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Hacker Helps Family Recover Minivan After Losing One-Of-A-Kind Car Key (bleepingcomputer.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A hacker and a mechanic have helped a family regain access to their hybrid car after they've lost their one-of-a-kind car key while on vacation. The car in question is a Toyota Estima minivan, which a Canadian family bought reused and imported from Japan. When they did so, they received only one key, which the father says he lost when he bent down to tie his son's shoelaces.
Because it was a hybrid and the on-board computer was synced to the battery recharge cycles, the car owner couldn't simply replace the car key without risking the car battery to overcharge and catch fire. After offering a reward, going viral on Facebook, in Canadian media, and attempting to find the lost keys using crows, the family finally accepted the help of a local hacker who stripped the car apart and reprogrammed the car immobilizer with new car keys. The whole ordeal cost the family two months of their lives and around $3,500.
Because it was a hybrid and the on-board computer was synced to the battery recharge cycles, the car owner couldn't simply replace the car key without risking the car battery to overcharge and catch fire. After offering a reward, going viral on Facebook, in Canadian media, and attempting to find the lost keys using crows, the family finally accepted the help of a local hacker who stripped the car apart and reprogrammed the car immobilizer with new car keys. The whole ordeal cost the family two months of their lives and around $3,500.
Many manufacturers are different.
If you have 1 key, generally it's much, much easier (and affordable) to get a duplicate made. If you have no keys, generally your only route is the dealer for modern cars. Depending on the year and manufacturer, you can not make a new key from just the VIN. Ford specifically dumps their records after 10 years.
I worked in a locksmith shop a few years ago, and every vehicle is different. Many manufacturers you can simply "clone" the existing key, and it will simply work without issue. Some other manufacturers you need to cut the key to a new key, and program the new key into the system. Sometimes it's as simple as turning the existing key in the ignition to accessory, leaving it there for a few seconds, turn it off, remove the key and insert the new key and turning it to accessory as well (most 2005-2012 Chevrolet's are this way). Sometimes you need to turn to Accessory 3-10 times for it to program, then you can start the vehicle with the key.
Some need you to use an external device plugged into the CAN bus to program the new key in (many Fords, and Lincolns).
When it comes to imports, however, all bets are off. We built keys, and rebuild ignitions to jimmy-rig systems together in some cases. You do what you need to do to make the customer happy. Our experiences were with older models, and nothing too technically advanced. Simple transponder based keys and ignitions, which are generally easy to work with.
My personal vehicle uses a proximity fob, and they are much more complicated. Just as I left the locksmith shop, they came out with a way to clone the "key" part (you stick it in a slot in the center console to start the car), but not the proximity feature. If I wanted an additional proximity key, I would need to buy a new one from the dealer, and have them program it in to the tune of around $400. Thankfully I have two, but if one becomes lost I'll buy another without hesitation, as my body wouldn't be able to contain my anxiety I would have with the thought of losing the only key.
You're assuming a future smart TV won't do bullshit, like refuse to do anything when powered up for the first time because it's hellbent on checking for updated firmware (read: the TV went to manufacturing 6 months before it even HAD working firmware, so they manufactured it with little more than an internet-connected bootloader on the assumption that by the time it ended up in stores, they'd (hopefully) have working firmware for it ready for buyers to download.
Think it can't happen? Hardware like that already exists. One of my friends has a Nintendo 3DS. He bought a new game for it to play in the car on a weekend road trip the night before we left, and ran it for the first time after we were on the road. The game came on cartridge. He put in the cartridge, powered up the system, and had a "fuck my life" moment when it refused to let him do anything until he downloaded an update. If he hadn't been able to tether to my phone, he would have been screwed and unable to play it for several hours. This was a CARTRIDGE GAME that effectively refused to run until it managed to connect to the internet and download something.
By the same token, I can't think of a single time... EVER... when I've been able to stick in a game disc for an Xbox 360, Xbox One, or Wii-U & just PLAY the goddamn game without having to endure 2-20 minutes of mandatory downloads and updates before being allowed to continue. When I plugged in by XB1 for the first time on Christmas Day, I spent my first hour and a half as a new owner staring at the glacially-slow download meter. Why? Games now go to manufacturing LONG before they're anywhere close to being play-ready. Physical media is now just proof of having a license.
Christmas 1983, brand new c64. Plugged it in, turned it on, and wrote my first program in about 20 minutes.
Christmas 2016, brand new dell laptop. Pluged it in, booted it up, and spent the next 2 hours watching Windows Update install update after update after update.
We're frogs getting boiled slowly, one shitty piece of hardware at a time.