tsa Archive

  • TSA: Your iPad should make it through airport security without hassle

    TSA: Your iPad should make it through airport security without hassle

    Posted on April 7, 2010 | No Comments
    Good news for iPad-owning travelers: the Transportation Security Administration says that you won't have to remove Apple's magical and revolutionary device from your bag while you go through airport security. That's the official word, at least, but I can just picture the helpful staff (...) at Newark or JFK demanding you remove it from your bag anyway.

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  • TSA to track your cellphone signal to improve airport security waiting time

    TSA to track your cellphone signal to improve airport security waiting time

    Posted on March 23, 2010 | No Comments
    The Transportation Security Administration, ominously known as the TSA, wants to be able to track your cellphone while you go through airport security. It wants to do so in order to better understand how airport security lines work in order to streamline the process. That's the official reason. We could always jump to conclusions and assume the TSA just wants to know where you are so the government can control your every move. Not even I am that conspiratorial.

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  • TSA orders some full body scanners, to be delivered some time

    TSA orders some full body scanners, to be delivered some time

    Posted on February 23, 2010 | No Comments
    L3 Communications has been awarded a $165 million contract from the Transportation Security Administration for the indefinite delivery of an indefinite number of their ProVision millimeter wave security scanners. So, the TSA is sure that they're going to get some of these, but they don't know how many, or when. More than 200 ProVision scanners are currently deployed around the world, despite myriad privacy concerns. L3 had more than fifteen billion in sales in 2009, so this agreement doesn't seem like that big a deal, financially.

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  • Outrage: Those airport full-body scanners violate Islamic law

    Outrage: Those airport full-body scanners violate Islamic law

    Posted on February 12, 2010 | No Comments
    Another day, another airport full-body scanner story. It has emerged that the scanners are in violation of Islamic law. Now, before you get all flip and retort, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they didn't have microwave millimeterscanners back in the days of Muhammad," let's listen to what the people have to say.

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  • Claim: Millimeter wave body scanners wouldn’t have stopped Christmas plot. Why bother with them, then?

    Claim: Millimeter wave body scanners wouldn’t have stopped Christmas plot. Why bother with them, then?

    Posted on January 3, 2010 | No Comments
    Not to alarm y'all, but those millimeter wave body scanners that have been paraded around as the solution to would-be airplane terrorist attacks? Turns out they're sorta useless in that, while they're able to detect dense material (C4, metal, traditional bombs, etc.), they're completely ineffective against less dense material. And wouldn't you know it, the powdered explosive that was to have been used in the Christmas plot would not have been detected by the scanners. As Jay-Z would say, on to the next one.

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  • Post-foiled attack TSA regulations put into place: Go to the bathroom early and often

    Post-foiled attack TSA regulations put into place: Go to the bathroom early and often

    Posted on December 28, 2009 | No Comments
    Owing to last week's "bomb attack bid" on a U.S. airliner, there's going to be a whole lot more security at airports. You probably already knew this. Expect long lines, confusion, malaise, and weariness. (Good thing that the entire tech world is going to be flying to Las Vegas in a couple days for CES. Leave your gadgets at home unless you want to spend 400 hours on the metal detector line.) The Transportation Security Administration is implementing new procedures to deal with everything. Here they are.

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  • Bag Week: Timbuk2 Commute 2.0

    Bag Week: Timbuk2 Commute 2.0

    Posted on December 17, 2009 | No Comments
    Short Version: The Commute 2.0 is from Timbuk2’s new TSA friendly generation of messenger bags. Essentially this means that they’ve added some commuter friendly features to a standard messenger bag. Features: Designed for commuters TSA friendly Waterproofed and rubberized to keep out the weather Grab strap and shoulder strap Internal organizer keeps stuff sorted Pros: Easy to get your laptop through security Waterproofing [...]

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  • Good job, government: TSA manual leaked online, de-redacted very easily

    Good job, government: TSA manual leaked online, de-redacted very easily

    Posted on December 9, 2009 | No Comments
    Your friendly neighborhood CrunchGear writers have spent the past several minutes rifling through a de-redacted (un-redacted?) TSA handbook; Matt is going to print our hard copies and hand them out at his local farmer's market. It was leaked somehow, and can be found all over the place. (I first found it on Cryptome, which is the go-to place for anything security-related.) Naturally, the authorities are freaking out, so get it while you can.

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  • Full body scanners at airports reveal your junk

    Full body scanners at airports reveal your junk

    Posted on October 13, 2009 | No Comments
    Full-body scanners are being tested in a variety of airports. I didn't get the pleasure of using one on my recent trip to Japan, unfortunately, so I can't provide a first-hand account of what it's like. I suspect it's quite unremarkable to walk through one of these. That won't stop people from being outraged over the fact that some TSA goon sitting in a sterile room somewhere where he can't see the individual walking through the scanner gets to drool over grainy black-and-white images of everyone's naughty bits!

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  • New technology will detect chemical weapons in seconds

    New technology will detect chemical weapons in seconds

    Posted on October 5, 2009 | No Comments
    In the never-ending battle to protect our freedoms, detecting chemical agents and illegal drugs remains a top priority. Luckily, the smart people at Queen's University in Belfast have just come up with a new way that will provide instant results, and won't be something that can be tricked by covering scents or other materials. Now you definitely won't be able to bring back those (purely for fun) explosives back into the states, even if you have them safely hidden in your shoe.

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  • Get ready for more of those TSA body scanners!

    Get ready for more of those TSA body scanners!

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    Oh, dear. The TSA will expand the use of those body scanners we've talked about time and time again. This will no doubt freak out a certain segment of the population, but I have something even more terrifying for y'all: adjustable rate mortgages!

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  • TSA unveils paperless, cell phone-based boarding pass system at SFO

    TSA unveils paperless, cell phone-based boarding pass system at SFO

    Posted on September 2, 2009 | No Comments
    Although not the first of its kind (in fact there are similar programs operating at 29 other U.S. airports, and in Europe), the newly announced paperless boarding pass system at San Francisco International Airport allows passengers to download their “ticket” onto their mobile device, be it a cell phone or PDA, by visiting a secure [...]

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