RFID Cards to Include Tin Foil Hats?

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RFID Cards to Include Tin Foil Hats?

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday December 23, 2004 @05:48PM from the passport-privacy-pondered-plaintively dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The tinfoil hat finally gains government approval. From the story: 'Wrap an RFID chip [of the US passport] inside a Faraday cage, and the electromagnetic waves from the chip reader can't get in and activate the chip. The State Department says it may use the principle to give travelers an added sense of security. No, there won't be rolls of aluminum foil included with every passport. Instead, the passport cover may include a network of wires woven into the fabric. Fold the passport shut, and there's your Faraday cage. Even Schneier agrees that a properly shielded passport cover should solve the problem. He wonders why this wasn't included in the original plans for the new passports. 'It took a bunch of criticism before they even mentioned it,' Schneier said. And he hopes the anti-snooping technology is thoroughly tested before the new passports are introduced next spring.'" We've also seen this suggested in the past.

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Wow.... by Kid+Zero · 2004-12-23 17:51 · Score: 5, Funny

Was that a rational thought from the government? I know it's cold enough for hell to freeze over, but...

Wow.
1. Re:Wow.... by forkazoo · 2004-12-23 18:27 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Rational thoughts only come from those with cranio-deflective alu-protection. Obviously, somebody in the government got a well crafted, correctly tuned headpiece from a board certified farraday cage haberdasherer (such as myself). If it was properly adjusted to provide shielding on his brainwave frequency, the idea would have occurred to him instantly.
Let me get this straight... by Eric(b0mb)Dennis · 2004-12-23 17:51 · Score: 4, Funny

I can't wait for people to start selling clothing with built in faraday cages, or a stylist alternative to the woeful 'tinfoil hat'... a (insert favorite h4x0r phrase here) hat with a built in faraday cage!

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Oh Man. by jellomizer · 2004-12-23 17:51 · Score: 4, Funny

It is time to make a new conspiracy theory. The current one that they government wants to use our passports to spy on us just got defunct. Maybe we can not trust the government issue Aluminum foil and it will be some sort of hidden spy method.

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If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
1. Re:Oh Man. by forkazoo · 2004-12-23 18:29 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  The metal wires in the cover are probably just an antenna, because they couldn't get good signal from the satellites, and don't want to bother having somebody follow you.
2. Re:Oh Man. by japhmi · 2004-12-23 21:28 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Well, everyone knows that buying Tin Foil off the shelf will make a bad hat, because the Government puts inpurities in the Tin that will amplify the signal of the brain-control lasers. (That's why you smelt your own Tin for your hats).
  
  These wires in the Passports are made of the same material that they use as inpurities in Tin Foil, because it increases the signal of brain-control and person-tracking beams.
  
  --
  "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P. J. O'Rourke
3. Re:Oh Man. by Nf1nk · 2004-12-24 03:53 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  wrong, the Tin foil has all but been eliminated on the mass market because it was effective in stopping the mind control satilites, and has been replaced by aluminium which *_actualy_increases_* brain sensitivity to the radiation released by the age mind control satilites and the newer mind control beams found on stoplights.
  
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  I used to have a cool sig, back when I cared
Density of metallic fibres required to block RFID by glomph · 2004-12-23 17:52 · Score: 3, Funny

Something like 666 strands per inch. Remember only the BAD GUYS have something to hide. Fear not.
Some useful advice by ReelOddeeo · 2004-12-23 17:52 · Score: 5, Funny

Personally I have found that if you use a double layer of tinfoil when fashioning your headwear that it more than doubles the effectiveness! This is due to a resonance effect between the two layers of tinfoil which resonates precisely at the frequency of the government's invisible brain lasers.

In addition, if you fashion two antennas on the top of your hat instead of the usual one, it increases the effectiveness by an additional 37 percent.

(+5 Misinformative)

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Those who would give up liberty in exchange for security and DRM should switch to Microsoft Palladium!
1. Re: Some useful advice by forkazoo · 2004-12-23 18:39 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  What was the configuration of your antennae? According to Fred's law, the theoretical improvment involved with moving from a unilobal hat to a bilobal hat is just over 40% (natural log of lamba-b, lb=1.5, of course) Was the interlobal gap equal to the wavelength of the brainwave frequency for the individual? Were they excited, or exibiting off-baseline brainwaves? Were the lobes parallel? What was the distance to the reciever? (And what angle did the full reciever subtent from the viewpoint of the hat?) Was the hat aligned to the receiver? If you didn't properly impliment a bilobal design, then I'm surprised you got that much improvement!
Stocks ... by DanteLysin · 2004-12-23 17:54 · Score: 5, Funny

... of tin foil companies were up by more than 5 points today.
Orbital Mind Control Lasers by Ranger · 2004-12-23 18:22 · Score: 5, Funny

They want you to wear tin foil hats. It enhances the ability of the orbital mind control lasers to control you. The only sure protection is to shove your head up your ass.

I for one welcome our new RFID overlords.

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"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Fatal flaw... by AdamInParadise · 2004-12-23 18:40 · Score: 3, Funny

I heard that, in order to cut costs. they will put wires only in the front cover.

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Nobox: Only simple products.
Re:Density of metallic fibres required to block RF by TWX · 2004-12-23 18:57 · Score: 2, Funny

In my book, that means about, oh, two strands per inch." (emphasis added)

Modifying the cover of your passport already?

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Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
hacks by torrents · 2004-12-23 19:58 · Score: 4, Funny

i'm personally going to wait for o'reilly to release "passport hacks" before i start tinkering...

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Get your torrents...
antennae by khellendros1984 · 2004-12-23 21:51 · Score: 2, Funny

Can't you see??!! They're just going to connect the "shields" to the tag!!! They're building antennae into these things!! Run away! Flee while you can!

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It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Re:What exactly is Faraday cage? by panurge · 2004-12-23 22:51 · Score: 5, Funny

Michael Faraday was a 19th century experimenter who worked for the Royal Institution in London. Unfortunately many of the members were extremely eccentric and tended to throw rotten fruit at lecturers they did not approve of. Faraday solved this problem by surrounding the lecturer's podium with a cage of fine brass mesh, through which the lecturer could be seen but which repelled the rotten fruit. Glass was no good because the fruit stuck to it, obscuring the view.
Later, of course, Faraday discovered that the cage prevented electromagnetic waves with wavelengths greater than a quarter of the mesh size from escaping, and it is in this form that it has entered technical terminology.
This information brought to you by the Department for the Dissemination of Less than Reliable Data.

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Re:Still too invasive by CmdrGravy · 2004-12-24 01:56 · Score: 3, Funny

I think the brightly coloured shirts, large cameras around the neck and loud complaining will already tip off most airport personnel as to the identity of most US Citizens.
Re:Moderators please, DO YOUR JOB by ReelOddeeo · 2004-12-24 05:10 · Score: 2, Funny

iamnotacrook, It was a post I originally wrote on Groklaw some time ago. It was intended to be extremely funny. Apparently some people agree. I'm sorry that you do not get the joke.

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Those who would give up liberty in exchange for security and DRM should switch to Microsoft Palladium!
Just remember though... by camusflage · 2004-12-24 05:29 · Score: 2, Funny

You need to put the layers of foil with the SHINY SIDE OUT. If you put the shiny side in, it will actually MULTIPLY the strength by bouncing the waves between the layers, acting as a MASER. It's a scientifically proven fact that Government Mind Control Rays are reflected and dispersed 68% more effectively by the shiny side of foil than the dull side.

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