Uptowngirl Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I was just listening to an electronics guy on my car radio. He was saying that there are around 10,000 individual frequencies for car keyless central locking. This doesn't sound like a lot to me. My key seems to have a range of around 35/40 metres. So in a car park there must be at least a couple of dozen cars within range when I unlock my car. So potentially there is a 1 in 500 chance of me unlocking someone else's car, and a similar chance of each other person unlocking mine. As I never check the door before pressing the button I have no idea how many times I come back to an unlocked car. Similarly it must be quite tempting for thieves to walk around pressing their key and looking for flashing lights and seeing how many other cars they can unlock. Are these things really secure? Please note I don't claim to be an expert on such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHY TED Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 According to Pistonheads http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=842767&mid=0 Obviously have far too much time on my hands but I have discovered my key will lock or unlock my Chrysler 300 from a distance of approximately 105 yards!! Awesome and I beleive unbeatable, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 It's not dependant of the frequency - almost all of the car mobile fobs are secondary users anyway to the frequencies that they run on and it's easy to listen in to the transmitted data anyway. The security comes from the encryption codes used - each fob generates a unique digital key every time it transmits and the car checkes to see if it gets that code. If it doesnt then it doesnt unlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhal Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I virtually have to stand next to my van , to unlock it by remote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andysm Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 They may be secure against the average thief, but researchers in Switzerland in 2011 were able to bypass the key fob security of cars made by 8 different companies. Police in California released a video showing someone opening a car door and stealing from the car despite not having the key fob, they still don't know how they did it: http://www.today.com/news/police-admit-theyre-stumped-mystery-car-thefts-6C10169993 The KeeLoq system can be bypassed, its designers were relying on keeping its method of operation secret, but once someone figured out how it worked it was quickly broken. Many other systems are kept a closely guarded secret by their designers, which almost certainly means they are not secure. If they were secure knowing exactly how they worked would not matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRUSS Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I virtually have to stand next to my van , to unlock it by remote Time for a new fob battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I was just listening to an electronics guy on my car radio. He was saying that there are around 10,000 individual frequencies for car keyless central locking. This doesn't sound like a lot to me. My key seems to have a range of around 35/40 metres. So in a car park there must be at least a couple of dozen cars within range when I unlock my car. So potentially there is a 1 in 500 chance of me unlocking someone else's car, and a similar chance of each other person unlocking mine. As I never check the door before pressing the button I have no idea how many times I come back to an unlocked car. Similarly it must be quite tempting for thieves to walk around pressing their key and looking for flashing lights and seeing how many other cars they can unlock. Are these things really secure? Please note I don't claim to be an expert on such things. I unlocked my car door yesterday, then got distracted talking to a neighbour. Amazingly the car locked itself again because the door hadn't been opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMR67 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 As remote keys use a radio frequency to activate the door locks, any thief with a laptop and a decent scanner can pick up your code as it is transmitted to the car. It is then transferred to a blank key and hey presto they,ve got your car. That's why it's not wise to unlock your car when your still 50 metres away from it. I'm not saying wait till you're stood next to the car but just a couple of metres away is surely enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geared Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I unlocked my car door yesterday, then got distracted talking to a neighbour. Amazingly the car locked itself again because the door hadn't been opened. I think this is a common feature, we've had it on a few hire cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I think this is a common feature, we've had it on a few hire cars. Yep,my last 3 cars have done this..I suppose it's a security feature just in case you unknowingly unlock the doors .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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