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A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

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Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#31

Post by wongarsu »

soared wrote: post #5

Cool idea! Seems like car thieves could probably just carry around another device to hack it, but certainly could be a deterrent. I don’t know much about it but it seems like a key is supposed to be the password for the car, so seemingly the key is where improvements could be made. Like add unique and random differences in the metal on each key and have the key slot read those and only turn on the car if it matches (…

High security door keys commonly use magnets embedded in the key as an additional security layer. A lot harder to pick by hand, and also doesn't appear in photographs of the key.

For car keys manufacturers try to get away from physical keys for years, and for a remote keyfob it's just a cost question. Bidirectional communication allows for good cryptography with challenge-response protocol, but costs more than unidirectional. But then people want to be able to open their car when the battery of their fob is dead ...

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#32

Post by idiotsecant »

Waterluvian wrote: post #14

I knew someone with a shitty pickup truck where he wired a light switch into the fuel pump and hid it under the steering column. The truck would be stolen something like 5 times a year and every time he would find it abandoned a km or so away when the gas in the line ran out. I drove in it once to get lunch and near the beginning the car begins sputtering and he's like, "oh right, you're thirsty" and reached under an…

I did similar, except wired into the ignition circuit and with the control being a little cheap ebay RFID thing with the sensor on the underside of the dash. I kept a little RFID tag on my keys, chuck my keys up onto the dash when i'm ready to go and the truck is started with a pushbutton. I also put a cheater switch in the glove box in case i forgot my RFID tags.

In my case it was motivated more by maintenance headache - the mechanical linkage that went from the ignition switch to the ignition control device at the base of the steering column was busted and I was too cheap to buy another one and it was a pain to replace.

Project trucks that nobody can drive but you are the best trucks, IMO.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#35

Post by indymike »

localtoast wrote: post #4

As a kid, I watched my father pull a single fuse from the family 4x4's fuse box whenever we left the vehicle unattented for any extended period. Does a practical, lower-tech deterent exist?

This is the 2¢ solution to the problem... and usually doesn't even require you to pop the hood if the fuse is inside the car.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#36

Post by EA-3167 »

postmortembees wrote: post #20

This is a very engineering solution to a very not-engineering problem. Would this deter thieves? Possibly! Would thieves eventually be able to work around it? Also probably! Would it increase the friction of getting in and driving? Definitely! Today, your house keys are basically useless for security -- getting into your house is trivially easy both destructively and not. But we all use house keys because they feel s…

Most locks on most residential facilities are not about security so much as a "tamper evident" seal for insurance purposes.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#37

Post by radiator »

HPsquared wrote: post #30
postmortembees wrote: post #20

This is a very engineering solution to a very not-engineering problem. Would this deter thieves? Possibly! Would thieves eventually be able to work around it? Also probably! Would it increase the friction of getting in and driving? Definitely! Today, your house keys are basically useless for security -- getting into your house is trivially easy both destructively and not. But we all use house keys because they feel s…

Security is always a trade-off. The most effective, and also most costly, way to avoid car theft is to not own a car at all (for example).

How is this the most costly way?

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#38

Post by hulitu »

johnea wrote: post #8

A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves It's so simple, it can be done "With a new $1.2 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation"... I guess simple doesn't mean what it used to mean...

> I guess simple doesn't mean what it used to mean...

"You should see our new, redesigned, UI/UX" /s

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#39

Post by incahoots »

soared wrote: post #5

Cool idea! Seems like car thieves could probably just carry around another device to hack it, but certainly could be a deterrent. I don’t know much about it but it seems like a key is supposed to be the password for the car, so seemingly the key is where improvements could be made. Like add unique and random differences in the metal on each key and have the key slot read those and only turn on the car if it matches (…

I imagine the purpose is to extend the timer when attempting to steal a vehicle.

Ford had their dial pad on their vehicles for the longest time to prevent entry if you were using a non factory key to enter. I always thought that was a neat feature, but heavily under utilized.

Re: A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

#40

Post by gruez »

radiator wrote: post #37
HPsquared wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security is always a trade-off. The most effective, and also most costly, way to avoid car theft is to not own a car at all (for example).

How is this the most costly way?

Opportunity cost of the additional travel time[1] that you have to spend because you don't have a car.

[1] Yes, I'm aware of european cities where cars aren't necessary or are actually slower than public transit. That's not applicable to most of the US though.

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