I'm not impressed. If you really want to impress me, use a Cap'n Crunch whistle over a Bluetooth-enabled phone to switch your neighbor's TV to the Spice channel with the volume up to 50.
Do you really think you wouldn't go to jail for aiming that thing at someone? The police don't care if it's not a real rifle, the same as they wouldn't care if you aimed a realistic looking squirtgun at someone on the highway. As far as they're concerned, if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, you're threatening someone with a duck.
The beauty of the sniper rig is that you're not SUPPOSED to be -seen-.
Besides, if you can do this with a sniper rifle, you can do it with gear that looks like a telephoto rig. While it won't look less suspicious, it will appear less malicious.
At least in The United States of Ashcroft you'd only be charged with attempted murder for pointing a sniper-rifle-looking thing at someone.
If you were to point a camera at someone instead, you'd be arrested for "casing a national security threat" and held indefinitely without bail until they decided to execute you.
The police don't care if it's not a real rifle, the same as they wouldn't care if you aimed a realistic looking squirtgun at someone on the highway.
Very true. Most states use the "resonable person" test for this. If the reasonable person would think that it's a weapon, then it is prosecuted as such. This is why guys who stick up 7-11s with toy guns still get still get charged with armed robbery.
You've got to be kidding!!!!!!!!! how is this funny? The idiot did not even take the time to click on the article before articulating a kharma whoring response. What are the mods doing here, rewarding laziness? I smell abuse, someone meta-moderate this.
Hell the Choate Ruger Mini-14 stock is used in actual guns. If I was a cop and I saw someone pointing this thing at someone, I would shoot first find out the answers later - and too bad for the geek who was dumb enough to walk around with one of these.
Now if I happend to see someone pointing one of these at me (and no real sniper would get seen, but we are talking geeks not snipers) I would run so fast, in such a chaotic zig zag that you would think i was froggart on crack.
I don't know about that. If you design and place a very powerful 2.4GHz emitter so it goes right up their Yagi, then I bet you could damage the receiver electronics of the bluetooth device they're using.
Kind of like sticking a carrot in the gun barrel and letting them blow it up themselves.
At least these are active attacks - you should be able to honeypot it very easily, or at the minimum detect attacks, and jam them if needed.
...that you have to call the guy at the other end and ask him to stand very very still:)
He might be able to recognize your voice. The really nerdly thing to do would be to send the guy a text message from himself, telling him to stand still.
by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Friday August 06, 2004 @11:19AM (#9899139)
... or something to make it look like a toy. They're going to have real guns pointed at them if they keep carrying that around, and I'd say anyone that shoots back would be entirely justified.
For hunters safety class, you're told to carry binoculars. Sure there's a scope on your rifle, but most things (also read: people) that you want to see up close also run the risk of getting shot.
You get a different vibe when someone is "just looking" at you with binoculars than with a rifle scope. Also, the environment you're in (hunting season) means that the person you'd be aiming at ALSO has a decent weapon and would be very interested in observing you in the same manner. The person reacting would also
I have been using the t616 since it came out a yea ago, by far the best phone I ever owned. Having bluetooth on wil only drain your batteries, and you receive random advertisements from phone co.'s and misc. online services on mMode. There is no point to leaving it on until you are transferring your phonebook, sending images, or in class, waiting to battle someone else in mini-golf!
That and with my bluetooth headset and voice dialing I don't have to touch my phone, to answer or make a call.
And so what if it drains the batteries a little faster. I have to plug it in every three days instead of every four.
Of course I don't have any sensitive info on my phone.
And as to using the phone as a bug, the technology is out there to do that with any wireless phone out there. Without using any fancy bluetooth hacking to do it either. The phone doesn't even need to be on. If you want sec
The "rifle" design with a scope actually makes sense. If there's a moving target at a decent enough distance, all you have to do it keep them in the sights while you communicate with the device. Otherwise, a yagi on a stick without sights is probably a little harder to aim precisely, especially if your target is far away.
A telescope or transit tripod. You're going to be a little obvious pointing any object that looks like a rifle at someone only 50' away. Especially in an urban area. I would also imagine that the weight is more than it needs to be, since the stock and grip are designed to resist the kick. It still gets "cool points" in my book though. Parhaps it would work out better to build a directional antenna within a telescope or transit, so as to be a little more inconspicuous.
The "rifle" design with a scope actually makes sense. If there's a moving target at a decent enough distance, all you have to do it keep them in the sights while you communicate with the device. Otherwise, a yagi on a stick without sights is probably a little harder to aim precisely, especially if your target is far away.
Well, it doesn't make that much sense. A 14dbi Yagi has a beamwidth of about 30 degrees or so. A 4x sniper scope probably has a field of 10 degrees or so, an 8x scope, more like 7 deg
They've just got image poaching turned off. Go here [tomshardware.com]. Scroll down (possibly to the pixellated hammer image) and hit refresh if needed. It looks surprisingly cool.
As far as the hammer... I'm sure it would work just fine as a close-range, permanent DoS tool.
According to a story on Wired, Adam Laurie and Martin Herfurt demonstrated that they can hack a Bluetooth enabled phone from up to a mile away using a sniper rifle with yagi antenna.
Surviving the 21st century:
Pencil
Pocket knife
Pad of paper
Water bottle
&
Towel
BTW the Hitchhikers Guide is now considered a bad idea, as even it has proven to be hackable, particularly by those who consider themselves to be hoopy froods (though inaccurate entries may be inserted, and attempts to modify the operating system of all versions of the Guide result in the brief appearance of a hungry ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal, followed shortly by the departure of a not quite as hungry ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal.)
If deployed in the field, special ops soldiers can approach a terrorist safehouse, and activate this device to hack into any cell phone that may be vulnerable. Then they could simply listen in on the safehouse without ever being even 500 feet away, and can discern their movement if necessary.
All this translates into being able not to tip off the bad guys that you are coming, and still able to glean important intel.
I wonder whether there are other Bluetooth devices that could be attacked this way. For example, it seems theoretically possible to also listen in on data transfers - say between PDAs or cameras and laptops.
No, that's not what I mean (and if I put it poorly, it is my fault).
I understand the value of sigintel. What I was trying to point out was the device's tactical value. The ability to turn on the phone without the owner noticing, essentially using the phone to monitor the room, would help special ops make last-minute or on-the-scene decisions. What if you hear an unexpected voice in the safehouse, and that person's being there suddenly changes the situation? What if you learn that there are suddenly hos
"The BlueSniper rifle for capturing data from Bluetooth-enabled phones is constructed from a Choate Ruger Mini-14 stock, 14dbi semi-directional Yagi antenna, standard rifle scope, electrical tape, zip ties and cardboard."
They really should have used duct tape rather then electrical tape. It would have been much more Chic!
He conducted a similar test at Britain's House of Parliament, carrying a laptop in his backpack. After going through security, he wandered the ground floor for 14 minutes looking at paintings and passing politicians while the attack ran automatically from his backpack. Of 46 Bluetooth devices he found, eight phones were vulnerable to attack.
Using this hack in the 'research' stage of a social engineering attack would be quite useful. Between this and the photos of the blue tooth sniper rifle, why hasn't MI5 highered these guys? Honestly! The guy in the photo reminded me of 'Q' in James Bond. Brilliant work.
This is yet another reason NOT to buy those stupid phones with 14 different features. Every time I buy a cell phone, I buy the cheapest one available, so it doesn't have all of this crap associated with it. I just want a cell phone that *works*. The last thing I want is a phone with so many useless features that it actually has *security* holes! That's insane. So if it comes to the point where the only phone I can get has this stupid Bluetooth stuff, then I have to worry about feds wiretapping me AND kids hacking in? Great. I'm going back to cans and string.
It surprises me how retarded people on a technology site can be.
Do you avoid those stupid computers and just buy 4-function calculators to avoid all those viruses, trojans, spam and all the other crap associated with the internet and modern computing? I guess not.
If you look closely, people being hax0r3d are almost always the ones who don't understand what they're doing.
-Don't enable full read/write access to all files while using broadband without a firewall. -Don't leave bluetooth enabled when not using
Don't leave bluetooth enabled when not using it? Jesus christ... we're talking about a PHONE here? That's entirely too complicated. That's like saying that you should disconnect your computer from the Net when you're not using it. It's very simple... bluetooth is insecure, and is not used by probably 99% of people with cellphones. Thus, the smart thing to do is to avoid it like the plauge.
Yeah, but all I want my phone to do is store numbers and call numbers. Seriously. I'll get a seperate PDA for the rest of the crap. And no f'ing way I want a camera on there either. If I wanted a camera, I'd get a nice slim digital, or a real SLR camera.
I hear ya! I'd never want a cellphone I could wirelessly connect up to my PDA to give me the internet whereever I am anywhere in Europe. That sounds horrible.
If you would run around with your bluetooth turned on and advertising itself, of course there's a risk. Lots of features on phones are silly, but bluetooth is genuinely useful. I sit at my PC at work, and my address book syncs with my phone while it's still in my pocket. When I'm listening to music from my computer on my headphones, I can make ca
Laurie said most people don't think they have valuable data on their phones, but many people store passwords, PINs and financial account numbers in their phones.
Where there's a will, there is a way. This is similar to the spam issue. Many arguethat spam would be reduced adn sys admins would have an easier life if curious people did not impulsively click on evrey ad that they see, nor respond to every question about income or dick size that landed in your email.
In the caseof bluetooth, people need to realize that these are phones, not safes with locks. tThe average person takes data security for granted, because they don't understand or care to consider the functionality of the device or the technology they are carrying. "If it's in my pocket, it's safe." BS. If you can send signals with it, it can receive signals. Similarly, if you park your car for three days with the driver side door open, most likely it will not be there when you come back (Unless you live on an island where yours is one of five cars, easily recoverable). Getsmart people!
First off the gain of the antenna is quite low for a "1 mile away" hack. if they had a custom bi-directional amplifier that was not only a preamp on the incoming signals but bosting the transmit I would start to agree.
I can also see 1 mile away with a dish antenna giving them more in the 25-30db gain range... espically considering that they are losing at least 3db in the cable it's self.
It's a neat idea, and the close range (100-500 feet) possibilities with a basic directional antenna are certianly poss
I was there - holding the Nokia out in front of me. TechTV was there filming the test from both sides. It will appear on The Screen Savers at some point.
We used a high gain, 19dBi, panel antenna attached to a Linksys Class 1 Bluetooth adapter - picture [wifi-toys.com].
Using this equipment, last week we transferred a few pictures from 3300 feet (1 km). This week we bluesnarfed from about 5300 feet (1.08 miles).
The whole point of these experiments is to show that Bluetooth can go a lot further than previously suspected. Witness the 55.1 mile link [wifi-toys.com] using 30 mw wifi.
Lack of details is because it's in Wired News. Look for a writeup on www.wifi-toys.com [wifi-toys.com] later today.
I'd think a pringles or coke can would be a bit less conspicuous..
On the other hand you know those security video cameras used in public places which can be remote controlled to rotate and zoom in on someone's face? They are usually hidden in smoked glass domes in ceiling or, I suppose, in less conspicuous ways in places like casinos or board rooms. Sounds like another good aiming device, I saw one $500 dollar model in Akihabara recently you can operate from a web page. Same shop for a few hundred bucks also sold remote cameras accessible via UHF.
I'd be worried if I carried anything with Bluetooth (so far I've resisted..) The more it penetrates it seems the more tiny yagi antennas you'll see. Only saving grace I could imagine is if the yagi antenna is left powered up maybe you could detect it as the camera pans across you... IANA EM Engineer but would not a yagi antenna also transmit towards you any noise from say the video camera's motor or power supply? If so a detector might be in order..
As I was reading the only thing I could think about was James Bond standing on top of a building and spying on someone's conversation using the Bluetooth rifle...now that is an awesome hack.
If some asshat need in you arises that demands that you must listen in on a conversation with my wife as she bitches at me for buying ROMA TOMATOES instead of CHERRY TOMATOES (they're fucking red, for Christ's sake), you go right ahead.
And if it gets your lollies off to hear that, wait until she calls me to inform me that I, once again, forgot to let the dog shit before going to work. And I must clean up what ensued.
After I RTFA, I found that a sniper rifle was not used
The BlueSniper "rifle," created by John Hering and colleagues at Flexilis as a proof-of-concept device, resembles a rifle. It has a vision scope and a yagi antenna with a cable that runs to a Bluetooth-enabled laptop or PDA in a backpack.
From even a moderate distance, very closely. I think part of it is simply the stance, the way it's held. But it's also colored like a rifle, the same length as a rifle, and has a similar handle on one end. It's very convincing. Actually aiming the thing, and pointing it at somebody, would be more than enough to create some seriously panicked people.
Concept is cool, but anybody that uses this thing in public would be in serious danger of being shot by a SWAT team.
The scope and the rifle are already calibrated. If you use a stand alone scope, where exactly will you fit the antenna. I actually think its pretty cool. Wonder what their defense would be if they got caught pointing the rifle at someone.
To my knowledge, there is no law anywhere that makes it illegal to point an antenna at someone. So, they do not require any defense to prosecution...
Yeah, but if it's an antenna mounted on a rifle stock that looks a lot like a rifle, you could be shot (justifiably) by the cops in their self-defense. Hell, the cops have killed people holding toy guns or cell phones and gotten off. Something that is mounted on a rifle stock and looks a lot like a rifle is not something you'd want to be pointing at people
I think you're going to be in trouble from Homeland Security, but not necessarily the regular police. You have a right to bear arms. While you can carry a rifle without a license in plain sight downtown (barring municipal codes), it's illegal to have a handgun in a safe at your home unless you're licensed, registered, and have passed a background check.
But Homeland Security throws that out the window; any "terrorist activity", as they define it, is susceptible to their rules.
If the 2nd ammendment was rewritten today, with todays needs in mind (and not those 200+ years ago), there wouldn't be a 2nd ammendment. Or if there was, it would be two words. The military. Not a bunch of accountants running around with handguns, making "pow! pow!" sounds. Like they could force off an attack from anyone, apart form some other accountants. Guns don't make soldiers. Just because you have the means to kill a person, doesn't mean you would be able to. Shit. I have lots of frying pans a
The Bill of Rights was framed right after we Americans just removed a foreign government from our lands. In order to have a revolution - you need free speech to articulate your reasons, you need privacy and meeting to plan, and you need guns.
That the reason the Bill of Rights allows us to talk, meet and have guns.... just in case.
When you purchase a handgun in the state where I live, you have to pass a background check, plus a 24-hour "cooling off" period. At the end of this period you get a handgun permit. All handguns purchased in the state must be registered.
And I'm not even going to get into the concealed weapon laws in this state.
Now why someone thought it necessary to call it a 'sniper rifle' when they submitted the article is beyond me since it's at the very least misleading.
It actually makes a lot of sense, no? The device resembles a rifle- not just out of some "cool" factor, but because use of the device requires aim, and the rifle form is suitable. It also has metaphorical relation to the rifle, in that it's a "weapon of attack", so to speak. Further, insofar as the attack is a long range attack from a concealed location, it makes a certain amount of sense to call it "sniping".
So, insofar as it lead to you believe people were firing bullets through a sniper rifle as a means to hack cell-phones, yes, it was misleading. However, I think it was only intended to draw the obvious metaphorical comparison between what these guys were doing and what a sniper does.
serves me right, RTFA:-))) - Sniper-Geek-Boy is an Old European whose company lives in a Cold War Bunker... nuff said, maybe there is a pattern here. Maybe you guys can help him join the Army over there, our Army is getting cut back...
Name one other easily portable form factor you could use to point a "stick" shaped object at a phone far away, while holding it steady and being able to follow the users movement with your eyes while tracking them with the end of "said" stick. It's pretty obvious why they chose a rifle form. It's definitely the most ergonomic option.
And most gun owners are white, middle-class, and vote republican. Not the most caring people in the world (and some would say selfish). That's a pretty valid target, if you ask me.
Great (Score:5, Funny)
So? (Score:5, Funny)
Fun.
Re:So? (Score:2)
Especially if you think Spice sucks.
Re:So? (Score:2)
Re:So? (Score:2)
Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:4, Funny)
What, so instead of "Fucking tool" it now will mean "Fucking tool who's in jail for aiming a sniper rifle at someone"?
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:5, Funny)
That would result in:
2) Nerd factor points increase in orders of magnitude
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:2)
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:2, Insightful)
Besides, if you can do this with a sniper rifle, you can do it with gear that looks like a telephoto rig. While it won't look less suspicious, it will appear less malicious.
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:3, Insightful)
If you were to point a camera at someone instead, you'd be arrested for "casing a national security threat" and held indefinitely without bail until they decided to execute you.
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:2)
Very true. Most states use the "resonable person" test for this. If the reasonable person would think that it's a weapon, then it is prosecuted as such. This is why guys who stick up 7-11s with toy guns still get still get charged with armed robbery.
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:3, Interesting)
You're right, they might shoot first and ask questions later.
Any moron who actually does this in public deserves the Darwin award they get.
Re:Kinda gives a new meaning to '1337 hAx0r2'. (Score:3, Informative)
You don't gain karma for a Funny mod.
But you do gain karma (Score:3, Funny)
Funny how that works.
guns.. (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, (Score:2, Funny)
Re:guns.. (Score:2)
Come to think of it, guns are a rather impressive hacking tool. I'm gonna go next door and hack my neighbor's porn stash.
Re:guns.. (Score:2)
Read the grandparent. It looks like one from far away.
Re:guns.. (Score:2)
Now if I happend to see someone pointing one of these at me (and no real sniper would get seen, but we are talking geeks not snipers) I would run so fast, in such a chaotic zig zag that you would think i was froggart on crack.
Camping bastards... (Score:5, Funny)
Now in real life too. Too bad you can't toss the occasional opportunistic grenade like in Half Life.
Re:Camping bastards... (Score:3, Interesting)
Kind of like sticking a carrot in the gun barrel and letting them blow it up themselves.
At least these are active attacks - you should be able to honeypot it very easily, or at the minimum detect attacks, and jam them if needed.
-Adam
Re:Camping bastards... (Score:3, Funny)
Wow. That's a euphemism I've never heard before.
Sweet (Score:5, Funny)
It would be interesting... (Score:5, Interesting)
War Sniping?
Re:It would be interesting... (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, Except... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Yeah, Except... (Score:2)
He might be able to recognize your voice. The really nerdly thing to do would be to send the guy a text message from himself, telling him to stand still.
They should paint that thing orange (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:They should paint that thing orange (Score:2)
Why not go for LIME GREEN socks and PURPLE sandles to really make a fashion statement.
forget colors, redesign it. (Score:3, Interesting)
You get a different vibe when someone is "just looking" at you with binoculars than with a rifle scope. Also, the environment you're in (hunting season) means that the person you'd be aiming at ALSO has a decent weapon and would be very interested in observing you in the same manner. The person reacting would also
L33t? (Score:2, Insightful)
Uhm, no, not really. Not at all.
that's why (Score:5, Interesting)
Is there really any need to have bluetooth turned on all the time? I would think that it just wastes batteries.
Re:that's why (Score:2)
Is there really any need to have bluetooth turned on all the time?
Only if you live in the UK [wired.com].
Re:that's why (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:that's why (Score:3, Funny)
p
Re:that's why (Score:2)
Re:that's why (Score:2)
And so what if it drains the batteries a little faster. I have to plug it in every three days instead of every four.
Of course I don't have any sensitive info on my phone.
And as to using the phone as a bug, the technology is out there to do that with any wireless phone out there. Without using any fancy bluetooth hacking to do it either. The phone doesn't even need to be on. If you want sec
I didn't realize that ... (Score:3, Funny)
Learn something new every day.
Re:I didn't realize that ... (Score:2)
After all, they are part of the Marketting department.
Sensible design for its purpose (Score:4, Insightful)
Not really. A camera tripod would be better or .. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sensible design for its purpose (Score:2)
1) Look through rifle sight and find vulnerable phone
2) Pull trigger to plant bug (to whatever end)
3) ???
4) Profit?
Re:Sensible design for its purpose (Score:3, Informative)
More info (Score:5, Informative)
Was covered in brief on tomshardware in a post on /. yestarday
It looks nifty, but its not a sniper rifle (Score:5, Informative)
Re:It looks nifty, but its not a sniper rifle (Score:2)
Re:It looks nifty, but its not a sniper rifle (Score:2)
Someone have another picture?
Re:It looks nifty, but its not a sniper rifle (Score:2)
As far as the hammer... I'm sure it would work just fine as a close-range, permanent DoS tool.
Luddites Rejoice (Score:3, Funny)
Surviving the 21st century:
Pencil
Pocket knife
Pad of paper
Water bottle
&
Towel
BTW the Hitchhikers Guide is now considered a bad idea, as even it has proven to be hackable, particularly by those who consider themselves to be hoopy froods (though inaccurate entries may be inserted, and attempts to modify the operating system of all versions of the Guide result in the brief appearance of a hungry ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal, followed shortly by the departure of a not quite as hungry ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal.)
Interesting Military Application (Score:5, Interesting)
All this translates into being able not to tip off the bad guys that you are coming, and still able to glean important intel.
Other Bluetooth Devices (Score:2)
Re:Other Bluetooth Devices (Score:2)
Minor Nit Pick (Score:2)
Re:Interesting Military Application (Score:2)
...except that in about ten years, the sms kiddies of today will be in the military and terrorists will get stuff like:
OMG! U R B-ing h@X0ReD!!1!11! We R listen 2 U!!111oneone!!!one!eleven!! USA R0X0r2! U SuX0r2!
Something tells me they are going to notice.
Re:Interesting Military Application (Score:2)
I understand the value of sigintel. What I was trying to point out was the device's tactical value. The ability to turn on the phone without the owner noticing, essentially using the phone to monitor the room, would help special ops make last-minute or on-the-scene decisions. What if you hear an unexpected voice in the safehouse, and that person's being there suddenly changes the situation? What if you learn that there are suddenly hos
Yeah but then.... (Score:3, Funny)
They missed something (Score:3, Funny)
They really should have used duct tape rather then electrical tape. It would have been much more Chic!
Blue War Walking....? (Score:3, Interesting)
Link to picture (Score:2, Informative)
Yet another reason to get the *cheap* phones (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yet another reason to get the *cheap* phones (Score:3, Informative)
Do you avoid those stupid computers and just buy 4-function calculators to avoid all those viruses, trojans, spam and all the other crap associated with the internet and modern computing? I guess not.
If you look closely, people being hax0r3d are almost always the ones who don't understand what they're doing.
-Don't enable full read/write access to all files while using broadband without a firewall.
-Don't leave bluetooth enabled when not using
Re:Yet another reason to get the *cheap* phones (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Yet another reason to get the *cheap* phones (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yet another reason to get the *cheap* phones (Score:3, Informative)
If you would run around with your bluetooth turned on and advertising itself, of course there's a risk. Lots of features on phones are silly, but bluetooth is genuinely useful. I sit at my PC at work, and my address book syncs with my phone while it's still in my pocket. When I'm listening to music from my computer on my headphones, I can make ca
That explains a lot. (Score:5, Funny)
Ignorant Users make this possible (Score:3, Interesting)
Where there's a will, there is a way. This is similar to the spam issue. Many arguethat spam would be reduced adn sys admins would have an easier life if curious people did not impulsively click on evrey ad that they see, nor respond to every question about income or dick size that landed in your email.
In the caseof bluetooth, people need to realize that these are phones, not safes with locks. tThe average person takes data security for granted, because they don't understand or care to consider the functionality of the device or the technology they are carrying. "If it's in my pocket, it's safe." BS. If you can send signals with it, it can receive signals. Similarly, if you park your car for three days with the driver side door open, most likely it will not be there when you come back (Unless you live on an island where yours is one of five cars, easily recoverable). Getsmart people!
In other news ... (Score:5, Funny)
i'm suspect at the lack of details. (Score:2)
I can also see 1 mile away with a dish antenna giving them more in the 25-30db gain range... espically considering that they are losing at least 3db in the cable it's self.
It's a neat idea, and the close range (100-500 feet) possibilities with a basic directional antenna are certianly poss
Re:i'm suspect at the lack of details. (Score:4, Informative)
We used a high gain, 19dBi, panel antenna attached to a Linksys Class 1 Bluetooth adapter - picture [wifi-toys.com].
Using this equipment, last week we transferred a few pictures from 3300 feet (1 km). This week we bluesnarfed from about 5300 feet (1.08 miles).
The whole point of these experiments is to show that Bluetooth can go a lot further than previously suspected. Witness the 55.1 mile link [wifi-toys.com] using 30 mw wifi.
Lack of details is because it's in Wired News. Look for a writeup on www.wifi-toys.com [wifi-toys.com] later today.
--
Carbolic
wifi-toys.com [wifi-toys.com]
bluedriving.com [bluedriving.com]
Less conspicuous in wild.. cans and cameras (Score:4, Interesting)
On the other hand you know those security video cameras used in public places which can be remote controlled to rotate and zoom in on someone's face? They are usually hidden in smoked glass domes in ceiling or, I suppose, in less conspicuous ways in places like casinos or board rooms. Sounds like another good aiming device, I saw one $500 dollar model in Akihabara recently you can operate from a web page. Same shop for a few hundred bucks also sold remote cameras accessible via UHF.
I'd be worried if I carried anything with Bluetooth (so far I've resisted..) The more it penetrates it seems the more tiny yagi antennas you'll see. Only saving grace I could imagine is if the yagi antenna is left powered up maybe you could detect it as the camera pans across you... IANA EM Engineer but would not a yagi antenna also transmit towards you any noise from say the video camera's motor or power supply? If so a detector might be in order..
James Bond (Score:4, Funny)
If you really must hear... (Score:4, Funny)
If some asshat need in you arises that demands that you must listen in on a conversation with my wife as she bitches at me for buying ROMA TOMATOES instead of CHERRY TOMATOES (they're fucking red, for Christ's sake), you go right ahead.
And if it gets your lollies off to hear that, wait until she calls me to inform me that I, once again, forgot to let the dog shit before going to work. And I must clean up what ensued.
Yeah -- hack that. All you want.
IronChefMorimoto
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:5, Informative)
After I RTFA, I found that a sniper rifle was not used
The BlueSniper "rifle," created by John Hering and colleagues at Flexilis as a proof-of-concept device, resembles a rifle. It has a vision scope and a yagi antenna with a cable that runs to a Bluetooth-enabled laptop or PDA in a backpack.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:4, Informative)
How much does it resemble a rifle? People get shot here in NYC when wallets and candy bars get mistaken for weapons...
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:3, Informative)
From even a moderate distance, very closely. I think part of it is simply the stance, the way it's held. But it's also colored like a rifle, the same length as a rifle, and has a similar handle on one end. It's very convincing. Actually aiming the thing, and pointing it at somebody, would be more than enough to create some seriously panicked people.
Concept is cool, but anybody that uses this thing in public would be in serious danger of being shot by a SWAT team.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Pictue and description of rifle here. [tomshardware.com]
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Umm, how about "It's an antenna, not a gun."
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2, Funny)
Hopefully kevlar.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Yeah, but if it's an antenna mounted on a rifle stock that looks a lot like a rifle, you could be shot (justifiably) by the cops in their self-defense. Hell, the cops have killed people holding toy guns or cell phones and gotten off. Something that is mounted on a rifle stock and looks a lot like a rifle is not something you'd want to be pointing at people
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2, Informative)
But Homeland Security throws that out the window; any "terrorist activity", as they define it, is susceptible to their rules.
One of the reasons why laws
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
The Bill of Rights was framed right after we Americans just removed a foreign government from our lands. In order to have a revolution - you need free speech to articulate your reasons, you need privacy and meeting to plan, and you need guns.
That the reason the Bill of Rights allows us to talk, meet and have guns.... just in case.
Re:uh what country are you from? (Score:2)
When you purchase a handgun in the state where I live, you have to pass a background check, plus a 24-hour "cooling off" period. At the end of this period you get a handgun permit. All handguns purchased in the state must be registered.
And I'm not even going to get into the concealed weapon laws in this state.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:5, Informative)
It actually makes a lot of sense, no? The device resembles a rifle- not just out of some "cool" factor, but because use of the device requires aim, and the rifle form is suitable. It also has metaphorical relation to the rifle, in that it's a "weapon of attack", so to speak. Further, insofar as the attack is a long range attack from a concealed location, it makes a certain amount of sense to call it "sniping".
So, insofar as it lead to you believe people were firing bullets through a sniper rifle as a means to hack cell-phones, yes, it was misleading. However, I think it was only intended to draw the obvious metaphorical comparison between what these guys were doing and what a sniper does.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:3, Funny)
I thank you.
Re:Sniper rifle?! (Score:2)
* Rifles
* Hacking
* Vicious Camping
Sounds to me like they played too much CS.
Re:Time (Score:3, Funny)
What else are they going to do with their time once they get kicked out of their parents basements?
Dupe (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Can there be buildings between? (Score:2, Informative)
Also, with a yagi antenna you best be right on where you aim it. A feew degrees also causes a huge signal degridation.
reads the article, replies to self :-) (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Old European Response, WTF? (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Old European Response, WTF? (Score:2)
Re:Obligatory Old European Response, WTF? (Score:2)
Re:DOn't believe it (Score:2)
nokia admits [zdnet.co.uk] that some of their phones are vulnerable to bluesnarfing.
Security Focus also has some good information. [securityfocus.com]
or blue stumbler [bluestumbler.org] or bluejackQ [bluejackq.com] might interest you.
Re:hrrm (Score:2)