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Hi guys, very cool to see how this is being picked up over here. Shame on me, but I actually forgot to submit it to Hacker News. The key fob method is out of t

Hi guys, very cool to see how this is being picked up over here. Shame on me, but I actually forgot to submit it to Hacker News. The key fob method is out of the question for my car. I've known about it for a while and store my keys in special bags. I see quite a few people asking why a sting wasn't organised. I of course shared the M.O. with the police and we actually had a few phone calls from them over the past few days. They are sharing the information with their colleagues but to be frank, they are not going to spend an entire night waiting around for a potential car theft. We live in Ijsselstein, a city just south west of Utrecht, and car burglary and theft is quite a big issue in our area. My previous car, a BMW F20, actually got broken into twice in 2 weeks. Both times they stole the entire nav system. I've become quite adapt at filing reports but besides filing a report the police can't do anything for you. The first time it happened they asked me whether or not I saw visible blood stains. Only then would they send a patrol car to do sample research. In any other case, they just ask you to file a report and be done with it. Let me know if there are any questions you'd like me to answer while I'm at it. I'm also interested in writing some follow-up articles about car security/theft prevention. If there's anyone willing to contribute, let me know!

Scoundreller 8y ago
You may want to look into rewiring your OBD port so that it doesn’t work without you flipping a switch somewhere, or building a “key” with a male and female port + some wires, then storing the “key” in some hidden location (spare tire?). Or just expose two data lines from the OBD wiring harness and jump them together. Remove the jumper to operationalize the OBD port. FYI: cutting off VCC may not always work since some devices may derive enough power through other lines that have pull-up resistors to function. I’ve seen it happen in other industries. Not sure if such products exist commercially, but it would have some value for someone to build them.
- mrooding 8y ago
  A few days ago, I read on the most reliable source in the world, the internet, that if you have a class 3 alarm system from BMW, the OBD port is blocked as soon as the alarm goes off. I do want to verify this with the dealer once my holiday is over. I also read about the OBD key cloning, but I'm not sure whether or not that was an issue with the first F30s. I'm unsure whether or not it still works with the F30 LCI from 2017 that I have
Scoundreller 8y ago
Oh, and get a dashcam with parking mode! Front and rear. Maybe the sides too? They’re increasingly inexpensive, and you can move them car to car as you buy/sell. I originally bought a forward facing, and as i’ve upgraded, my old forward facing is now my rear facing.
- mrooding 8y ago
  I've been thinking about that. A good one with parking mode and cloud support sets you back about 800 euro including installation. It could be worth it but the chances of the cops actually catching someone based on the footage is quite slim. For hit and run accidents in which you can record a license plate it might be worth it.
  - Scoundreller 8y ago
    Cut the cloud storage, install yourself, and buy direct from Asia. Except the flash card, buy that from Amazon. Then it should cost less than US$100 per side.
    - jackson1way 8y ago
      Oh dear. So we figured out that SD cards „directly from asia“ are either counterfeit, fake or low quality. But apparently cameras are fine? Well, good luck then.

Scoundreller 8y ago

You may want to look into rewiring your OBD port so that it doesn’t work without you flipping a switch somewhere, or building a “key” with a male and female port + some wires, then storing the “key” in some hidden location (spare tire?). Or just expose two data lines from the OBD wiring harness and jump them together. Remove the jumper to operationalize the OBD port. FYI: cutting off VCC may not always work since some devices may derive enough power through other lines that have pull-up resistors to function. I’ve seen it happen in other industries. Not sure if such products exist commercially, but it would have some value for someone to build them.

mrooding 8y ago
A few days ago, I read on the most reliable source in the world, the internet, that if you have a class 3 alarm system from BMW, the OBD port is blocked as soon as the alarm goes off. I do want to verify this with the dealer once my holiday is over. I also read about the OBD key cloning, but I'm not sure whether or not that was an issue with the first F30s. I'm unsure whether or not it still works with the F30 LCI from 2017 that I have

Scoundreller 8y ago

Oh, and get a dashcam with parking mode! Front and rear. Maybe the sides too? They’re increasingly inexpensive, and you can move them car to car as you buy/sell. I originally bought a forward facing, and as i’ve upgraded, my old forward facing is now my rear facing.

mrooding 8y ago
I've been thinking about that. A good one with parking mode and cloud support sets you back about 800 euro including installation. It could be worth it but the chances of the cops actually catching someone based on the footage is quite slim. For hit and run accidents in which you can record a license plate it might be worth it.
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  Cut the cloud storage, install yourself, and buy direct from Asia. Except the flash card, buy that from Amazon. Then it should cost less than US$100 per side.
  - jackson1way 8y ago
    Oh dear. So we figured out that SD cards „directly from asia“ are either counterfeit, fake or low quality. But apparently cameras are fine? Well, good luck then.