Don't Connect Your Smartphone To A Rental Car

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
You would think that this would go without saying but there are still people out there that connect their smartphones to rental cars. Most of you are smart enough not to plug your junk into a rental slot but, just in case, here's your word of warning.

Depending the features used in rental cars, they have the ability to store your phone number, contacts, call logs, messages and GPS locations. That all sounds wonderfully creepy, and people can access that information if a renter does so little as hook his or her phone up to the wrong plug in order to charge it.
 
and of course you agree to allow them to do it when you sign the rental contract, and can't opt out of it.
 
Good PSA. My brother had scrollable list of other peoples devices synced to his new car that was formerly a rental.

Interesting. I've done it, but only to use as a charger.

Interesting. I wonder how hard would it be to modify the "built in" charging system to hack phones connected by usb/lightning cable and steal information or upload trojans.
 
We get stuff traded in all the time with customers info still in the system.

As far as renting a car. Connect your stuff while you are using it. Simply go into the setting menu and delete the device when you are done. I have yet to run across a vehicle make that it was quite easy to remove a device. In fact, in most cases it takes way more effort sync the device than it is to delete it.
 
Good PSA. My brother had scrollable list of other peoples devices synced to his new car that was formerly a rental.



Interesting. I wonder how hard would it be to modify the "built in" charging system to hack phones connected by usb/lightning cable and steal information or upload trojans.

On iPhones, this would be pretty much impossible unless you manage to develop a method for the receiver to masquerade as the sync computer. On Android, you would have to be stupid enough to allow the receiver as a trusted debugging computer, and of course have usb debugging enabled. Windows phone... Is it even worth talking about?
 
my used car had alot of other ppl stuff in it form theri connected phones. im kinda amazed the dealer didn't clear that stuff out
 
IMO this is a non-issue unless your threat model dictates that you probably shouldn't be using a personal smartphone and rental that could be tied back to you anyway.
 
IMO this is a non-issue unless your threat model dictates that you probably shouldn't be using a personal smartphone and rental that could be tied back to you anyway.

Well, I'm not paranoid, but my threat model certainly does include leaving sensitive personal information in unsecured locations.
 
This is non issue.

Delete the linked phone.

And if you want the nuke it from orbit option reset the radio to factory defaults wiping out everything...gps, phones, radio, etc. In most new cars it only takes a few minutes and I make sure to do it before I drive back to the rental car return.
 
I decline access to contacts/messages. USB set to charge only. Delete phone when done. Except for that car that asked me to verbally name the phone. Hopefully a family with small children got to enjoy, "Attempting to connect to fuck shit mother fucker."
 
I carry a charger with me always, no guarantee that the car will have a USB port anyway. Luckily I don't have to use rentals a lot.
 
my used car had alot of other ppl stuff in it form theri connected phones. im kinda amazed the dealer didn't clear that stuff out
Most people are idiots. And dealers are part of the set "most people". And it's not like becoming a dealer makes them more intelligent.
 
Well, I remember when a buddy bought a used fleet vehicle from a local dealer recently. Not only did the car have the driver's personal info in it, it had his entire company directory too, with the names, phone numbers, positions, home addresses, security clearance levels of all the upper management including the CEO, CFO, etc.......

can anyone spell out SFB ? :D
 
Charging cable. usb cable missing all but the power leads. Did they suddenly stop making those?
 
when people don't take the time to clear out their info, i take my time scrolling through theirs and deleting it. those tourists are always in a rush to drop off at the airport so it's always fun to creep what they left behind. also bought a used car and the previous owner didnt even erase the HDD and left his playlist on it. let's say it's always a blast from the past when listening to it.
 
Next you will be telling us not to log into our bank accounts on public library computers and have it save our information for our next visit.
 
I delete people's info from cars when I rent them. I'd like people to do the same for me if I forget to delete my device, but it is what it is. The long and short of it is, digital or not, if you leave something in a rental car somebody could look at it.
 
Interesting. I've done it, but only to use as a charger.

I think it depends in your phone.

My Nexus 5x has different USB modes now, which I don't recall my old phones having. If I plug it in, it defaults to "USB for Charging Only" mode, which allows no data transfer over USB. You have to explicity allow data transfer for it to be able to transfer any data.

I feel like when they say "plug in" they really should be saying "Bluetooth pairing". That would definitely have the effect they are talking about.
 
This article is written like if the rental car company can download your information but it can't and doesn't even have the time to.

All it is saying is that you have the potential to leave some stuff in the car for the next user and so on. There's a simple fix: if you plug in your stuff, make sure you 'forget' the device and or clear all settings before you return it. Simple.
 
I feel like when they say "plug in" they really should be saying "Bluetooth pairing". That would definitely have the effect they are talking about.
Does bluetooth pairing not allow you to set what access the external devices have?
 
I work at a dealership and it depends on the model of how they store information. Our vehicles, only display information for the phone connected if the phone is in the car. Without the bluetooth connection, you'll only be able to see the name of the phone(s) that have been paired with the vehicle. No personal information is available through the phone. The navigation on the other hand will store named presets in the system. One of the default presets is, "Home". If I hit that preset, it will automatically navigate me to your home address. It also stores your previous destinations in the vehicle. I could see some vehicles having flash storage where they just store phone information as they do anything else, but that's obviously not the best way to go about things.

I've only worked here for a few weeks and have little interaction to the sales process (IT / help desk / tech support), but people leave personal information and belongings in vehicles all the time. I've been pushing for us to wipe this information out as it is really weird when you get in a used vehicle and the navigation presets are already assigned to different locations. Honestly, I haven't had a single person care that they're set, but simply want to know how to clear them out / change them.
 
Does bluetooth pairing not allow you to set what access the external devices have?

You snuck this in before I refreshed. Short answer is it depends on the vehicle and whether you're using Android or IOS. On our vehicles when you pair an IOS device, all contacts, SMS / MMS, and call history will transfer to the vehicle automatically. You need to enable notifications in the bluetooth connection setting for the text notifications / ability to respond to function. The system uses a tiered FIFO priority to determine the phone to connect to the vehicle if multiples are detected at the same time. The only option you have is the ability to turn the automatic syncs off. This feature functions to update the contact list in the vehicle to reflect what your phone displays (new, changed, or deleted contacts). Android phones on the other hand have a couple prompts that allow you to limit access informationt the vehicle access. You contacts will transfer automatically, but it'll prompt you if you'd like to transfer your SMS / MMS and location information. As I stated in my last post the key is regardless of the phone, the personal / contact information from the phone will only appear in the vehicle when the device is connected through bluetooth. I'm sure some vehicles record this in flash, regardless of pairing and I have to say that is poor implementation.
 
Never knew this was a "thing". I've always connected my phone. I think it's time to stop.
 
Never knew this was a "thing". I've always connected my phone. I think it's time to stop.


Generally, unless your phone has the option of a "USB for Charging Only" mode, it is advisable to be careful which holes you stick it into. A USB port could just be a charging port, but it could also be trying to read your data. I wouldn't be surprised if the airlines use the usb charging ports to try to harvest data on you as well. And they can make that data very relevant because tyhey know who you are, by tying you to your seat number.
 
I've only worked here for a few weeks and have little interaction to the sales process (IT / help desk / tech support), but people leave personal information and belongings in vehicles all the time. I've been pushing for us to wipe this information out as it is really weird when you get in a used vehicle and the navigation presets are already assigned to different locations. Honestly, I haven't had a single person care that they're set, but simply want to know how to clear them out / change them.

I had this happen in a NEW vehicle once. (Only new vehicle I ever bought).

I presumed at the time (since it had less than 15 miles on it) that it was someone playing around with it on the showroom floor or maybe during a short test drive.
 
I'd think that you could at least connect your phone as only an audio device if you didn't want the vehicle to get into your phone book, text messages, etc.; this way, you can at least play music and use the audio system for hands-free use (except for dialing from the vehicle's dash).
 
I'm actually surprised all of these hands free systems cars come with have not become a liability yet.

They were introduced for "safety" but research study after research study suggest that using a hands free device doesn't make driving and talking on the phone any safer. Reaction times, reponse times and accident rates are just as high with hands-free systems as when holding a phone and talking.

It's the cognitive distraction of talking on the phone that is the problem, not the fact that there is a phone in your hand.

I had a new Ford Taurus (the reverse Tardis, much bigger on the outside than on the inside) as a rental once. I thought I'd be fine syncing my phone, because I can delete it afterwards (which I did) but I was horrified that the Ford Sync system wanted to read me my text messages.

If I were the NHTSA I'd put an end to all phone / data integration in cars, as it really is not helping, only making things worse by normalizing bad behavior. Would be better if once the key is in the ignition, somehow all devices with a data or voice connection are forced to power completely off.
 
I had this happen in a NEW vehicle once. (Only new vehicle I ever bought).

I presumed at the time (since it had less than 15 miles on it) that it was someone playing around with it on the showroom floor or maybe during a short test drive.

It could've been someone at the dealership, a demo vehicle, or someone on a test drive (extremely rare here). We have a demo lineup of each model as we don't like to put miles on new cars (luxury vehicles). They want everyone in the sales department to be familiar with how the vehicles work so they like to have them test these sort of things out. I've connected my phone to the demo cars quite a few times as I use them to run errands or get to a customer's home. I always delete it afterwards. On the other hand, if you're wondering why XM stations Liquid Metal and Octane were part of your radio presets though... That was me and I don't delete them.
 
It could've been someone at the dealership, a demo vehicle, or someone on a test drive (extremely rare here). We have a demo lineup of each model as we don't like to put miles on new cars (luxury vehicles). They want everyone in the sales department to be familiar with how the vehicles work so they like to have them test these sort of things out. I've connected my phone to the demo cars quite a few times as I use them to run errands or get to a customer's home. I always delete it afterwards. On the other hand, if you're wondering why XM stations Liquid Metal and Octane were part of your radio presets though... That was me and I don't delete them.

Yeah, mine was a brand new (in 2011) Saab 95 Turbo4 Premium, with tech package, top level Harman Kardon sound package. I had hunted forever to find one with a six-speed manual, and this was the ONLY one I came across. It was actually sitting on their show-room floor when I bought it, so I'm guessing visitors to the dealership where hopping in and out and playing with it.

Best car I've ever owned. Was a crying shame GM killed them, by preventing them from seeking the third party investments they needed to survive.

It was the only new car I've ever bought. My theory was, they needed the inflow of capital, so if I was ever going to buy a new Saab, it was now or never, and I could consider it a show of support for my favorite car brand.
 
Yeah, mine was a brand new (in 2011) Saab 95 Turbo4 Premium, with tech package, top level Harman Kardon sound package. I had hunted forever to find one with a six-speed manual, and this was the ONLY one I came across. It was actually sitting on their show-room floor when I bought it, so I'm guessing visitors to the dealership where hopping in and out and playing with it.

Best car I've ever owned. Was a crying shame GM killed them, by preventing them from seeking the third party investments they needed to survive.

It was the only new car I've ever bought. My theory was, they needed the inflow of capital, so if I was ever going to buy a new Saab, it was now or never, and I could consider it a show of support for my favorite car brand.

Saab went out of business because they never made money. They spent more money developing and building the cars than they sold them for, so it's not really surprising they went out of business. That 9-5 is a nice car, but Saab really didn't have any chance of continuing. GM doesn't suffer unprofitable divisions, you have to at least break even (cough, Opel). At least since they were bought by GM you still had warranty and after-sales support.
 
I like renting cars with GPS and viewing the history. then I add a few questionable places and searches before returning the car to the airport. :D
 
I always just go into the settings and delete the phone info once I'm done.
 
Back
Top