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Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware
Motherboard ^ | 3/21/17 | JASON KOEBLER

Posted on 03/22/2017 1:08:15 PM PDT by Rebelbase

To avoid the draconian locks that John Deere puts on the tractors they buy, farmers throughout America's heartland have started hacking their equipment with firmware that's cracked in Eastern Europe and traded on invite-only, paid online forums.

Tractor hacking is growing increasingly popular because John Deere and other manufacturers have made it impossible to perform "unauthorized" repair on farm equipment, which farmers see as an attack on their sovereignty and quite possibly an existential threat to their livelihood if their tractor breaks at an inopportune time.

"When crunch time comes and we break down, chances are we don't have time to wait for a dealership employee to show up and fix it," Danny Kluthe, a hog farmer in Nebraska, told his state legislature earlier this month. "Most all the new equipment [requires] a download [to fix]."

(Excerpt) Read more at motherboard.vice.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: agriculture; automotive; farm; farms; johndeere; tractors
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Go Farmers!
1 posted on 03/22/2017 1:08:15 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: Rebelbase

It’s like Microsoft!

Holy $hit!


2 posted on 03/22/2017 1:10:11 PM PDT by BBB333 (The power of TRUMP compels you!)
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To: Rebelbase

Wow, first I heard that the control-left has entered the tractor business.


3 posted on 03/22/2017 1:10:50 PM PDT by Defiant (The media is the colostomy bag where truth goes after democrats digest it.)
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To: Rebelbase

Bkmrk.


4 posted on 03/22/2017 1:10:52 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (****happy dance**** BIGLY!!!! Shadilay!)
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To: Rebelbase

I knew it, “RUSSIANS”....


5 posted on 03/22/2017 1:10:55 PM PDT by Paradox ("Donald Trump", the biggest Strawman ever created.)
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To: Paradox

Who owns John Deere ? The Chinese ?


6 posted on 03/22/2017 1:12:02 PM PDT by George from New England (escaped CT in 2006, now living north of Tampa)
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To: Rebelbase
Thanks for posting.

I'm glad to hear this.

This, locking you, the owners out, is suppose to be a trend of the future.

It must be stopped, now!

7 posted on 03/22/2017 1:13:10 PM PDT by blam
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To: BBB333
"Almost there...."


8 posted on 03/22/2017 1:13:34 PM PDT by bar sin·is·ter
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To: Rebelbase

Bring back Allis-Chalmers.

9 posted on 03/22/2017 1:16:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: Rebelbase

The truth is that the farmers don’t own their tractors when JD puts in trash like this.


10 posted on 03/22/2017 1:17:25 PM PDT by MeganC (Democrat by birth, Republican by default, conservative by principle.)
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To: Rebelbase

“Unauthorized repairs”? It their tractors. They should be able to do what ever they want to them!


11 posted on 03/22/2017 1:18:17 PM PDT by Petrosius
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
This is how they do it in the old country...


12 posted on 03/22/2017 1:19:47 PM PDT by bar sin·is·ter
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To: Rebelbase

most FI-engined vehicles have fueling maps provided by the mfr which cannot be easily hacked without some inside knowledge. been that way since the mid 90’s at least.


13 posted on 03/22/2017 1:20:43 PM PDT by RitchieAprile
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To: Petrosius
“Unauthorized repairs”?

Blame a lawyer.
14 posted on 03/22/2017 1:20:48 PM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: Rebelbase

I hope an open source tractor can start getting some traction.


15 posted on 03/22/2017 1:22:11 PM PDT by posterchild (Treade a worme on the tayle, and it must turne agayne.)
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To: Rebelbase

College kids do this to their cars to enhance performance.


16 posted on 03/22/2017 1:22:54 PM PDT by AppyPappy (Don't mistake your dorm political discussions with the desires of the nation)
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To: Rebelbase

This is one of the many, many unplanned, but totally predictable, corrupt consequences of a financial, political and corporate oligarchy running a country.


17 posted on 03/22/2017 1:24:11 PM PDT by PGR88 (The)
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To: Rebelbase
"Authorized Repair" requires "authorized parts".

Guaranteed, and highly profitable post-sale revenue stream.

The "Deere" in John Deere means, not "runs like" but "very pricey".

18 posted on 03/22/2017 1:24:25 PM PDT by Aevery_Freeman (You can put Chimpanzees in Libraries but that don't make it a school.)
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To: George from New England
Who owns John Deere ? The Chinese ?

It is an American publicly traded company.
19 posted on 03/22/2017 1:24:51 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Rebelbase

Nothing hacks like a Deere...unless it’s a DNC server.


20 posted on 03/22/2017 1:25:21 PM PDT by moovova
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