth bombers can be used to selectively block certain frequencies and prevent wireless networking signals from entering or exiting a building.
In a related article:
Wallpaper coated cessna evades radar detection.
- "They misunderestimated me."
Stuff like this will restore the peace and quiet to theaters and restaurants. And the passive nature of the material means it should not run afoul of U.S. FCC regs on "interference" (I don't know about other countries' rules).
Assuming the material is actually absorptive (not reflective) at cell-phone frequencies, it would also reduce the passage of cellphone signals into and out of airplanes and reduce any chance of passenger's cell phone transmissions from interfering with the airplane's electronics or the ground-based cells they are flying over.
Finally, they could use the stuff to help separate WiFi networks in office and apartment buildings. A layer of the stuff under the carpet or in the ceiling would keep wifi signals confined to a single tenant's floor or section of the building so that different tenant's wireless nets don't collide.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
After all the effort everyone has gone through to get rid of lead-based paint on the walls?
Meh.
Obviously you can still pipe stuff through wires.
Which, for home applications, may very well lead to that "TV antenna" thingy that's strapped to your chimney.
KFG
who first starts selling paper hats made of that wallpaper.
Definitely better than tinfoil.
I guess ThinkGeek would find many customers on slashdot...
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
You think maybe the bad guys would want to eavesdrop on that?
Most people don't understand why hospitals would use this: every hospital I have worked in would be interested.
Cell phones, even by being on can affect drug infusion pumps: it is not good to have the infusion rate spontaneously jump from 1 mL/min to 100mL/min. What's worse is that some people don't know the difference between "standby" and "off" - they think just not using it will turn off the transceiver. (Yeah, yeah, Snopes says it's not a big problem. They're FOS on this one: it really does happen).
Some visitors argue it is a problem with the medical equipment and they should get to keep their phone on: 1) possibly a valid point, but the fact is that patient health is threatened by the phone, and 2) the historic FCC position is that RF shall not interfere with other equipment. (Incidenally, new medical equipment is better shielded (hinted at on the FDA website).
Finally, to the genius who wants to point out that many hospitals are using wireless for notebook computing and wireless monitoring: 1) those in use are on different frequencies than cell phones, and 2) they are very carefully tested before implementation, (Also, I'm not sure on this point, but I believe they are probably less powerful than cell phones; this is why repeaters are in every hallway rather than just one on the roof. If the wallpaper is just on the exterior of the building, I doubt it would not interfere with current use).
Teidou
She constantly embarrasses me by explaining to visitors that our wireless network is secure because "we only use the lower power equipment that is hard to pick up outside the building". Never mind the DMZ, L2TP tunnel, MAC filtering, client firewalls, etc. Oh well, at least she is letting me keep the access points turned on more often these days.
A building called the Jar. Dean: What did you do? Brill: I blew up my house! Dean: Why did you do that??? Brill: Cause you made a phone call!!!
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
Does this sound to anyone else as causing similar problems as reported by a study from the UK (reported here on /.) about cel phone usage in trains raising the ambient radiation levels about those deemed safe by regulatory committees? When the waves are 'blocked' I get the sense that they're reflected back into the space. Probalby makes for a stronger signal, but you'll also get radiation build-up, and perhaps focusing effects - where you'll get small spaces where there will be a literal 'hot spot.' Everyone could go and set their food on the left corner of the third filing cabinet from the end of Dave's cubicle for a few minutes to heat it up before lunch......
yuck
.
-shpoffo
You know what I'd like. A clear, (well colorless as in it wouldn't make my walls look funky), coating I can paint on in my apartment to try and block out whoever the bastard w/ the 2ghz phone is. It farks up my wireless at least every other night.
I do security
Sounds good, where can I download it?
I love C++
Ashcroft is far too scary to tame him with a nickname from *Good Omens*. Would you call Hitler "Toothbrush Adolf?"
My mom always loved the foil/felt (flock) wallpapers in our dining room, when I was growing up (about 40 years ago). The foil was always grounded, because it went under the (metal) outlet and switch covers, which in turn grounded to the (metal) box. I know the foil was conductive, because we once had a two-wire appliance short to it's metal case (before the days of 'double insulated' design), and I got a shock touching the wall and appliance.
Maybe companies selling this kind of wallpaper should rebrand it as inexpensive high-tech (but low cost) Faraday shielding. And maybe the defense agency could save a few billion dollars by using an off-the-shelf solution. Nah.
Can You Say Linux? I Knew That You Could.
The computer room (floor, walls, and ceiling) was lined with akluminized wallpaper, the window had an aluminum screen. His own home-built faraday cage.
As he did not have wi-fi, I beleive that he was more concerned with preventing eavesdropping of his CRTs rf feild. There were other CS guys (from the uni) who did the same thing.
As he my first real programming teacher, I always assumed that the tech to "tempest" a CRT was available then. Tapping WiFi is undoubtably a magnitude simpler.
Read, L
if the foil coated sheathing panels put under the siding of some houses does the same thing? Or someone might make a fabric version to be used like Tyvek as a house wrap during construction. Then everything stays in the house.
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
Give me about 200m of the stuff by next week. Maybe that way people will stop phoning me up to whinge about problems with kit I didn't really support even when I did work for the company. And if I see or hear one more fucking thing about the Big Brother fight...
Frankly, WIFI in a hospital could be overkill. If you're doing a hospital right, just wire each room.
I was at a hospital the other day and they have terminals in each room. Doctors can log in, take notes, issue orders all from a terminal.
A mobile WIFI PDA can get lost or stolen, which is bad if you want to stay compliant with HIPAA and retain your JHACO certification.
Sure, Spock and McCoy use the tricorder when they're on the planet, but when they're in Sick Bay, McCoy always uses that computer screen behind the bed. Just another example of how we're converging on the star trek universe. (Wake me when we get to women in velour miniskirts).
My father is a blogger.
I keep telling my mom that my room is classified and off-limits. Now with my Stealth-fighter wallpaper, I'll be able to call the Feds any time she breaches the perimeter.
Wouldn't this kind of wallpaper mean a significant health benefit for anyone living next to a high-voltage power line? Add a few panels to your roof as well, and you've got a house that lets TV/radio signals etc. in, but keeps low-frequency radiation out.
If you read the article you'd see that it only blocks certain frequencies allowing you to use phones etc. Also, blocking wlan's is the whole point, you can use them from within the wallpaper screen but not without.
There is no reason to block those of us who put the phone in silent.
I glance at the callerid if the phone vibrates. When an apparrently urgent call comes in either in a theater or in a restaurant, you hit answer and walk out the door. Anybody calling me in the off hours is accustomed to calling a second time if I ignore the first (calling again a moment after the first attempt is a good signal of urgency) and waiting for me to get out the door between the time I hit answer and the time I speak. Most also make sure they call my cell FROM their cell so that callerid works and I can just call them back.
wrap the drug infusion pumps...
I bet it would cost a lot less than wallpapering the entire hospital...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Now the truly paranoid can come home from work and relax by taking their foil hats off - unless - the material used to make the wall paper is fault.
Heh, this whole story is probably fictitious. A plot from the government to get citizens who are on to them to let down their good.
Phew, almost got suckered in.
There is a definitive answer when you are talking about non-ionizing radiation like radio waves: if there is any deleterious health effect, it is so small that it cannot be reproducibly measured even in studies involving tens of thousands of individuals.
Pampered Western worry-warts would do well to drop their concerns about non-ionizing radiation from power lines and cell phones, and worry more about things with real consequences like what they eat and drink and smoke.
For that matter, they need to get over their fixation with low levels of ionizing radiation as well. Many millions of lives could be saved if nuclear power became universal, and oil became a useless pollutant best left in the ground.
-ccm
Too much Law; not enough Order.
I know at least one restaurant that would use it. After having dealt with pricks who won't get off the phone to place an order, management has been looking for a way to do away with cell phone signals. I'm also sure that many movie theaters would also be interested in being able to make sure that no one can get a call in the actual theaters.
Sure there are going to be some home users, but let's face it, for some businesses this will be a god send.
TANSTAAFL
The FSS, or frequency selective surface, which is used in the panels described in the article works as a frequency selective filter to an electromagnetic wave. The one by the british firm is used as a stop band filter, which lets everything except WiFi-frequencies pass. It is also possible to make FSS which works as pass-band filters, usually for radar applications. (Stealth planes incorporates FSS in order to have a reflecting surface for the enemys radar, but which is still transparent for the planes own radar.)
So it is very different from ordinary aluminium foil. Foil wallpaper and window treatments have been available for quite a while, both for security applications and for people concerned about electromagnetic radiation. But these blocks all frequencies.
why let the signals in? why not just put an aerial on the roof (which i already have, and most people in the UK have - made for TV and work fine for FM radio aswell. even when people switch to satellite they usually still have it). unless you want to take mobile phone calls in your house, i guess, but that's a different range anyway?
This is my Sig, this is my Gun. One is for Slashdot and one is for Fun.
That could be cool to build RF proof clothes with a tissue that has the same properties as this wallpaper. So that you could hear your cell phone, without fearing for your health! ok, problem arise when you put it in one of your pockets and wait for a call...
I guess you can use WLAN inside your apartment, as long as you use this kind of wallpaper on your outside walls only. Then the radio waves can pass through the inner walls, though not outside (your garden, e.g.).
Would this assume that your house is windowless (as in those glass things you see through)
are a moron.
Two TV antennas met on a rooftop and got married.
The wedding ceremony was a bust, but the reception was great!
Reading The Fine Article is naturally out of the question, this being /., but it would have told you that the FSS (Frequency Selective Surface) panels can be applied to many surfaces, including glass. One must assume that it does not significantly deteriorate your ability to look through the glass, since it was specifically mentioned.
... on the front page. It's a very shallow subject but maybe it needs a section of its own or a new site (Wifidot.com).
My friend's neighbors would probably like some of this, since I'm cruising on their wifi right now. GO IRVING ST, DC!
I don't HAVE a cell phone? Sure, its terribly inconvinent, and I'm probably in the minority, but how is that different than having a cell phone and not being able to use it? Are you saying that people are _expected_ to have cell phones?
I developed a car wax that aborbs radar wavelengths. Unfortunately it has to be a few centimeters thick to work.
Ask me about my vow of silence!
From the "radiations can be harmfull" department, I know a few green-minded persons that will be very happy to get that material, because they are concerned with what radiations are imposed on their bodies by high-tension electricity pillars and sometimes by the nice, esthetical RF cell-phone towers.
It's not to be alarmist, but those towers do emit a LOT of radiation, and some effects have been seen on animals (notably, chickens that were rendered sterile, i.e. the eggs never completed maturation, and you got 100% carcass-in-an-egg where you should have had a nice yellow piping bunch of future chickens)
Maybe to shield ourselves, schools, nurseries, hospitals...would be a good idea.
I can have my cell call rerouted to my land line automatically nowadays,so this is no real problem...
As for the rest, constant exposure to radiations of any kind can be harmfull...
It takes 40+ muscles to frown, but only four to extend your arm and bitchslap the motherfucker
YES!!!! Of course!!!
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
I mean, how and why did you have to sneak a political troll in there? You opinion of these men has absolutely no relevance to the topic at hand, yet you were moderated up. If the operations at a facility require complete isolation of RF emissions, this material is quite useful. It has nothing to do with whether you agree with the these guys, who don't even have anything to do with the topic! Or do you think that all the doings of the UK and US defense (defence, for you UK trolls) departments should be flying about the air so that everyone can learn how to make advanced weapons?
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
I suspect your parents and even your parents' parents were able to go to movies on occasion without needing to be instantly reachable...
Most doctors still even carry them.
They vibrate and let the owner know they need to contact someone without annoying the other few hundred people around them...
They can also make sure to lose half their business. The phones aren't the problem, it's the rude people. Post signs saying you won't allow the use of phones, and kick out the individuals that disrupt your business.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
Sure, the RF power it absorbs is tiny. But is there a way to capture that power for reuse? Like a solar collector, powered by our RF devices?
--
make install -not war
You still need a good Faraday cage to block everything.
You also need to add plenty of Mu-Metal shielding too, to block your magnetic emissions.
Audiophiles know about such products intended to block RFI, which sort of looks like light gray blotter paper. A little bit goes a long way in high end audio applications, and not everyone agrees they like the effect.
That's nice. Put your phone on vibrate. When it rings and says "Home" (or worse, the sitter's cell phone #) get up, go into the hallway, and answer it. If you're not fast enough, witness the wonder of using the "missed calls" list. This is also why god invented text messaging, which we Americans just haven't seemed to figure out quite yet. "Nick is screaming for his ba-wa-na, what/where is that?" "Joey ran into the wall, at e-room, hes ok but need med insurance info". Etc.
Incidentally, for well over half a decade people went to the cinema, dinner, etc and left their kids behind with a sitter...with no cell phone. Don't give me this "I'm a parent, I simply must be within seconds contact of my children at all times" bullshit.
Please help metamoderate.
"This wallpaper blocks a lot of RF radation. This means that you can not use WLAN, cellphones and terrestrial TV/Radio. Is this really what you want?"
How soon can we fit it to trains?
Are you saying it still allows interterrestrial TV and Radio?
Sign me up!
Hey does this stuff block RFID? How about the little strips in the spines of library books? Or maybe inventory tags from Bloomingdales? If you shaped the stuff into a torus or a Klein bottle, would it block everything or what?
I have a radiant barrier in my house and I've always wondered if it blocks Wi-Fi or not.
Any electrical engineers in the audiance?
RTFM? FTFM!!
so that i don't have to worry about my cell phone taking down the plane.
what if terrorists use it to jam UWB (ultrawide band) scanners used by law-enforcement to see what's on the other side of the wall?
Or even if a normal wife-beater Joe lines his walls and then does something criminal. Or even a hostage situation at some office building with the lining (assuming it happens to use the frequencies that the UWB scanner relies on or something)?
Hell, CowboyNeal will finally have his privacy!
Better yet, just wrap everyone's cell phone.
wrap the drug infusion pumps...
I bet it would cost a lot less than wallpapering the entire hospital...
A fool wraps the world in leather, a wise man wraps his feet in leather.
And now, my interpretation...
A foolish woman wraps the world in spikes. An even more foolish woman wraps her feet in them.
Ah, but that will kill the business too. Much better to have people come in and say, "Damn, I can never get a signal in here."
TANSTAAFL
I'm a parent.
No, you're an over protective control freak who just happens to also be a parent.
Parents have managed to be away from their children for two hours or more for millenia without the world exploding. Look out the window, the human race seems to have made it this far just fine.
Some bad things will happen to your children in life. That's actually natural. The child who's never been allowed to fall, get a cold, cut themselves or anything else will be chronically ill prepared to live a life outside of your protective bubble.
I know it's scary but let it happen. It's better for the kid to have some [limited] exposure to the reall world. They'll grow up much better adjusted for it.
Leave them with a sitter. Tell the sitter where you're going and, in a major emergency, they can call the theater itself. It's worked for thousands of years, it can work for you too.
Wrapping the whole places in tinfoil would work nicely as well, as long as you don't leave any holes. No need to go to anything as heavy as lead, unless you're trying to block things like X-rays or gamma rays.
I do found that pulling some fucking wires are far easier than 1) move all funitures 2) get a ladder 3) transport 100s of sqfts of expenisve RF reflective wallpaper 4) and stick them on all walls, windows and doors People just perfer the hard way don't they?
Now if Think Geek will only sell Tin Foils hats lined with this stuff, we will be all set.
I make my face look like this and concerned words come out.
RF blocking "wall paper" has been around for quite a while. It's one of the more esthetically acceptable methods for "architectural shielding", and is widely used by those who consider their data worth stealing (military, government, high-end financial, etc.). The unique feature of this material is its frequency selectivity. It will block the WiFi network from being intercepted or jammed from an adjacent building, but you still listen to the radio and use a wireless phone.
Naw. We got satellite, and the old antenna mast wasn't working well anyway. I yanked the mast last summer and now there is a nest of birds living in the small hole in the roof eave where the mast ran through.
At least I think they are birds. They might be flying mind-ray antennas.
resigned
Just get some epoxy, and some of this new fangled wall paper, and we can all have stealth bombers of our very own.
You can tell a lot from encrypted traffic.
Who's transmitting?
When do they go to work?
Are they on vacation?
Is something up? (lots of activity)
What time zone? (of a distant network peer)
Based on packet timing, one might even guess
at the distance being communicated over.
So I could take this to a store, wrap an rfid tagged item in it and steal it? So you are saying that a new technology can easilly be circumvented by criminals and therefore only serves to annoy and monitor law abiding citizens? That's umpossible!
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
People didn't do just fine for millenia. They had ridiculously high infant mortality rates. and plagues, for that matter.
the comment shown above was largely the result of severe bitterness against the amish. pay it no mind
1.) Stealth wallpaper goes on sale.
2.) Terrorist buys it and builds a makeshift stealth bomber drone from a model plane kit.
3.) Sale of wallpaper is banned for national security reasons.
4.) People with this wallpaper on their walls rip it down and put it on ebay.
5.) Profit!
I wonder if this stuff could used with mobile phones to stop harmful radio waves frying the brain. It could be placed down one side of the phone
One thing that comes to mind here is that this technology, if used throughout a building, would do a neat job of defeating most bugs. Sure you can get inside to plant the bug, but the bug is not going to be able to transmit its signal to anything outside the building, or maybe even within it, so it isn't nearly as useful...
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
That's nice. Put your phone on vibrate. When it rings and says "Home" (or worse, the sitter's cell phone #) get up, go into the hallway, and answer it.
That's what I do.
But it wouldn't work if theaters blocked RF.
Really, there's no reason for parents and others to lose the ability to be contacted during a movie and, as you pointed out, there's no reason for that ability to disturb others, either.
The problem of phones ringing during movies is a social problem, not a technical one.
Incidentally, for well over half a decade people went to the cinema, dinner, etc and left their kids behind with a sitter
True, but parents have much more peace of mind knowing that they can be contacted, if it's necessary. And there's no reason to take that away just because *other* people are inconsiderate.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Great Idea! And when there is a fire in a building that has this, and it blocks all Emergency Radio communication so that Firefighters lives are in danger, we can all thank the far sighted users of this miracle wallpaper.
So lets put this in theatres, and hospitals, and other places where the publics safety and welfare is not as important as blocking anoying cell phones and protecting wifi data (that wep/wpa and a prudent semi-inteligent network admin could protect).
Products like this have a place in small uses but any large use would be a safety hazard that isn't worth the risk.
Looks like another product in search of a market. If they don't see to the floors and ceilings, there isn't going to be any blockage. And windows, HVAC vents, etc. are right out. I've been building Faraday cages since the 1950's when we found that we needed them to test our HAM radios. During my 13 years at Tektronix I helped tune several cages that the RF engineers used for similar, but commercial, purposes. The wallpaper may be nice, and may even work. But you can bet that the business model relies heavily on the consultants and the contractors provided to make it all work ... .
Read the article. The wallpaper uses an FSS, or frequency selective surface. To compare it a simple wire mesh is about equivalent to say that the heat insulation on the wings of the space shuttle is made of the same material as the tile from which you build a fireplace in your home.
One is very much more advanced than the other...
And that got moderated informative...
I'm not sure how conclusive this could be, but I just wraped my cell-phone in aluminium foil (1 layer), and toutched my computer case and it for a ground. When I opened it up the cell phone showed no signal for a few seconds before it caught the signal again.5 10582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706
So, unless this wallaper is cheper than foil, I'd go w/ foil, cause it would also make a farady cage if grounded.
Windows could be a prob, but some aluminium on the far side of the blinds would help =)
Someone try this with a w-fi card and tell me the results, lets get a knowledge base goin here!
--
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937
md5sum
d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
If it included a thick layer of rubber, it'd be a must have for a lot of Slashdotters here!
"Derp de derp."
You're saying that with this technology I could make a building so that the people inside could not use their cellphones, and you think that's not useful?
It's called "Aluminum Siding".
make transmitters that send a signal to force the cell to go into silent or 'no text msging' more or 'no transmitting or you will kill someone in this hospital' mode... use encryption and fancy stuff to ensure authorization..
Dustin - A different story...
If only you could fix Windows security holes by just changing the wallpaper too!
Better to have doctors, businessmen, firefighters, etc, avoid your place of business because they can't receive emergency pages there?
YES!
This is just the thing for restaurants, movie theatres, shows and other places where people with cell phones act like assholes.
No need for the active jammers that the FCC frowns on now....
First they burn books, then they burn people.
One way to deal with that is to "flechette" the target environment in advance of bombing. This works for and against anyone seeing such RF-blocking paper to be useful. It means that if you can flechetted a suspected target and then send over a satellite or other recon device, you can tip off your hand but force an opponent to have to move in extra defenses, move the to-be-targetted equipment, or be forced to shut it down, rendering it non-mission-capable for so long that other offensive operations can be reinforced with equipment, ordnance or devices that otherwise would be expended trying to flesh out and destroy targets.
This means anyone who can get close enough to a suspected shielded objective need only devote minimal resources on their OWN timetable to blow up said targets or flechette them, as if to torment those who think the wallpaper is going to be allowed an unfettered existence.
Now if the emissions to be masked are not normally detectable except from high orbit, then the attempt to "flechette" a target might be viable only to a satellite-owning power/nation.
David Syes,
unholy Tactical Action Officer (unofficial)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Generally they avoid fine dining because it takes too long when they are on duty, and costs too much if they have to leave.
TANSTAAFL
How about this:
The cell phone carriers work out a plan with owners of hospitals, theaters, museums and the like so that merely ENTERING the premises forces the phone to go to vibrate if it is designed to vibrate, and silent if there is no vibrator. Alternatively, the phone can emit ONE chirp, regardless of the mode it's in, then the carrier can auto-respond to the caller, stating:
Please stand by for up to 25 seconds; we have chirped your party and you should allow them 25-45 seconds to move to a place suitable to unmask this phone call.
If the party is wheelchair bound, or is sitting on the toilet in a public place and feels embarrassed to answer whilst taking, ummm, issuing a dump, then the caller could have an autoresponder plan to let them hit a pre-designated/customized button code to send the caller a request that they give x number of minutes for the called party to reply. This way, if you are in a theater enjoying a movie, you can hit the button telling the caller to wait 45 minutes or so. This is useful in packed venues when you are conscientious enough to not crawl over patrons in those annoyingly-tight rows forcing people to scrunch up 45 degrees in the direction of travel of someone coming or going.
THIS I MY IDEA: I submit it to the public under CREATIVE COMMONS and COPYLEFT.
Unless anyone legitimately has a patent dated PRIOR TO THIS POSTING, your future developments have NO bearing or restrictive powers over my RIGHT to build a product based on what I typed here, nor do you have ANY right to restrict others to whom I just conferred this idea.
Patents applicants must be FORCED to demonstrate that their "novel" idea will be truly novel by demonstrating that the idea cannot be duplicated in under 4 hours with run-of-the-mill/generic tools.
David Syes
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
I am not up to speed on the finer points of the FCC rules on interference, but some time in the mid-90's the FCC stopped caring about interference that was limited to private property. It happened in the oh-so-FCC fashion: nobody was renewing their "experimental site" licences (that listed what frequencies you were doing development work in), and then eventually you couldn't find anyone to renew or issue one even if you asked, so, fait accompli, a liberalization in the rules.
Just ask any HAM how much enforcement is going on in the HAM bands, and if they can pin down when it stopped.
This might be helpful to sound engineers recording live. Using it in the control room could improve the S/N ratio, and accidentally forgetting to turn off your cell phone wouldn't be an issue since it's normally picked up by the amps and monitors when someone calls.
I certainly hope they'd use multiple fibers. Defeating wavelength hopping in a single fiber would be as simple as using a wideband receiver, which is the standard except in DWDM networks where narrowly selective transmitters and receivers are needed.
While you make a valid point that tapping multiple fibers would be a pain in the ass, I don't believe the additional hassle would provide any measurable gain in security. At the worst case, a linear increase in fiber number means a linear increase in time required to make the taps. In most cases I'd imagine the cost to implement such a system would exceed to cost to defeat it. Why would they resort to this when crypto works, it's relatively cheap, and it doesn't necessarily reveal its existence until the enemy has already made the tap.
...i reckon this is only advertised so that defence contractors can order it with a straight face. if they put in orders for multiple rolls of kitchen foil and suggested sticking it to the walls, they'd get laughed at, but "Faraday Cage Wallpaper" goes through accounts better.
...we'll just junk this $5m equipment so you can piss about with your cell phone. PRIORITIES. it doesn't necessarily mean it WILL be affected by RF, it's enough that it MIGHT.
If it blocks cellphones, I want it for the library where I work. All of my
coworkers would agree.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
... just like a firewall - on your wall!
One has to wonder what widespread useage of this material would mean for the warwalking and warchalking community.
In the long term, it could mean less 'accidently' free internet access, and perhaps the defense of "Well if he wanted to protect his network, he'd have shielded his house."
In the short term, it will be likely be making a profit for those who prey on the technophobes.