A Force Field in Flat Gray to Protect a Wireless Network

[R.A. Hettinga]

<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/technology/circuits/23pain.html?pagewanted=print&position=>

The New York Times

December 23, 2004

A Force Field in Flat Gray to Protect a Wireless Network
 Adam Baer


s wireless networks have proliferated, computer security companies have
come up with increasingly complex defenses against hackers: password
protection, encryption, biometrics. Insulating the interior of a house,
apartment or office from radio-wave interference is a simpler concept that
has yet to become a popular consumer strategy, but a new product called
DefendAir from Force Field Wireless could change that.

Available online at forcefieldwireless.com, the product is a latex house
paint that has been laced with copper and aluminum fibers that form an
electromagnetic shield, blocking most radio waves and protecting wireless
networks. Priced at $69 a gallon and available only in flat gray (it can be
used as a primer), one coat shields Wi-Fi, WiMax and Bluetooth networks
operating at frequencies from 100 megahertz to 2.4 gigahertz.

 Two or three coats will achieve the paint's maximum level of protection,
good for networks operating at up to five gigahertz. Force Field Wireless
also sells a paint additive ($34 for a 32-ounce container, enough to treat
a gallon of paint) and $39 window-shield films.

 Harold Wray, a Force Field Wireless spokesman, said the paint must be
carefully applied. "Radio waves find leaks," he said.

 It should be applied selectively, he said, because it might hinder the
performance of radios, televisions and cellphones. "Our main goal is to
shield your wireless radio waves from hackers and outside interference," he
said. "Plus, today, many people watch cable television." Adam Baer

Copyrigh
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R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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