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Because I want my laptop to be hostile any potential users other than me, the owner. Many other devices can be wiped and put back into service with physical ac

Because I want my laptop to be hostile any potential users other than me, the owner. Many other devices can be wiped and put back into service with physical access alone. This is a vulnerability because it makes the device valuable to thieves. > Imagine buying a car that requires activation from the manufacturer, and they could permanently disable it at any time if someone stole it. This has been standard on GM vehicles for decades. https://experience.gm.com/support/onstar-connected-services/safety-security-features/stolen-vehicle-assistance https://experience.gm.com/support/onstar-connected-services/...

wannacboatmovie 3y ago
I knew someone would mention OnStar. OnStar's anti-theft feature requires it to be initiated by the police. Not some rando who stole it and signed in with his own Apple ID... It is a premium service that requires you pay a monthly fee. Nor does it permanently brick it; it can be unlocked by any dealer, or more likely once the police recover the car. In fact you could probably just remove the OnStar box and the car would be drivable.... it's designed to stop a theft in progress. Most importantly, if you don't pay for the service it does nothing at all. Basically the opposite of everything that went wrong in this article.
- avh02 3y ago
  > Most importantly, if you don't pay for the service it does nothing at all. Until someone gets in to onstar's systems and activates this for every device at once.
- darkwater 3y ago
  If it can be unlocked by any dealer than it can be probably unlocked by bad actors as well.
- kube-system 3y ago
  Yeah, it's a leaky analogy and doesn't quite compare. The biggest difference with cars is that they're titled and so ownership is much easier to prove. Although, if you have title issues with property you can also get yourself into quite a difficult situation. In the case of Apple products, Activation Lock more or less functions like a digital title system.
eimrine 3y ago
[flagged]
- kube-system 3y ago
  > Anything movable is valuable for thieves Not really. Things with value are valuable for thieves. Unusable devices are less valuable than usable ones, which is why iPhone theft has plummeted after the introduction of activation lock. It isn't completely gone, but it is way less of a problem than it used to be.

wannacboatmovie 3y ago

I knew someone would mention OnStar. OnStar's anti-theft feature requires it to be initiated by the police. Not some rando who stole it and signed in with his own Apple ID... It is a premium service that requires you pay a monthly fee. Nor does it permanently brick it; it can be unlocked by any dealer, or more likely once the police recover the car. In fact you could probably just remove the OnStar box and the car would be drivable.... it's designed to stop a theft in progress. Most importantly, if you don't pay for the service it does nothing at all. Basically the opposite of everything that went wrong in this article.

avh02 3y ago
> Most importantly, if you don't pay for the service it does nothing at all. Until someone gets in to onstar's systems and activates this for every device at once.
darkwater 3y ago
If it can be unlocked by any dealer than it can be probably unlocked by bad actors as well.
kube-system 3y ago
Yeah, it's a leaky analogy and doesn't quite compare. The biggest difference with cars is that they're titled and so ownership is much easier to prove. Although, if you have title issues with property you can also get yourself into quite a difficult situation. In the case of Apple products, Activation Lock more or less functions like a digital title system.

eimrine 3y ago

[flagged]

kube-system 3y ago
> Anything movable is valuable for thieves Not really. Things with value are valuable for thieves. Unusable devices are less valuable than usable ones, which is why iPhone theft has plummeted after the introduction of activation lock. It isn't completely gone, but it is way less of a problem than it used to be.