I was astounded to see on a current affair about this device that can unlock modern computerised cars so it’s easy to steal and drive away, while you are in your locked up home with your car keys safely inside.

https://m.timesofindia.com/auto/news/three-ways-tech-savvy-thieves-are-stealing-modern-cars-with-gps-fencing-and-push-button-start/stop-in-india/articleshow/101698327.cms

Time to return to old fashioned methods and since we now have a new modern keyless vehicle … we dug out the old club lock for the steering wheel!
Just a warning if your car is not in a lock up garage and in an open carport or on street parking… or if you go out shopping with the car and leave in a car park.

---

Unfortunately, these types of combination steering
wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in
actuality they provide virtually no protection against
theft.

I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so
with a decoding tool.  Yes... really.

I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will
always go to the car(s) next to you without one of
these locks, but outside your house—particularly at
night—it's goodbye to your vehicle.

A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition
system wiring is the best way to go.

Geoff,

Quote:

I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really.

No you couldn't - you're making unsubstantiated boasts.    ::)

AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 3:41am:

Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft. I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really. I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will always go to the car(s) next to you without one of these locks, but outside your house—particularly at night—it's goodbye to your vehicle. A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition system wiring is the best way to go.

You’ve not slept all night (with that ID) I see. In fact your last 25 posts show you’ve done an all nighter. That’s something only Drunk, Methra or Groggy do.

Larry seems to be correct—an all nighter?

Not something I can do anymore tho I used to be a real night owl many many years ago.

I do sometimes wake early, 3.00am etc and might come back to the computer if I can’t get back to sleep. Sometimes do a bit of a night owl, reading a book on Kindle and occasionally checking here for amusement. NOT an all nighter tho.

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 8:51am:

AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 3:41am: Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft. I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really. I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will always go to the car(s) next to you without one of these locks, but outside your house—particularly at night—it's goodbye to your vehicle. A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition system wiring is the best way to go. You’ve not slept all night (with that ID) I see. In fact your last 25 posts show you’ve done an all nighter. That’s something only Drunk, Methra or Groggy do.

Heads Up : AusGeoff is just another unhinged fake shared Multi Mong ID. You will typically find one of the Manure Mound Mongs scurrying to that fake/shared id’s defence and such Mongs will resort to inventing lies in order to this.

👉 All Mongs deserve to be made fun of/posted over. Eventually they tire and p1ss off.

AusGeoff only posted once on my fine forum, unfortunately. Geoff is one of the very few posters here with high intelligence.

And—If Geoff wishes to pull an all-nighter that is his business, not mine and not yours. Also, your crap—and crap it is—about fake/shared/multi ids (i.e. socks) is tedious beyond belief.

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:19am:

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 8:51am: AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 3:41am: Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft. I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really. I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will always go to the car(s) next to you without one of these locks, but outside your house—particularly at night—it's goodbye to your vehicle. A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition system wiring is the best way to go. You’ve not slept all night (with that ID) I see. In fact your last 25 posts show you’ve done an all nighter. That’s something only Drunk, Methra or Groggy do. Heads Up : AusGeoff is just another unhinged fake shared Multi Mong ID. You will typically find one of the Manure Mound Mongs scurrying to that fake/shared id’s defence and such Mongs will resort to inventing lies in order to this. 👉 All Mongs deserve to be made fun of/posted over. Eventually they tire and p1ss off.

AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 3:41am:

Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft. I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really. I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will always go to the car(s) next to you without one of these locks, but outside your house—particularly at night—it's goodbye to your vehicle. A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition system wiring is the best way to go.

I put that pic up as an example of a club lock. There are a few styles, we have one similar to this.

---

Maybe old school knowledge of these may be able to undo them but many people don’t use them and for new intentional crooks it could well be a deterrent at best. I was looking at a few different style club locks, I might investigate further which one may be the best one.
Basically I wanted to put this topic up because I was shocked at the ease of stealing modern computerised cars by a device that hacks into the code and wanted anyone to be warned of it.
My son has even got a wheel lock on his trailer I saw recently.
We are going away with our caravan soon and we have a lock for the tow hitch.
Anything will help if it acts as a bit of surprise deterrent for the un prepared crook.

PS. I’m a bit of a night owl too. I could be up until 2am.
I either watch something on prime, or knit, or go outside taking moon photos  :)

Sophia wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:47am:

Maybe old school knowledge of these may be able to undo them but many people don’t use them and for new intentional crooks it could well be a deterrent at best. I was looking at a few different style club locks, I might investigate further which one may be the best one. Basically I wanted to put this topic up because I was shocked at the ease of stealing modern computerised cars by a device that hacks into the code and wanted anyone to be warned of it. My son has even got a wheel lock on his trailer I saw recently. We are going away with our caravan soon and we have a lock lock for the tow hitch. Anything will help if it acts as a bit of surprise deterrent for the un prepared crook.

We mainly rely on secure parking ie our triple garage with automatic keyless entry.

Plus we live in a very low crime area. Nothing ever happens here.

Note : The filthy rich drug lord who lives down the road looks after his house (his Mum lives there full time) AND the entire street lol.

I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two.

Sophia wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:47am:

Maybe old school knowledge of these may be able to undo them but many people don’t use them and for new intentional crooks it could well be a deterrent at best. I was looking at a few different style club locks, I might investigate further which one may be the best one. Basically I wanted to put this topic up because I was shocked at the ease of stealing modern computerised cars by a device that hacks into the code and wanted anyone to be warned of it. My son has even got a wheel lock on his trailer I saw recently. We are going away with our caravan soon and we have a lock for the tow hitch. Anything will help if it acts as a bit of surprise deterrent for the un prepared crook. PS. I’m a bit of a night owl too. I could be up until 2am. I either watch something on prime, or knit, or go outside taking moon photos  :)

While farm houses suffer a high degree of crime in the village there doesn’t seem to be much crime. When I go to nearby towns I leave the back door open. I do lock it at night but doubt any real reason for that. One of the advantages of living in the country. I do not have any steering lock on my Mazda which does have an immobiliser built in. It is parked outside at night.

I might park the car in the 2 car garage on the western side of the property like 50m from the house next winter—for protection from the elements.

Sophia wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:57am:

I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two.

Insurance

Gordon wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 10:11am:

Sophia wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 9:57am: I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two. Insurance

Well Gordy - you beat me to it.

IF your car is stolen you’ll get your payout which will give you the chance to start over.

Note : Just make sure your car is insured for an agreed value.

We’ve never experienced car theft. In fact ... no one in our extended family has either. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 10:35am:

Gordon wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 10:11am: Sophia wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 9:57am: I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two. Insurance Well Gordy - you beat me to it. IF your car is stolen you’ll get your payout which will give you the chance to start over. Note : Just make sure your car is insured for an agreed value. We’ve never experienced car theft. In fact ... no one in our extended family has either. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well Gordon and Lisa, allow me to mention the irony of that as the story of a male whose car got stolen, then the insurance replaced it, only to have that insurance replacement vehicle stolen the same way!
His car is parked outside.
Sure we have full comp insurance but that does not mean we can be too carefree.
Future Insurance premiums will soar when you make a claim within a 3-5 year period.
You have to declare it.
I will do my utmost to avoid being robbed.

Jovial….don’t be too sure about country properties not being targeted.
We never locked doors during day, and never locked our cars.
We are 200 metres from the road and on acreage.
About 20 years ago there were a mob that targeted our towns for unlocked vehicles and we were included!
I had money and mobile phone in car and all the cd’s were taken too.
The whole ashtray was full of coins and the whole ashtray container taken.
My son usually leaves his wallet in van but for some reason he brought it in.
Lucky for that. All his CDs and a mountain bike were taken.
Others were reporting having laptops taken.
It’s no surprise the stuff we leave in our cars….and as I found out, your household contents do NOT cover stuff taken from your vehicle.
Since then we lock everything. And I leave nothing but a change of clothes for inclement weather, bottle of water, and plastic shopping bags in the car.

There’s been a recent report that unlocked cars in the Valley have been targeted recently … so it’s on again!

Sophia are you saying the car was parked outside (on the road) when it was stolen?

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:19am:

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 8:51am: AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 3:41am: Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft. I could open that lock in probably 20 seconds or so with a decoding tool.  Yes... really. I guess if it's parked at a shopping centre, a thief will always go to the car(s) next to you without one of these locks, but outside your house—particularly at night—it's goodbye to your vehicle. A concealed isolation switch wired into the ignition system wiring is the best way to go. You’ve not slept all night (with that ID) I see. In fact your last 25 posts show you’ve done an all nighter. That’s something only Drunk, Methra or Groggy do. Heads Up : AusGeoff is just another unhinged fake shared Multi Mong ID. You will typically find one of the Manure Mound Mongs scurrying to that fake/shared id’s defence and such Mongs will resort to inventing lies in order to this. 👉 All Mongs deserve to be made fun of/posted over. Eventually they tire and p1ss off.

Hey... that's not fair, Lisa.

Geoff's only been here just over a year and I've been here for nearly 11.

What's Geoff's secret and what do I have to do to become another "unhinged fake shared Multi Mong ID" or a "Manure Mound Mong"?

I'm going off to sulk for a while, might be back later.  :-/

Sophia wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 5:00pm:

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 10:35am: Gordon wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 10:11am: Sophia wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 9:57am: I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two. Insurance Well Gordy - you beat me to it. IF your car is stolen you’ll get your payout which will give you the chance to start over. Note : Just make sure your car is insured for an agreed value. We’ve never experienced car theft. In fact ... no one in our extended family has either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well Gordon and Lisa, allow me to mention the irony of that as the story of a male whose car got stolen, then the insurance replaced it, only to have that insurance replacement vehicle stolen the same way! His car is parked outside. Sure we have full comp insurance but that does not mean we can be too carefree. Future Insurance premiums will soar when you make a claim within a 3-5 year period. You have to declare it. I will do my utmost to avoid being robbed. Jovial….don’t be too sure about country properties not being targeted. We never locked doors during day, and never locked our cars. We are 200 metres from the road and on acreage. About 20 years ago there were a mob that targeted our towns for unlocked vehicles and we were included! I had money and mobile phone in car and all the cd’s were taken too. The whole ashtray was full of coins and the whole ashtray container taken. My son usually leaves his wallet in van but for some reason he brought it in. Lucky for that. All his CDs and a mountain bike were taken. Others were reporting having laptops taken. It’s no surprise the stuff we leave in our cars….and as I found out, your household contents do NOT cover stuff taken from your vehicle. Since then we lock everything. And I leave nothing but a change of clothes for inclement weather, bottle of water, and plastic shopping bags in the car. There’s been a recent report that unlocked cars in the Valley have been targeted recently … so it’s on again!

Live in a good suburb. I never lock my doors, and sometimes remember to lock my car at night.  ;D

Gordon wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:37pm:

Sophia wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 5:00pm: Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 10:35am: Gordon wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 10:11am: Sophia wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 9:57am: I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two. Insurance Well Gordy - you beat me to it. IF your car is stolen you’ll get your payout which will give you the chance to start over. Note : Just make sure your car is insured for an agreed value. We’ve never experienced car theft. In fact ... no one in our extended family has either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Well Gordon and Lisa, allow me to mention the irony of that as the story of a male whose car got stolen, then the insurance replaced it, only to have that insurance replacement vehicle stolen the same way! His car is parked outside. Sure we have full comp insurance but that does not mean we can be too carefree. Future Insurance premiums will soar when you make a claim within a 3-5 year period. You have to declare it. I will do my utmost to avoid being robbed. Jovial….don’t be too sure about country properties not being targeted. We never locked doors during day, and never locked our cars. We are 200 metres from the road and on acreage. About 20 years ago there were a mob that targeted our towns for unlocked vehicles and we were included! I had money and mobile phone in car and all the cd’s were taken too. The whole ashtray was full of coins and the whole ashtray container taken. My son usually leaves his wallet in van but for some reason he brought it in. Lucky for that. All his CDs and a mountain bike were taken. Others were reporting having laptops taken. It’s no surprise the stuff we leave in our cars….and as I found out, your household contents do NOT cover stuff taken from your vehicle. Since then we lock everything. And I leave nothing but a change of clothes for inclement weather, bottle of water, and plastic shopping bags in the car. There’s been a recent report that unlocked cars in the Valley have been targeted recently … so it’s on again! Live in a good suburb. I never lock my doors, and sometimes remember to lock my car at night.  ;D

That’s all well and good but…. We only got robbed once in our lifetime here, it only has to happen once as wake up call that there are scum ready to take what’s yours anywhere an opportunity is. And it’s only going to get worse.
Did you know that if you have unlocked doors, and a robbery takes place, where there’s no forced entry… insurance may not pay.
As for more prestige areas… they are being targeted in Melbourne, and here are the top 10 cars stolen.

https://www.solidgps.com/top-10-cars-stolen-in-2022-in-australia/

And I found this … best steering wheel locks.

https://www.motor1.com/products-services/auto-products/best-steering-wheel-locks/

Lisa Jones wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 8:51am:

AusGeoff wrote on Sep 1st, 2023 at 3:41am: Unfortunately, these types of combination steering wheel locks are all about visual deterrents, but in actuality they provide virtually no protection against theft... You’ve not slept all night (with that ID) I see. In fact your last 25 posts show you’ve done an all nighter. That’s something only Drunk, Methra or Groggy do.

Yes, I often have all nighters.

I have a chronic circadian rhythm sleep disorder.

Non-24-hour sleep-wake syndrome: If you have this
sleep disorder, you keep your same length of sleep
and awake time, but your “internal clock” is longer
than 24 hours. When this is the case, the actual
sleep-wake cycle changes every day, with the time
being delayed one to two hours each day.

Mine advances around 12+ hours over the period of
a week, which means I could be here at 9PM today,
but next week it could be 9AM on the same day.

I've undergone all sorts of therapies, including a clinical
sleep study, but with no cure, over the past two decades.

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm-sleep-disorders

—I just live with it now.    8-)

Jovial Monk wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:23am:

AusGeoff only posted once on my fine forum, unfortunately. Geoff is one of the very few posters here with high intelligence. And—If Geoff wishes to pull an all-nighter that is his business, not mine and not yours. Also, your crap—and crap it is—about fake/shared/multi ids (i.e. socks) is tedious beyond belief.

Yes.  I have no idea why Lisa has this apparent obsession
with what she purports to be multi-socks.  From past
experiences it seems that she pulls this stunt whenever
she disagrees with a/any poster's comments, or anyone
who dares to contradict her.

She also uses lots of character attacks, crude personal
insults, and fallacies of logic. And, apart from sanctimonious
invective, no evidence for any of her bizarre claims.

      ::)

Sophia wrote on Sep 1^st, 2023 at 9:57am:

I would like to ask Geoff what he suggests is best to protect modern vehicles that are in open carports or in street parking which there are plenty of as many places now are so subdivided up with cramping of units and not much room for one car let alone two.

Good thread Sophia.

I'm an amateur (hobbyist) lock-picker, and I have all
the necessary tools for most locks except the expensive
ones—both the lock and the tools to open it.

Club locks, in general, are more than adequate in a
well-trafficked street during daylight hours, or in a
shopping centre car park for example.

But... outside your house, in the street, or under a carport
they don't have the same in-public sight deterrent
effect—particularly at 3AM in the dark!

Most thieves will ignore the club-type lock itself, and simply
make a saw cut in the steering wheel's metal core,
which is often only 6-8mm diameter mild steel, (or
a magnesium extrusion on a top price vehicle).

You might like to check out this video, which shows a
couple of vulnerabilities of a typical club-style lock.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goJ9nsrt6Sw&t=264s&ab_channel=LockPickingLawyer

The short answer is that any/all security devices that use
a lock and key are subject to picking, some ludicrously
easily.

And if your (older?) club lock has one of these
cruciform keyways, you're wasting your time even
putting the lock on the steering wheel.  With a little
tool known as a "jiggler", I reckon I could open this
lock in less than 10 seconds.

          https://i.postimg.cc/1XZC3nVP/Screenshot-2023-09-03-at-03-18-57-cruciform-keyway-Google-Search.png