Auto theft prevention ideas

mikealder · Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:20 pm Post subject: Auto theft prevention ideas

Moved from main sat nav stolen thread, as requested. Mike Alder

prasadm · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 21

Hmmm.... let's talk about it..

Theory of course..

If the SATNAV unit could receive a code and activate the software and receive a code and deactivate it, then this could work ? A deactivated unit would be useless to the thief isn't it ?

Car manufacturers can deactivate cars remotely (at least some of them)

Think on the lines of EIR in GSM.. If the EIR works, then a blacklisted phone IMEI will be blocked from making calls.

You don't need the receiver to transmit anything. What you would need then is that the GPS receiver should receive the signal on an unused band adjacent to GPS band . If all the SATNAV manufacturers and govt get together surely a Satellite uplink with low speed signal shouldn't
be difficult.The software can be easily adapted to use this signal if one such existed..

And if the software can use the signal only from the satellite antenna interface, then it makes it a bit more secure. Of course there will be people getting around the system, but think of the savings..

Crime rate reduced ?.. ( Of course if the govt isn't bothered with the theft of small satnavs then it is a different matter . I am not working for Police or Govt, but if the thefts go up, it is because of lack of resources on the part of police and not because they don't want to investigate as far as I can tell. ( There are quite a few police officers on this forum, and let them correct me if I am wrong..)

Software Piracy problem for SATNAV manufacturers addressed to some extent ..

Welcome to my stupid fantasy world... Idea

Another option.. In Garmin the backup can be restored only to the original card - secure digital -.. Hmmm.. Maybe I should have taken my card with me all the time.. Better than carrying around the golf ball.... Wonder why I din't think of that before.. Idea

NickG · Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject:

The problem with that idea is that you'd have to upgrade the GPS system, which is run by the US government. You'd also have to pay them to set up a system to send out these activation and deactivation codes. It would also only disable the device and wouldn't help you to locate it if it was lost or stolen.

I think for high end GPS devices such as the TomTom 910, they should have built in GSM capabilities. A GSM chipset costs only a few quid these days and I'd happily pay the extra if my device was fully tracable if it was stolen. You could even configure it so that the device stops working if it hasn't been able to communicate via GSM(GPRS) for more than a week. Or you could configure it to power up once a week or so and transmit it's GPS location to the network. With GSM capabilities, you could text the device and ask it to start reporting it's location to you if it were stolen (obviously it would have to power up once every few hours to receive any text messages you've sent it).

In fact the device need not even have on board GSM. It would be OK if it simply had to be paired to a bluetooth mobile phone to work or after a while it will deactivate itself.

This means that if you hide your device in the car, you could actually use it as a vehicle tracker as well. Or companies could use it to track their fleets/drivers. And all for the price of a £10 GSM chipset and a bit of a software upgrade.

Maybe I should try and get a job at TomTom...

NickG

Important insurance information for car theft victims

If your device has been stolen from your car, you may find that it's not insured under your car insurance policy if it's fully portable. Or perhaps it's not worth claiming because you have a high excess or voluntary excess on your car policy?

All is not lost!

Check if your household insurance covers your stolen device. It will often be covered under "personal items temporarily removed from the home" - especially if your car was locked and the device was hidden from view. Often the excess on your home insurance is much smaller (or nothing) and this may prevent an expensive claim on your car insurance policy (and thus loss of no-claims bonus).

If you ONLY claim for the broken windows on your car insurance, you will usually find this does NOT count as a normal claim and you will NOT lose your no-claims bonus or have your premiums increased (but check with your insurer first). So in fact, it will often be preferable to claim on your house insurance even if your sat-nav IS covered by your car insurance policy - just to protect the no-claims status of your car insurance. The only drawback is that you may have to pay two excesses, but for most people, this will still be preferable to losing their no-claims bonus as the two excesses will probably only cost about £100 depending on your insurers.

Don't rush into anything and think carefully about the best strategy before claiming on either policy (especially bear in mind the true cost of losting your no claims bonus over a period of several years).

I hope this information is useful to somebody.

Nick...

prasadm · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 21

If you have a GSM chipset in the unit why bother upgrading the GPS system run by US govt. The activation/deactivation can be done using the GSM interface ..

Actually in my idea, you don't necessarily upgrade the GPS system. You only use a free frequency band adjacent to the GPS carrier which can be locked on to by the GPS receivers. A separate system using a different band so no modification to GPS system.

Problem with using GSM is not all GPS units support GSM chipsets.. Think of this, if you could carry around your datacard hooked on to your key ring maybe.. then a stolen unit without its card would be useless ? What you then need is a robust carry case for the card.. Idea

But this can't be true for PDA based units as they can still be used even without card...

Why not have an interface in the car connected to satnav and disable the satnav with your car lock (keyfob..) The units gets stolen because it is useful to someone else. If the Satnav cannot be used without your keyfob unlocking it first, then also it could be secure.. I think keyfobs all have different codes isn't it ? One coded for one car cannot be used for another car.. So in effect a satnav coded for one car cannot be used in another without owners/ manufacturer's intervention. Any takers ???

Idea

Coming to earth finally Idea

NickG · Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 3:31 pm Post subject:

NickG · Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:59 pm Post subject:

Sorry about that. I hadn't really realised which thread I was posting to. Please can a mod move my post about insurance to another thread and then delete this one (and any other inappropriate ones).

jug · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 13, 2006 Posts: 2

if your satnav gets nicked there is a simple solution, next time dont leave it in the car, if it isnt removable dont buy it. simple solutions we use in the uk, it applies to car steroes too, if the front isnt removable the stereo isnt suitable for use in the uk. people will steal, and any antitheft technology wil ALWAYS be bypassable. keeping your satnav safe is an owner's responsiblity.

NickG · Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 12:47 pm Post subject:

> any antitheft technology wil ALWAYS be bypassable.

I disagree entirely. These devices are not 100% software that can be simply cracked. They are hardware devices - and the hardware is impossible to modify without destroying the unit. There is no reason why the antitheft technology would be bypassable if it is enforced in the hardware. You could easily make it so that the device would have to have it's circuits physically modified in order to bypass it (impossible on any modern device made using semiconductor chips). Or you could make the software that controls the anti-theft unflashable (ie on ROM). Worst case scenario, the device would become useless if you tried to bypass it, discouraging future thefts of the same device type.

People have stopped trying to steal cars because immobilisers make it next to impossible in most cars. The risk associated with the increased time associated with trying to disable an immobiliser is not worth it to most thieves for most types of vehicle. In the UK, car theft has fallen dramatically in the last few years. They work. So could a sat-nav "immobiliser".

Similarly, why on earth aren't glove boxes made of steel and deadlock the same way the doors do when you lock the car? I'm quite convinced that if my glove box was lockable, they wouldn't have even bothered to break the windows. Statistics show that thieves cannot be bothered to waste time trying to open locked glove boxes - they want to smash and grab.

oldfogy · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject:

An idea I have been thinking of for the screen mount is to place a card into the mount slide, saying something like:

The unit is NOT in the vehicle (car)
So don't waste your time.

OK, will they believe you Question

Also, if you have nothing to hide, "leave your glove box open"
" Now I must start practising what I suggest " Embarassed

_________________
(If it ain't broke, I can soon fix it)

NickG · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:10 pm Post subject:

oldfogy,

Why on earth are you publishing your own device code in your signature? What relevance is this to anybody? This is like your Windows product code or your debit card PIN - you should not tell anybody else what it is!

oldfogy · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 5:27 pm Post subject:

NickG

Thanks very much for pointing that out.
I did not realise the relevance of it.

Hopefully you are the first to spot it as I only put it there in the last 30 minutes. (But it only takes a thief a 10 seconds). Embarassed

_________________
(If it ain't broke, I can soon fix it)

Skippy · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:39 pm Post subject:

NickG · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:48 pm Post subject:

Skippy · Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:45 pm Post subject:

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