No more tin foil hats needed!

CNN - Signal-blocking wallpaper stops Wi-Fi stealing (and comes in a snowflake pattern!)

Researchers at France’s Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble have worked with the Centre Technique du Papier to develop Wi-Fi-blocking wallpaper. The product, also known as metapaper, claims to selectively filter, reduce or reflect electromagnetic waves.

I can see this product being used in data centers and other security intensive offices etc. I'm sure there are a few ATS'ers that may be wanting a few rolls too It only claims to block 99% of outside waves unless you wallpaper your floors, ceilings and windows too!

The high-tech paper does, however, allow FM radio waves and emergency frequencies to pass through.

Good thing. Imagine you finish wallpapering your entire house and find out you can no longer get your favorite radio station!

The metapaper also advertises itself as a healthy alternative, since it claims to reduce a person's exposure to electromagnetic waves. Scientists behind the product point to studies that say the overuse of wireless technology could cause harmful heath effects.

Not sure if there is any substance to this claim but I also won't rule it out. I think one day it will be apparent if EM waves have any significant effect on the human body but for now we will still keep our wireless networks/devices up and running.

Unless I was in a densely populated area such as a high rise apartment building with a lot of wireless networks in close proximity, I would stick to a can of paint!

that's all well and fine if you prefer your wifi being blocked to one room.

That our all the outside facing walls being coated in it, I suppose you could just paint over the layer to match the house.

the fact that radio waves still get through kind of defeats the purpose.

Im going to build a Faraday cage if I need that kind of protection in the first place, seems like a half measure or gimmick

I wonder if this is dangerous. Wifi does have some health effects and it would seem that this wall paper would cause those health effects to amplify. The wall paper REFLECTS wifi, not like a mirror, like a bouncy ball hitting a wall and returning. Thus causing double wifi rays maybe even triple or more if it keeps reflecting. Thus amplifying the wifi and the connection but all so amplifying the health effects.

reply to post by Infi8nity

I wonder if this is dangerous. Wifi does have some health effects and it would seem that this wall paper would cause those health effects to amplify. The wall paper REFLECTS wifi, not like a mirror, like a bouncy ball hitting a wall and returning. Thus causing double wifi rays maybe even triple or more if it keeps reflecting. Thus amplifying the wifi and the connection but all so amplifying the health effects.

I really hope your being facetious.

If the WiFi signals truly are reflected and not dissipated upon contact with the material it may be possible to "tunnel" a wireless signal.

I can't imagine the possible applications of tunneling a wireless signal through physical space, but hey, someone will think up an idea. Perhaps a hallway with this wallpaper could minimize the scope of the signal from everywhere to just the hallway, but also extend its range further down the hallway than it originally was intended. I hope that makes sense lol.

reply to post by Infi8nity

The product, also known as metapaper, claims to selectively filter, reduce or reflect electromagnetic waves.

It doesn't say the percentage of EM waves that are reflected but it does also say it would make the signal within the space stronger. Even if your inside signals are 10 fold with this product, I don't think that would come anywhere close to the amount of EM waves coming from the outside into your house everyday.

Sweet, I can redecorate my office, the tinfoil was getting rough on the eyes....

jk jk

Originally posted by Infi8nity
I wonder if this is dangerous. Wifi does have some health effects and it would seem that this wall paper would cause those health effects to amplify. The wall paper REFLECTS wifi, not like a mirror, like a bouncy ball hitting a wall and returning. Thus causing double wifi rays maybe even triple or more if it keeps reflecting. Thus amplifying the wifi and the connection but all so amplifying the health effects.

edit on 18-7-2012 by Infi8nity because: (no reason given)

The reflection/refraction of a energy wave causes a loss of energy, it does not amplify it.

The only actual exception to this rule is in a wave guide, a highly engineered "tube" used to carry energy waves when wiring isn't desired.

Originally posted by fenceSitter
Researchers at France’s Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble have worked with the Centre Technique du Papier to develop Wi-Fi-blocking wallpaper.

Makes me wonder why they bothered, when it was already done back in 2004, or alternatively with paint from 2007.

35 years ago I was taking the old wall paper from a frount room in a old victorian house.
and under it was a thin lare of Lead?
what was he hiding from?

I would bet the new technology will beat this.

I think this a great idea , it would be a huge increase in security for anyone who has wifi in their home. It would make sure that no one would be able to hack it from the outside.

How many of you have people leeching of your WPS WPA/WPA2 wifi without realizing it? There are a plenty of programs out there that can brute force this popular kind of wifi setup.

Reaver has been designed to be a robust and practical attack against WPS, and has been tested against a wide variety of access points and WPS implementations.

On average Reaver will recover the target AP's plain text WPA/WPA2 passphrase in 4-10 hours, depending on the AP. In practice, it will generally take half this time to guess the correct WPS pin and recover the passphrase.