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.
Tsa
by Nicholas Deleon on January 3, 2010
by John Biggs on December 31, 2009
Two travel bloggers, Steven Frischling and Chris Elliott received friendly visits from the Department of Homeland Security this week. Why? Because both published SD-1544-09-06, the document that showed us what to expect when we flew in scardeyplanes from now on. A reaction to the pants bomber, the document essentially outlined a few points including the directive to prevent passengers from using their electronics during the last hour of a flight (I mirrored it below.)
by Nicholas Deleon on December 28, 2009
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.
by Dave Freeman on December 17, 2009
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. Read More
by Nicholas Deleon on December 9, 2009
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.
by Scott Merrill on October 13, 2009
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!
by Dave Freeman on October 5, 2009
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.
by Nicholas Deleon on October 1, 2009
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!
by Peter Ha on May 6, 2009
You’d think a professional blogger like myself who travels a lot would have a TSA friendly bag, but you’re wrong. I still pull my laptop out every time and curse to the high heavens about it. A sane person would have invested in a bag like the Aerovation CPF Laptop Bag by now and I’m thinking real hard about it.
by Nicholas Deleon on March 31, 2009
Gather ’round for the time-honored American tradition of pretending to be outraged by something. (If we’re to believe that outlet of populist outrage monger, the Drudge Report.) It’s one of those airport security body scanning devices, this time going on trial at the Salt Lake City airport. The left two images show a woman, while the right two are a man.
by Nicholas Deleon on November 18, 2008
These fancy, $100 bags are part of the ScanFast for Her Collection, Mobile Edge’s line of lady-minded laptop bags. (I guess generic, dark-colored bags are too aggressive and masculine for women. Wait, what?) As with other Mobile Edge bags, these are Transportation Security Administration’s Checkpoint Friendly. That means, theoretically, that you’re not required to remove your laptop from the bag while you go through security. In my experience, however, the guys asking you to remove your laptop from your bag haven’t heard of such a program—all laptops out of your bags now or we’ll send you to Guantanamo. The joke’s on them: it’ll be closed soon enough!
by Scott Merrill on November 13, 2008
What is it about airports that bring out the worst in humanity? Is it waiting in long, arbitrary lines? Is it being forced to reveal to everyone the holes in your socks? Is it the $100 beers at the airport bar? I try pretty hard to be a “good citizen” when I travel: my carry-on luggage doesn’t exceed the maximum dimensions permitted by the airline; I make sure I put all of my metal objects through the x-ray machine; and I try to make sure I can whip out my laptop to send through the x-ray machine separately from the bag in which I carry it.
Travelon has recently released its own line of TSA-approved Checkpoint Friendly laptop bags, designed to make it easier to get through the security screening without having to unpack your entire kit. I admit that when I received my review models I exclaimed “WTF?”. At first glance, it doesn’t look like these things will actually save any time. But for you, dear reader, I put myself through the indignities of airport security to provide an accurate review of these bags.
by Devin Coldewey on September 23, 2008
I don’t have too much of a problem sliding my laptop out of my bag whenever I travel, but to be honest every second that’s taken out of that whole security situation is one more second I could be sitting at the gate playing SNES, so I might invest in one of these special bags. But what makes them so special exactly?
Read More
by Matt Burns on September 19, 2008
The latest TSA security protocol allows laptop-touting travelers to keep their junk in their bag, but only pre-approved ones. Case Logic’s first batch offers up both a laptop case and sleeve options. Personally, if you already have a well-loved case, I would pick up the sleeve and all you would have to do is pull out the sleeve and not reveal your MacBook Pro to thieving eyes. Whatever you choose, Case Logic has ‘em available on its website starting at $19.
by Brian Krepshaw on August 22, 2008
Starting just last week if you have a TSA-approved laptop bag, you can slide that puppy* (*please to not x-ray the puppy) right on through their scanning machines. Of course that means a whole bunch new products to choose from.
Travelon has created six new bags ready to start hitting the shelves in September. Ya got yourself a backpack version, a wheely thing and a briefcase style. For the lady in your life, why not surprise her with a brand new Ladies Brief. It has faux croco trim. You know you want it. C’mon we’re talking faux croco trim here!
Please step forward one at a time, here, to check out their other models.
by Nicholas Deleon on August 16, 2008
As you know, the Transportation Safety Administration has decided to allow laptop-carrying airline passengers keep their laptops in specially approved bags at security checkpoints. It’s actually the most revolutionary decision in United States bureaucracy history. To that end, the TSA has finally posted details on its Web site how all this is going to work.
That handy graphic shows the type of bags that are and aren’t permitted. This is all to make it so that TSOs, or Transportation Security Officers, can inspect the laptop while it’s in the specially approved bag.
The program starts today, August 16.
By far, the best sentence from the TSA’s Web site: “TSOs know what the inside of a computer should look like, and can recognize irregularities.” Yeah, can they?
by Devin Coldewey on August 1, 2008
Imagine if you will: you’re walking through a checkpointcustoms and if you’re like me, your passport picture makes you look like the Unabomber, so you get “randomly” selected for “secondary screening.” And they say, “Sir, turn on your laptop, we’re going to snoop through all your files and search for anything we feel, as practically untrained off-the-street power-tripping badge-wavers, is possibly a danger to Freedom.” And you say, “What the hell? Aren’t you limited to checking if something is physically dangerous or whatever?” And they say (pdf):
“Officers may detain documents and electronic devices, or copies thereof, for a reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search. The search may take place on-site or at an off-site location.”
And they confiscate your laptop, detain you for a couple hours, and check if you have any un-American porn. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Encrypting and displacing all your data is beginning to look less and less paranoid. [via El Reg]
by Brian Krepshaw on July 29, 2008
Targus announced today a new line of laptop cases designed to speed travelers through airport security. The first installment is the Zip-Thru 15.4″ Corporate Traveler Laptop Case that speeds up the process by eliminating the need for removing your laptop from its case. Anybody who’s ever done that has surely felt some degree of separation anxiety as they have seen their laptop go unprotected into the screening machine.
Targus worked in conjunction with TSA personnel to assure that the cases measure up to their needs. The screeners need to get the ability to get a clear view of the laptop as it goes through the machine. The case opens down the middle, separating the laptop from whatever other accessories you may be carrying.
With the ability to keep your laptop securely protected in its case, you’ll be more protected from lost or damaged laptops, resulting in a less stressful travel experience. Assuming of course, that you don’t have to argue with the TSA guys about it.
by Peter Ha on July 20, 2008
In response to the announcement made by the TSA earlier in the year that would allow travelers to keep their laptops in bags while going through security; a couple gear companies have put forth “Checkpoint Friendly” bags and that latest comes from Mobile Edge. The ScanFast collection meets the criteria laid out by the TSA and will be available late summer. No word on pricing.
by Doug Aamoth on July 18, 2008
Here are some actual product shots of the TSA-friendly MobileEdge cases that we covered about a week ago. I’m still not 100% convinced that TSA bags, in general, can live up to the promise of substantially increasing airport security lines. It’ll only take one screening agent to throw a fit when someone hasn’t removed their laptop, only to find out that it was in a TSA-approved bag all along. Plus, how long does it take you to remove your laptop for the security line? It takes me under ten seconds. I basically unzip my bag, pull out my notebook, and place it in a tray.
Still, perhaps all those ten seconds increments will add up over time. These MobileEdge bags will be available later this summer and I’m guessing they’ll be pretty high-quality, yet not too expensive. Full press release after the jump…
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