Everyone from professional photographers to Martha Stewart is using little quadcopter drones to take stunning landscape videos and aerial photographs. But if you’re a glass-half-empty type — or maybe just a shoot-that-drone-out-of-the-air type — there’s now a handy tech toy to defend you from unwanted surveillance.

An upcoming device called Cyborg Unplug will allow you to disrupt the connections of drones, Google glass, wireless microphones, and other devices to your WiFi connection. The project is led by Glasshole-hater Julian Oliver, and lists the dystopian ‘Stop the Cyborgs’ campaign as an inspiration and “conspirator.”

“Whether business office, restaurant, school or nightclub: it’s your territory and your rules, so make it harder for those that seek to abuse it,” the Cyborg Unplug site says.

The small device “sniffs the air” for the WiFi signatures of unwanted surveillance devices and automatically disconnects them from the network it’s assigned to protect. Cyborg Unplug will be up for sale in the $50 – $100 range on September 30. So far, it can’t interrupt Bluetooth connections, but they’re working on that.

Besides protecting your own network, the device also has an “All Out Mode” that can disconnect unwanted devices in range from every network they’re connected to, including tethered cellphones.

The trouble is, this is totally illegal in America. In the FCC’s own, unambiguous words:

We remind and warn consumers that it is a violation of federal law to use a cell jammer or similar devices that intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio communications such as cell phones, police radar, GPS, and Wi-Fi.

On the Cyborg Unplug site, they absolve themselves of all responsibility should you run into trouble with the law.

“We take no responsibility for the trouble you get yourself into if you choose to deploy your Cyborg Unplug in this mode,” the site says.

Drones? They’ve got your back. But when it comes to the Feds, you’re on your own.

Cyborg Unplug is a wireless anti-surveillance system for the home and workplace. 'Plug to Unplug', it detects and kicks devices known to pose a risk to personal privacy from your local wireless network, breaking uploads and streams. Detected devices currently include: Google Glass, Dropcam, small drones/copters, wireless 'spy' microphones and various other network-dependent surveillance devices.

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

Every wireless (WiFi) device has a unique hardware signature assigned to it by the manufacturer. These signatures are broadcasted by wireless devices as they probe for, connect to and use wireless networks.

Cyborg Unplug sniffs the air for these signatures, looking for devices its owner has selected to ban. If a banned device is discovered an alarm is triggered (LED, audio or message*). Further, if that device is found to be connected to a network that Cyborg Unplug is trained to guard, a stream of special 'de-authentication' signals (packets) are sent to disconnect it. It does this automatically, without any interaction required from its owner.

* Due to technical limitations, alarm features may be restricted to the high-priced model.
IS THIS LEGAL?

It is perfectly legal to block certain devices from using a network you control and administer. Some wireless routers allow an administrator to create blacklists, although generally they are limited to specific devices rather than an entire product. Cyborg Unplug is just as legal, differing only in that it takes a 'direct action' approach to wireless defense: a detect-and-disconnect routine, alarm system and an automatically updated list of devices able to be banned. Please see CAN IT BE USED TO DISCONNECT DEVICES FROM ANY NETWORK? below for more information.
IS THIS A JAMMER?

No, not in any stretch of the word. A jammer disrupts all signal within a given (radio) band by flooding it with noise. Cyborg Unplug does not do this. Rather, it detects and targets a specific device and disconnects (only) it in turn by sending the same, legal, de-authentication packets a router sends when it disconnects a device.

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CAN IT BE USED TO DISCONNECT DEVICES FROM ANY NETWORK?

In short yes. But be sure to read on to understand the implications...

Cyborg Unplug can be operated in two modes. The recommended mode is Territory Mode, disconnecting target devices from selected network(s) owned and operated by the user. The other mode is All Out Mode, which disconnects all detected target devices from any network they are associated with, including paired connections with smartphones. Please note that this latter mode may not be legal within your jurisdiction. We take no responsibility for the trouble you get yourself into if you choose to deploy your Cyborg Unplug in this mode.