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If your car has a navigation system ...
Computers | Apr 25, 05
Would you sell your computer without wiping out the hard drive? Have you thought about the personal information stored in your car's navigation system or HomeLink garage door opener?
The following story was reported on the AutoSpies website.
I'm currently driving a Lexus LX470 that I bought a couple of weeks ago at one of the local dealer auctions. It's an off-lease vehicle and has a factory navigation system. As I was driving on one of Orange County's toll roads Wednesday, I noticed an icon appear on the navigation screen. It was an image of a house. I quickly realized that this was the former "home" of the vehicle - a multi-million dollar home in one of OC's most exclusive neighborhoods. I also realized that if I hit the "home" button on the nav system, it would take me right there. And I would be willing to BET that if I hit the built-in HomeLink garage door opener, up would go the garage door, and I'd be in like Flint!! I didn't go try, but you get my point. I'm not about to go roam around these folks' house, but what if someone else with less scruples had obtained the vehicle? More to the point, do we want strangers knowing where we live and having the chance to enter at will? So the lesson is: in these days of heavily computerized vehicles we all need to be mindful of personal data. Just as you'd never sell a computer without first wiping the hard drive, you need to do the same with your vehicles' data sets. Wipe all the navigation data (especially your home address) and de-program the door openers before you turn in your lease or trade in your car. A little bit of effort, sure, but what's it worth to have peace of mind? Otherwise, who knows who could be coming to visit?
Dr. Dave- AutoGuys
Posted by david.cost (Permalink)
Comments
Scary thought... I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before. I have a '99 Lexus with navigation system that has a bunch of waypoints saved from the previous owner. That previous owner was a family member though. I really don't want a stranger to be led straight to my house and be able to open my garage door with the press of a button. How do you even go about wiping the memory? Is there a factory reset button somewhere?
Posted by: garage doors orange county at July 8, 2009 1:26 PM
