Disabling Wireless Networks?

An Ominous Coward asks: "The University of Florida student chapter of ACM hosts a yearly programming competition for students throughout the state of Florida. It is based on the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, and for the past ten years has been very successful, currently drawing a crowd in the hundreds. However, this year was the first we had a problem with wireless networks. We doubt that cheating was the intention, as no one had SSID broadcasting turned off (as far as we know). Wireless networking gear is quite inexpensive now. And while we don't believe it affected the contest this year, we would like to take precautions for future contests. Is there any way to disable all wireless networking in an area about the size of a large lecture hall?"

All you can eat solution

[aztektum]

Provide all you can eat frozen burritos and fill the room with microwaves

In the can

[crstophr]

Make everyone work in a shielded metal, enclosed cubicle and change the name of the contest to:
"Code in a Can"

--Chris

Low Priority

[gmaestro]

What we really need to do is figure out how to disable wireless phones in an area about the size of a movie theatre or concert hall. Perhaps something slightly less lethal than a shotgun.

Re:Low Priority

[SecretFire]

I see no problems with the low-tech "shotgun" approach.

Speaking from experience

[Cecil]

It's simple. Someone at OSConf in Toronto this year had no trouble taking out the entire WLAN with a laptop broadcasting in Ad-hoc mode on the same channel, same SSID.

Idiot. *mutter*

Re:Disable Wireless Network

[pbox]

Yeah, just turn on the microwave. Alternatively you can microwave the lecture hall. Added bonus is the exploding humans...

I'm not sure but...

[pr0c]

Ask my neighbor, the bastard seams to always screw up my router but thats alright, I'm within range of his router with a "Linksys" SSID with no encryption and no MAC filters that has a 3 meg cable connection.. I just borrow that =P I throttle my connection at 2.9, no need to be a dick about it.

Re:All you can eat solution

[lizrd]

That's a different kind of DOS attack. Usually it stands for denail of service, in this case it has to stand for Density of Scent.

Can you even imagine the smell of a lecture hall full of hackers recently goreged on frozen burritos? Yuck.

EMP's

[Jorkapp]

A good solid EMP should disable all wireless networks in the vicinity*

*as well as all computers, electronic gadgets, and vehicles built before 1980's

The trouble is generating one. You can use either:

- Very large capacitors, or...

- A nuclear device **

**With a nuclear device, you will not only disable all wireless networks, electronics, and vehicles built before the 1980's, but all humans, buildings, and organic matter for a very wide radius. No FCC complaints, but alot of DoD complaints will result.