第2214期:How to Protect Your Car from Being Stolen

Most recent cars have an electronic key that lets the owner get into and start the car. 最近的汽车都配有电子钥匙，可以让车主进入并启动汽车。 The electronic key is called a “fob” to those who know about the technology. The fob sends a short-range signal to the car. As the owner gets close, the fob unlocks the door. 对于了解该技术的人来说，电子钥匙被称为“遥控钥匙”。 遥控钥匙向汽车发送短程信号。 当主人靠近时，遥控钥匙就会打开门。 But the new technology also makes it easier for criminals to open the car without the key. 但新技术也让犯罪分子更容易在没有钥匙的情况下打开汽车。 When you lock your car and take the key with you inside your home, the fob does not stop sending its signal. 当您锁上汽车并随身携带钥匙进入家中时，遥控钥匙不会停止发送信号。 Thieves, who have special equipment known as scanners, will pass by streets with a lot of cars. If the scanner shows that a fob is sending a signal, the thieves use a device that clones the signal and opens the car doors. 拥有被称为扫描仪的特殊设备的窃贼会经过有很多汽车的街道。 如果扫描仪显示密钥正在发送信号，窃贼就会使用克隆信号的设备并打开车门。 Government officials around the world have asked carmakers to warn car buyers of the risks of the new technology. They also have asked them to make the fobs more secure. 世界各地的政府官员已要求汽车制造商警告汽车购买者新技术的风险。 他们还要求他们让密钥更加安全。 Until then, what can you do to prevent your car from being stolen? 在那之前，您可以采取什么措施来防止您的汽车被盗？ Steve Launchbury has some suggestions he shared with the Associated Press. He is the head engineer of automotive security company Thatcham Research based in Britain. 史蒂夫·朗伯里 (Steve Launchbury) 向美联社分享了一些建议。 他是英国汽车安全公司 Thatcham Research 的首席工程师。“It’s relatively easy for drivers to protect themselves,” he said. “司机保护自己相对容易，”他说。 The first tip is to put your key into a protective container or bag when you get home. One kind is called a Faraday bag. They are not very costly. The bag is made from a special metal material called mesh that blocks the signal from the fob. Just do not forget to put any extra keys you have into that bag, too. 第一个建议是回家后将钥匙放入保护容器或袋子中。 一种称为法拉第袋。 它们的成本不是很高。 该包由一种称为网状的特殊金属材料制成，可阻挡来自遥控钥匙的信号。 只是不要忘记将多余的钥匙也放入包中。 Some advice that is easy to find online says people should put their keys into the microwave or freezer to prevent their signal from being stolen. Launchbury said that does not work and it could harm your key. 一些很容易在网上找到的建议称，人们应该将钥匙放入微波炉或冰箱中，以防止信号被盗。 Launchbury 表示这不起作用，而且可能会损坏您的密钥。You may have seen large locks that go across the steering wheel in television advertisements many years ago. It turns out they are still useful. They may be considered “old school,” but the presence of big locks that are easy to see makes car thieves turn away. The only problem is that you must take extra time to unlock the device and put it away before you can drive away. 许多年前，您可能在电视广告中看到过横跨方向盘的大锁。 事实证明它们仍然有用。 它们可能被认为是“老派”，但很容易看到的大锁的存在让偷车贼望而却步。 唯一的问题是，你必须花费额外的时间来解锁设备并将其收起来，然后才能开车离开。Some car makers permit owners to deactivate the signal sent out by the fob. For Ford, Honda and Audi, owners can use their car’s touchscreen system to find the correct way to turn off the signal. For Toyota, you can turn off the signal by pressing a combination of buttons on the fob. 一些汽车制造商允许车主停用遥控钥匙发出的信号。 对于福特、本田和奥迪，车主可以使用汽车的触摸屏系统找到关闭信号的正确方法。 对于丰田，您可以通过按遥控钥匙上的按钮组合来关闭信号。Read your car’s owner’s manual to be sure how to do this. 请阅读您汽车的用户手册，以确定如何执行此操作。 Some car makers include motion sensors on their key fobs. If the fob has not been moved in a while, the fob turns off. 一些汽车制造商在其钥匙扣上安装了运动传感器。 如果密钥卡在一段时间内没有移动，密钥卡就会关闭。 If you buy a used car, some experts suggest that you get your keys reprogrammed in case the earlier owner still has a key. 如果您购买二手车，一些专家建议您重新编程钥匙，以防旧车主仍然拥有钥匙。Launchbury said some cars have a new system called a controller area network, or CAN. The network permits different parts, or components, of the car to communicate with each other. He said some thieves are trying to join the CAN through some physical electronic connection to unlock the car. They can do this by removing a headlight and plugging in a device that lets them in the car’s network. Launchbury表示，一些汽车有一个称为控制器局域网（CAN）的新系统。 该网络允许汽车的不同部件或组件相互通信。 他说，一些窃贼试图通过一些物理电子连接加入 CAN 来解锁汽车。 他们可以通过拆下车头灯并插入一个允许他们进入汽车网络的设备来做到这一点。 The device can send a signal, such as “unlock” or “start” to the central system. 该设备可以向中央系统发送“解锁”或“启动”等信号。 Launchbury said this is where the physical lock can cause thieves to change their mind and force them to move on. Owners can also consider electronic immobilizers. These devices prevent a car from moving even if a thief gets into the internal system. However, immobilizers can be costly. Launchbury 表示，这就是物理锁可能导致窃贼改变主意并迫使他们继续前进的地方。 车主还可以考虑电子防盗器。 即使小偷进入内部系统，这些设备也能阻止汽车移动。 然而，防盗装置的成本可能很高。