Throughout the ’90s, factory-installed and aftermarket automotive security systems made it harder and harder to steal vehicles. Now, thieves have become more creative in their methods to take possession of your vehicle. What’s known as a relay attack can have someone into and driving your vehicle in less than a minute. While it seems complicated, for someone versed in basic electronics, the process is simple and reliable. Let’s take a look at how it works.

How Does a Keyless Entry System Work?

Keyless entry systems require the vehicle owner to have a fob in their possession. These fobs include a low-power radio transmitter that broadcasts a signal to let the vehicle know it’s nearby. When you’re near the vehicle and press the unlock button on the door handle, a radio-frequency transmitter in the car broadcasts a request for authentication. The fob in your pocket or purse will respond with a code, and if verified, the security computer in the vehicle will issue a digital command to unlock the doors.

To start the engine, a second transmitter with a very limited range (typically not extending beyond the windows) sends another request to the fob for authentication when you press the Start button. If the code comes back as being authorized, the security computer tells the engine control module to initiate the vehicle starting process. The communication between the vehicle and the key fob takes place instantaneously, making the process of getting into and starting your vehicle effortless and efficient.

What is a Relay Attack?

If a thief wants to break into your vehicle, he or she no longer needs a crowbar to break a window or a “slim jim” to manually actuate the locking mechanism. Modern thieves are using a pair of simple two-way radios in what’s known as a relay attack. The process uses your key fob to unlock your car. Here’s how it works.

Two thieves are required to complete the process. One will stand near your car and the second will come to the front door of your house. Each dastardly no-gooder is equipped with a two-way radio designed specifically to work on the frequencies used by your key fob and the vehicle security system. The radio by your front door is equipped with a high-gain directional antenna. The thief slowly sweeps across the front entrance of your house, hoping to catch the transmission from your fob. Any signal that he (or she) picks up is relayed to the second box by the vehicle. The criminal by the car needs only to push the unlock button repeatedly as the other transceiver sweeps back and forth. As soon as the code from the fob is broadcast beside the car, it unlocks and the thief by the house knows where to point the antenna.

The second step is to steal the vehicle. The thief near the vehicle gets in with his radio-frequency relay device and presses the Start button. If the other thief by the door still has the antenna pointed at the fob, the authorization request will be completed and the vehicle will start. Nothing is damaged, broken or altered in the process.

How Can You Combat Relay Thefts?

There are two approaches to preventing thieves from using your key fob to steal your vehicle. The first involves keeping your key fob in a place that makes it impossible (or at least very difficult) for the thieves to pick up its broadcast signal. At night, keeping your keys upstairs in the bedroom is a good idea. Another suggestion is to keep them in a metal tin or case. The success of this method relies on you remembering to do this every time you enter your home.

Several technological solutions are available to help prevent thefts. A product called Secure-A-Key can be installed inside your fob to prevent relay attacks. Secure-A-Key uses a small microcontroller in conjunction with an accelerometer. If the fob remains motionless for several minutes, the battery is electrically disconnected from the transmitter, making it impossible for the relay antenna to pick up a signal. As soon as you pick up the keys to start your car or truck, the connection is reestablished and everything works normally.

Another suggestion is to have a bypass or kill switch installed in the vehicle. Your local specialty mobile enhancement retailer can add a switch, or an interface with an existing button in your vehicle, that will prevent the vehicle from starting. You’ll need to activate this button at the same time as you press Start in order for the car to start. Using a turn signal is a common solution.

Monitor Your Vehicle

A third option won’t specifically prevent a relay attack, but it will let you monitor your vehicle so you know exactly what’s happening outside your home. If you have a remote starter or security system with a two-way remote like the Compustar T11 or T12, you can have the system configured to let you know when a door is unlocked and when the ignition is turned on, even if the factory key is being used. The notifications are presented in the form of a beep from the remote, a vibration and, of course, an indication of what’s occurred on the LCD screen.

If you have equipped your vehicle with a DroneMobile telematics interface, you can ask that it be configured to provide ignition alerts on your smartphone. You can also configure DroneMobile’s Curfew feature to provide alerts if your vehicle moves outside of a predetermined area (your driveway, for example) during specific hours. This information will let you notify the police if your vehicle is being or has been stolen, and the locating feature of the DroneMobile Premium plan will let you track its location so it can be returned quickly.

Protect Your Vehicle from Theft

If you have a pickup truck or luxury vehicle, it is a target for automobile theft. By taking some simple precautions when at home, and implementing technologies like Secure-A-Key or a starter override switch, you can foil the plans of even the most advanced car thieves. For more information, visit your local specialty mobile enhancement retailer today.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

A dashcam is a compact camera system designed with automotive-specific features to capture video of everything that happens in front of your car or truck. The video files from a dashcam can protect you from fraud or false accusations in the event of an accident. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options available to enhance the information captured by these amazing safety systems.

Dual Camera Systems

Many dashcam solutions are available with a secondary camera that can be positioned to monitor the interior of the vehicle or the traffic behind your car or truck. These systems record from both cameras simultaneously to give you a complete record of everything happening. Uber, Lyft and taxi drivers are particularly fond of these dual camera systems to record the behavior of their customers.

Built-In LCD Screen

Two types of dashcams are commonly available: Those with and without an LCD screen. In most products, the addition of a feature like a screen is perceived as an upgrade, but with dashcams, this isn’t always the case.

Dashcam systems without displays are often physically smaller, allowing your installer to mount the camera under your rearview mirror for a nearly invisible installation. These dashcams typically include a series of LEDs to indicate when they are powered up and are recording. The drawback to these designs is that you need a smartphone or computer to view videos stored by the system. You will also need to make system configuration adjustments using a phone or computer, so the installation time is longer.

Cameras with integrated displays are often physically larger than those without a screen. Depending on the design of the camera, color displays measure from 1.5 to 3.5 inches diagonally. In addition to letting you look at videos directly on the system, cameras with displays typically have easy-to-understand setup menus right on the unit. Many higher-end cameras include a touchscreen to make adjusting the system even easier.

Integrated GPS Antenna

Another popular dashcam feature is a built-in GPS antenna. The software in the camera will use the information transmitted by the GPS receiver to store vehicle speed and location along with the video information. Most quality dashcam manufacturers offer PC and Apple playback software that will show your location and speed along with the video recording.

Integrated Accelerometer

Another great feature to look for is a camera with an integrated accelerometer. These cameras store information about G-forces in all three axes along with the video. Your installer can typically configure the camera to automatically store video files if the camera detects a sudden jolt that might have been caused by an accident.

Parking Mode

Many solutions offer what is called parking mode. In most cases, when your installer has wired the camera to a constant power source (one that is active even when the ignition is turned off), the camera will stop saving video to the memory card. If the camera detects changes in the video image (from someone or something entering the field of vision) or motion from the built-in accelerometer, the system will wake up and automatically store a video file. In most cases, the recording starts 5 to 10 seconds before the trigger so you can see what led up to the event.

An important note about parking mode: Please make 100% sure that your camera has a low-voltage shutdown feature to prevent the battery in your car or truck from being killed and leaving you stranded. If your camera doesn’t have this feature, several manufacturers make external battery packs and control modules that will reduce or eliminate the load on your vehicle battery. If you don’t drive your car or truck every day, an external battery pack or at least a power management controller is a very wise investment.

High-Resolution Cameras and HDR Mode

Most quality dash cameras have high-definition image sensors capable of storing 1920-by-1080-pixel video files. Compared with VGA or 720p recording, these high-res files allow you to see license plate information, phone numbers or other identifying marks on moving vehicles. Some of the newest cameras record at 4K (4096 by 2160) resolution for an increase in detail of 4.3 times over HD resolution. Yes, this higher resolution with fill up a memory card much more quickly, but the added detail is quite worthwhile. We suggest buying a camera with as much image resolution as possible for your budget.

 

High Dynamic Range

Another popular feature is called high dynamic range. This is a video contrast compression technology that helps to make dark areas of the image brighter and bright areas darker to make everything in the video easier to see and understand during playback. Turning on HDR processing can help reveal more detail at night or in bright sunlight situations.

 

Wi-Fi-Enabled Dashcam Feature

The last feature we will talk about is Wi-Fi. Many premium cameras include an integrated Wi-Fi hotspot that allows you to connect your phone to see videos or make adjustments to the system. This is a particularly convenient feature on cameras that don’t have a touchscreen as it makes adjusting menu options quick and easy. Apps for iOS and Android-based smartphones are typically available for dashcams with Wi-Fi built in.

Some advanced dashcams include the option to automatically connect to an internet hotspot to upload video files to the cloud to make information access easy and efficient.

Protect Yourself with a Car Dashcam

If you are concerned about fraud from other drivers or pedestrians, or you want undeniable proof of who’s at fault in the event of an accident, then you owe it to yourself to invest in a quality dashcam. Drop by your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer today to find out more about the systems that are available and arrange for expert installation in your vehicle.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.