Anyone saw the news yesterday? Seems like they were reporting on missing laptop and how the tracking device can be bought in some electronic shops.

And one of those so call experts even gave a few tips how to avoid our laptop being detected by covering it with a 'Periuk'.

So the Myth does exist...

did u saw it?how to avoid?

actually wat was it all about..i tink i miz the news.

Seems like there are 2 models that are popular...

So better be wary and get yourself a backpack to bring along your lappy.

I'm not kidding, it was in the news yesterday..

This post has been edited by azbro: Aug 8 2007, 02:33 PM

Sometimes backpacks might cause even more harm.
I have quite a few friends who encountered snatch cases in areas of Pudu. One fell and injured himself during the whole thing happened. It is no longer safe to bring lappies around nowadays.

Can someone provide some information on how to avoid the laptop detectors?(Except for covering with periuk lar). I heard some saying that removing the laptop battery will help, is there any logic in that?

Wrap the laptop in aluminium foil.

ive heard bout that oso
the laptop detector only detect the laptop battery..not the laptop itself

Porbably cut off the power supply to the laptop stops any activity ..... i guess , anyone please explain ....

tv3 news?
what time?
during the prime time or midnight?

Saw it last night. The cheapest detector is about RM 40.00 @ Jln. Pasar roadside stalls too can get. Maybe someone can buy and check with the "periuk" thing and post out findings here. On another thought. Isnt closing the car's boot almost like puting the laptop in a periuk? of course there are gaps in the in the baclight areas etc.

seems like a good business to whoever can create a undetectable laptop backpack but the during airport check up, they'll think u ...

I for once will never leave my laptop in car no matter what, if not for security reason, for heat problem. Excessive exposure to heat will cause damage to any notebook in the long term. Get a backpack that doesnt look like a laptop backpack. Prolly like a northface or sum sheet. Im screwed then. Anyone want to buy my laptop bag then?

luckily they cannot detect the cmos battery in our lappy's mobo ...

or could they ???

I think they detecting the boot right? Coz i definitely wont leave any stuff on driver or passenger seats. Some ppl just break cars just for the smarttag.

This post has been edited by derred: Aug 8 2007, 02:51 PM

better don't buy smart tag d... dangerous...

but don't you need the battery? how do you gonna hide the battery? the moment the detected it, you lappy should be exposed. though, i had seen many cases lappies are being stolen from gym changing room.

cud anone go and check out the jalan pasar notebook detector. Learn how it operates and share wif us how to avoid it.

not pluggin i the lappy's battery is not a problem but could anyone verify if they can detect from our cmos battery that is in our motherboard that keeps track of the time and date ???

i watched the news....not only dat it can detect ur notebook...they will even try to unlock ur car...they try to read ur alarm wireless signal n then ur car will unlock itself...the size of the detector will b as small as pen...

more hitech one would b able to determine either its notebook or digital camera...

well dats wat i saw in tv3 8pm news....last monday nite...

on the other hand, my lecturer own this stuff...n he said it detect ur wifi signal...even u edy shutdown ur notebook, ur wifi still emit small signal...better way is to remove the battery from ur notebook...

my opinion? NEVER leave ur notebook inside ur car...

edit: i need logical explanation how the hell it can detect battery/cmos battery...erh...battery did emit any signal? i wondering....

This post has been edited by death_nite: Aug 8 2007, 04:03 PM

yeah...better don't leave your laptop in your car..
2 of my friends laptop got stolen at the same time in Subang Parade Carpark
they both left their laptops in their own car and both got stolen,
1 of them had 2 laptops in the car somemore, cry man

because of this detector their laptops got stolen..

wt* . they really exist ah?

that's really scary. some more rm40.

Hmmmmm, lappies detector.

Ok, here how it works (experts please correct if wrong )

When cable guy want (espeially Telekom guys or other contractor who install network/tele cable) to trace cable and to know where the cable goes, they have this special too called the Cable Tracer.

http://www.valuetesters.com/Tempo-620K-Ton...d-Probe-Kit.php

Now, this baby, have 2 pieces, one tracer and the other I call it a homing device.
Basically, the tracer detect the plumbum located inside the homing device.

Same as we can detect plumbum in lappies battery.

I think.....

Please correct if wrong aa.

This post has been edited by ahma068: Aug 8 2007, 04:15 PM

I hink the government shud stop this selling device same like the speed trap detector. It will just bring a harm to our society

Hmm..i think sumone need to do sum testing on dis device.its true dat its better to bring ur lappy with u but sumtimes we also need to leave it in da car..man..how come dis thing can be sold openly?for wut purpose other than for thieves to detect our lappy?maybe government should control the selling of the device?

That's going to be hard, becoz I use this a lot to trace LAN cables.

plumbum?inside battery?sori..not gud in chemistry..haha

Yes, plumbum or lead

Actually there are ordinary devices that are legally sold, but with a little mod with chip those can be used as scanner. Just go to the key maker stalls/shops they also make use of these scanner to duplicate your radio signal frequency keys. To open cars they use frequency generators. Nowadays those gadgets are very compact and mobile, digital somemore.

But if go to gym how? it's as risky as keeping the laptop in the car.

If you asked me, i would say what they use is an Electronic Wall scanning kit.

http://www.amazon.com/Zircon-59243-Electro...g/dp/B00009K76J

You most probably would have come across contractors carrying these around to check for live wires behind walls (before they drill etc).

These kits (esp the good ones) are capable of detecting even very low levels of current without actually having to come in direct contact with it. Put it up against a car window, and there is a high chance it will detect the small amounts of current that the laptop uses to keep the laptop running (most laptop users almost never "shut down" their laptops - its always on standy or sleep mode).

I might be wrong.

How can we prevent them bro? any suggestion?

wah ... !!! the device so cheap ... anyone can afford to buy it ...

we should stop keeping our lappies inside our car man ...

cmos battery detection ... hmmm ... dont know either ... it powers the motherboard's cmos clock ...

can detect or not ??? not too sure ...

sigh ...

you make white gold case sure cannot detect.

Really? Doe it work?

maybe everyone should start creating laptop backpacks from kuali ... lol ...

Aiyahhh...

laptop = 2.5Kg
kuali backpacks = 2Kg

Total = Bongkok by the age of 30

Yeah...thats why laptop stolen from car cases are mostly CLEAN jobs...
No need to use the brick to smash the side windscreen.

I'm getting goosebumps oledi!

...

I copy and paste this from TV3 News Sec.

Harga Alat Pengesan Murah
(Selasa, August 7, 2007 - Buletin Utama TV3)

Semalam Bletin Utama membongkar modus operandi licik pencuri komputer riba di sekitar ibu kota.

Antara puncanya alat pengesan itu banyak dijual secara terbuka dengan harga serendah 49 ringgit.

Dan penguatkuasaan yang longgar beri laluan kepada peniaga menjual peralatan yang dilarang kerana imbasan mampu mencecah sehingga tiga kilometer.

Visual ini dirakamkan sekitar Jalan Pasar dan Pudu Kuala Lumpur.

Tinjauan rambang kami bagaimanapun menemukan sesuatu yang mengejutkan.

Tiga kedai menjual pelbagai jenis alat pengesan dan alat gantinya serta pengimbas.

Alat pengesan yang dijual bukan sekadar mampu mengesan sebuah komputer tetapi dengan frekuensi 50 megaherz hingga 6 gigaherz ia mampu membuka kata laluan.

Dan alat itu boleh berfungsi dari jarak 1.5 hingga 3 kilometer.

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

Termasuk kemudahan yang dilengkapi wi fi.

Tetapi ada cara menghindarinya.

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.

Beliau turut mencadangkan kawasan tempat letak kereta dilengkapi alat mematikan sistem pengesan.

Kita nama safe park tapi bila guna jammer tapi tak leh pakai hand phone sebab dia lock frekuensi kalo tv3 ambil dan kereta elektronik tak leh start tapi benda ni bukan satu masalah dia ada range frekuensi bila tau range modul apa digunakan so kita jurus kepada frekuensi tu jer. Barang dia pun seiring dengan pembangunan sains dan teknologi, mereka kini lebih bijak mengatur modus operandi melakukan jenayah. Walau apapun cubaan mereka, langkah berjaga-jaga dan keselamatan adalah relevan bagi menangkis segala kemungkinan.

wah ... such shocking news ... and the number of cases of laptops being stolen is increasing nowadays ...
everyone ... dont wait ... go and get urself a periuk ...

my advise to you is not to bring your lappy to the gym center. i have heard of cases lappies got stolen on and off. now that my gym centre recruited a security guard patroning the changing room. but, how much could that helps? leave it in your office if it's nearby gym centre. sigh, now i start to worry about my pda phone...

Do they sell lightweight periuk?How much?

r u sure tis from tv3 news section?seems like rojak words to me.

is this one of the culprit

So they open ur boot? That sucks.

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

if in this case, laptop put at home also possible kena stolen?

This post has been edited by iRonTech: Aug 9 2007, 11:23 AM

Aiyo, if they break into your house, the take not just your laptop lor

I always keep my laptop without the battery in the car boot...
Always be aware if anyone is watching you while you put in the car boot.
If possible put in thru the foldable back seat...ie. dun open the boot so huge anyone can see what you are doing.

Just wanna add something...if the detector detects lead, all car batteries have lead....so might not be the reason....

Whenever im in KL, i always try to get valet parking bcoz at least someone is watching my car...

You are rich ma

wah...
i always put my lappy at car...

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.

if really want to shield....
just wrap it in aluminum foil, or the anti-static plastic bag.. or even better...
get v-cool to tint ur laptop!!

cool right?

---

Added on August 10, 2007, 12:24 amthe vcool so keng till gps signal and smarttag signal also cannot pass thru...

This post has been edited by lj0000: Aug 10 2007, 12:24 AM

So ur saying if put in the boot, this shit is only myth. If they can open the car already, why don't just take the car? Next time I put bomb in my laptop so when they steal it, it will be like, laptop will self-destruct in 1 second. Boom ! Eat that.

---

Added on August 10, 2007, 12:33 amsomeone corrected me with smart tag, I wrote as smarttag. Yeah seems im thinking like an electrical engineer yo..

This post has been edited by derred: Aug 10 2007, 12:33 AM

smart Tag is IR based..

This post has been edited by lj0000: Aug 10 2007, 12:43 AM

I see. Is this have been like major case in Malaysia or what? I think it's good they go public so those thief at least have to think twice before they do anything. What I'll do I put some clone laptop (anything that can be detect and they thought it's a laptop) then I'll act like im going shoppin'. I'll hide somewhere they can't see. When they come and open my boot, I'll rush and push them into the boot and voila ! Bring to police station and 4-5 times per day plus some help from any volunteers (guys ?!) then these thieves will extinct from the world (or Malaysia).

This post has been edited by derred: Aug 10 2007, 12:51 AM

I just saw yesterday (9/08/07) again they showed the article and they also said that this was getting lots of attention everywhere. But the news was at 1:30pm this time.

They showed the device...I think there were 3 models. One was like a pen somemore...the others looks like a walkie talkie.
All are made in China stuff.

I waited for the night news but didn't mention it.

Sometimes the valets could be in with the laptop hijackers... hehehehe
Trust no one. I'm quite sure the valets are not responsible is stuff are stolen, right ?

wat r we gonna do now....?
r new lappy in future gonna hav anti-detection devices?

I WAS WAITING FOR SOMEHTING LIKE THIS TO APPEAR!!!

WHERE WERE you guys? Hiding all along? I've already explained about alu foil and Faraday cage earlier but no one noticed!

Oh wait...this thread also exists in the Hardware Forum.

conclusion?????/
no worry ?

The above should be the conclusion.
Social research project

Journalism gone bad .

There is something you can do. Buy a safety box and put inside your car XD
It's made of thick metal and can stop any signal from penetrating the box

The box here is that one that usually put valuable stuff inside with security code. But please don't buy those with digital code

There is this device called Lojack for Laptops. Started producing for cars then they side tracked to laptops.

www.lojackforlaptops.com

lojack does not work in Malaysia. Its coverage in US.

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.....

sigh ... cant they make better quality locks on our cars ???

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

That's why always move via the back seat and don't make it so obvious.
Especially to the guards in the shopping mall car parks.

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

People don't put in the trunk earlier because of the heat

Okay Okay... so in a VERY VERY BIG nutshell:-

1. These detectors that were shown by TV3 are most likely phony devices claimed to function by the company that sells it.

2. Do not leave your notebook in the boot in the heat, and do not transfer your notebook to the trunk in public area. Safest place to do it is at home, or any place that is out of human sight. OR place it in the trunk via lowered backseat.

3. If you still think that these detectors work, order a LEAD box. Remember, must be LEAD. Why lead? Becasue even radioactive particles/waves cannot penetrate lead box, so whatever the laptop emits will definitely be shielded by the lead box. Lol. If you do this, let me know. I want to understand why you can be so paranoid.

Enuff lah ppl. Move on to other topics le. haha...

lol so laptop detector device does not exist?

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

haha. seems so..

well if u guys are travellin short distance, just stuff it in the boot 1st in ur house

ok, i wanna comfirm it, you mean

1. Put latop in the car boot is safe , as long as no one see it, or put in boot before you reach mall or destination
2. Puting laptop in car boot can avoid from detector device
3. leaving laptop in back seat is safe, as long as it's not visible

correct me if i'm wrong

good idea

the last time (only time) i kena was (without lappy) put a bag in my car even b4 i go to lowyat parking, but happen tht day car alarm Koyak....come back booth ok, go home open baru realise kena kopek oready....so, they do hav eyes in the parking lot...know u don hav alarm or wat...

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

The conclusion is, its toooo HiTech for this kind of device to exist. The detecting method sounds impossible. Able to differentiate between different types of electronics gadget is simply too hard for for me to belive (maybe cuz i ex engine student also?)

I do believe if there exist devices that can detect certain metal in batteries. And picking up the signal frm your CMOS is too much for this kind of device.

but lucky for me i still stuck with my desktop, so no need for them to use any detector bah. Use your eyes is more than enuf.

similiar case..

Alert over hi-tech thieves who scan cars for laptops





http://www.southmanchesterreporter.co.uk/n...or_laptops.html

This post has been edited by aMer: Aug 12 2007, 02:38 AM

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.

kensington lock ??? not enuf wei ... padlock is more like it ... lol ...

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.

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...

Best is use PDA

I still doubt the existence of such an item, can someone buy and try ?

I think its not for the laptop, PDAs and handphone also they are looking for. God knows how many times I left my PDAphone in the car with the BT on.

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.

This post has been edited by yewjhin: Aug 13 2007, 12:14 PM

they got us very cautious right now ...

lol yeah i heard my aunt talking about it and was more cautious .

now i know that this item doens't exist..

conclusion, always bring along your notebook with you and never leave it alone. thats why , always opt for light, small yet decent notebook.

I'm a victim of notebook theft and i would like to share my experience with all of you out there. It happened last 2 months in SS2,PJ . Such a busy area with so many passer-by and motorist around. I parked my car with my laptop in the car but hidden under the seat ( it was my really mistake to think that the detectors doesn exist). The car was parked right in front of and car wash and car park operator,so there are always people around there and can be seen clearly from a corner shop restaurant nearby. yet , after 15min, my laptop gone. It wasn my day coz the my seat was abit out from the angle where i can see my car.After getting back i didn realize anything missing till I almost reach home.then i saw my window area abit dented and of course nothing else but the laptop is gone. Alarm didn even rang...no indications at all .

I asked the computer shops and they say there are such device but can only be bought in hong kong and thailand.

Since we are all working as professionals and earning big bucks so we can carry a laptop around,then we must be prepared to encounter with "Professional Crooks" too. If they are not good,then how to cari makan in such complicated KL and selangor area?

I myself is an electrical engineer, but i really dont know how to prevent such device from operating,so lets hope there is someone more knowlegeable to help us out. At the mean time it is still better to carry it around with us,coz human response surely better than car does.