Live data from Hacker News

Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

gist.github.com

111–120 of 268 posts

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#111
post #62
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cold weather primarily. You need the engine to warm up before driving and it’s much nicer to have the heater warm up the car and loosen ice on the windows. You can run outside and start the car then come back, as I did growing up in a cold region, but remote start is sooo much nicer.

Cars built in the last 15 years usually don't need to be warned up: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a19086/... But yeah, icy/foggy windows are a pain to clear. I live in Montreal, and when I had an ICE car, most days, it was fine to just de-icing the windows, then start the motor, and slowly roll out of the alley. Admittedly, most winter days, it's not that cold. Kind of drives me crazy, the smel…

I had wondered if the engine bit was still necessary, thank you.

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here it's cold in the winter and it is definitely illegal to install a remote start system in a car with a manual transmission. Before my life in tech I worked in car audio installs back in the 90s. One day one of the senior installer techs put a remote start in his own Mazda truck which had a manual transmission. A bit of time went by and we were outside smoking one day when he must have hit the button in this pocke…

A proper remote starter for a manual transmission has sensors to ensure the vehicle is in neutral with the handbrake on.

> A proper remote starter

That's the key part. Proper :)

IIRC he just bypassed the sensor that would have been for Park on an automatic, since there were no manual transmission kits for sale as they were (and I think still are) illegal for sale where I live.

He would even refuse to do this sort of thing for other people so it was pretty funny it happened to him.

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#115
post #71

So, long story short, it's not a tracking device, it's an aftermarket alarm system? Guess what folks: with few exceptions, no one cares about tracking you. Enough with the paranoia already.

> with few exceptions, no one cares about tracking you.

HN is one of those places with a higher than average number of people that groups would be interested in tracking.

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#116
I want to point out something. Even though this device is/was most likely innocuous, it should also be clear that such non-factory, seemingly innocuous devices could easily contain and cloak something of concern. Quick googling finds for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the NSA is certainly real, the likelihood of them bugging your car unless you're smuggling nuclear secrets is rather low the three letter agencies don't care about people who play video games and watch cat videos all day

If your car has a networked computer it’s probably bugged/backdoored imo. (Talking out of my ass)

No post body was provided.

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#118
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, people are just imagining the NSA led global surveillance apparatus.

the NSA is certainly real, the likelihood of them bugging your car unless you're smuggling nuclear secrets is rather low the three letter agencies don't care about people who play video games and watch cat videos all day

You make it sound like the NSA can never fail. If it's monitoring you then you are likely doing something deserving of monitoring. They can be wrong though and you'll still have been spied on and information collected for future use. Consider a career in politics, perhaps?

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#119

I want to point out something. Even though this device is/was most likely innocuous, it should also be clear that such non-factory, seemingly innocuous devices could easily contain and cloak something of concern. Quick googling finds for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...

That story and the followups have always been and remain extremely suspect. https://www.google.com/search?q=bloomberg+supermicro+story

Re: Help me identify possible tracking device found in my car

#120

I want to point out something. Even though this device is/was most likely innocuous, it should also be clear that such non-factory, seemingly innocuous devices could easily contain and cloak something of concern. Quick googling finds for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...

Wasn't that Bloomberg article found to be false? Don't take my word for it, look it up, but I remember hearing Bloomberg take a big reputation hit after that one.
Post reply on HN