[SOLVED] Do ordinary PC cases protect against electromagnetic interference?

[lmorell]

Hi all,

I am planning to buy a desktop or build my own, and I need the internal components to be protected against external electromagnetic and radiofrequency interference.

I wonder if ordinary PC cases offer some type of EMI and RF shielding or whether a special type of case would be necessary to achieve this.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lutfij]

Judging from what you've stated in your thread, I'm imagining you in a radioactive bunker of sorts, you've piqued my interest! Might I ask what sort of an environment you're working in?

 

[Lutfij]

Judging from what you've stated in your thread, I'm imagining you in a radioactive bunker of sorts, you've piqued my interest! Might I ask what sort of an environment you're working in?

 

[cdrkf]

Hi all,

I am planning to buy a desktop or build my own, and I need the internal components to be protected against external electromagnetic and radiofrequency interference.

I wonder if ordinary PC cases offer some type of EMI and RF shielding or whether a special type of case would be necessary to achieve this.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You should be ok - I used to work at a company that ran HF welding machines - these things use very high power radio frequencies to weld plastic materials together. Those machines kicked out so much interference that when they were fired the radio in the workshop would cut out and CRT screens would be distorted (they were very early adopters of LCD displays for this reason as they weren't susceptible). The PC's themselves though were fine.

The PC case is effectively a big Faraday cage, and is typically grounded to the power supply. That will shield from quite a lot of different noisy signals. The only additional thing you might need is a UPS or similar device to isolate your pc's from the power points.

 

[lmorell]

Judging from what you've stated in your thread, I'm imagining you in a radioactive bunker of sorts, you've piqued my interest! Might I ask what sort of an environment you're working in?

My working environment is an ordinary one (a normal residential environment).

This might seem rather surreal and hard to believe, but since some time ago, someone has been hacking me repeatedly. I'm not completely sure how they do it, since I have reformatted and reinstalled Windows and Linux from the beginning, and even with my router turned off and without being connected to any network, they break into my system right after reinstalling.

I am using a laptop (Asus R510V), and I live on a 2nd floor, so I thought these people might be using something outside to directly interfere with my laptop, since I even opened it up, removed the wireless card and Bluetooth modules, reinstalled everything from scratch, and the problem persisted.

By the way, my cellphone is also behaving weird, so all this makes me think they are using some type of RF interference system outside my building to gain access to my devices.

Again, I know this may sound crazy, but it's what's happening. By the way, I'm not a "person of interest", which makes this even crazier. The rest of the story might seem even crazier, but I've shortened it for clarity and conciseness 😉.

 

[lmorell]

You should be ok - I used to work at a company that ran HF welding machines - these things use very high power radio frequencies to weld plastic materials together. Those machines kicked out so much interference that when they were fired the radio in the workshop would cut out and CRT screens would be distorted (they were very early adopters of LCD displays for this reason as they weren't susceptible). The PC's themselves though were fine.

The PC case is effectively a big Faraday cage, and is typically grounded to the power supply. That will shield from quite a lot of different noisy signals. The only additional thing you might need is a UPS or similar device to isolate your pc's from the power points.

That's good to hear! Thank you for your explanation. l'll try a desktop to see if it helps.

 

[Nemesia]

You say people are hacking into your system. What are the things that they do that makes you think that you are being hacked?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

If you're that paranoid about being hacked by RF then you should investigate a TEMPEST enclosure. However, if you do go that route be prepared to spend many many $$$$$$$ for such an enclosure as they are custom designed and built for that specific piece of equipment. You'll also be left with something the size of a refrigerator, and all cables to/from the cabinet will be ~1/2" (or more) thick from shielding, and shortened considerably to lessen the antenna effect. You'll also have to enclose all external peripherals (displays, printers, etc.) in such a cabinet as well.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

A metal case should shield the components. I'm not sure, but I would assume FCC would require the case to be metal so the components don't interfere with the rest of the world. I'm not sure if the cases with glass panel have metal in the glass, but the cheaper plastic panels likely don't. I'm not sure if the little radiation from the components really matters. It seems they don't have an FCC sticker, like radios or TVs.

If someone hacks you, it is through the WiFi or CAT cable. Has nothing to do with what case yo have.

 

[lmorell]

You say people are hacking into your system. What are the things that they do that makes you think that you are being hacked?

Many things: icons of stuff I haven't installed appear on the screen right after a fresh Windows install (without being connected to the network), my cellphone's brightness bar moves by itself without me doing anything, the router lights (including the WLAN light) flicker when all my devices are turned off, I've noticed connections to my Gmail account from my IP and a Windows Mobile device (I don't have any Windows Mobile phone)... Shortly, the software behaves weird in general (on Windows and Linux in my laptop and Android in my cellphone).

By the way, I haven't given my Wi-Fi password to anyone and I have reinstalled and reset everything, but this keeps happening.

I know this may be hard to believe, but this is what's happening, and the fact that some of these things happen even when I'm disconnected from the network, makes me believe it's something else. That's why I thought about RF or EM interferences. Weird, though.

 

[lmorell]

A metal case should shield the components. I'm not sure, but I would assume FCC would require the case to be metal so the components don't interfere with the rest of the world. I'm not sure if the cases with glass panel have metal in the glass, but the cheaper plastic panels likely don't. I'm not sure if the little radiation from the components really matters. It seems they don't have an FCC sticker, like radios or TVs.

If someone hacks you, it is through the WiFi or CAT cable. Has nothing to do with what case yo have.

Thanks, maybe a PC with a metal case can by of help. I'll probably give it a try.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

Thanks, maybe a PC with a metal case can by of help. I'll probably give it a try.

All cases are of metal. the only exception are the glass or plastic window-panels or DIY (wood etc.) cases.
There is a way to read your data via the monitor and the signals it sends. But the person has to be nearby and use NSA type technology. Unless you are a keeper of some nuclear secrets, you probably are not a worthy target. "Regular" hackers only can do it via network. Note I'm not an expert, I just read Edward Snowden's book "permanent record". Read that if you want to get scared......

 

[lmorell]

All cases are of metal. the only exception are the glass or plastic window-panels or DIY (wood etc.) cases.
There is a way to read your data via the monitor and the signals it sends. But the person has to be nearby and use NSA type technology. Unless you are a keeper of some nuclear secrets, you probably are not a worthy target. "Regular" hackers only can do it via network. Note I'm not an expert, I just read Edward Snowden's book "permanent record". Read that if you want to get scared......

You wouldn't believe it, but I made some enemies who work in a local ISP (heck, it's hard to believe for me as well -- no one in their sane mind would think someone from an ISP would be targeting a client or former client), so it could explain a lot of things. I already cancelled my contract from that ISP, by the way.

Thank you for the book suggestion, I think it might be useful in this case.