http://www.pcworld.com/article/2170...cars_are_easily_hacked.html?tk=nl_spx_t_crawl http://www.pcworld.com/article/196293/car_hackers_can_kill_brakes_engine_and_more.html?tk=mod_rel Electronic equivalent of a slim-jim, I guess... I you have a RFID-chipped credit card, that can be snagged too! http://video.foxnews.com/v/4439754/high-tech-credit-card-thieves
Bummer, Dude! Just goes to show that there isn't any 100% fool-proof way to deter a criminal dead-set on taking your stuff. Although, in the movie Robocop, a current model car (a model 6000 SUX, I believe) came close. When a thief attempted to drive away, the car shot 20,000 volts into the driver's seat (and driver). Seemed like a pretty effective deterrent...
While I wouldn't go so far as to 'never say never'.... ...I would say that the owners who ought to be worried are the traditionally popular theft targets such as Honda, Toyota, GM and Ford products, and maybe some of the more high-end BMW and Mercedes products. I read the article and it does say that the tactic requires some rather costly equipment to pull it off. Hardly worth it to go after, say, a Chevy Aveo or a Ford Focus. Ditto for anything but BMW and Mercedes more pricey or popular models. The thieves are going to want something they can either part and resell quickly, or something they can quickly load onto a cargo container overseas. There's not really a HUGE market for stolen BMW parts compared to what a thief could make selling Toyota, Honda, Ford or GM parts in terms of ease of resale. Note that in the recent theft of that 7-series from the auto show, while the thieves did target what's known as a high-value, high-profit flagship model, it's not generally considered to a popular or frequently stolen model. 7-series cars are pretty labor-intensive to part out, and there's not as large a market for parts that probably won't work in another popular, "high traffic" vehicle.
The only problem with stickers is that they're only effective at close range This device could work at a distance -- not much of a distance, but certainly further away than any sticker would be noticeable.
Old School - part 2 Over the Holiday's gave my daughter a lesson on starting my friend's old truck. It has a fussy carburetor, which means it won't start unless you know the special anti-theft ritual. (Truck in neutral, clutch out, handbrake on, pump gas pedal to the floor three times, turn key, slowly push gas to floor again, floor it when it fires, back off to half as one or two cylinders cough to life, pump some more once the first slug of gas clears, manually control rpm until engine smooths, rev as necessary. I missed a few steps in there, but its slightly different everytime anyway.) She thought it was cool old-school vehicle. High beam switch was another matter...
Which Bond movie was it... For Your Eyes Only? The henchman broke the window on the Lotus and the whole thing exploded! That's anti-theft!
I knew i didnt order "comfort access" for a reason. Seemed like a useless option to me at the time, just another thing that can go wrong, and now can be defeated. Just what i need!
Not quite. To use a relay-transmitter exploit on a non-CA key, an attacker would need to trick the victim into pressing buttons on the transponder. Once inside the car, they'd need to defeat the mechanical ignition lock while maintaining communication with the key to authorize engine start. All possible, true, but they'd probably have to shadow and possibly interact with the victim, at least minimally. (Assuming they haven't just cloned the key outright--possible for some systems (Keeloq; not used by BMW AFAIK and possibly updated since cracked in 2007), but requires some time in proximity to the transponder.) The CA system is significantly weaker in this scenario because the car initiates the command requests, not the key--and the thief is at the car. All the victim has to do is walk within range of a relay antenna for a few seconds and the key will respond just as if it were physically present, with no action from the victim. Nasty.
Im not sure of the technical aspects of this but I think i would like to be in charge of the locking and ignition capability rather than the car. Just because I'm near my car doesn't always mean that i want it unlocked.
My dad has a 67 Mercedes Benz Diesel that is completely theft proof. First you have to find the start pull knob that is unlabeled and identical to all the other knobs. Pull out half way and hold their for 15 to 60 sec depending on air temp and motor temp. Then pull all the way out an listen to how many cylinders are firing. If two or less glow the plugs for another 10 to 15 secs. Then attempt to start again. If three or more fire, halt the start and modulate the throttle till all four are firing and the car is shaking at only 2 or 3 on the Richter scale!!!
