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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Matrix viruses.

Posted by: Reighnhell Oct 8 2003, 02:37 PM

A am a GM whi is new to shadowrun, and my Matrix skills are a little shacky. Can a decker design a computer virus, and how does that work mechanically.

Thanks.

Posted by: Cray74 Oct 8 2003, 02:45 PM

QUOTE (Reighnhell)

A am a GM whi is new to shadowrun, and my Matrix skills are a little shacky. Can a decker design a computer virus, and how does that work mechanically.

Thanks.

As I understand it, most Decker combat utilities may very well involve viruses that do limited damage. If an attack is successful, the virus has damaged the software of the target (another Decker's cyberdeck, the Intrusion Countermeasures program) or performed whatever effect the utility was supposed to have. Read the descriptions of utilities and imagine those being carried out by viruses launched by the decker.

Some specific combat utilities involve what can be called worms, but other Decker utilities leave their exact manner of functioning open. Viruses are one explanation for some programs.

Posted by: hobgoblin Oct 8 2003, 03:03 PM

the current tech of ice is based on the most nasty virus the world have ever seen...

Posted by: Reighnhell Oct 8 2003, 06:37 PM

So, can a Decker engineer his own ICE and unlease it on unsuspecting systems?

Posted by: Game2BHappy Oct 8 2003, 06:54 PM

The Matrix book includes rules on (including how to program) worms that are often hidden on hosts to infect the cyberdecks of unsuspecting intruders.

One of them secretly logs your activities and occasionaly sends a message back to the host.

Posted by: mfb Oct 9 2003, 03:01 AM

a sufficiently badass decker could create a command script that damages the system he plants it on. basically, instruct the script to create and validate a user account, and then find and delete--or edit, or move, or whatever--all the data it can access. you might even be able to have your large script write smaller scripts, validating accounts for them and giving them instructions like "whenever a user saves his work, edit the data and scramble it."

Posted by: Game2BHappy Oct 9 2003, 04:33 AM

QUOTE (Reighnhell)

So, can a Decker engineer his own ICE and unlease it on unsuspecting systems?

Kinda... they can make frames and agents, give them some utilities and send them on in. It might go a little easier if the decker snuck in and validated a user account for the frame first, however.
Then it can go on the rampage that mfb suggests until it is found and destroyed.

Posted by: Cray74 Oct 9 2003, 10:23 AM

QUOTE (Reighnhell)

So, can a Decker engineer his own ICE and unlease it on unsuspecting systems?

Well, remember what "IC" stands for: Intrusion Countermeasures. IC is, specifically, security programs designed to prevent hackers (deckers) from breaking into a computer system. If the system is "hacked" (to use the old term), then the IC is supposed to smack around the deckers and stop their naughtiness.

If a Decker wanted to right his own autonomous program that would invade a system, he would make a "frame" or "agent." I believe a decker can also break into a system and create a "script," or instruction set for the "hacked" computer to perform certain tasks.

Most of the time, "unleashing a program on an unsuspecting system" would involve the decker going into the system and using his utilities (programs). Many decker utilities might involve viruses. The viruses are just represented abstractly with system operation rolls, attack rolls, etc.

Posted by: Abstruse Oct 9 2003, 12:14 PM

The Black Hammer (aka Jackhammer) program is basically a black IC attack program. Works on the same principles, but can be used by a decker rather than just being an automated function of the host. Thank you Mr. Fastjack.

The Abstrosue One

Posted by: mfb Oct 9 2003, 12:22 PM

as is the tracker utility. those are utilities based on IC, though, not actual IC.

if a decker had a copy of an IC program, he could theoretically insert it into the security sheaf with a read/write data and a control test (control because he's messing with how the system works). there's no real rules for it, though; in general, there's no real rules for messing with the operating system of a host--just the data it contains, and certain functions.

Posted by: Blip Oct 9 2003, 02:21 PM

So, if there are white and black combat utilities, what about grey ones?

Right now, all you can do to a decker is dump or kill him. Conceivably, a utility could be created that targets his deck just like gray IC.

But... what happens if you use this against a host? Right now, the worst thing you can do to a host is delete all its date and cause a crash and/or shutdown.
But you cant damage the physical host. Considering how expensive these mainframes must be, the matrix war between corps would turn a lot uglier - as would the retaliation against deckers that pull such stunts.

Back on the subject of viri: What I am missing with what you have suggested so far for viri that infect hosts is the basic quality of every virus: It´s ability to self-replicate and spread to other systems.

Posted by: Cray74 Oct 9 2003, 03:40 PM

QUOTE (Blip)

Back on the subject of viri: What I am missing with what you have suggested so far for viri that infect hosts is the basic quality of every virus: It´s ability to self-replicate and spread to other systems.

First, true, self-replicating virii that run loose are strongly discouraged by the corporations, to the extent the AAAs (and most other corps) gang up on any other corp that launches "core wars" virii. (The "Crash" was a rather scarring moment in corporate history; the Corporate Court frowns on anyone who musses around with similar, self-replicating virii.) I'm sure individual deckers that pull those stunts will "disappear" quickly.

Second, as I've been saying, it's quite possible that a Decker's utilities DO involve virii. When you "fire" your Attack-10 utility at an IC program and "kill" it, you might've inserted a virus into its files that scrambles its code.

Posted by: mfb Oct 9 2003, 10:21 PM

that's exactly what you do. "it samples the instruction alogrithms of the targeted icons and tries to induce fairly coarse memory faults into the icon's most frequently accessed code segments," straight out of the description.