Blocking RF

[ravenmaddox]

Will a thin piece of alimunium really block an RF signal? I'm wondering if I can wrap my wireless router in aluminum at night to keep war-drivers from BackTrack-ing and hacking it. And no I don't want to have to turn the option on and off each day. I'd really like to line a cardboard box or something so that my mostly computer illiterate girlfriend could just cover or uncover as necessary even if I wasn't around. Any ideas?

[markov]

Why not just use strong encryption instead?

I'm pretty sure my 64 random character WAP2 is good enough to protect from drivers, although I've been considering changing it since its annoying when I do need the password

[trevelyn]

naw, it doesn't really matter how long the passphrase is - it can still be phished. I think a small sheet of aluminum may be enough to block RF leaking from RFID chip, which isn't barely any signal at all and usually generated by the RFID reader's antenna. If you really need to - lower the signal strength, use protective mylar coating on your windows and walls - which will reflect the signal back into your home, use WPA2-Enterprise only, and don't fall for a phishing scam. Here's an example of a phisher i made:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hREtUqw5CrY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/hREtUqw5CrY&rel=1</a>

Radio uses a shared medium. <-- keyword == "shared." It will never be secured completely.

[rbcp]

A couple years ago, when I wasn't using any wireless myself, but I still wanted my kids to be able to connect their DSi's when they wanted, I set up a 2nd router on our network and added a big red button into the front of it that turned it on and off.

Today my form of security consists of living in a horrible neighborhood of meth users that have never heard of the internet.

[nyphonejacks]

why not just use RF shielded paint to paint your house? this way the WiFi signal will stay inside your home..

[trevelyn]

A couple years ago, when I wasn't using any wireless myself, but I still wanted my kids to be able to connect their DSi's when they wanted, I set up a 2nd router on our network and added a big red button into the front of it that turned it on and off.

Today my form of security consists of living in a horrible neighborhood of meth users that have never heard of the internet.

My own mediocre attempt at humor has been highly amusing to myself.!!!

[markov]

Here's an example of a phisher i made:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/hREtUqw5CrY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/hREtUqw5CrY&rel=1</a>

Interesting... I hadn't seen this technique before. Cheers to learning something new