High voltage "antivirus" halo protects your laptop, keeps you vigilant

Here at Engadget HQ, we have a certain respect for tesla-based DIY endeavors. That being said, we still can't fathom who in their right mind would actually fling sparks around their laptop just to feel a little closer to that WoW raid. Nevertheless, the High voltage "antivirus" protection project claims to play nice with Macs or PCs and utilizes a ZVS flyback supply driving a 4-stage CW multiplier. According to the mad scientist who arranged this thing, the shot on the right was taken by a camera forced to hold its shutter open for ten seconds before capturing, and he even took a number of shots (check 'em all in the read link) to defuse the "Photoshopped!1one!" arguments. If you can't sense the fear in our fingertips, trust us, it's there.

[Jerome @ Apr 7th 2008 2:51PM]

he did the same thing with is car

discovery channel

[daemonios @ Apr 7th 2008 2:53PM]

Meh... Nice for producing long-exposure photos, but quick snaps and the real-time viewer impression are lame (looks like a cheap high-school experiment with those dangling wires).

[Cory @ Apr 7th 2008 2:55PM]

I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.

[Smart People Play Tuba @ Apr 7th 2008 4:46PM]

Mmm, ow, it hurts, it hurts . . .

--Ned from South Park

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 7th 2008 2:54PM]

that picture looks so awesome I don't know which avenue to go down...

Do I go with the Master chief angle?

Perhaps the angelic laptop angle?

Saturn rings?

*Brain overload*

ik24pfz\PJFZ234R

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 7th 2008 5:08PM]

Not sure if I've ever seen the words 'angel' and 'angle' in the same sentence together, but it was very refreshing. Thank you.

[maff @ Apr 7th 2008 5:13PM]

I've got one of those PJFZ234Rs, need a good heatsink to go with 'em tho!

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 7th 2008 5:20PM]

Lowest Ranked, you are most welcome.

May I also add that given the state of your current ranking, you are, in fact, an oxymoron.

[sip @ Apr 7th 2008 2:59PM]

Could anyone shed some light on the meaning of "utilizes a ZVS flyback supply driving a 4-stage CW multiplier."

[Carl M @ Apr 7th 2008 7:35PM]

Zero-voltage switching flyback transformer with a 4-stage Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier.

Basically some circuits designed to create REALLY high voltages.

CW multiplier: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockcroft-Walton_generator

ZVS flyback: http://wiki.4hv.org/index.php/Flyback

[SurKaz @ Apr 7th 2008 2:55PM]

Uh.. What does it do? Looks cool in pictures and?... wait viruses?.. What the?.

[kiwi @ Apr 7th 2008 2:55PM]

With a 10 second exposure there's no way he nor his hand would be that sharp in the final image.

[schmitty338 @ Apr 7th 2008 3:05PM]

Actually, you can see a little bit of a haze around his face, indicating he did move a little bit...his hands are quite clear, but remember that he KNOWS that there is a 10 second exposure and they are planned - I don't know about you, but I can stay pretty damn still for 10 seconds if I have to.

[Jeff @ Apr 7th 2008 4:47PM]

it's called rear-shutter-sync-flash.

...or was, in the SLR days. i think it's called "Night Portrait" in the point-and-shoot-digital days. :)

the point is that the shutter opens, a flash fires off, but the shutter STAYS open for several seconds. ...which results in something that looks exactly like those shots.

I don't think the question is if this is real or not... the question is why would anyone waste their time building this stupid pointless crap?

[monkfishbandana @ Apr 7th 2008 6:24PM]

Tripod.

[blarvh @ Apr 8th 2008 10:09AM]

Flash sync first curtain. Or second if you want nice light trails after cars.

My Canon P&S does that.

[SurKaz @ Apr 7th 2008 2:55PM]

Oh.. Completely aesthetic use... To compliment the look of your character in WOW..

[Chebwa @ Apr 7th 2008 2:57PM]

I bet you he has heads in his freezer, too.

http://tesladownunder.com/HVantivirusSetup3.jpg

[Tim @ Apr 7th 2008 3:39PM]

new avatar = win.

the other one was a little heroin-chic for me.

I am on engadget too much :(

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 7th 2008 4:50PM]

Someone has a stalker.

[PGP-Protector @ Apr 7th 2008 3:04PM]

Don't jump up when using that :D

[Frankenstein Black @ Apr 7th 2008 3:06PM]

Come on now, give us something we can really use. Make it real and expand the AOE (Area of Effect) of that thing. I think we would all agree that a real life antivirus zapper would be a godsend especially for those long (or short) flights inside of those flying germ factories they call air planes...

[David Vogt @ Apr 7th 2008 3:40PM]

Finally, a REAL post.

[Haro! @ Apr 7th 2008 3:46PM]

Does that mean that if one were to take a picture of Steve Jobs using that 10 second exposure we would in fact be able to see his reality distortion field?

Running the risk of sounding dumb(er), what does this exactly do?

[dajimmers @ Apr 7th 2008 3:54PM]

Don't worry- you sound smarter for asking.

[Jeff @ Apr 7th 2008 4:51PM]

"nothing" is what it does, exactly.

...or "gets a mention on engadget for building some stupid pointless crap" is another possible answer.


(PS: my lyrics are bottomless. haha.)

[basroil @ Apr 7th 2008 3:49PM]

hmmm... i can do the exact same thing with a cheap led attached to a wire connected to a fan... and it'll be cheaper.. the red one looks cool and is impossibly hard to replicate without photoshop or some fancy DIY stuff, but yellow one is a joke

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 7th 2008 5:01PM]

A cheap ones thats cheaper?! Awesome!

And he said he used a red acryllic filter over the lens to create the colored effect, actually he mentions specifically that none of the images are Photoshopped.

But you wouldn't know that, because I'm the only one here dumb enough to read this pointless article.

[basroil @ Apr 7th 2008 7:25PM]

yea... i never said they were photoshopped, simply that the red one is hard to replicate without more expensive measures. simple to do, but not as cheap as an led on a fan... but you wouldn't know that, i'm the only one here dumb enough to have years of photographic experience including some experimental shots like this...

as for the colors, you sit the guy down for a second with the laptop, use a flash, turn off screen, put a cheap rosco filter (or just clear plastic bag with marker on it) in front of the lens, start the machine spinning, start the current. this entire time you have the shutter open in a pitch black room (notice the basement). presto, exactly the same photo, though it works much better with two people and a filter holder instead of screwon, since it seems that someone moved the camera during two of those exposures

[Shinigami @ Apr 7th 2008 3:56PM]

And I thought April the 1st ended 6 days ago :)

[jeppe @ Apr 7th 2008 4:07PM]

That picture shows how welcoming Windows REALLY is.

[Matt Ferens @ Apr 7th 2008 4:09PM]

Why is this necessary at all?

[Nehemoth @ Apr 7th 2008 4:18PM]

A question here, Is an Anti-virus but for your or for your machine??

Is real boys, I would like to now this.

[Nehemoth @ Apr 7th 2008 4:20PM]

Wau, I dumb, very dumb, the tile said "...halo protects your laptop."

But how is this possible, can somebody explain in plain English.

[Lowest Ranked @ Apr 7th 2008 5:03PM]

The only thing I understood was "Can somebody explain in plain English."


Oh, the irony.

[Wwhat @ Apr 7th 2008 8:58PM]

Well obviously it's for you, the operator, and obviously having unhealthy ozone in loads around your workplace is about as smart as drinking radium drinks for longevity.
Incidentally, if that guy has money I'd advise you to build one on his advise then to sue him for exposing you to ozone, then with the money you can move to a place with clean air and be the winner in the end :)

P.S. Anybody that thinks an electric arc near a laptop was meant protect it from computerviruses needs to take a step back and grab hold of his logic and throw off his silly adherence to superstition and metaphysics.

[Nehemoth @ Apr 7th 2008 9:02PM]

@ Lowest Ranked.

Why you don't understood.
Because first I was answering to myself cause I ask a very dumb question.

[Brad @ Apr 7th 2008 4:46PM]

I would guess it throws out enough interference (RFI) to render wireless and bluetooth useless. Maybe that's how it protects your computer from viruses...by making it unable to connect to anything wirelessly.

[Sma @ Apr 7th 2008 6:15PM]

LOL yeah thats what I was thinking too.

[mykie @ Apr 7th 2008 4:53PM]

Don't lean to close!

[iliarules @ Apr 7th 2008 5:14PM]

i think halo is a pretty cool guy. eh kills aleins and doesn't afraid of anything.

[Wwhat @ Apr 7th 2008 9:01PM]

Perhaps it's a language thing, when he says virus he actually meant 'bugs' and somehow the 2 got confused because people sometimes say 'got a bug' when they got the flue.
So then it would actually be a bug zapper.

[GPS @ Apr 7th 2008 10:36PM]

At first I thought they were talking about computer viruses

[Josh @ Apr 7th 2008 11:37PM]

fun

[Shinigami @ Apr 8th 2008 12:15AM]

Few wild guesses how one can use this zapper device:
1. Keeping notebook safe from us people :D
2. Keeping your lappie safe by killing any virus in the air (yay! no more flu from laptop!)
3. Non-lethal weapon against laptop thieves :)
4. Spread the fun - show these pics to friends! xD

[Generic @ Apr 8th 2008 5:20AM]

...and they were all hacked by symbiods when they used that Star Gate generating laptop...

[Mikey81 @ Apr 8th 2008 12:28PM]

I'd like to know if he can pick up a wireless signal. I'd be very dubious about putting my laptop anywhere near something like that, the EMP must be terrific!