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Why you might want to wrap your car key fob in foil
wsbtv ^ | Jul 8, 2018 - 6:40 PM | Phoebe Wall Howard,

Posted on 07/09/2018 8:16:52 AM PDT by BenLurkin

Given that the best way to store your car keys at night is by putting them in a coffee can, what's an ex-FBI agent's advice to protect cars from theft during the day? Wrap car fobs in aluminum foil.

“Although it's not ideal, it is the most inexpensive way,” said Holly Hubert, a cybersecurity expert who retired in 2017 from the FBI in Buffalo, New York. “The cyber threat is so dynamic and ever changing, it’s hard for consumers to keep up.”

Now, as CEO of GlobalSecurityIQ, she suggests clients go online and spend a few dollars and buy what’s called a Faraday bag to shield the fob signal from potential theft. Imagine a traditional sandwich bag made of foil instead of plastic. Thing is, the car is always waiting for the fob signal. Thieves can buy legitimate devices that amplify the fob signal sitting unprotected in a purse, a pocket, on a counter at home or even just copy the code to access the vehicle.

Copying code from key fobs isn’t difficult. And this is something the auto industry and insurance companies are monitoring closely.

The cheap (or homemade) metal protection covers, named for the scientist who figured out how to block an electromagnetic field, can prevent thieves from having access to vehicles with a wireless fob. Currently, thieves can capture fob signals from outside a home, office or hotel room.

“You know it works if you can’t unlock a car door when the fob is inside,” said Moshe Shlisel, CEO of GuardKnox Cyber Technologies and a veteran of the Israeli Air Force who helped develop cyber protection for fighter jets and missile defense systems . “The credit card holders don’t work because they’re essentially a net rather than a wall.”

(Excerpt) Read more at wsbtv.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: carkeys; cartheft; cybersecurity; faradaycage; foil
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1 posted on 07/09/2018 8:16:52 AM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

Heck, half the time mine wont work 10 feet from the car!..................


2 posted on 07/09/2018 8:18:40 AM PDT by Red Badger (July 2018 - the month the world discovered the TRUTH......Q Anon)
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To: BenLurkin

When was the last time anybody bought coffee that was in an actual metal can????


3 posted on 07/09/2018 8:19:01 AM PDT by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: BenLurkin

Well, since we leave the keys in the car when parked at home, this wouldn’t help much. :-D


4 posted on 07/09/2018 8:20:01 AM PDT by cuban leaf (The US will not survive the obama presidency. The world may not either.)
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To: BenLurkin

I’m glad my old car has dumb locks.

My house, too.

My guns are dumb and old and will stay that way.


5 posted on 07/09/2018 8:20:08 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: T-Bird45

Last week......................


6 posted on 07/09/2018 8:21:03 AM PDT by Red Badger (July 2018 - the month the world discovered the TRUTH......Q Anon)
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To: BenLurkin

You can use a a Mylar potato chip bag as a Faraday cage for your phone and your smart keys:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/australian-man-uses-snack-bags-as-faraday-cage-to-block-tracking-by-employer/


7 posted on 07/09/2018 8:21:21 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (<img src="http://i.imgur.com/WukZwJP.gif" width=600><p>https://i.imgur.com/zXSEP5Z.gif)
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To: cuban leaf

>>>Well, since we leave the keys in the car when parked at home, this wouldn’t help much. :-D<<<

What are these “keys” you speak of? #;^)


8 posted on 07/09/2018 8:22:22 AM PDT by Kickass Conservative (The only good Commie is a dead Commie. Cast your Ballot Accordingly.)
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To: T-Bird45

LOL! Yes, it is a lot easier to find tomato juice in a metal can.


9 posted on 07/09/2018 8:22:28 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Bkmrk.


10 posted on 07/09/2018 8:22:59 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear
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To: BenLurkin

I am in almost no danger of anyone stealing one of my old beater cars but on one of my projects we used a Flintstones’s (might have been Jetson’s) kids tin lunchbox to test handheld GPS/AMPS devices. We couldn’t detect any signal whatsoever escaping or entering from outside the box.

7


11 posted on 07/09/2018 8:23:01 AM PDT by infool7 (Observe, Orient, Pray, Decide, Act!(it's an OOPDA loop))
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To: T-Bird45

Me-—a month ago


12 posted on 07/09/2018 8:23:44 AM PDT by Mears
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To: Kickass Conservative

Heh. One is keyless, so we keep my fob in the dash compartment. I’ve learned to hate keyless, FWIW.


13 posted on 07/09/2018 8:24:32 AM PDT by cuban leaf (The US will not survive the obama presidency. The world may not either.)
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To: BenLurkin

Maybe We should revert to regular keys. Onceagain knowledge runs ahead of wisdon. Maybe engineers aren’t so well educated.


14 posted on 07/09/2018 8:26:22 AM PDT by Retvet (Retvet)
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To: T-Bird45

Chock full of Nuts is in a metal can. We started buying it because I use the cans for lots of things.


15 posted on 07/09/2018 8:26:46 AM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: BenLurkin

One more reason not to fill your garage with crap and park your cars outside.

In the 34 years I’ve owned two homes with 2 car garages I have never parked either car outside. I now keep a motorcycle in the garage with two cars. Yep, the garage is kept pretty organized LOL.

At least once a year, one or more cars in the neighborhood gets robbed or vandalized. No one here seems to get the message.


16 posted on 07/09/2018 8:27:09 AM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60's....You weren't really there)
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To: BenLurkin

Ours is just a Key with remove nothing ,LOL


17 posted on 07/09/2018 8:29:25 AM PDT by butlerweave
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To: T-Bird45

Safeway brand coffee comes in metal cans.


18 posted on 07/09/2018 8:29:38 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: T-Bird45
"When was the last time anybody bought coffee that was in an actual metal can????"

Couple days ago...


19 posted on 07/09/2018 8:31:49 AM PDT by Redbob (W.W.J.B.D.: What would Jack Bauer Do?)
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To: BenLurkin

Don’t you have to push the button to transmit the signal to open your car door?
My 2016 ford does not transmit the code all the time for someone to scan and duplicate.
More worried about credit cards than my vehicle key fob.
And you coffee snobs: we only buy coffee in a can. Go to any grocery store and they offer dozens of options in cans, hard metal cans....


20 posted on 07/09/2018 8:32:00 AM PDT by 9422WMR
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