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Comment by OJFord | Hacker News Reader

How can you leave that 'in a McDonalds for days'? I bet it would be nicked within the hour (by someone thinking it's just a charger).

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Perhaps a wall-plug air-freshener form factor would last longer?

Even better (or worse?) hide it behind the faceplate, a little more work but certainly better hidden! Just turn up in a yellow jacket, official looking lanyard and tools...

Don’t forget to bring a clipboard.

You laugh, but when I was in graduate school working long hours, if I needed a break from the PhD's who controlled me, I would go to a random building with a clipboard and one other item (flashlight, red pen, sometimes just a stick) and find a dark room to hide/sleep in. No one asks you questions if you have a clipboard and something else that makes them assume you know what you're doing.

The (discontinued) Aruba AP-65 WB did this. It was originally targeted at hospitality applications (hotels etc), where the stealth factor deters tampering:

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/29557041/aruba-ap65wb...

They did it as a 2-gang but you could surely do smaller.

or make it look like a blank wall faceplate on the consumer facing side, but on the other side it has a plug in to get power. Ideally, no tools are required to "install" it.

To consumers, it should look like this: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/leviton-1-gang-midway-nylon...

There are nightlights that are normal switchplates on the front, with springy connectors on the back that get power from the screws on the side of the light switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Single-SnapPower-SwitchLight-Built-Am...

Coincidentally I just got an el-cheapo one, that bar the quite obvious antennas and blinking leds is a "direct plugin" (as your typical air freshener), the thingy is sold everywhere with different brands but the origin should be this[0], the nice thing is that it has the plug that can be rotated 90 degrees so it is good for both horizontal and vertical sockets.

[0] http://www.pix-link.com/page50?product_id=144

A little better version of that pdf: https://www.4gon.co.uk/documents/aruba_ap65wb_datasheet.pdf

I wouldn't steal it but I would unplug it to stop the stink. Air fresheners do not.

perfect, get a whole bunch and we'll have potentially compiled a network of thieves without their knowledge

do you think enough people are opportunistically malicious to form a reliable mesh network of jerks?

It depends on the placement of the outlet. I think some are pretty inconspicuous under tables or seats. I bet there are places that wouldn't be noticed for days.

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