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Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

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Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#81

Post by protomyth »

cdubzzz wrote: post #45
jacquesm wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It requires him to break the lock/door/glass to get in first. They pop the hood, apparently. http://www.khou.com/news/crime/high-tech-thieves-crooks-usin... The rest is all 'digital', no further use of force required.

Did you watch the video in that article? It doesn't seem to line up at all with the text of the article, oddly. You see the guy for a moment and then the video skips forward and he's sitting in the Jeep with the alarm going off. The alarm appears to have been going for a good couple of minutes. Wouldn't popping the hood also require breaking a window or otherwise getting in the car to pull the release?

> Wouldn't popping the hood also require breaking a window or otherwise getting in the car to pull the release?

There are a fair amount of modern cars that don't actually require you to get into the car to pop the hood if you know what you're doing. On earlier cars[1] there was no latch inside the car.

1) they don't have the electronics for this stuff however - simple hot wiring will do

Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#82

Post by semi-extrinsic »

varjag wrote: post #60
exDM69 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not for your ordinary city dwellers, but a manual transmission is nicer if you have to drive in adverse conditions (snow, ice) or tow a trailer in hilly areas, etc. And it's just more fun to drive when you have complete control of torque going to the wheels under your right foot :)

I drive an EV now (after years of driving stick). No petrol car comes close in torque control, and it's just two pedals :)

My personal theory about the EV advantage in acceleration/torque control is that it's not really that much better than similar class petrol cars, but that when the car is completely silent, people don't have the same aversion to flooring the pedal. So it's effectively better.

I've raced my brother-in-law out of red lights a few times, him in a Nissan Leaf, me in a Peugeot 307 with a 1.6 110 hp petrol engine. I can keep up, but I have to stay above 3000 RPM throughout all gear changes, so it's really loud. Most people never drive a petrol car like that, you sound like an idiot boy racer.

Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#83

Post by protomyth »

vinceguidry wrote: post #80
dghughes wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That has been debunked. And debunked again recently. http://www.snopes.com/can-unlock-car-door-tennis-ball/

You can get into Ford Rangers of a certain year range by unscrewing the antenna and sticking it into little holes underneath the handle. You catch it on the lock rod and use friction to work it up. It was really helpful for me whenever I locked my keys in my truck. At first it takes awhile to get the trick of it, but by the time I traded it in, it only took me a few seconds. I suppose I should have been worried that…

Some Ford Rangers[1] were pretty easy to enter from the small back window. A small flip and the latch opened.

My sympathies on the Ford Ranger if you had it in a climate with snow. I had 700 lbs of sand in the bed over the back axle and good snow tires (not studs) and still got stuck. Everyone I talked to thought those things were death traps.

1) along with the Mazda B4000 which was a Ford Ranger with a different paint job and grill - even said Ford Ranger in the door

Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#84

Post by morganvachon »

varjag wrote: post #55
TamDenholm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah i find it bizarre just how many automatics are in America, here in the UK, the only people who drive automatics are people who have difficulty mastering the skill of standard driving (ie a manual).

There's no reason for manual really unless you do races or don't want to pay premium for auto. As I understand, there's no financial disincentive for automatic in America, hence most opt for the most convenient option.

My truck has a towing transmission (SM465) with a low "granny" gear in the tradition 1st gear position. I never use that gear unless I'm hauling felled tree trunks around the property or something like that; it's needed to get the truck moving under such a load. I've heard that rock crawler types like to put that tranny in old Jeeps for precise control during four wheeling, and I can believe it. In that gear, I've crawled up a hill with a moderate load in the bed, with my foot off the accelerator.

Mostly though, I just enjoy the nearly zero maintenance (check fluids regularly of course, change clutch every 10 years or so) that a manual provides on an older vehicle. On newer vehicles like my Crown Victoria or my wife's Nissan Versa, the automatic just makes more sense. It's just as dependable as a manual, and only slightly more frequent maintenance (60k mile service intervals on both cars).

Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#85

Post by brokenmachine »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #63
Mekkanox wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For at least a few years now, even conventional "slushbox" automatics get better mileage than a manual transmission when in the same car. Lower maintenance costs are usually mentioned as an advantage of manual over automatic, but slushboxes have been around for quite a while now. With routine maintenance and average use (meaning no launch control usage or burnouts), both types will last forever.

You can drive a manual very efficiently. My Forester has a display showing instantaneous efficiency. I can increase mileage by a third by paying close attention to it. But that means driving very conservatively, which I'd never do without the display to remind me.

Since I have bought a manual car, my efficiency has gone down by a ridiculous amount.

Fortunately the fun factor has gone up by the same amount so I don't care...

Re: Car Thieves Arrested After Using Laptop and Malware to Steal More Than 30 Jeeps

#86

Post by alexmaras »

ComodoHacker wrote: post #79
ComodoHacker wrote: post #19

>That was the same story HPD heard over and over from several Jeep owners in the Houston area . Looks like this was their main mistake.

Not sure why downvotes. I just pointed out that it was stupid for the thieves to perform their series in one small area, with distinct hand, again and again, drawing police attention. Especially stupid for a hi-tech thieves.

I think people thought you meant owning a Jeep in the Houston area was a mistake
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