WiFi blocking paint
 

keeps your signal in your house, but on the downside, could be used on trains, lounges, etc to keep other signals out, so you are forced to purchase theirs. Or paint a movie theatre or restaurant to keep phones from ringing.

It can be used for both good and evil. :p

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8279549.stm

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard of. If I want to block access to my wifi (and I do), I'll just set it up with WPA2/AES and a good password (and I do).

This house has no windows?

You would need Wifi Blocking Windows, a Microsoft product. Version 7 is coming out soon.

:D:D:D:D:D

Good one!

:D no cell service in those places...

looking at the details there, FCC may not allow it in the US.

just use WiFi Speed Spray™, should you find yourself trapped within the confines of a building painted with wifi blocking paint.

"As your computer sends data, each bit also carries hundreds of invisible WiFi Speed Spray™ "scrubbing" molecules. It works at the speed of light. and even penetrates lead walls (not even Superman can do that!). Within .0025 seconds, the entire path between you and the receiver is cleaned, scrubbed, polished, and sanitized. You'll notice the improvement immediately as your productivity soars!"

Yeah, but anybody who buys it will be able to hang up their aluminum foil hats once and for all, at least when they are in their house.

This article on wired.com (includes video demo) describes a system which uses a multiple radio transmitters and receivers around a house to detect the locations of people within the house from their effect on signals going through the house. In is present embryonic state the system can already figure out locations. As one of the comments on the article points out, more detail may be just around the corner, as may less obtrusive installations. If this sort of thing becomes a major concern, radio frequency blocking paint may become standard for anyone concerned with their personal domestic privacy.

Perhaps I am naive, but what is the big deal if someone is poaching off your WiFi/router. Is it mainly a security issue or are they impacting speed/performance or both. My unprotected WiFi is exposed to my 88 year old neighbor on the left and my neighbor on the right who has his own WiFi. I don't want to be hassled by password protection everytime I log on. Am I being foolish?

Three possible concerns:

1. Potentially security, if those who can access it have the skills and are so inclined. (See posts below for relative rankings of the various protection methods in this regard.)
2. Performance, if you're trying to upload or download large files - or if they are.
3. Possible attribution of their inappropriate behavior to you. You would, if it comes to that, have a very difficult time proving that someone else did whatever it was if it was via your router.

Most modern computers can remember your password and log you in automatically, so the hassle factor is zero.

You can set up the WPA2 key once on each client computer. They will all remember the key and settings, unless you specifically tell them to forget that network.

Keeping it open just exposes yourself to unnecessary risk. But most of the methods can be easily cracked, unless you are using the latest and greatest one. Even that one can be cracked, just not as easily.

I would enable it.

-David

WEP can be cracked quite easily.

WPA/WPA2 are virtually uncrackable short of brute force (which would take on the order of millions of years). So use a good passphrase.

it's only hard to crack if you use AES encryption and a good passphrase, i.e., long, 20+ characters, not something found in a dictionary and using a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

on the other hand, if you use TKIP or words found in a dictionary, it's not that tough to crack.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=23384

I guess you would be blocking yourself then if you try to use your laptop in your patio.

I power off my wireless router when not using it.