KeriBlog

My 1st WRX OMG

Jan 12 2015

It’s all-new this year, re-designed completely.

2015 Subaru WRX Sport Package CVT

2.0L Turbocharged
268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque
0 – 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds
Top speed of 240 km/h

Subaru uses a boxer engine, which makes that signature growl, which I think sounds good.

Although a manual transmission comes standard, my tester was an automatic, and a CVT at that.

I declared it to be the first CVT I’ve ever liked. Still would prefer manual.

Non-car nerds: you’ve likely seen a WRX, but with a massive spoiler on the back, and maybe rolled your eyes like I have.

We are wrong, the wing is cool, and functional too.

Boost!

And that hood vent, into it.

Available in 3 trims, this is the middle one; it has the “Sport Package”, which sees the addition of a rear spoiler, sunroof and fog lights.

Booking another of these soon as my schedule permits, in manual.

Prediction – within a couple years, Subaru will go from being the underdog, to the one to beat.

Never Connect your Car’s WiFi to a Public Network

Jan 12 2015

Staring this 2015 model year, cars will come equipped with internet and WiFi capabilities.

Here I am sitting outside a friend’s house in suburbia; I could connect to the houses around me.

You’ll soon be connecting your car to your home network to update it. Only ever connect your car to a known, safe network, like your home, and never a public network, like a coffee shop.

* = password

The Attack

You connect the car via a coffee shop > an attacker inside has MITM’d the connection > now all internet traffic runs through his computer first, before going to the internet

The Defence

Connect only to a network you fully control, like your home.

While this is unlikely to happen…

… that’s only for now. While car hacking is still in its infancy, now is the time to form good habits, because it only takes one connection, one time, to tank it all.

(see: ‘Keri on Driving’ column Dispelling Car Hacking Fears, and the lead press piece I wrote for last year’s SecTor Security Conference)

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Further reading:

– how to secure your car’s internet connection

– my column: WiFi HotSpots are coming to Cars

– what is a MITM attack

– general WiFi security