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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ hacking

Posted by: rattenbury May 21 2006, 11:00 PM

My GM basically said he was using the rule that you have to basically backtrack through the syestem after hacking in so as to not leave any traces that you were there. when the other hacker on the team finished today he said that he left over twenty traces so basically what are the thing that you do that leave traces and what are the best methods when this rule is enforced.

thanks all haven't played shadowrun that much and still have a lot to learn

Posted by: Glayvin34 May 21 2006, 11:16 PM

Hackers need to Spoof their datatrails, then they won't leave any traces. You only need 2 successes, for Software it's Hacking + Spoof program, and if you want to modify the hardware to permanently put out a bogus commcode, it's Hardware + Logic. All on page 224.

Posted by: mfb May 22 2006, 01:15 AM

your GM is incorrect; ask him to show you where in the book it says you have to backtrack in order to remove your traces. backtracking through the system will not erase your datatrail--it will just create a datatrail that leads into the system, and then back out.

Posted by: Glayvin34 May 22 2006, 01:29 AM

QUOTE (mfb)

Incorrect is a strong word, if you didn't go into a node with a spoofed datatrail then you would be leaving your commcode with every device you accessed. 20 seems really high, but I have no idea what kind of system your GM set up.
It is true that merely backtracking does nothing, you'd have to make Data Search tests to find where your commcode was recorded, then use Computer or Software + Edit to erase all signs of your passage.
UNLESS you're playing a Technomancer, which I don't think you are, they leave resonance behind in addition to a commcode, but they can erase the resonance traces fairly easily.

Posted by: Aaron May 22 2006, 01:58 AM

I'm feeling too lazy to look up page numbers right now, but I'll provide them if somebody calls me on it.

One can track a hacker's icon or an agent running on the hacker's commlink. The hacker (or agent) can spoof that trail, to slow down someone who is tracing her.

"Movement" through the Matrix is nigh-instantaneous, so if one wants to get out of a system, they just disconnnect from the node they're in and return to their own. As long as no active connection exists, the hacker cannot be traced.

Posted by: Teulisch May 22 2006, 02:36 AM

it sounds wrong to me as well. leaving traces? if you have and use the necesary programs (spoof, ect), then your not leaving much if any datatrail behind you. in fact, pulling your jack and taking the dumpshock is a time-honored way of getting out before a trace can complete.

talk with your GM. it sounds like hes working with a different paradigm of the matrix than the rest of us. if he is, try to get him to explaim his house rules.

Posted by: GrinderTheTroll May 22 2006, 03:59 AM

Sounds like a house rule which is fine, but it's going to be hard for RAW players to offer suggestions since your groups is making it harder than it actually is to "back out" and erase logs.

Posted by: BishopMcQ May 22 2006, 04:10 AM

I would send your team's hacker to page 225, specifically the section about "Hackers and Editing."

That is the only place I can see you GM picking up the need to backtrack and cover things up, unless he was running something similar to SR3's security tally. It looks like a simple Data Search, and Edit will remove all traces, presuming you have access to the security system.

(This is something I would generally limit to Security Access and possibly Admin Access depending on the computer system--thus requiring the time to get the higher level access thresholds.)

Posted by: Edward May 22 2006, 05:09 AM

I can see there being logs of every nod you login and log out of, but they will be logging your comcode ID (which you should change regularly, so it wont lead back to you) and the username you logged in with (which is hacked anyway) if you don’t take an action to edit the log there will be evidence that somebody did something (and maybe even what they did)

If you edit the log on the target computer they wont be able to work out the next point up the trail so you don’t really need to worry about that even if it’s a zero profile run.

Edward

Posted by: Serbitar May 22 2006, 08:29 AM

QUOTE (rattenbury @ May 21 2006, 06:00 PM)

Hi.

Your GM might have picked up this idea from my "Hacking my way" thread.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=12896&st=55

I suggest, that everytime, the node roles hits in his "System+Firewall" test, these hits are noted and can later be used by people analyzing the host, to find out that, and what was hacked. They represent entries in the system logs. Basically everything unusual is logged (not any different today) and definitely not only editing attempts.

In the link above I give an example how to "clean" the logs, so nobody can find out that the systemw as hacked. Normally this is not necessary (because you are already far away or do not care wheter somebody knows that the node was hacked).
Of course, if you spoofed your access ID, all they will find is faked ID, and no trace will lead to you (once you logged off the matrix and on with a new ID), but sometimes it might be usefull, to not even leave any trace in the host that it was hacked at all.