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Make an RFID-proof wallet 238

Posted by Hemos from the build-your-own dept.
99luftballon writes "If, like me, you're more than a little concerned about the privacy aspects of RFID there's a useful enthusiast's web page on making your own RFID-blocking wallet. OK, it's never going to win any prizes for beauty or garner fashion awards but should be effective and seems perfectly practical. "
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Make an RFID-proof wallet More

Make an RFID-proof wallet

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  • Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TripMaster Monkey ( 862126 ) * on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:35AM (#14482502)

    Article summary is a trifle misleading...I was hoping to see a modification to a real wallet, not a wallet made out of duct tape with foil added.

    It seems to me that I could simply line the pockets of my actual wallet with foil...this would have several benefits over the duct-tape wallet:

    • Less foil used means less likelihood of your wallet settting off metal detectors at the airport.
    • Ability to remove foil when asked by TSA means I don't lose my wallet the first time I try to board an airplane with it.
    • Conventional wallet appearance means I can take out my wallet in public without looking like a gigantic nerd.
    • Avoiding duct tape design means my wallet won't ooze adhesive, get stuck in my pocket, randomly glue money and cards to itself, etc.
    • Avoiding duct tape design insures my wallet can actually survive the occasional trip through the washer and dryer.

    I'll admit that the duct tape wallet has a certain Red Green-esque appeal, but I'd rather have a more practical solution.

    • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:40AM (#14482568)
      Conventional wallet appearance means I can take out my wallet in public without looking like a gigantic nerd.
      Considering how often you get a FP on slashdot... I don't think your wallet is going to make the slighest difference ;-)
    • Line your wallet with adhesive-backed aluminum tape.
    • Conventional wallet appearance means I can take out my wallet in public without looking like a gigantic nerd.

      For some Slashdotters, this is already too late.

    • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:4, Informative)

      by bombadillo ( 706765 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:44AM (#14482613)
      My father in law has a duct tape wallet. It's proven to be very sturdy and no oozing adhesive. My wife ordered it as a gift. The best thing is that when the wallet did wear in one spot he recieved great customer service from the company. They not only sent him replacement duct tape they sent him an additional duct tape wallet at no charge.
      • I have a duct tape wallet that I have had for a little over a year (got its first patch last night) and it is literally the best wallet I have ever owned. It is much slimmer than my previous wallet--with my average amount of stuff, it is actually the same thickness as the empty old wallety--and still has every feature I wanted: an ID pocket viewable from the outside, a card/photo holder insert, and a snap closure pouch thats handy for two quarters. I no longer use the pouch or the outer ID pocket (I used
    • It seems to me that I could simply line the pockets of my actual wallet with foil...this would have several benefits over the duct-tape wallet:

      it would also last about five hours before wearing and needing replacement. I'd wager a properly constructed duct tape wallet with the foil embedded would last an order of magnitude longer than a quick fix foil solution.

      It's all a moot point anyway as RFID technology will quickly pass the point where simply tin foil will prevent remote snooping.

      • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        How's that? Will the laws of physics change?

        Last I checked, a Faraday cage blocks radio waves, a critical component of RADIO Frequency Identification...

        • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:3, Funny)

          by Anonymous Coward
          In other news, today President Bush requested congress pass a new bill mandatings special exemptions to the laws of physics for national security agencies.

          Mr. Bush said: "We're working. We're working hard, passing new laws to make sure our country is safe from terrorists. Those old laws were getting in our way. We need to prevent them from brining nucular devices into our country."

          When asked about the new bill proposal by the President, the head of the National Science Foundation hung his head and wa

      • it would also last about five hours before wearing and needing replacement. I'd wager a properly constructed duct tape wallet with the foil embedded would last an order of magnitude longer than a quick fix foil solution.

        wow, an order of magnitude longer, eh? that's over two whole days! sign me up! :)
      • "It's all a moot point anyway as RFID technology will quickly pass the point where simply tin foil will prevent remote snooping."

        I think we are rapidly heading towards the sad day that if you are out in public WITHOUT a bunch of RFID tags broadcasting your ID at every portal you walk through that will flag you as a "person of interest" and lead to you being taken aside by security for questioning and possible detention. There will no doubt be other biometric measures to spot check and validate you are wear

    • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Emvelope.com [emvelope.com] has a practical solution.

    • Re:Effective, but hardly practical. (Score:4, Informative)

      by morgan_greywolf ( 835522 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:56PM (#14483271) Homepage Journal
      Ability to remove foil when asked by TSA means I don't lose my wallet the first time I try to board an airplane with it.

      Not likely, actually. My wife is a former TSA employee (who couldn't stay on due to a health condition which precluded her from passing the now-required military medical examination), and from I've discussed with her, it actually isn't likely that you would lose the wallet. Metal objects can be taken on an airplane without too much difficulty as long as they can't be used as a stabbing weapon or a gun or something like that. For example, a wedding ring would definitely set off the metal detectors, but there's no reason you couldn't take it on the plane because it can't be used to kill anyone (well, it can for a specially-trained individual, but that's another story).

      In fact, with the recent security changes [washingtonpost.com] made by DHS, it isn't likely that you would even get a small pocket knife taken from you anymore.

    • If you read my sig, you know why I want the duc(t/k) tape one.
    • ... for your butt. What's not to love?

  • Why would I want to do that? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:35AM (#14482503)
    Then I'd have the inconvenience of having to remove my Metro Smartrip card from my wallet everytime I enter or exit a station.
    • Great! So you are willing to expose your financial and personal life to anyone with an RFID reader-- all for a little convenience. Excellent decision, Waldo.

      Personally, I predict men will start carrying RFID-blocking satchels with all their gadgets and cards and whatnot inside. "It's European!"

      • Re:Which do you value? (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Yes, I'm willing to expose the massive, insured value of my Metro card to anyone about 3 inches away with the proper equipment in exchange for going through the device about 10 seconds quicker.

        And, in reality, it doesn't even matter, as the cards keep the value on themselves via smart chips. At worst, someone will erase my card! Oh no!
        • A standard RFID reader can only read from a couple inches... it is possible to make higher powered reader that can read from several yards away. And it is possible to make this reader small and portable.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Metro Smartrip cards don't have any personal ID or financial information on them...
          and nothing else in my wallet has an RFID chip in it...
          These things don't have much of a range...

          ...yet.

          Kind of an important word that was omitted thrice.
        • Actually they do. Your RFID is personal info tied to a credit card I assume. Wouldn't want anybody replicating that im sure.

          OF course thats why they are encrypted...

          Note: you can extend the range on either end.
        • At least for now RFID credit cards and other things that could contain financial information are still optional. My rail pass still relies on the shiney hologram for the fare checkers to see. It has what appears to be a magnetic strip, but I paid cash for it so the only way to trace it back to me would be to check the serial numbers on the bills I used to pay, that is if ticket vending machines and ATMs record the serial numbers on the bills they accept/pay out.
          Limited range? Wasn't there are article posted
    • Would be a small compartment lined with conductive film. You could keep the RFID cards you want t shield in that compartment while the selecting which cards to expose like your Smartrip. Frankly I avoid duct tape and tin foil at all times. They cause cancer, let aliens control you mind, and the black helicopters can track duct tape with GPS so I keep far away from that stuff. I am feeling much better now.
    • Since my ID is checked several times a day (military), I have a wallet with an external ID window. You could secure an inside compartment on such a wallet to give the best security / usefulness compromise.

  • The Artist's Medium (Score:5, Informative)

    by eldavojohn ( 898314 ) * <eldavojohnNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:35AM (#14482508) Journal
    I used to make duct tape wallets in high school but had a very bad experience with them. Most duct tape has a shiny backside that isn't very cohesive with the sticky substance on the underside. What happens is when these overlap or your design depends on these two surfaces to stick together, you get a mess.

    Now, there may be some kind of duct tape out there that avoids this issue, I'm not sure. Maybe these guys [octanecreative.com] would know which brand is best but my wallet nearly destroyed my license at the time. Essentially, you need to look for duct tape that will adequately hold against itself when you need it to. After years of sliding it in and out of my back pocket and sitting on it, the tape started to smear against the shiny part and separate. As a result, the goo (bottom ply) and meshing (middle ply) were slipping out from underneath the shiny part (top ply) and getting goo all over my cards and ID.

    Essentially, it comes down to how many mils of adhesive you are working with. A lot of times, the more expensive stuff will have around 12 mils of glue which means that it is ideal for construction. However, this may result in more sliding and more goo seepage in your wallet. I would recommend something in between the range of 7.5 and 12 mils [askthebuilder.com]. You're not going to be concerned about tensile strength, just thickness and what the coating is on the back. If the coating is non bonding to the adhesive used, you don't want that tape!

    The actual design can be very much up to you although the article does provide a link to a nice standard model. I would suggest to try to use as many whole pieces as possible and when you're thinking about the design, rely on adhesive/adhesive bonds instead of adhesive/polyethylene since the cohesion is vastly different.

    So if you venture on this, for the love of god, RESEARCH THE TAPE! Honestly, I estimate the life of these things to be a month unless you want to also pay for a new license often. I think back to my dad's wallet which was this old beat up piece of leather with its seams showing. But he's had it as long as I can remember and that thing has taken a beating. There's a reason why wallets are made from leather.

    Remember, if you can't fix something with duct tape and WD-40, you're just not trying hard enough :-).

    If it's not stuck and it's supposed to be, duct tape it. If it's stuck and it's not supposed to be, WD-40 it. If it's not broken--keep me away from it!

  • uhhhh...self defeating it seams (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kryonD ( 163018 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:36AM (#14482521) Homepage Journal
    So now I have to pull my rail pass out instead of just waiving my wallet or walking near the turn style...doesn't that defeat the point of the RFID objects you have inside your wallet.

    Why not just avoid getting the objects if you don't want to use them?
    • I agree, why not just use small tin foil card bag covers like those used for Magic The Gathering or Yoo Gee Ohh (spell?) cards?. That way, you only protect the cards you really dont want to broadcast (those with personal info) and you keep your other cards unprotected!

    • Re:uhhhh...self defeating it seams (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:52AM (#14482674) Journal
      "Why not just avoid getting the objects if you don't want to use them?"

      Because eventually, you won't have that choice. Passports, Driver's licenses, etc, will all require RFID tags.
      • If there are a small number of "must carry" items that you are forced to have, then wouldn't a far better solution be to only wrap *those* items in foil, or put them in the only foil line dpocket? Then all your other "smart cards" would keep working.

        After all, how often do you pull out your drivers license anyway? Maybe once every two months? Even less? Who cares if it is wrapped in foil?

        • Well, I don't want ANY information to be accessible to those who I do not authorize to give the information to. Whether it's a smart Metrocard, or Gascard, or whatever it is... when I'm not using it for it's intended purpose, it should not be readable at all.

          As to how often I pull out my DL -- quite a bit, when I was younger and went out to the bars often. Young smokers may even pull it out daily.

          I think it would be much easier, and cheaper, to have banket security in this case -- i.e., you need posit
          • > I think it would be much easier, and cheaper, to have banket
            > security in this case -- i.e., you need positive approval from
            > me before reading any of my data.

            Or be in line behind you when you are buying cigarettes.
            • Good point. Not sure how to fix that problem, but at least I'd know that I was exposing my information.

              One possibility -- though it would never be implemented:

              Personal IDs are in an RFID-proof case (credit-card sized). Special hardware needed to unlock the case, which then reads the tag within an RFID-proof box. Exterior display show the necessary information, authorizes the transaction, or whatever. The RFID tag is never 'visible' to outside readers, the black box does its job. Still has security
              • So, we mate the RFID-proof box containing the card to the RFID-proof box containing the reader, and perform the operation. How is this any different from inserting the magnetic edge of the card, or the smart card copper connection into the card reader?
                • It's very similar -- the difference being that your RFID-enabled card is never exposed to outside readers, just like credit cards currently. There's always the human factor, but this minimizes that as well. All the precious, (supposedly) necessary info is there, but without physical insertion, no one can retrieve any of the data (excepting database hacks, etc).

                  Also, if the smart card requires a copper connection, is it really RFID -- does the connection just supply power for the broadcast? And if so, i

          • Whether it's a smart Metrocard, or Gascard, or whatever it is... when I'm not using it for it's intended purpose, it should not be readable at all.

            I think it would be much easier, and cheaper, to have banket security in this case -- i.e., you need positive approval from me before reading any of my data.

            Cheaper maybe, but not easier or faster. The whole freaking point of having a smartpass or metrocard is so that you don't have to take it out of your wallet, you just wave your wallet in front of the reade

    • >Why not just avoid getting the objects if you don't want to use them?


      Because within a few years I will have no choice but to use RFID-tagged cards if I want to participate in society in even a remotely normal manner.

    • You could have a non-foiled outside flap or pocket for items you do want automatically read.
    • "Why not just avoid getting the objects if you don't want to use them?"

      Because you don't have a choice? Americans are bring forced to carry "papers" to travel, and them have RFID's, and money is also implanted with them, I'm sure there are more things we do not know about like credit cards to track how and who people move about when shopping at walmart.

  • RFID proof - pah, we need women proof wallets (Score:5, Funny)

    by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:37AM (#14482534) Homepage Journal
    My missus has a knack of emptying my wallet before I even see the contents!
    After securing your wallet against the female gender, RFID should just bounce off by default.

  • ...to go with my tinfoil hat!

    I really don't get the paranoia about this RFID stuff, they mostly seem like fancy barcodes.

    • Re:Yay! A tinfoil wallet... (Score:5, Funny)

      by MarkGriz ( 520778 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:53AM (#14482692)
      I'm going to make a tinfoil condom for my Speedpass after lunch.
    • "I really don't get the paranoia about this RFID stuff, they mostly seem like fancy barcodes."

      Fancy barcodes that have your personal identifying information them, and can be scanned surreptitiously by any lurker with the right hardware & software.

      It's kind of hard not to notice someone trying to scan the barcode tattooed on your neck (plus, you could just wear a turtleneck). It's when they scan the RFID tag in your wallet that you'll never know when THEY are watching you.

      /Tinfoil hat half-on, in
      • Considering the reading range on RFID cards is usually a few centimetres, I think I might notice someone trying to put a piece of electronic equipment to my trouser pocket.
        • Not sure of whether that's innate to the card's broadcast ability, or partially due to the reader. Possible to amplify?
          • To oversimplify, the tag receives rf transmitted by the reader, rectifies it, and uses the resulting dc to power a transmitter. The range thus depends on the power of the reader's transmitter and the sensitivity of its receiver. As I noted elsewhere, rfid tags have been read at 65 feet using homebrew readers.
            • Thanks -- wasn't sure on how weak the broadcast was, and whether it was possible to read at a distance. Would weaker broadcasts (with accordingly more sensitive readers) be possible, so that max read distance would be a few centimeters?
        • > Considering the reading range on RFID cards is usually a few
          > centimetres, I think I might notice someone trying to put a
          > piece of electronic equipment to my trouser pocket.

          The range is determined by the reader, not the chip. That "few cm" is the guaranteed range of the manufacturers (fairly low power) readers. Last I saw the record, using a homebrew reader, was 65 feet. This is radio we are talking about. There is no firm range limit.
    • Yeah, you know what else are fancy barcodes? Prison numbers. SSNs. etc. Nothing wrong with RFID. It's just a way of identification. What's wrong is what can be done with RFID without the holder's knowledge.

  • Greatest Invention Ever (Score:3, Funny)

    by BillLeeLee ( 629420 ) <bashpenguin@NoSPAM.gmail.com> on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:38AM (#14482543)
    Dresses, suits, RFID blocking wallets, is there no clothing or accessory you can't make with duct tape?

    I'm sure we'll be replacing our tinfoil hats with duct tape hats one of these days.

  • I had a foil wallet on /. a year ago (Score:4, Interesting)

    by saskboy ( 600063 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:39AM (#14482555) Homepage Journal
    My old site (scroll to the bottom):
    http://www.angelfire.com/mt/woodmtn/insight.html [angelfire.com] [warning Lycos ads]
    Was in my signature nearly a year ago [April 7 2005]
    "...a new item the FOIL'ID AGAIN(TM) which is a foil wallet for passports and other RFID infested documents. RFID is cool in food packages, and books, but in ID it's just a bad idea. Someone could pick your pocket without your documents ever leaving your wallet, unless of course you invest in my FOIL'ID AGAIN(TM) product ;-)."

  • Shoppers Card? Ironic or silly? (Score:5, Funny)

    by gelfling ( 6534 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:40AM (#14482564) Homepage Journal
    Concerned about privacy issue and the thing you're trying to protect is your VIP Shoppers card? Wow.

  • Tinfoil wallet? (Score:3, Funny)

    by should_be_linear ( 779431 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:41AM (#14482585)
    Why not simply put my wallet under my hat?

    • Excellent (Score:3, Funny)

      by Red Flayer ( 890720 )
      You may be interested in funding my next startup.

      We're marketing a line of trend-conscious tinfoil hats with interior pockets for all your RFID-taged personal items. So far, we've come up with a few prototypes for different markets:

      (1) Baseball cap: The Toyota "Psyon" (get it?) of TFHs -- stylish and cost-conscious. We expect this to be our biggest seller, since the male 15-24 demographic is most likely to be aware of the dangers apparent with RFID; they are also most likely to perpetuate a trend invo

  • I hate to lower myself to stereotyping, but... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:44AM (#14482614)
    Enormous duct-tape wallet? Check.

    Tinfoil-level black helicopter paranoia? Check.

    Frequent buffet diner card in quick-draw position in wallet? Check.

    Ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is a tinfoil-hat fatty who thinks the Smoking Man is after him. Imagine Fox Mulder as played by Chris Farley.

  • Don't expose yourself (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Saint37 ( 932002 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:46AM (#14482622)
    Don't carry anything with RFID tags holding information that you would not want to get out. If there is nothing to worth reading in your wallet the question is moot.

    http://www.stockmarketgarden.com/ [stockmarketgarden.com]
    • "Don't expose yourself"

      Seeing this is slashdot and all, I'll second that remark
    • This doesn't seem to always be practical. For example I'd like to have an RFID card to open the locks on my door, but I don't want that bleeding out as I walk around. I can't leave the card at home. Credit cards are moving towards embedded RFID too. I guess you could forgo credit cards, but if you don't want to then it would be nice to block the chips.

      A wallet like this seems great.
      • Your rfid key card is a good idea. And we have seen the stealing key info issue before. Kids with rf recievers were going to shopping malls and intercepting the RF signals from car alarm remote controls. They would then unlock your car when you were not around and steal all your stuff. I guess one solution that would be better is to create two way encryption that expires after each transaction. That way no one can reprocude your signal. So it doesn't matter if they steal it.

        http://www.stockmarketgar [stockmarketgarden.com]
    • What the hell does your link have to do with your post? It's obviously not a signature (I have them disabled), and you apparently missed the "my homepage" option in your preferences.

  • Wouldn't... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by OneSmartFellow ( 716217 )
    an anti-static bag, like most computer parts are shipped, in work ?

  • A more practical approach (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Etyenne ( 4915 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:57AM (#14482722)
    A more practical approach, if you are only looking at stopping cusual walk-by snooping, would be to carry a conventionnal wallet into a pocket lined with aluminium foil.
    • A more practical approach, if you are only looking at stopping cusual walk-by snooping, would be to carry a conventionnal wallet into a pocket lined with aluminium foil.

      Why not just line a nice wallet with foil? The quick and dirty way is to put a large piece of foil in the billfold section. If you want to get fancy, unstitch the liner and shove the foil between the leather and the liner, then stitch it back. This might take a little longer than making a wallet from duct tape, but it will look much nice

      • The card read goes to a physical security panel, not to a PC. The users transaction info is sent to the PC from the panel. It consists of the door's ID#, the card number, and the time the transaction took place (in general). Theres tons of different kinds of card formats (Weigand, etc) and not all card readers can extrapolate the information correctly. So don't worry about your credit card RFID tag being read by the access control system.
    • Just you wait, people will be posting here tomorrow complaining of the nasty foil cuts they got because everyone told them to put foil into their wallets or pockets.

      I think it must be some NSA ploy. After all MIT thinks that foil hats help the NSA read brains!

  • Use a small metal box for your RFID cards (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 16, 2006 @11:58AM (#14482732)
    I just keep all my credit cards and RFID cards in a metal business card holder. I tested it with a RFID reader and it works just fine. Even better is to use a ground wire. At home this is no problem as I was able to make a stretch curly cable connected to the box with the other end connected to a water pipe. Outside I use a small wire running through a hole in my pocket connected to a small length of chain that drags along the ground when I walk. Be sure to make the chain long enough to bridge any insulated flooring that you might have to cross.

    I also transfered all my credit cards to plain blank cards by copying the magnetic card stripes on to blanks that I buy through a Panamanian company in bulk. Unfortunately, this has two disadvantages:

    1. It's difficult to figure out which card is which.
    2. Shop owners are often reluctant to accept my credit card.

    Thankfully, for me this is generally never a problem, because I'm almost always stay at home in my home-made Faraday cage, in order to protect myself from the NSA mind control beams.

    • That's exactly what I do. Well, actually I was using a metal business card holder for a while to hold my cards - driver's license, student id, stuff like that. I don't even have a wallet... It just has the added benefit of stopping RFID tags, and it looks far less geeky. The only problem is that it's at full capacity already, there's positively no room left.

  • freezer bag (Score:2, Insightful)

    by willwarner ( 847805 )
    It might be faster, easier, less glue-y, and even a trifle less geeky to toss the whole wallet into a foil-lined freezer bag, then fold that up and put it in your pocket. I think Ziploc makes them.
    • The bonus of the ziplock bag is that it adds water protection. The downside is that it adds water protection, which means you'll sweat a lot if you wear it next to your leg, or chest in any kind of money belt. But this is Slashdot - sweat away!

  • What Would MacGyver Do? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    A foil gum wrapper opens up to the size of a credit card. I placed a wrapper in the card pocket of my wallet to keep my Amex Blue's RFID from being read. Unfortunately it blocks the rest of the cards in my wallet, and I have to remove my ID to get RFID door/building access. I'll take security over convenience on this one.

  • Serious need here (Score:3, Insightful)

    by AK__64 ( 740022 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:16PM (#14482881)
    I think this is a legitamate question that needs to be addressed by wallet manufacturers. There are uses for RFID that need to be shielded until I say that I want them scanned. I don't think a duct tape wallet is a long-term solution, so Slashdotters, get busy... Also, would it be possible for my card, whatever it may be, to be scanned twice at the same moment? What if I took an RFID scanner and lurked around a stationary scanner, would it be possible for me to pick up people's RFID info?
    • Actually, How about a wallet with ONE (or two) RFID resistant pockets. Then you can have a leather wallet that functions normally, allowing you to use your metro smart pass, and RFID security for the 1-2 cards you don't want transmitting.
    • > Also, would it be possible for my card, whatever it may be, to be
      > scanned twice at the same moment?

      Of course. It would even be possible to build a "passive" scanner that does not transmit any rf to excite the chip but instead waits for another scanner to do so. This would avoid detection by monitors designed to detect "unauthorized" scanners.

      > What if I took an RFID scanner and lurked around a stationary
      > scanner, would it be possible for me to pick up people's RFID
      > info?

      If you used a n

  • Abandoning research? (Score:3, Funny)

    by itomato ( 91092 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:17PM (#14482888)


    After so many years of research in the field of tin foil hats [stopabductions.com], why are they going for duct tape?



    Where's the leather?



    Where's the Velostat [stopabductions.com] TM?

  • I've finally found a use for all those worn-out tinfoil hats!

    Now I just need to figure out how to mod the process to protect against pickpockets and muggers?

  • British ID cards will contain RFID chips (Score:4, Informative)

    by UpnAtom ( 551727 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:22PM (#14482929)
    Not only will the ID bill compulsorily number every British citizen thereby creating by far the most intrusive Stasi database ever [bristol-no2id.org.uk] but they will also contain RFID chips [theregister.co.uk].

    Most people don't know how scary Britain has become in the last 12 months. In addition to their other Nazi laws [bristol-no2id.org.uk], only yesterday it was leaked that Blair is going to tap MPs phones [spy.org.uk].

    • Technically, he's only making it legal to tap MP's phones, though once that's done it's probably inevitable that it will happen. It's probably also inevitable that this will be abused for political purposes sooner or later...
  • I wear my wallet under my tinfoil hat.

    Little known phacts: In 1974, the Agency issued tinfoil hats to all its field agents

  • If you want one "off the shelf", look no further than Muji who sell aluminium card cases [mujionline.co.uk]. These quite nicely contain your credit cards, bank cards and cash and are RFID stoppers. Of course this can be a bad thing since it means I have to always take my Oyster card [tfl.gov.uk] out to use it.

    If you use USD then you may find the bills too long and thin to conveniently fold to use the card case as a wallet, but it works well for GBP, EURO & NZD.

    (Caveat, I don't use it for it's RFID stopping abilities but for its ab

  • What do you get if you combine... (Score:4, Funny)

    by corvenus ( 931206 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:36PM (#14483060)
    What do you get if you combine the words "Duct" and "Tape"? Dupe!
  • Just get a trifold wallet. Put a piece of folded aluminum foil the size of a standard payroll check in with your cash.

    Wallet closed, RFID defeated.

    Need to RFID your way through a turnstile or into work? Open the wallet.

    Need to RFID your way through a lot of doors? Fold the wallet into an S shape with the pocket holding the RFID card out, and stick it back into your pants. The RFID cards in the center pockets and other side will still be wrapped in foil, and unreadable.

  • Security industry. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by InnereNacht ( 529021 ) <paulp@lappensecurity.com> on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:57PM (#14483274)
    I work for a small security outfit and we put in access control systems with RFID tag badges, fobs, etc. The chances of someone carrying around a reader and the equipment needed to decode whatever cards they find is pretty minimal, and with the minimal read range of the ID tags you need to have a pretty serious setup to get a valid read. Even the standard size proximity card reader can only read at a range of about 2-4" max. HID makes a reader called the Pro Prox that is about 15" x 15" and has a read range of around a foot. I wouldn't worry so much. Nobody is going to be snagging your credit card numbers from space. If you see someone walking around with a backpack and a car battery tied to his leg and your hair stands on end when you get within a couple feet, then maybe be concerned. These readers really aren't what people make them out to be. Hell, most of the smaller RFID devices require contact with the reader to work.

  • Lets get technical (Score:3, Insightful)

    by SmallFurryCreature ( 593017 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @12:59PM (#14483295) Journal
    So stop all discussion about the bloody stupid political implications or rants about fashion or the use of foil hats.

    What does it actually take to stop RFID from reading a card. What materials, what thickness, goes it need to enclose completly or not.

    Is there a way to generate interference so I could have a constant empty field around my wallet? A card that constantly broadcasts fake info?

    Would such a thing be legal? Is the spectrum this works in free?

    Oh okay, why should you want to? BECAUSE!

  • I'm not sure I understand what all the paranoia about RFID identification cards is all about. Honestly, are we getting up in arms because our security through obscurity is no longer obscure?

    RFID only contains a number, like a barcode. Anyone stealing that number would have to have access to the database that links those numbers to an identity in order to obtain that information, which of course, needs to be secured. But I'm already linked to databases of information through numbers.

    All that information is a
  • . . . that a commercial RFID shielded wallet will make an appearance on Thinkgeek [thinkgeek.com] shortly.

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