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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?
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?
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
Oh Noes!
Three people made the same joke in the same minute. This sucks. I am no longer original. Ahh sod it, I'm going streaking. Nobody else can have thought of that....
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
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!
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).
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?
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
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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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++
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.
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.
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.
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 know this is slashdot, but this article has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with Windows. Can we please have a thread once in a while that doesn't bash Windows?
1.Netcraft confirms:In Soviet Russia all your base welcomes a beowolf cluster of CowboyNeal overlords. 2.? 3.Profit!!1!
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.
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...
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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