"If they do not switch them off completely, and leave them on standby, there is a good chance they will be stolen."

He added: "This type of thing has been around for the last six months but it's getting worse. I must stress that anyone with a laptop does not leave it in their car and that if they do they must make sure it's switched off particularly if it's a 'blue-tooth' device'.

"The technolgy now exists which allows criminals to identify out-of-view laptops and mobile phones in vehicles and selectively break in to steal them."

What about putting a kingsiton lock when u leave the notebook in car? But this might piss off the thief, end up cermin pecah

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....

After all this discussion did someone really go and buy such thing for a test?

My opinion is buy a giant metal toolbox and lock ur laptop in it when u leave ur car! Just like lorry dirver which lock their valuable tools in their tools box. Even the thief sense ur laptop in it they will still need to carry a Giant Plyer to cut it open! And those plyer will be around 70cm-100cm tall very noticeble if carry around!

well either way, ur laptop will still be stolen lol

best is not to leave the laptop in the car la...

lol. 'Blue-tooth' device. Radio wave emission.
Well, I believe this man is correct IF that person's laptop is left in Sleep Mode and the BT module is left on. BUT then again, why leave your laptop in sleep mode and leave in the trunk? That's just asking for trouble.

With all due respect, I think the entire thing is simply bulls**t. When a laptop is off, it is off. Have u ever seen ur microwave turn itself on and heat the air inside by itself?

Metal detector? Your car itself is a huge pile of metal and of different kinds inside and outside, the detector would be ringing like a fire alarm the moment it was turned on.
Wave frequencies? Specifically your WiFi 802.11a/b/g? When it's off, it's off. These frequencies are alot more than your simple AM/FM radios mind you. HOWEVER,there is a single mistake in Ij0000's post regarding the part that car boots shield your waves, no it does not shield your wave. Explain how people can hijack/ride on your house Wireless connection in their car? If these waves can be received from inside your car, the same applies for people outside your car meaning they can also detect your waves emitting from inside your car if you're using Wireless no matter if you're in the driver's seat or the boot. So yes, if you leave your laptop on in the car, it is possible to detect waves, though with a gadget as cheap as rm40 is quite impossible, maybe with a gadget costing in the hundreds to thousands.
I think that some sections of the public are just making it up, but NOT with bad intentions. They ultimate message is just to practice caution, and they just use a story of a high tech gadget to make ppl more aware. Inaccurate warning though with good intentions I'd say.

I agree with most of the point, but car boot will not provide sufficient RF shielding. An opening of just a few cm is enought for RF leakage. The signal can propagate through back seat, windscreen, speaker area, etc and get detected by a receiver.

With all due respect, I think the entire thing is simply bulls**t. When a laptop is off, it is off. Have u ever seen ur microwave turn itself on and heat the air inside by itself?

Metal detector? Your car itself is a huge pile of metal and of different kinds inside and outside, the detector would be ringing like a fire alarm the moment it was turned on.
Wave frequencies? Specifically your WiFi 802.11a/b/g? When it's off, it's off. These frequencies are alot more than your simple AM/FM radios mind you. HOWEVER,there is a single mistake in Ij0000's post regarding the part that car boots shield your waves, no it does not shield your wave. Explain how people can hijack/ride on your house Wireless connection in their car? If these waves can be received from inside your car, the same applies for people outside your car meaning they can also detect your waves emitting from inside your car if you're using Wireless no matter if you're in the driver's seat or the boot. So yes, if you leave your laptop on in the car, it is possible to detect waves, though with a gadget as cheap as rm40 is quite impossible, maybe with a gadget costing in the hundreds to thousands.
I think that some sections of the public are just making it up, but NOT with bad intentions. They ultimate message is just to practice caution, and they just use a story of a high tech gadget to make ppl more aware. Inaccurate warning though with good intentions I'd say.

well either way, ur laptop will still be stolen lol

best is not to leave the laptop in the car la...

signal can propagate .. =,= .. first of all, i'm pretty sure your back seat absorbs some of it .. tinted screens, blocks signal as well .. you'll know bout it if you're in the wireless industry .. not to mention, regarding people hijacking your wi-fi signal ? ..

first of all, you'll be needing an antenna to even propagate to such a big area .. secondly, you'll need certain amount of power input to emit that strong signal ..