Quote:
Originally Posted by lezinterracial
dumb question, why do cars have wifi access points?
Notice when cars go by I see "Tina's Tahoe" or "mychevrolet". Why do cars have wifi access points? Can mechanics connect and see issues? Is it connected to the internet via GSM so users can use the internet in cars?
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GM cars have had some level of mobile connectivity for a long time, initially reserved for OnStar. About 10 years ago, they started integrating LTE hotspot capabilities as well.
There was a window of probably a few years where this was very desirable, at a time when many mobile plans still offered limited data, smartphones weren't quite ubiquitous yet and not all offered hotspotting. Plus there's the convenience factor.
We got a new car somewhere around late 2015 and they gave us a free trial of OnStar that also included something like 10 GB of data for 3 months. We primarily used it on a road trip from Canada to the US and what was nice was that we didn't have to worry about roaming charges (the plan included Canada and US coverage at a time when that wasn't common). We used it for phones, tablets and even some quick work on the laptop.
Nowadays, though, with 200 GB of data monthly and Canada/US coverage, it just isn't worthwhile at the price point (1.5 GB for $15). I'd maybe do $5 for a chunk of 2-3 GB just for the convenience, especially if I could do it without monthly commitment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huggles
Theoretically, cars like the Cybertruck, with no direct connection between the steering wheel and the tires... could someone hack the truck and send someone's vehicle off a cliff?
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This is possible in a "normal" car and was demonstrated back in 2015:
https://fractionalciso.ca/the-ground...cybersecurity/
https://archive.ph/tDcPD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK0S..._channel=WIRED