Posted on 02/27/2014 10:04:29 PM PST by Kartographer
A mysterious device is being used by criminals to easily break into locked cars across the country, including here in Chicago. It has police stumped, CNN is reporting.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicago.cbslocal.com ...
“And they’re supposed to be protecting US...lol”
It’s Chicago...they’re probably in on it
What a font of total misinformation
http://penturalabs.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/pocket-emps-on-sale-5/
not much of a mystery.. a news crew in canada has one. Don’t police do their job any more (you know. check around and see what they can turn up. It was the top hit on google for me)
digging more, one site blames.. curry light bulbs.. I knew there was more reasons to hate them than mercury.
curly light bulbs.. sorry.. early morning yet for me. send coffee.
Car dealers have similar devices. Probably not much effort to create an electronic skeleton key.
Brilliant.....I love the smell of sarcasm in the morning.
I’ll bet that if you disconnect your battery, or pull the door lock fuse, these crooks would be mystified as to how you defeated their wonder box...
My Mercedes van has one, it’s called a key fob. You press the button and the door unlocks.
You press it twice and all doors unlock
“Further, a large number of different pseudo random algorithms are used, so that if by chance one fob syncs with the wrong vehicle one time it won’t do it a second time. “
Just got back from a business trip in Tampa. At the hotel, after checking out at 5am, we used the key fob to unlock the rental car. Our car, AND the car next to us bot unlocked, and they were different models.
We did it 5 times in a row because it freaked us out. It was still dark, and the tail lights of the car next to us came on, which surprised us. We did it again, thinking someone else was doing it or someone was in that car. Nope. Just us.
We knew it should be impossible, but there you go.
“Even easier it to record the signal as you get out of your car and lock it with the key fob, the code is merely a high frequency sound.”
This is what is confusing me about this story; my 98 F Bird system uses a new code on every try. This box must get into the greater computer somehow. Maybe a level of software that isn’t on a ‘98.
I can still get into my wife’s car with a coat hanger.
If these are all GM cars the thieves may have hacked the onstar system code for unlocking the doors.
I could see the same thing with electric garage doors openers. Just have a transmitter that scans through all the possible codes until you get the right one.
I can’t imagine how difficult it would really be if you knew the range of codes to simply flood them all as quickly as possible. You can get a lot of horsepower in a small package these days. I’m not sure how these systems work though, I just always assumed there was some sort of encryption and too wide of a range for this to be possible. Guess I was wrong
totally weird, but theoretically possible if extremely improbably.
This is why I never use my key fob to lock the doors of my car. The signal can be intercepted, decoded and spoofed for easy entry by thieves. They can’t drive your car away, but they can help themselves to the contents pretty easily.
Use the lock button in the door.
> Having worked for a company that builds video slot machines I can tell you that embedded code to rig the machines would be discovered — most likely before the first game of its type was “approved”. The code must be supplied beforehand and working prototypes are extensively tested. Plus everyone connected with the manufacture & sale goes thru a thorough & I mean thorough background check. Get caught attempting it and you’re banned for life every where.
I’m talking about modifications made after the manufacturing process. As to the background check process, I’m one of the guys who conducts those “thorough background checks” and know how the system can be exploited to get people to approve things they normally wouldn’t for a fee of course. Those types of background checks are only conducted in jurisdictions within the U.S. Sometimes they might check Interpol if its warranted but still some can fall through the cracks. On a large percentage of white collar cases there will be very little past criminal history found though more than average lawsuits, judgments, liens, and bankruptcy cases will be found. I also know how criminal history can be wiped or expunged using attorneys and clerks on the take.
Lots of money can get people to turn their heads especially when there’s lots of money to be made from it. They know people are watching during the manufacturing process and when the machines will be inspected later. They just keep it straight when they need to. And of course it may not happen in every casino but I bet it happens more iften than it doesn’t just because of the very nature of the business. I’ve never known of any poor casino operators...: )
Jeez, these days I wonder how many remember the dimmer switch on the floor...
Man, I HATED those things. Ice and snow freezing it once or three times I can remember. The worse was coming around a curve in the road while shifting - clutch foot busy - high beams on - and a car coming the other way. /embarrassed/
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