Part 55 (2/2)
”Monitors, CRT's, screens, cathode ray tubes, whatever you want to call them The inside of most monitors is just like televi- sion sets There is an electron beam that writes to the surface of the screen, the phosphor coated one That's what makes the picture”
”That's how a TV works? I alondered” Duncan was only half kidding
”So, the phosphor coating gets hit with a strong electron bealows, just for a few ain and either turns it on or leaves it off, depending upon what the picture is supposed to show Make sense?”
”That's why you can go frame to frame on a VCR, isn't it? Every second there are actually lots of still pictures that change so quickly that the eye is fooled into thinking it's watchingflipped through quickly” Duncan picked up the essentials on the first pass Scott was visibly io! So this beam is directed around the surface of the screen about 60 times every second”
”Whatclosely
”You are one perceptive pain in the butt, aren't you? You nailed it right on the head” Scott enjoyed working with bright stu- dents Duncan's ser than it was ”Inside the monitor are what is called deflection coils
Deflection coils are nets that tell the beanet ht, and the other net, the vertical one, moves the beam from the top to the bottoiven simi- lar descriptions before, and he found it useful to let is audi- ence have tie
”Sure, that makes sense So what about this radiation?” Duncan impatiently asked He wanted to understand the full picture
”Well, y in a snetic fields
Electronetic radiation if you will In this case, the radia- tion from a computer monitor is called Van Eck radiation, naineer who described the phenomena”
Scott sounded pleased with his Radiation 101 course brief
Tyrone wasn't satisfied though ”So how does that explain the blackmail and the infaet it” The confused look on Tyrone's face told Scott he hadn't successfully tutored his FBI friend
”It's just like a radio station A computer monitor puts out a distinctive pattern of radio waves from the coils and pixel radiations froh power
So, with a little radio tuner, you can pick up the signals on the computer screen and read the on a corimace on Duncan's face was all Scott needed to see to realize that he now had coy to hi me,” Tyrone searched for the words and spoke slowly, ”that a co on inside it?
That anyone can read anyone else's computer?”
”In a sense yes”
Tyrone looked out theas they passed through Yonkers, New York He whistled quietly to himself
”How did you find out? Where did you?” The questions spewed forth
”There was a wreak, midtown, and there was a bunch of equipineer friends who are more up on this than I am They confirmed it”
”This stuff was in a van? How far away does this stuff work?”
Duncan gave away his concern
”According to ear, two or three miles is not unreasonable In New York, s and all Manhattan is a netic sewer, as they say”
”shi+t, this could explain a lot” The confident persona of the FBI professional returned ”The et out, yet it did Scott, is it possible thathow could one person get all this stuff? From so many companies?” The pointed question was one of devil's advocacy
”That's the scary part, if I'iven his part, now to complete the tale he needed the cooperation of his friend The story was i