Newly Declassified Window Film Keeps Out Snoops
An anonymous reader writes to describe a newly declassified window film from CPFilms Inc. that could give war drivers fits. Scientific American has the story, which includes a rather dismissive comment by Bruce Schneier.
"Once manufactured under an exclusive contract with the US government, this recently declassified window film is now available to the public. But don't expect to see it on store shelves anytime soon. Currently, it's only available directly from the manufacturer, and at prices that will likely make it prohibitive for all but the wealthiest home owners.
The two-millimeter-thick coating can block Wi-Fi signals, cell phone transmissions, even the near-infrared, yet is almost transparent... It can keep signals in (preventing attempts to spy on electronic communications) or out, minimizing radio interference and even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast."
Nothing to see here, move along.
...all your signals are belong to us.
I would like the get rid of the tin foil ...
-- Make America hate again!
I don't know much about radio signals, but what about the walls and paneling? Can they get through that?
"minimizing radio interference and even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast."
yeah, but what about the walls? will the walls block it? if not then this stuff is not useless, but not as effective as one would imagine. not to mention that if a nuke went off I think we would have more problems than some EM pulse coming in through the windows...
Just make your house into one big Faraday cage, but what about the chimneys?
what I'm trying (and probably saying) is that you plug a hole, the waves will go through another. (not saying that we shouldn't plug them, just that we can't really stop until it is all sealed, in which case you live in a bubble.)
I spent part of the article thinking, "big deal about the price, someone will just torrent it and that'll be that."
If They could make it into a wallpaper they could apply it to the inside of cinemas so assholes will not sit next to you and text people through the entire film.
"Tinfoil hat" for your home blocks comms; Wednesday June 27, @01:06PM; Rejected
If you want to keep up with news like this (recall that "news" comes from Middle English for "new thing") just drop New Scientist and Scientific American into your RSS reader.
Mongrel News all the news that fits and froths
You should get rid of it anyway. http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/
Now if only they could make hats out of this stuff, to protect our brains from their mind control rays...
"I like systems, their application excepted", George Sand (French)
If signals can't get out, they can't get in either so no using your cell phone inside or taking the cordless landline into the back yard. As for AM and FM radio, well who listens to that at home? (Well, me, since low bitrate music streams suck...)
Anyways, you need to shield your walls and doors for this window film to be effective. Or you could just use grounded window screens instead... Somehow, I doubt anyone is Van Eck Phreaking your home at the moment
A way to make cell phone signals even *worse* indoors.
No Thanks!
Don't mind a bit if movie theaters heap several layers on the ceiling, walls, and seats though. I'll help put 'em up.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"Newly Declassified Windows Film [...]"
I was like... 'wtf would Microsoft have done that was classified?' I still think it would have been more interesting that way.
This is non-news. Just some crap that will be bought by the paranoid. Whats next? Roofing underlayment that blocks free radicals?
If sharing a song makes you a pirate, what do I have to share to be a ninja?
...open the front door.
A version of Windows that can keep things out!
A few months back a friend introduced me to this. He isn't big into technology. He runs a window tinting company and wanted to know how legit this was, so we got some samples and tested it. I'm going to have to send him the link. This could be really big money for him, as he is getting in on the ground floor.
It appears to work exactly as promised, and honestly, in certain applications it is the only real way to secure wireless data.
The government declassifies technology all the time, usually after they've developed something better.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
I know everyone loves to bash Microsoft on /. - but lets be fair, this really shouldn't be tagged with the "Windows" tag.
Ever wonder why there's a "Linux" and an "Apple" section, but no "Microsoft" or even cleverly abbreviated "M$"?
There's your tinfoil conspiracy.
And tinfoil isn't made from tin. Stop calling it that.
It can keep signals...out,...even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast.
Now that's serious product testing.
>north
You're an immobile computer, remember?
it also means that you obviously wont be using your cell phone inside the house, you'll still need to go outside
Not always. Once you have a sealed RF container, you have the choice of what to let in and what to keep out. For example an active Cell/Pager repeater will provide excelent phone and pager coverage in the building. WiFi would not be in the passband and wouldn't get through. If you need it, you can always install an outdoor WiFi antenna and firewall it from your indoor LAN. Now WiFi works, but protected from snoops looking for the secure side of the LAN.
The truth shall set you free!
If it were effective, it would still be classified.
. kaya-optics.com/images/kodak_1_s.jpg&imgrefurl=htt p://www.kaya-optics.com/products/applications.shtm l&h=142&w=118&sz=23&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=KD3TcOf3Id c-bM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=78&prev=/images%3Fq%3DIR%2Bphot os%2Bsunglasses%2Btinted%2Bwindow%26gbv%3D2%26svnu m%3D10%26hl%3Den
Not always. Many things that were classified are no longer classified because they became common knowledge and no longer required protection. Some examples are encryption standards, Nuclear basics, some radio modulation techniques, some CPU's, some radio frequencies, and much data from WWII. Even some of the SR71 information is no longer classified.
The fact a window tinting film can have a metalized film that blocks RF is now common knowledge. Others have stumbled upon the fact. Offices with metalic colors such as bronze, copper or stainless, have had problems with cell and pager coverage. GPS users have had reception problems in some vehicles. Many films are designed to reduce IR transmission to keep the heat out. With all that general knowledge, having a classified film with these properties is a moot point.
Just because it is declassified does not make it ineffective. The stealth fighter is still a low radar profile item.
It was classified when the film was used on the cockpit windows of stealth fighters to prevent radar reflections from entering the cockpit and having a retro-reflection back to the radar source. It's now common knowledge the stealth fighters have RF screens over things like Jet intakes and conductive films over windows so the plane's cavities do not reflect a signal back to the direction it came from. This lack of a reflection back to the source is what makes a stealth plane invisable to radar. Very little signal returns. All reflections are sent off to an angle, not back to the source. It's no longer a secret, so the film tech is now declassified.
If you don't want to spend big bucks for the official military product, visit your local car window tinting shop. Ask for a film that keeps out the heat and has a a nice metalic tint. Ask for samples. Take them outside and lay them on your GPS while watching signal strength. Pick from the ones that kill the GPS reception. Now you have one that blocks far IR, maybe near IR and radio. If you need to block near IR, take a IR modified webcam and see if it is transparant in the near IR. Most non-metalic window tints are water clear in the near IR. An IR camera sees through them like ordinary window glass.
Sample photos of IR and sunglasses and other materials. Caution, fabric photo may not be safe for work.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www
The truth shall set you free!
"It can keep signals in (preventing attempts to spy on electronic communications) or out, minimizing radio interference and even the fabled electronics-destroying electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast."
I'm sure being able to view mutant porn after nuclear devastation hits will be a great comfort. Well done to all involved.
[Large corporate boardroom filled with suited executives]
Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some thoughts on this.
Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?
Exec #2: Oh, Uh... people aren't wearing enough.
Exec #1: Is this true?
Exec #4: Certainly. Hat sales have increased but not pari passu, as our research...
Exec #3: [Interrupting] "Not wearing enough"? enough for what purpose?
Exec #5: Can I just ask, with reference to your second point, when you say souls don't develop because people become distracted...
[looking out window]
Exec #5: Has anyone noticed that building there before?
Mongrel News all the news that fits and froths
I'd give a lot to see that smug "Can you hear me now?" guy walk into one of those buildings.
But I want to know when they will invent a window covering that blocks out visible light. I wonder if they have a classified solution. :)
I've been saying for a long time that what the world needs is a simple passive defence against mobile phones. Putting up signs only pisses off people who weren't going to be using a mobile anyway, and there are enough people who ignore them to make them ineffective.
..... but they also can't annoy people with a phone if it simply doesn't work.
A faraday shield is unintrusive (if implemented properly) and can't be ignored. Nobody thinks their rights are being violated when they can't get a signal
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!