this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2026
94 points (98.0% liked)

Privacy

4740 readers
406 users here now

Icon base by Lorc under CC BY 3.0 with modifications to add a gradient

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

The fact that this is labelled as a "flashlight" and the product listing doesn't tell you anywhere that it's actually a laser is shady as fuck. The seller is probably trying to dodge safety regulations.

There's a review on the same product from a different seller that has a close-up of the label:

https://a.co/d/0bgSPi28

~~This is a 50W laser, which is pretty dangerous.~~ Just looking at the reflection spot where the laser hits something could damage your eyes, and never mind looking directly into the beam. If you're going to use something like this you should be wearing properly tested safety glasses rated for that frequency, not the cheapos that come with it.

Edit: that safety label is definitely wrong. Class III lasers are between 5 and 500 mW, so this is probably 500mW and not 50000mW, which makes a lot more sense because you'd never fit that in an object this size.

The fact that the safety label is wrong makes this thing even worse.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

As an avid watcher of styropyro, any labeling on that device is pretty much useless. Considering it burns shit, it's at least 1W, if not higher. Amazon and eBay lasers are notorious for being orders of magnitude more powerful than they are advertised, which is why I picked this one lol. If it costs more than $30, it's probably capable of blinding anyone not careful with it.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Hooray, it is of indeterminate wattage.

In the context of economies of scale, I think it's possible that a lot of these laser pointers are made with surplus Blu-ray diodes, which have obviously been produced in mass quantities. It would explain why they can be had so cheaply.

[–] arin@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

500mw will not burn stuff, not easily, and not without a focusing lens

[–] cm0002 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Shit, that looks cool just to have LMAO

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Judging by the single review, it's well over the <5mw classification for safe use. Considering that it reportedly burns black objects, it's at least 1W, which means even reflections could be permanently blinding nearly instantly :).

Would fry the cameras in these glasses just as fast. Would not use as a laser pointer for cats.

[–] fonix232@fedia.io 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, try to fry that camera from 5m+ distance then enjoy the lawsuit for blinding that person...

[–] cm0002 4 points 2 weeks ago

Ok maybe not so good for meta glasses....but...now hear me out....flock cameras >:)

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

What lawsuit? They can't identify me

[–] fonix232@fedia.io 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That still makes you an asshole. At the end of the day you permanently blinded someone because... they used tech you dislike.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

You are taking this far too seriously, friend.