Redstate

By pubwvj Posted in User Blogs — Comments (7) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

RFID tags in our livestock, in our pets, in our licenses, in passports, in food, in clothing and maybe someday in you. It is getting rather excessive. Fortunately there are a number of ways to kill RFID chips. See the Technical Documents section of the right hand sidebar for how to build your very own RFID bomb with which you can clear you home of unauthorized RFID chips. For the less technically inclined there is a simple device that most people already own which does a admirable job of frying RFID chips.

The way that passive RFID chips work is they pickup a radio signal from the wand using a large in-chip antenna. This energy is stored up over a short period to accumulate enough power to activate the chip and then send back its code number to the receiver.

If you can send out a strong enough signal, and it doesn't take much, you will overload the RFID chip and burn it out. A microwave oven on high for just a moment does the trick in my own tests. The chip I tested was inside of a credit card and I fried it on high for about 2 seconds - On-Off! The card is still operational using the magnetic strip and the numbers embossed on it but the RFID chip is fried and the antenna was nicely crisped. The hologram (nickel) was also fried and is now unreadable.

Some clothing companies are now putting RFID tags in jeans, sneakers and other items. Many other items are being manufactured with RFID tags. Their excuse is inventory control and theft prevention. If that were really the case then they should be turning the tags off when you buy the product. For a while that was what was done but no more.

There is a new and more sinister reason for the vendors to be tagging your products - they are tagging you in the process. Scenario: you go to Wal-Mart and buy shoes with an RFID tag. When you check out you pay with a credit card. Using that information they link you to that RFID tag. When you return they are able to know that you walked in the store. They can then track where you move through the store and what you buy each time to learn about your interests and buying habits. This helps them target you with advertising so you'll buy more from them.

Vendors are already discussing signs that change based on who the buyer is near the signs. Then there is the custom pricing model that is already being explored on the Internet by some vendors using cookies - they change the prices of products based on who the customer is to maximize their profits. Coming soon to a store near you!

Ah, but you say, what if I buy those shoes for my brother? No problem, when he comes in the store's software recognize that the RFID tag and the person don't match when he checks out and they correct their database. More over, if your brother already has other tags embedded in his apparel they can do a tentative correction as he walks in the door.

Warning: Putting metal into a microwave oven causes sparks and may start a fire. I am not suggesting you do this. Anything you do do you do at your own risk. This is merely my observation and experience. Usual disclaimers apply: don't walk on the grass void where prohibited. I would also not suggest putting living organisms inside the microwave. No kidding.