At 03:31 PM 08/20/2001 -0400, Faustine wrote:
Eugene wrote:
and switching to an emission poor system (chucking CRT for LCD would do plenty for starters)
Actually, that won't help you much: emissions from LCD screens can be easier to decode than those from monitors. Active matrix LCD screens create very strong and clear emissions--as long as a display uses some form of pixel sweep where each pixel is activated at a unique time, then the emissions are simple to decode. Though in theory LCD screens emit less than a VDU, recent EMC controls have greatly reduced emanations from VDUs--with the result that the graphics card will often be the greatest source of compromise.
Also, most laptops have a VGA connector on the back, which leaks heavily. An external VGA screen might be a bit quieter, because the cables can be shielded, but it still depends on how capable the attacker is. And basically, if the Feds are sitting outside your house listening to whatever they can from your computer, you've already blown your security :-) Shoulda used Blacknet.