Yes, the liability issue is a problem . Only the crooks have rights anymore. We have to stand idlely by and let them walk all over us.

Stu

I always thought the Smar Truck (from TACOM) had a nifty way of dealing with problems like that - 'When activated, the door handles maintain a voltage high enough to temporarily stun and intruder'.

sorry but IM experienced O the air-vent thing won't convince a real theif of anything except of the fact you assume their dumb. i could tell in half a second that the cover is bogus. it doesn't even match the real vents. plus, how many cars you been in that have air vents where the radio should be??? after all, the thief could have a car just like yours.

the wire loom thing is better. much better.

What kind of Jeep? Did you leave a stereo of any kind in a wrangler-type jeep? Yikes. Those things are serious targets and I'm crossing my fingers that my Cherokee never gets any attention.

Sorry 'bout your loss.
-Hoagy.

My Cherokee Sport got some unwanted attention a few years back to the tune of several thousand... Security through obscurity is never a good way to go...

If you ask real nice maybe hugo will show you what he as got to hide his empeg it is very good.

You could get one of these (make sure to watch the movie). Of course, you might have to move to South Africa.

In reply to:

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If you ask real nice maybe hugo will show you what he as got to hide his empeg it is very good.

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A Neo remote display with a big crack in the LCD?

Actually, security through obscurity is the only option on a car. No alarm will keep a thief out and you can't fight back legally, so the only thing left is to have a dull-looking car. (and maybe a bear trap inside the dash as backup)

My Cherokee Sport had it's Alpine stolen a few years back, but that's just because my stupid housemate kept leaving the garage open and I didn't lock the Jeep when it was in the garage. User error on both counts.

-Hoagy.

Obscurity is a useful adjunct to physical protection, but it should not be your only defence. Hiding your player under the seat is fine, but I wouldn't recommend it without also locking your doors, and preferably having a vehicle alarm and using a good safe bolted to the floor.

Making your vehicle look like it contains no valuables helps make it less of a target, but there will come a time when all the alternative targets are too daunting for the thief, and he'll have a go at yours on the off-chance. It's worthwhile slowing him down when that happens.

It's the same with computer security. Most crackers don't have as much experience with, say, AIX as they do with Linux, for example. So if you're running an AIX box, you're less likely to be attacked (all other things being equal). But that doesn't mean you should run an unauthenticated telnet daemon on some random port, just because they don't know it's there. Once they find it, your system is hosed.

Here's what I do. If I'm driving a hardtop I lock the doors. I remove everything of value from the car. I open the glovebox, console and ashtray so anyone looking in the car can see that there is nothing in there. If I'm driving a ragtop I leave the doors unlocked and do all the same stuff as in a hardtop. Thats about it. It has worked for me.

batavus, i feel your pain. better luck next time... and never leave these babies in their sled when you're not there. ever. we both learned the hard way.

It's a Jeep Cherokee (XJ). They busted out the back window to get around locked doors. The only thing that would have kept this guy out is a car alarm blaring or one of the witnesses that went buy to actually get a concience and do something about the 'strange guy ripping apart the inside of a vehicle with borken window glass all around it' It was a well lit parking lot (one space away from two sodium lights), right alongside the row where people drive by to go to the Arby's drive through, next to a busy street and a really busy bar (where I was at the time).

Hey strangeloop, any word on repairing yours yet? Just curious.

What I meant earlier was, TAKE IT WITH YOU... a good case and a litle effort will go a long way. Mine is worth WAY more to me than the price tag.. It's just the issue of not being able to get them any more that scares the hell outta me...

The flamethrower is a cool (or is that hot?) idea.

And as much as it gives me a visceral sense of deserved justice to the offending twerp, I can just imagine the gleeful look in some lawyers eyes when that case is set before them. Lethal or not, you'd be sued into oblivion. At least here in the good 'ol US of A.

So come up with something that doesn't leave any evidence.

I like the way it casually incinerates innocent passers by as well.

Rob

If you drove around with some sausages and steak, you could always have a barbecue if you got stuck in traffic!

I think I'll wait till they come out with one with a flame color that matches my empeg display.
don't wanna clash ya know.

Obscurity is a useful adjunct to physical protection, but it should not be your only defence.

Well put.

I remove my player from the car to protect the player.

I obscure the opening in the dash only to protect the windows of my car from getting needlessly broken as they look for a hidden player under the seat. Not to protect the player.