[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Your hotel room can be hacked with a 'dry erase marker' here

[berock212]

Or you could use a deadbolt, something found in almost every hotel room.

[rdt098]

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Or you could use a deadbolt, something found in almost every hotel room.

You seemed to have missed the major point of the article. YOU ARE NOT IN THE ROOM. So, unless you plan to rappel in and out of the window, the deadbolt will not help very much.

[Ninjahedge]

Putting your stuff in the trunk is not a good idea.

After packing my gear up while working a temporary job out in the LA area, I decided to visit "Muscle Beach" and all the rest before catching a flight home for Thanksgiving.

I parked in a public lot ($$) and all my goodies were in the trunk.

I spent, maybe, 3 hours on the path and came back, got in the car and drove to the airport early. I popped the trunk... and it was empty.

100+ CD's (I brought my wallet) and various other items, including a weeks worth of dirty laundry. They simply popped the trunk lock on a rather inexpensive econo-car.

The best you can do is to lock up what you have in the room safes, or find places to put things that are not obvious. But THAT will not work if you do not leave SOMETHING out in the first place. If a crook comes in and sees nothing out, they will start looking under the bed and under the dirty clothes in the closet.

Leave out that 5 year old digital camera and $40 in loose change in the desk drawer and you might get them to grab and run.

Might.

Or you can buy a bunch of dry-erase markers and hope they are tempted enough that you find them crashed out in the stairwell with a handful of multi-colored fun.

[Adromeda]

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Or you could use a deadbolt, something found in almost every hotel room.

Not if your not inside the room, which is the problem.

[rixware]

It sure would be nice if an article like this told me something I haven't heard a thousand times.

Seeing as how this is a technology publication, I'm way more interested in what the hack is, how it works, and what the lock manufacturers and hotels have to say about it.

Lock up my valuables? Really? That's all you got?

[jackrabbit]

Popped the trunk lock, you say?

Funny ...on my last trip I had to pay someone (and almost missed my flight) to pop open the trunk, wherein I had inadvertently and very inconveniently misplaced my car keys.

[LockGuru]

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Or you could use a deadbolt, something found in almost every hotel room.

The hacked portable programmer overrides the deadbolt.....same as a grand master key.

[LockGuru]

Video of the marker device in use:

[sepasteward]

BEWARE the hotel safeboxes have over ride codes which allow anyone who as the code to open the safe. Thee code can be easy to figure out, if motivated. Normally, not a problem to my knowledge. Take a cell phone picture of your stuff for proof, in case ripped off.

[TomS]

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Putting your stuff in the trunk is not a good idea...I parked in a public lot ($$) and all my goodies were in the trunk...

Putting things in the trunk can work, however, how observant of your suroundings were/are you? Maybe someone saw you put everything in there? Did you transfer everything to the trunk in the parking lot at the hotel? Or at the public lot? You don't say where.... People sit and watch for this kind of activity, especially at tourist spots... Plus the car was probably an obvious rental, maybe you should have taken public transportation from the hotel to the beach.... This would allow you to then leave your valuables at the hotel, at least then you would only have to worry about the illegals that clean the room taking things....

[TXNMD]

Quote

Or you could use a deadbolt, something found in almost every hotel room. You seemed to have missed the major point of the article. YOU ARE NOT IN THE ROOM. So, unless you plan to rappel in and out of the window, the deadbolt will not help very much.

[TXNMD]

Use the deadbolt when your in your room and when your not in your room, take your valuables with you.

[Starkeraving]

Simple is better--try carrying a Diaper bag as a PC storage case. It's roomy enough and usually well padded. If it has front pockets have a diaper or baby bottle visible
I usually separate money into several packets and put them in things like empty hygiene packages.(what thief steals a box of tampex0
I learned from a thief (30 yrs working in a prison) never keep more than a few $ in your wallet and never keep credit cards in your wallet. Again for women its easy hollow out a make up kit like one of those multi colors eye kits, Use it for cash in your purse. Men carry money and credit cards in a deep front pocket- you will know if a thief gets close to your jewels.
does the room have a fridge-opaque bottle will look normal
What I learned from talking with different thieves over the years is to hide things in plain sight made to look normal -like a diaper bag or a box of tissue. Thieves want to get in and out in a hurry so they look where people usually hide things-out of sight.often overlooking what's right in front of them.

[Nuke61]

rixware, on 10 October 2012 - 07:15 AM, said:

It sure would be nice if an article like this told me something I haven't heard a thousand times.

Seeing as how this is a technology publication, I'm way more interested in what the hack is, how it works, and what the lock manufacturers and hotels have to say about it.

Lock up my valuables? Really? That's all you got?

The hack works on Onity locks, and it works by hacking into the memory of the lock. More details HERE about how it works, and go HERE for a how-to to create your own.

[brainout]

Ditto on hiding things in stuff that looks like something else, or worthless. Never in the trunk, that's too obvious. When I had to drive a lot back during the days of big luggable computers, I used a cardboard box with 'foot rest box' clearly labelled on top. Put the luggable underneath it, with the clearly-labelled box in the back seat well. Everything else in there looked empty.

Yeah, a thief is in a hurry, looking for a quick score. If what he sees in a car looks shabby, then he'll think that nothing of value is in the car. So if you will hide something in the trunk, make sure the visible part of the car looks like a slob owns it, or a trailer-trash person, so he won't think anything of value would be in the trunk, either.

Same for a hotel room. Oh: and hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the door when you go out, as if you were sleeping, leave the phone off the hook or tell the lobby you don't want any calls.

And yes, be sure you get a room with a safe in it.

This post has been edited by brainout: 20 October 2012 - 08:33 PM

[RiBS]

[quote] Putting your stuff in the trunk is not a good idea...I parked in a public lot ($$) [quote]

It's Venice Beach, there are many thieves that watch the parking lots from convenient spots along the alleyways. The bigger problem is that rental cars are easier to spot and much more likely to have luggage and electronic items hidden inside without the threat of an alarm.

[lou3914]

Quote

Putting your stuff in the trunk is not a good idea. After packing my gear up while working a temporary job out in the LA area, I decided to visit "Muscle Beach" and all the rest before catching a flight home for Thanksgiving. I parked in a public lot ($$) and all my goodies were in the trunk. I spent, maybe, 3 hours on the path and came back, got in the car and drove to the airport early. I popped the trunk... and it was empty. 100+ CD's (I brought my wallet) and various other items, including a weeks worth of dirty laundry. They simply popped the trunk lock on a rather inexpensive econo-car. The best you can do is to lock up what you have in the room safes, or find places to put things that are not obvious. But THAT will not work if you do not leave SOMETHING out in the first place. If a crook comes in and sees nothing out, they will start looking under the bed and under the dirty clothes in the closet. Leave out that 5 year old digital camera and $40 in loose change in the desk drawer and you might get them to grab and run. Might. Or you can buy a bunch of dry-erase markers and hope they are tempted enough that you find them crashed out in the stairwell with a handful of multi-colored fun.

I do not agree with that.A lot of trunks are the most secure place to put stuff in a pinch and i am a locksmith.To imply that trunks are all opened when you arent looking is silly.Either you are lying or someone watched you put your stuff in the trunk.Some trunks are more vulnerable than others because all you have to do is open the door to get to it and some others do not and you have to have a key to get into it or you have to have the ignition on to open.I personally think you are lying but maybe not.Either way there is no magic way of defeating an automotive trunk lock.I think that competitors constantly look for means to undermine their competition or to sell them "the better" locks or whatever.

[LiveBrianD]

brainout, on 20 October 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

Ditto on hiding things in stuff that looks like something else, or worthless. Never in the trunk, that's too obvious. When I had to drive a lot back during the days of big luggable computers, I used a cardboard box with 'foot rest box' clearly labelled on top. Put the luggable underneath it, with the clearly-labelled box in the back seat well. Everything else in there looked empty.

Yeah, a thief is in a hurry, looking for a quick score. If what he sees in a car looks shabby, then he'll think that nothing of value is in the car. So if you will hide something in the trunk, make sure the visible part of the car looks like a slob owns it, or a trailer-trash person, so he won't think anything of value would be in the trunk, either.

Same for a hotel room. Oh: and hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the door when you go out, as if you were sleeping, leave the phone off the hook or tell the lobby you don't want any calls.

And yes, be sure you get a room with a safe in it.

In my dad's car (Fit EV), if I bring my laptop, I just shove it under a seat and put a jacket around it (so it looks like I just lazily threw the jacket in there). Come to think of it, the spot under the floor of the trunk (where the tire repair kit and 120V charger are) isn't a bad place either - most people won't even think of that.

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 21 October 2012 - 04:14 PM

[SadiP]

Its called a BRA, ladies. Any thief that wants my money, cell or camera will have to go in my bra for it. And if he gets it, quite frankly, he deserves it. I usually carry nothing valuable with me out of town. I use a prepaid debit card, and my cell phone has a signal on it that i can trace. Only use safes in hotels with a PHYSICAL key, someone a while ago did a story about how these hotels have a "000000" or something equally dumb as a failsafe on the digital safes. If I have to take something valuable (usually my laptop), I put it in the one place most burglars wouldnt think to check: the shower. I use the laundry bag and put my laptop bag in there, and then hang it in the shower.