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Using Aluminum Oxide Paint To Secure Wi-Fi

Posted by Soulskill on from the prank-possibilities-abound dept.

eldavojohn writes "The BBC reports on people using aluminum oxide in their paint to block Wi-Fi signals from leaving their home or business. Aluminum oxide resonates at the same frequency as Wi-Fi signals and other radio waves, blocking data from going outside a building. It's not a flawless solution, as it may also block AM/FM signals. You or your neighbors may be unwittingly using this already, as most pre-finished wood flooring uses aluminum oxide as a protective coating."

16 of 271 comments (clear)

  1. Extra protection? by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm already using aluminum foil lining in many of my hats and clothes to protect me from the government transmissions. However, I hadn't heard that Al2O3 was any better than straight aluminum foil.

    It seems suspicious that this story would be posted immediately after I began considering papering my walls with foil.

    1. Re:Extra protection? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You know that they tell you to use aluminum foil hats to INCREASE the effect of radio waves on your brain. The result is that you get paranoid enough to look in the wrong places for THEM.

    2. Re:Extra protection? by Abstrackt · · Score: 4, Funny

      You might want to read this article on the effectiveness of foil helmets. ;)

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    3. Re:Extra protection? by AndrewNeo · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, not Supperman! He brings me my dinner!

    4. Re:Extra protection? by PotatoFarmer · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ah yes, the elusive Supperman. I was very unhappy when Marvel finally decided to have him killed off by his arch-nemesis Bulimiax.

      I still cherish my pristine copy of Supperman #103, in which he manages to incapacitate the entire Third Reich by making them fall asleep after a huge turkey dinner.

    5. Re:Extra protection? by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ah yes, the elusive Supperman. I was very unhappy when Marvel finally decided to have him killed off by his arch-nemesis Bulimiax.

      Now that was brutal ending for a superhero - he was literally chewed up and spit back out.

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    6. Re:Extra protection? by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now that was brutal ending for a superhero - he was literally chewed up and spit back out.

      But you have to admit it was a fitting end to the story arc that began when Supperman refused to save Bulimiax's adopted daughter, Anna Rexia, after she overused her power trying to starve a whole middle school. Dying, she promised she'd renounce her evil ways if he only gave her a bite of supper! Sure he may have had a point when he said she was lying and would never truly change, but finishing her off with "And you're fat!" was really uncalled for.

      Another victim of the "dark anti-hero" trend of the 80s/90s.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  2. Finally!! by Ludedude · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...a way to stop wearing this itchy tinfoil hat!

    --
    Then != than you morons.
  3. "By coating an entire room..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wouldn't you have to paint over the windows?

    1. Re:"By coating an entire room..." by M8e · · Score: 2, Funny

      You could use a fine metal mesh instead of paint for the windows.

  4. Hey, it's good enough for the office... by d474 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I dipped my head in this aluminum oxide paint, and it keeps all their signals out. Granted, I look somewhat like a cyborg now, but this stuff should work just fine for an office trying to keep their signals in.

    --
    Authority questions you. Return the favor.
    1. Re:Hey, it's good enough for the office... by Anonymous+Monkey · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh, I've got that covered. Copper pipes in the walls, outside of my shielding, are used for heat transfer. I can make my home look thermally normal despite the fact that I house a fusion generator. Obviously it is in one of the lower sub basements, and above the sprite cans.

      --
      We are the Borg...
  5. Re:Why not share wi-fi? by RabidMoose · · Score: 4, Funny

    Admit it. You're just bitter that your neighbor finally turned on WPA2, and now you have to go to the library to read Slashdot.

  6. Re:Does not resonate with me by quatin · · Score: 5, Funny

    So you went inside a Faraday Cage with an unprotected ethernet cable and managed to get cell phone reception. I on the other hand, can't get cell phone reception if I stand too close to my filing cabinet. I either need to switch to your provider or you need to come do your WiFi experiments next to my filing cabinet.

  7. Re:Does not resonate with me by Gilmoure · · Score: 2, Funny

    Plug your filing cabinet in to your router?

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
  8. Re:What is so hard about using WPA2? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I use encryption and MAC address lists together because it means that if somebody wants to get in they have to do two things instead of just one.

    I wrap my money in a plastic bag before putting it in a safe because it means that if somebody wants to get in they have to do two things instead of just one.