There’s 100+ Computers in a Car

There are more than 100+ computers (ECUs) in a new luxury vehicle.

Millions more lines of code than a fighter jet, than Facebook even; and up to 20% of the total vehicle cost is for the computers. It runs on the CAN bus network, learn more here.

Read in online at Autonet.

Favourite line:

Some luxury vehicles contain as many as 100 individual computers.

And:

It takes up to 100 million lines of software code to make this happen.  To illustrate the complexity, consider that an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter operates on 1.7 million lines.

Neat photo, eh.

It’s a test of all the computers and software inside a Cadillac.

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Let’s Go WarDriving

WarDriving – the act of searching for Wi-Fi networks from a moving vehicle, driven by someone interested in mapping the locations of Wireless Access Points (WAPs)

Lists are totalled: how many WiFis are locked, unlocked? What’s yours?

Favourite line:

Contrary to its name, wardriving is a relaxed style of driving … when you get down to it, wardriving is actually pretty boring. But the information it yields is not.

They used my collage! Love when that happens.

That’s 3 now (Stick Families are a Terrible Idea, and More Decorum, Please).

Read all my columns here. I started August 2012.

I have great news – as of today, my columns are now published on Autonet.ca! Until now, they printed and that was it, gone.

As a professional documenter, oh the anxiety that created.

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About those Pink Insurance Slips

(read it online here)

Favourite line:

Here’s the most important part: your pink slip must be the original.  It cannot be a photocopy.  So go ahead and leave it in your car; it’s of zero value to anyone other than you.

That photocopy fact is straight from the MoT, I went and asked.

Love the ending to this column.

While researching, I discovered something:

Ask me in real life I’ll tell you. It’s nothing super-secret, actually, it’s kind of amazingly obvious.

Lastly, HAHA my personal pink slip was printed in the paper. Security is relative.

For the first time, I don’t have a physical copy of this week’s column.  It’s been affecting me all day, my fridge collection was perfect.

If you see it this week, can you please rip it out and mail it to me.

Not sure what happened… our Auto section always runs on Wednesdays, but today it was just one page that’s it.  This was the top of the page, that’s my Civic review top right, but it printed weeks ago.  It was a confusing day.

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Stick Families are a Terrible Idea

Can’t believe they’re still popular, like…. still?! 

Even their location is dumb – why put them directly in the rearview mirror’s view?

Favourite line:

Stick families broadcast personal information, and are an unnecessary breach of personal security.

I’ve been collecting photos for a year.

Bottom right is mildly amusing.

Surely you’ve seen the “Anti-Stick Family” stickers.

Maybe, but you still have a stick family on your car.

Worst sticker I’ve ever seen:

A good social engineer will use that information,
to get directly into the victim’s mind and heart.

Example: the attacker Googles the name of the deceased, finds the cause of death.

Then, they “run into” the car’s owner, “yup, I’m just passing through here, trying to reach my donation goal for my charity, it’s to benefit [cause of death].  Oh, that’s a cause close to your heart, and you’ll donate?  Thanks so much.”

Blog tag = Social Engineering

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