A development from the UK’s Cambridge University could put a stop to the use of unlicensed software once and for all by enabling ‘detector vans’ such as those formerly used in the UK to detect households watching television without a TV license, to catch users of unlicensed software. Two Cambridge scientists have found a way to vary the electromagnetic radiation emitted by a screen so that it could broadcast a secret license number up to 120ft away. A detector van with a decoder could then check who was the authorized licensee of the software. Conversely, the technology can also apparently be used to alter the way information is displayed on a screen, to make it more difficult to read from a distance.
