# Can the USAF read what you type from window vibrations?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-usaf-read-what-you-type-from-window-vibrations/22203>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 13, 2000, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-usaf-read-what-you-type-from-window-vibrations/22203 "2000-06-13T04:39:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2000, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-usaf-read-what-you-type-from-window-vibrations/22203/21 "2000-06-13T23:34:36Z")

</div>

I think that the OP is confusing two (or more) completely different technologies: Fact: It is possible to “bug” a room by lasing the windows, and reconstructing the sounds to reasonable fidelity (certainly enough to understand speech). Fact: It is possible to find out what someone is typing in a room with windows, by looking in the window and watching, and classified information should therefore not be typed in a room with windows. I don’t see that there’s any real realtionship between these two facts, however.

I realize that these points have been made before in this thread, but I just thought I’d tie them together here.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-usaf-read-what-you-type-from-window-vibrations/22203.md?page=1)