The first generation Mazda RX7 could be opened by a flat blade screwdriver inserted under the door handle.

Easier than the key even.

To put it more simply…. it doesn’t work folks.

However, it’s pretty easy to make a video that makes it look like it does. You just have to make sure that the guy with the key fob isn’t in the picture…..

ZoomZoom
Let me guess, you’re an Ann Coulter fan?

What does pwn mean? As in “pwn your car”

It means “own”. It comes from some video games where one player would kill another player. Instead of typing “I own you”, they would miss the “o” key and hit the “p” key. The mis-types happened regularly and a new phrase was born.

But so far, nobody has taken this conversation to the place IT NEEDS TO GO.

Oh how we love to whine and piss an moan about auto security (or web security, or home security, or personal security, and so on), vandalism, and theft, yet we will not do anything long-term to prevent it.

To me, the ONLY long-term solution is get the criminals off the streets and to keep them off the streets for longer periods. But we are NOT doing this. It’s obvious, just watch your nightly news show and witness the endless parade of human trash that freely roams the streets and commits crimes while having a rap sheet as long as a freight train.

The great majority (over 90%) of crime is perpetuated by a small repeat-offender minority (less than 10%).

If we really wanted to reduce crime (of ALL types), all we need to do is lock up the repeat offenders and keep them off the streets for longer periods of time.

In any event, we are obviously not angry enough, or maybe just not tough enough to do this. Maybe because of this, we’re not deserving enough to be free of the physical, financial, and emotional PRISON that crime puts law-abiders into.

I’m very sorry to sound pessimistic, but I really am! As I was reading Megan’s article, I found myself hoping to read SOMEBODY advocating a crime/punishment solution here, but all I hear is more of the same. “Pit bull in the car”, “A pager will give me time to load my .45″, “Freon in the Club and a hammer”, and of course, the usual sad tales of “how my car was stolen”.

It’s all just talk. You folks, though you may be good-hearted and have good intentions, don’t mean any of it, nor do you really intend to do anything about it, do you?

Folks, I think we’re starting to sound like a bunch of little old men and little old ladies sitting around telling stories of “the bad old days.”

Only the bad old days are HERE AND NOW!

I’m extremely frustrated with how we have all just ROLLED OVER to show our soft underbellies to the criminals.

Will SOMEBODY other than me please make mention of tougher penalties for theft? Whenever we lock up the criminals and keep them locked up, crime goes down! How can THAT be a bad thing?

There was once a time when horse theives could be hanged. The people of that time knew then, and we seem to have forgotten now, that the protection of the rights of personal property holders was paramount to the success of this country. And because of this, theivery was not an oft-committed crime.

It should be obvious to all that the law-abiders are unwilling to stand up for their own rights. But right now, the only ones that it’s obvious to is the law-breakers, because they are thriving!

I am deeply worried that we are simply getting in return what we as a society are willing to tolerate. To put it another way, we are getting what we deserve.

More crime, of all kinds and all severities.

Which brings more cost, from higher insurance premiums, to the dealer and aftermarket add-ons of useless car alarms and tired, unworkable “club” devices, to increased injury and death rates among the law-abiders who are hurt or killed by criminals allowed to remain on the streets.

And the price is paid by the victims. Or the families of law-abiders, and seemingly never by the law-breakers.

This goes BEYOND simple automotive security. But automotive security might well be a good place to start.

I say it’s time for a “rethink” of the status-quo. And please spare me yet another tale of how some theives overcame your “club” or your best friends’ ignition kill switch or the latest Lojack technology. Likewise the stories of how some juvenile delinquents starred on some damned reality show to prove that they can break into a car with a wad of chewing gum, a used syringe, and a bobby-pin in less than a minute.

Puh-lease!

I remember when I worked in downtown Chicago there was a co-worker who drove an old beat up small pick up that he would leave the doors unlocked to save his windows. They STILL broke his window to gain access to the screwdriver and pliers in the glovebox. Go figure.

Manual transmission. Most theives can’t drive stick.

A female acquaintance and her husband returned home from vacation a couple of years ago to find that their garage had been broken in to. The woman’s Infinity had been stolen, but her doctor husband’s BMW was still in the garage with the driver’s side window smashed out. They couldn’t understand why the thieves broke the window on the BMW since nothing was taken from the car. Later the police explained that the thieves broke the window on the BMW only to discover that it was a manual trans car and they didn’t know how to drive it.

Very true. And it’s even easier and quicker than that. Once inside the vehicle, spray the Club with freon or a similar substance and give it a good whack with a hammer. Job done.

I can’t stand car alarms and resent having to pay for them even if they are supplied by the manufacturer. And I will not accept any vehicle that has had an aftermaket alarm installed. By anybody.

As Megan wrote, the modern car alarm is little more than a psychological security blanket. Sales of these devices rely on humans’ emotional equilibrium that is fundamentally dependent upon the illusion of possessing much more control than we actually have on our circumstances (among other things).

I understand that my vehicle can be stolen at any time. That’s what I have insurance for.

“The slang term Pwn (see pronunciation note below), used primarily in the Internet gaming culture, means to soundly defeat an opponent. It is sometimes used for taunting of an in-game enemy and rubbing in victories. It can also be used, especially by non-gamers, in the context of getting “pwned” by The Man.

In internet security jargon, to “pwn” means “to compromise” or “to control”, specifically another computer (server or PC), web site, gateway device, or application; it is synonymous with one of the definitions of hacking. An outside party who has “owned” or “pwned” a system has obtained unauthorized administrative control of the system…”

What does tinfoil do that the thicker sheet-metal that the trailer is made out of doesn’t?

kjc: I don’t think I follow – What problem is it that is the laws concerning theft?

Too lenient? Too strict? Not enforced by slow, agonizing death? (Too lenient, again, I guess.)

“CARJACK TRY // A gunman tried to steal a physician’s late-model BMW about 8 a.m. yesterday outside Concentra Medical Center in the 8100 block of Pulaski Highway in Rosedale but was unable to operate its manual shift. The doctor, who was not named, escaped injury and the would-be carjacker fled on foot.”
- Baltimore Sun police blotter 9/08/06

Mazda did screw up the PR on the 3.

Great point. Schneier is correct. However, he does NOT advocate a complete abdication of security. Good security requires, as you say, affordability/usability tradeoffs that MOST people refuse to make.

For cars, there are systems to slow down good thieves and deter casual ones. (Silent pager alarms – backed by a 911 call and/or your own weapon, lojack, and manual transmissions are good ideas). So is a garage.

A good proactive idea is the auto equivalent of what Schneier calls ‘honeypots’. ‘Honeypots’ are lightly protected false network data with enticing labels (like “CCards Nums”) used to track hackers when they look into a system.

Cops could entice thieves with more ‘lock down car’ stings in areas where professional rings operate. This, of course, ASSUMES that the police actually care about stopping the ‘business’ of car theft in your area. To quote Schneier, “Security is a system, not a product.”

Breaking & entering is a different matter and is almost beyond protection.

In the UK thieves actually write “stolen car” on the trunk lid and wait for the cops to give chase.

Which leads to another problem. Lojack is OK, I suppose and it’s called Boomerang in my part of the world, but you wouldn’t believe how many cars we see that have been thrashed to death.

The engine blow-ups and transmission failures usually occur a few months after the insurance claims file has been closed.