Interesting...something we should all remember to do!
Maybe there should be some type of warning reminder?
Dear 001,
Anyway, I thought I'd just pass on this interesting story to you, since it's an issue that had not occurred to me before, but is something that will undoubtedly rear its head sometime soon, and poses a security risk to owners of highline vehicles . . . I don't remember ever reading about this before, but I feel it's only a matter of time before we read the headline about someone who got robbed because they had unwittingly left their home "wide open" . . .
"Wipe the hard drive" before you sell!!!
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