i still dun believe this. as an electronic engineer, i know that it is possible to 'scan' the frequencies. last time college time we did have such a scanner. it costs 50k! the scanner is a spectrum analyser, and is used to 'see' what wave is emitting surrounding us.

anyhow, it wont be able to detect any signal if the laptop is not switched on to emit 2.4ghz. sommore most laptops have hardware switch to turn off power to the wireless card.

the tv3 news page looks written in childish language so i would doubt its authenticity. http://www.tv3.com.my/content-news.asp?id=12228

furthermore, if the laptop really emit a wave, the car boot metal shud be able to shield it.

the statement that it is able to detect lead is even more.....
- laptop batery is NOT made of lead. they think the laptop battery is car battery meh.. car battery is created with lead-acid.

bluetooth, wifi, microwave oven and several more electronic devices all exist in the 2.4ghz domain. and its impossible to distinguish between them using a simple device as rm50

Alat pengesan yang dijual bukan sekadar mampu mengesan sebuah komputer tetapi dengan frekuensi  50 megaherz hingga 6 gigaherz ia mampu membuka kata laluan.
- this is true.. as it scans the frequency, it will open most of the car alarm and open the door. but its not targeted, and shud trigger the whole parking lot's car and making the siren sound.
- NO it does not decrypt ur password.

Pengguna telefon bimbit dengan kemudahan  bluetooth pula perlu berwaspada kerana alat yang digunakan itu membolehkan penggunanya mencuri dengar perbualan.
- ho ho ho..

Saya nasihatkan tindan barang tu dengan satu keping tudung periuk ke taruk dalam periuk ke. Itu standard dengan itu maka gelombang itu akan pecah boleh read tapi tak tau ape jenis barang.
- sounds like april fool... or the fellas father is making periuk as business.
- or its just a social research project to see how widely this hting spread.
- if this can work... all the fighter jet/kapal selam will look like periuk liao...

the 'scanners' are actually inductive loop sensors, and is widely used in the industry to 'detect' metal embedded in plastic/wall etc. you can buy one at ace hardware stores. thus it can detect nails, wires, anything that got metal content.

now the truth is....
the modus operandi works on sharp eyes.
they have people scanning the parking with their eyes.. looking for victims who open their car boot and put something in, then leave for the shopping mall. there must be something valuable there!

so.. my advice,
1. before u reach the destination, put the laptop under ur seat, better is the back seat, and push the seat backwards to cover. maybe cover up using some plush toys
2. never use a laptop bag. use a normal bag with internal cushion. using a laptop bag is telling the world u have soemthing valuable.. come rob me.
3. if u have to put ur laptop in the locker, put it in the bag before going into the gym locker. then no one can guess whats inside. use ur own lock!

finally.. even pikom's also did made an announcement about this, and tell the world it is not true....

wow very well writen response, Ij0000. I'm studying Electrical Engineering as well and whatever Ij0000 wrote about shielding of electromagnetic and electric fields are true. It is near to impossible to detect our laptop's emitted signal when it has already been shielded by the car's body. The distortion due to the car's body will most likely be high enough to not reveal things that are behind it.

they have people scanning the parking with their eyes.. looking for victims who open their car boot and put something in, then leave for the shopping mall. there must be something valuable there!

Damn bloody carpack security guards sleeping ar? Whats all the CCTV Camera's for then? Like that another Canny Ong case can just happen again.

I was thinking, regarding the detection thingy, is it these shaddy individuals are lingering around the carparks looking to see if there are people taking lappies from the car's Cabin and putting it into the boot? This way they can see the item without needing a detector. I tried telling my friend like what some of you mentioned earlier, Leave the lappie in the car's cabin under the seat or something instead of having to get out and put it into the boot.

Also, is it local Malaysian cars such as PROTON and PERODUA are more prone to this as the locking mechanism is simple unlike the continental/imported cars and is just there for the sake of keeping the boot lid closed? Like that might as well put your own padlock with key like Mr. Beans car and they'll have to come with a metal cutter....

Interesting discussion. Do brainstorm and post more.....

It was once published about this rumour

Actually, some claimed that it happens this way

1) You drive with your laptop put at the back seat.
2) Goes shopping, move the laptop to the car trunk, cause you don't want the laptop to be seen visible through the glass
3) Some people are already watching you, they saw you moving it into the trunk

thats why u put it at the trunk earlier. dont put it last minute...

lol so laptop detector device does not exist?

thats the conclusion i guess ... so no more need to buy lead kuali ... lol ...

just remove the battery.. it's not only to detect laptop.. ppl use this device to detect phone too.. so.. if u wanna keep ur laptop in the car.. just carry the battery in ur pocket.. haaha