Posted on 11/24/2012 6:24:43 PM PST by Chickensoup
So, I am looking at a new car. Perhaps the VW diesel. I drive the car and find that I am staring at computer screens. The car must have a full pc under the hood. I am told now that most do.
And I understand that for some reason beyond my understanding the cars now have wifi.
When I purchase a computer I get in there and disable, uninstall and delete items I don’t use like games…extra os and tools I won’t use.
So how do I turn off the garbage that is extra on a new car? Like Wifi? I certainly do not want my car broadcasting anything to the world?
What are people doing out there with these new cars?
Insight would be appreciated.
Thank you. I just dont want a broadcasting car.
That is my question. How do I turn that capability off. How would they do it? Would the car be broadcasting?
I agree with you, but I need to have a high MPG car. I have been looking at SAABS although a small mercedes diesel woudl be a great backup.
The real question is can you buy a car specifically asking that this stuff not be installed.
Do the “Base” modles come with out it.
I had to do a special order on my 2008 Dodge Ram 4500 dump to get manual locks, manual windows, a 6 speed manual trans, and rubber floor, with AM/FM and one CD player.
They looked at me like I was from Mars.
The more computer stuff they put in the more the Gov’t will track you for more taxes etc...
I hope there will be a way to disable any “BlackBox” things they will start puting in cars (if they have not already started doing so). Next will be taxes by the mile.
The wifi function and the other functions handled by the car’s on-board computer are in no way connected. Your car’s on-board computer is safe from being “hacked” by some hacker coming in through the wifi. Its like saying you have a computer in your basement, which is not connected to any other computer, will catch a virus from a computer you have upstairs on the internet. Moreover, even if they were connected, they use specialized chips to store their programming on, which are known by various acronyms, i.e. EEPROM, (Electronically Eraseable Programmable Read Only Memory) and various permutations of these kinds of chips, which CANNOT be reprogrammed remotely.
The on-board computers are really a good way for the shade-tree mechanic to diagnose complex problems. For a 100 - 300 dollar investment, you can get the hardware necessary to connect directly to your car’s onboard computer. No more check engine lights, etc. The VW computers are really light years beyond most other cars, and are invaluable for me, when I want to find out what is wrong with my car. They aren’t all that difficult to use, and the companies that make the software/cables make it easy for you to understand what everything means. If you by a VW, I highly recommend you get a connection to your computer, as you will need it to do something as basic as changing your brakes.
Google the words ... hack car ECU 2012
Here’s one of the results, written just 3 months ago: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9229919/Car_hacking_Remote_access_and_other_security_issues
Good luck. Many people share your viewpoint/concern.
I know, I bought my automobile computer on Ebay for just over $50. The plug is supposed to be “universal” and works on every vehicle I own (Toyota Tacoma and Accura TL).
As far as being “impossible”, I beg to disagree. If the car is communicating to the car computer through the I2C or CAN bus. The CAN bus handles things such as timing, gas/air mixtures and when the transmission should shift. By virtue of the car computer giving this information to a central processing unit - the bus is open. There is no SECURE transaction on the CAN bus - there is no SUPERVISOR mode in a CAN bus transaction. Thus, by virtue of the CAN bus tying into the network - the network is vulnerable. One must ASSUME there is some firewall between the USER interface and the CAN bus. However, I have seen nothing in the bus protocols or interface circuits that state such a device is in existence.
After you’ve driven about six hours in a Jaguar XJ6, there just isn’t really any other car that will ever compare.
Chickensoup
After you’ve driven about six hours in a Jaguar XJ6, there just isn’t really any other car that will ever compare.
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I am so sure you are right that I am totally open to you giving me one tomorrow. I will give it a good home.
You'll have to start with contacts at your car dealer to see what can or can't be turned off. If you have a Linux PC, you can hookup to your WLAN and start with an "nmap" scan against the default route offered by the router. You can also get a copy of "nessus" to have a quick look. Securing the WLAN with WPA2 encryption with a long, complex password coupled with turning off SSID broadcast will help hide the presence of the WiFi in the car. Adding a MAC filter to only allow specific devices to connect is useful too. That's the first line defense. Turning off unnecessary services exposed by nmap/nessus also reduces your attack surface.
At Wingcast, we did fun stuff like flashing headlights, honking horns, unlocking doors and monitoring the GPS. I could also initiate an outbound phone call. Most of that was SCP (Standard Corporate Protocol) a Ford variant of J1850. The MCP variant ran on the entertainment equipment. The safety engineer asked if the display on the radio could be used to display a scrolling message. He returned from lunch and I had "Attention K-Mart Shoppers" scrolling by. That immediately became a prohibited feature :-)
Some vehicles have remote start capability hooked into the fieldbus with remote radio access from a service center.
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