Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Overblown Hyperbole (Score 1) 107

Some of the hacks that claim to be done wirelessly have relied on reprogramming entertainment firmware, others simply flooding the bus as you've surmised. The OBDII port is but one way into the bus, any device on the bus offers access to this bus to include some surprisingly easy to access places. It's a shared network, nothing knows that these signals from from the OBDII port. Rate limiting WILL call for more processing, something has to count packets and have smarts - you've added another computer to the bus it seems.

I don't think you're going to get a light on the dash for diag mode, how would that work? For one thing you're going to complicate diagnostics and end up having to build in new interfaces or replace existing diagnostics - yuck. If they can get in past a locked door, they can get into the glovebox. I'm not such a special snowflake that anyone is trying either of these.

An interface between the OBDII and the bus might slow some of this but it may also screw with diagnostics, it's an interesting idea but it will also increase cost in an industry that tries to shave pennies off of a production run :(

As for controllability - I can make thermite at home if I want and I can use the same BT interface you're slapping into an OBDII port for a controller to light the stuff. You're not buying any real safety but you DO make things more complicated. Oh and yes I do drive with an interface plugged in, sometimes BT, more often wired. I'm not concerned that someone will interface with it - seriously. I would remove it if I were, the OEMs aren't offering that sort of access to the system from the factory.

Bottom line - why are we so much more worried about this when the capability to do all sorts of wicked things exists already right now at the local hardware store? Why does cyber make it more scary?

Comment Re:Classless action. (Score 1) 107

OnStar has apparently got the ability to disable some cars, for it to have this "safety feature" it's going to have to have capability. I'm not a fan of OnStar for many many reasons but this is a feature so I can't bitch about it too much - you can however find the silly cell modem and remove it. The car will probably squeal like a stuck pig for your having done so...

Comment Re:Overblown Hyperbole (Score 1) 107

Umm no, I sat in the talk where this was presented and while they did tear that Prius a new ass diving into the dashboard they never claimed to be faking out the ABS sensors and they mentioned the ABS pump making hellacious noises - which is what occurs when you bleed the silly thing. Overwhelm the CAN bus with data signals telling the pump to bleed and it will try...

BTW - I have a faulty ABS sensor on one of my cars right now thanks to the Winter slush slopping all over it and screwing with the tone ring. Light came on the dash, ABS no workie. Having repaired this system before I can tell you that a toasted ABS sensor is no big deal. having incorrect data from one however will trigger traction control, stability management, or anti-lock. It ain't hard to flood the CAN bus with signals like that either - so what? All of this stuff requires physical access to the bus or reprogramming something to allow signals from the entertainment center to be bled over on those cars that have both on the bus.

Comment Re:Overblown Hyperbole (Score 1) 107

Scenario - you lock your car up for the night, I roll up with a hacksaw blade, roll under your car, and nick the fuel line next to the exhaust manifold slightly. Rolling down the freeway the next day whoosh, you go up like the Challenger.

Scenario - you lock your car up for the night, I roll up with a hacksaw blade, roll under your car, nick a brake line. Rolling down the freeway the next day and whooops - you have no brakes.

Scenario - you lock your car for the night, I roll up with a small BT device connected to a piece of constructed thermite and a small battery pack. I attach this to your fuel line with a zip tie. Rolling down the freeway I trigger it. Whoosh - you look like a Roman Candle.

Scenario - you lock up your car for the night. I roll up with a small BT device connected to a piece of constructed thermite and a small battery pack. I attach this to your power steering line with a zip tie. Rolling down the road at speed the next day I trigger it as you go into a turn. Whoops - you haz no steering!

Maybe the thermite works better on the gas tank? I can use some JBWeld to stick it on or magnets if you have a metal shield on your plastic tank, maybe I strap it to the filler neck?

I can do this all day long with scenario after scenario. This boogyman remote hack stuff is utter shit and this lawsuit will do NOTHING but make life harder for those of us who actually know how to turn a wrench and go exactly zippy for the dumbasses who're screaming like chicken little!

Comment Re:Overblown Hyperbole (Score 2) 107

The control systems ARE isolated with firewalls, the hacks that have been demonstrated - to my knowledge - have removed those. What exactly does "hardening the OBDII port" mean? You realize that locking that down will prevent diagnostic and home use tools form working right? Rate limiting? The signals that have been demonstrated to disable brakes were standard brake diagnostic signals recorded from using a standard tool, it wasn't abnormal. Filtering is already done by the entertainment systems on stuff I'm aware of - it's being removed to demonstrate "hacks". How much processing do you want your ABS, steering, and door locks to do exactly? IMO they have more important functions to attend to than acting like Fort Knox from imagined threats. 5mins with a hacksaw blade and I can make sure you lose your brakes or steering, maybe catch the car on fire. Why aren't we armor guarding any of those hoses exactly? Why does "cyber" automatically mean it's a higher threat?

Comment Re:Classless action. (Score 4, Insightful) 107

Sorry, but this is a complete bullshit lawsuit. Most of the hacks have required physical access to the CAN bus or have required modifications to the entertainment system to remove the firewalls in place - yes they have them on some I'm familiar with. A few jackasses have put out scary "hacks" and now this is the crap that we get to deal with? The CAN bus shouldn't be encrypted as not only will this drive cost up but it will also prevent some of the good stuff going on like replacement ECU in the performance industry and diagnostic tools for the home user.

Sorry, but this is complete and utter garbage and I hope it's tossed out damned fast.

Comment Re:*sigh* (Score 1) 115

I live near an airport and planes pass on approach. I'm interested in quadcopters, I might even graduate to planes someday. The planes that fly over my home are a good ways up, certainly not so close as to cause issues with noise, if I go closer to the airport the planes are still a fair ways up but common sense says yeah I might be interfering if I got stupid.

Where I'm puzzled is just how these "drones" are getting that close to the planes. The quad would have to be a mere dot in the sky to interfere, why would I be flying that high? Quads at least are battery powered, by the time I got far enough up to cause issues I'd be worried about battery and what exactly would I be seeing other than a postage stamp map below me? FPV of a plane going by? Are people simply flying these up high to come close to planes? 2-4K feet? Really? Are there YouTube vids? You know someone would be posting if they did this. Multiple reports in one area back to back seem to make at least that one pretty obvious.

The FAA wants legislation, that much is clear. They've talked about possible interference for awhile, now the possibility has skyrocketed? No reports of collision though right? Certainly not lots of them. Is that simply luck? So is this pilots being paranoid now that the idea of interference has been introduced to them? They seem to provide a great deal of detail about these vehicles despite passing them at high speed. How many of these reports have been validated? Anyone arrested? Is the FAA perhaps trying to make this claim in order to push legislation?

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm skeptical. Dulles airport I'm familiar with, same with National. National you can get VERY close to planes coming in at a nearby park - that is heavily patrolled by police. Dulles is surrounded by trees and while some of the runways parallel major roads they aren't exactly the sort where you could stop and fly something - unless you did it from the Air and Space parking lot like an idiot. Perhaps there's backroad access closer to Dulles but the high level of detail for something passed at a few hundred MPH, the heights involved for a battery powered device, and my familiarity with the area leave me wondering. Am I really that out of touch about the drone community near my hometown?

Comment Re:Why (Score 1) 395

You might want to note which post I was responding to. I was responding to the statement that "The US solved that problem long ago...." regarding the creation of emissions technologies.

My statement is accurate - the best diesels were unable to be imported here for a number of years because the Euro cars with better emissions equipment required low sulfur fuel which we did not offer. The US didn't solve the emissions issues the Europeans did, they were ahead of us. Our domestic manufacturers still seem unwilling to produce a decent diesel if it's not for a truck.

If you cannot manage to understand the posting order and responses, you're gonna have a bad time.

My question still stands - which Domestic US manufacturer has this cutting edge diesel tech that's ahead of the Europeans in production?

Comment Re:I call BS, source: compare jetta (Score 1) 395

Uhh okay - so 3% difference in emissions, this seems to make arguments about awful diesels a bit moot. Now go look at the MPG. While looking at the MPG realize that the diesel ratings are usually inaccurate. Go check out Fuelly for real-world results.

What would be nice is a way to keep diesels in tune more easily. As they age they tend to smoke more and for those that are electronically controlled this should be solvable.

Comment Re:Fast, but not Quick (Score 1) 395

I just got my worst fill up ever - 31MPG. Traffic here is awful with a 12mile commute often taking near an hour. I think they've switched us to winter fuel too. Generally I'm 38 with bumper to bumper traffic and have never been on a highway trip long enough to drain the tank. I regularly get over 50miles on a fill! I'm driving it less with the delta between gas and diesel being as high as it is but I have little doubt that will be changing.

Comment Re:Fast, but not Quick (Score 1) 395

Sure, I had a Chevy Sprint that got as good a mileage as my Jetta. It also was built like a beer can, had no airbags, the AC slowed it on the highways, and it wouldn't come near to passing today's emissions. Apples to Oranges - today's cars weigh tons more than previous generations, have real safety features, and if the same drivetrains were dropped into cars of yesteryear would get mileage ratings that would drop jaws.

Comment Re:Why (Score 1) 395

So which Domestic manufacturer is making cutting edge consumer diesel in the US exactly? If I want to buy a diesel these days it sure as hell won't be from GM, Ford has them in trucks, Mercedes and VW aren't Domestic. Who exactly is ahead?

OP stated we solved this "long ago" and I'd still say that NO the Euro folks beat us to those solutions. We may or may not have surpassed them but if so our domestic market sure doesn't show any sign of it...

Slashdot Top Deals

"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller than the both put together."

Working...