Pfft. That would probably cost $0.20 per vehicle. Not gonna happen without an act of Congress. Shareholders, something, something.
2 Likes
My Prius has a button under the steering wheel that disables keyless entry, which is simpler than removing batteries from transponders. I use it when camping with my keys in a tent near the car.
2 Likes
Whatâs brass got to do with it? Worst b33sbu77 clues⌠Is there a second authentication from the oxidation state on the keys youâre using?
Additionally, you seem to be a fan exactly at odds with the reportage/evidence, security researchersâ efforts at looking awkward notwithstanding.
(Itâs 2016 infosec; unicorn masks, matching inhalers, and test equipment seemingly made of redstone dust or it wasnât peer reviewed. [wet cough] Looking forward nonetheless to the Chris Gammel 26W millimeter-wave 4.2M-polyspoofing solderset.)
1 Like
Most cars are automatic transmission these days, which eliminates the need for left legs and makes the upper extremities much more interchangeable. Dingleberries texting while driving should concern you much more than this. Theyâre all around you, every commute.
4 Likes
Sh, donât tell! Just came from a fictional LaJolla where the whole line of traffic accelerates in unison to 25MPH then gradually increases spacing, wide but non-lane-crossing turns are common, and the Nintendo DS __ rhythm games everyoneâs on are helping situational awareness cannily.
Not as good as the driving legless with care club, but there it was. A hypothetical no media never picked up.
Yes. A properly made Faraday cage should block all RF and microwave radiation.
2 Likes
On the bright side, this incentivizes a whole new generation to learn to make their own amplifiers. Todayâs car theives are the DIY audiophiles of tomorrow.
4 Likes
Yet somehow, we managed to do that for the first hundred years of automobiles.
I for one like a tiny brass key instead of a big plastic lump that will cost me $250 when, not if, it breaks or gets lost. I can live without the convenience of hands-free opening.
Also, I donât lock my car unless thereâs something worth easily stealing in it. Iâve had my car broken into, and the repairs needed due to the break-in were more than the value of the stuff taken. Twice.
6 Likes
An American writing. This side of the Atlantic no one is driving an automaticâevery one is on the phoneâand yes, far more worrying.
Iâm in Michigan and own a manual transmission car. Are there no sports coupes in your corner of the country?
I got shocking news for you: There are more countries on this planet than just the USA!
To be fair, this opinion comes to us from an Archvillain.
5 Likes
Canadian here. Most cars are automatic transmission these days.
1 Like
Oh good, more US bashing from the German nationalist guy. Yippee.
Conversely, manual transmissions are no longer popular in many classes of cars sold in North America, Australia and some parts of Asia, although they remain dominant in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
FWIW my keyless entry fob is smaller than a regular brass key, I leave my brass emergency key forgotten at the dusty bottom of a drawer. If your fob is a big hunk of plastic itâs presumably not really designed for keyless entry, itâs probably designed primarily as a remote control for people who want to use big buttons to lock/unlock the car remotely (and/or the manufacturer cutting corners?)
We managed for hundreds of years without cellphones too, but theyâre similarly a clear improvement. I have a nice-ish car that friends and strangers routinely ask for a chance to drive or just to be a passenger in, and of all its crazy bells and whistles and ridiculous handling, often the most jarring thing about using a crappy rental car is how much pointless hassle it is to go back to the era of always needing to be finding and handling keys in order to be constantly nannying the carâs security (and as you point out - how big and awkward their big plastic-lump remote-control fobs are). Keyless entry is just a joy in comparison.
If you are routinely losing your keys, then I can see the appeal of cheap keys. Iâve never lost car keys and donât expect to, so itâs not a factor I put much weight on. Thinking about it though, if I were the type to lose my keys, itâs probably still worth it to me to pay their $250 rip-off every few years to keep the convenience of continuing to never have to lock or unlock my car, never having to wonder if I remembered to lock the car, never accidentally leaving the car unlocked when I wanted it locked, never having to search for keys or fish keys out of my pocket, never risking a dead battery from leaving them in the ignition with the lights on, never having to put down what Iâm carrying when I reach the car then pick up everything again, etc etc.
However the nerd in me will be disappointed if the next generation of keyless entry doesnât raise the bar to eliminate or diminish this attack vector though. Not because it seems necessary (despite all the confused reporters conflating a different attack on a different fob technology, thieves are not yet thought to have used this clumsy attack and I donât expect they will in any significant way), but simply because because in security you ought to use a head-start to get further ahead, not to sit on your ass until your lead is gone. It shows they care 
Weâll have to disagree about the convenience. I find a smaller, handier key vastly superior to these blobs of silicon and plastic hanging on my belt. And keep in mind all Iâve asked for is the option to buy a nice car without that nonsense - you can get whatever you want, Iâll pay extra for the more elegant and robust system I prefer.
The surveillance videos of the attack being actually used to steal cars (in far less time that it takes to slim-jim a lock, disable an alarm, and hot-wire the ignition) seem pretty convincing.
The security researchersâ demonstrations also seem pretty material, to me at least. And the physics is straightforward.
Why do you think these videos are fake?
2 Likes
All this meaningless electronic and computer gimmick crap has got to go.
It doesnât make things better, it makes them worse.
Roll down windows, no electronic key fob locks, no computer screens on the dash. Make real cars again.
Luckily if you own a Prius your best security from thieves is itâs a Prius in a lot of cars normal people want.
1 Like
Continuing the discussion from one of the other car-hacking threads FBI issues car-hacking warning, tells drivers to keep their cars' patch-levels current:
The last link in my post there last week is basically this same info, so for those who missed it a lot of this discussion already got covered over there.
Some people made some good points there, to the effect that conventional car keys are also notoriously insecure, so itâs not clear this situation is any worse than the situation with mechanical locks. Iâm still not happy about having a car on this list, thoughâŚ
I take it you donât live anywhere Prius is a normal car. Visit Ann Arbor, MI some time.
Really, if other car companies offered a hybrid at the same price point with a hatchback and 100% fold-down back seats, Iâd likely own it instead.
