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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.
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.
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?
Aluminum is the perfect medium for constructing an AFDB
*A Note About The Shiny Side:
It can't be stressed enough how important it is to have the shiny side pointing out. This is needed because the shiny side is most reflective to psychotronic radiation, while the dull side can actually, in certain environmental conditions, absorb it. However, as is illustrated in the instructions above, it is also wise to complement this with a layer of foil pointing shiny side in. This will keep your brain waves, which are also reflected by the shiny side, from being picked up by mind-reading equipment. There is a small number of aluminum foil researchers who believe that this may cause an alpha-wave harmonic to build up in the skull resulting in memory loss or pseudo-religious visions, but their findings have never been replicated by the aluminum foil research community at large. Even if their findings are validated, the risk involved is small compared to the potential of mind-intrusion.
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
Copper cables are far too easy to detect and physically tap. For really sensitive applications fibre-optic cables are used. A classic text book example being the use of fibre optics to link up scud missiles launchers in Iraq.
For Linux users, MindGuard, free software that turns your computer into an effective mind control ray jammer!
MindGuard is a program for Amiga and Linux computers that protects your mind by actively jamming and/or scrambling psychotronic mind-control signals and removing harmful engrammic pollutants from your brain. It also has the ability to scan for and decipher into English specific signals so you can see exactly Who wants to control you and what They are trying to make you think.
MindGuard works by leveraging your computer's aluminum-based innards to both detect and emit psychotronic energy using advanced quasi-quantum techniques. Once a mind-control signal is identified and analyzed, MindGuard can generate a specially tuned anti-signal that will jam the incomming signal. If MindGuard is unable to properly identify the signal, it will generate psychotronic white noise to ensure the signal's harmful message is scrambled.
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.
* FOOTNOTE: The American spelling** of aluminum is used here. If you are searching for more information on aluminum, be aware that the British spell it "aluminium" (and pronounce it accordingly).
** HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE: Aluminum was originally named "alumium" by Sir Humphry Davy, who later changed it to "aluminum" (perhaps in an attempt to make it more Latinized since alumen is Latin for alum, the aluminum compound that the name is derived from). The British (and allied English speakers) shortly thereafter changed the name once more, this time to "aluminium" so that it would again match the pattern of most other elements (helium, sodium, etc.), while the North Americans eventually decided to keep the second, slightly more traditional name. I predict that North Americans will adopt the more regular "-ium" spelling by the year 2050, prompting the British to start calling it "alumininium". At that point debate can begin on changing "platinum" to "platinium"
;-)
There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.
After all the effort everyone has gone through to get rid of lead-based paint on the walls?
Meh.
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
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
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.
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...
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.
The pattern of most other metals, not most other elements. Every element ending in -ium is a metal except helium. The latter was first observed on the sun, via spectrometry, and was believed to be a metal, so it was named "sun metal" in Latin. By the time it was found on earth, it was too late to change the name.
rj
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.
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.
-ium vs -um in Latin doesn't have anything to do with the elements being metals or not. Just look at the names of the different elements and you'll see a heap of non-metals ending in -ium: Hydrogenium, Oxygenium, Nitrogenium...
while just as many, or even more, metals end in just -um: Ferrum, Cuprum, Plumbum, Hydragurum, Aurum...
OK, the definition of a control freak:
A person who incorrectly weights the value of preventative measures against their relative costs.
Yes, it's wonderful to be contactable in case your permission is required for medical procedures. How many times has that been necessary? How many procedures that really can't wait for you to be contacted do they actual stop because they can't contact you?
Now weigh that against the cost. Even if it's a small cost per instance, there are a massive number of instances of jerks ruining movies, meals and everything else making unnecessary phonecalls, with phones ringing, etc.
A rational person can accept that certain environments have a great cost for permitting cell phone usage than the cost of not doing so.
That only becomes more so when there are valid options for those establishments (such as them having a posted emergency number, having call forwarding available, a single lit 911-only emergency phone placed in the theater). Also, if it truly isn't worth it to you - you personally don't have to go. You can go to a cinema that does permit cell phones along with all the other parents, teenagers and everyone else who feels more entitled - that doesn't mean no one else should be permitted the option.
So, if a rational person can accept that the overall cost of permitting cellphones in certain environments is greater than overall cost of blocking them, the rational response is to permit their blocking and allow individuals to make their decisions as to whether or not to go there.
To be unable to agree with permitting rational choices to be made, because it affects your possible ability to deal with one exceptionally unlikely circumstance implies that, no, you can't correctly value the situation and, yes, you are a control freak.