Stealth Wallpaper
Category: Tech...
Posted Monday, August 09, 2004 at 05:54 PM [GMT-6]

NewScientist.com has an article about new "wallpaper" that can be used to block outgoing Wi-Fi signals without interfering with cellphone usage. This technology was developed by a British company to address the concerns of business and government over the potential exposure of their networks to Wi-Fi hackers.

This is cool stuff, but I'm not sure I agree with one point the article makes, about the "relatively low cost" of the material. It apparently can be produced for about £500/sq metre, which according to my back-of-the-envelope calcutations works out to around ten bucks per square foot, American. When you consider the size of the average office building, that's a pretty hefty add-on (and that number is the production cost, not retail). Still, I suppose the data being protected is more valuable, although I tend to think that there are much cheaper software solutions to the problem.

Then there's this aspect to be considered: the material doesn't work on windows, although the manufacturer is working on a transparent version.

Gee...a security feature that doesn't work on (w)(W)indows. You didn't see that one coming, did you?

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Comments

Booo......

Posted by: shannon at August 9, 2004 10:07 PM

Now, Shannon...if you play with fire, sooner or later someone's gonna point a fire extinguisher in your general direction...

Posted by: Eric at August 9, 2004 10:09 PM

One fine day some dilligent civil servant in the British Government will have a flash of insight on par with the creation of the English Muffin.

"Crikey! A WiFi receiver can't detect a signal if it's not transmitted in the first place! The most secure way to defeat Wi Fi hackers is to use pre-existing 'land-line' technology. We won't even have to invest in anything new!"

A knight-hood for his stunning discovery is inevitable.

Posted by: Mr. Freen at August 10, 2004 08:20 AM

Sigh. Now, if they can only perfect it to weed out telemarketers from my phone.

Posted by: Cowtown Pattie at August 10, 2004 04:11 PM

Mr. Freen, the only problem with that is that Apple keeps making irresistible goodies like this:

http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/


And, Pattie, do you have any aversion to putting your number on the national DNC list? It's reduced our phone spam to almost zero.

Posted by: Eric at August 10, 2004 04:17 PM

%%%%%
A classmate of mine showed me this many years ago. Get a battery operated transistor radio, tune it to any station and raise the volume if you like. Now put that noisy transistor radio inside a can of biscuit and cover the can (both can and cover must be metallic). Notice that he transistor has stopped transmitting!!!! That's because the signal from the radio station cannot get into the can!!!!

I later found out that the above is what they call a "FARADAY CAGE"

I don't know what a Wi Fi is. But if it is sending out or receiving radio waves, the "faraday cage" will work. Just get Reynold's aluminum and completely wall paper the room, ceiling, floors, doors, windows, cracks with aluminum foil. Radio waves won't get in, won't get out. Literally, you are in the can!!! Just don't connect you antenna to any of these aluminum foils otherwise the aluminum foils will become your antenna.

Posted by: The Eurasian at August 10, 2004 05:07 PM
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