 Commlink - Why bother? |
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 Mar 13 2006, 05:45 PM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 40 Joined: 13-March 06 Member No.: 8,371  |
Given how hackable/traceable a comm link could make a player, what is the point in a shadowrunner having one? Doesn't the risk outway any benefit?
If a comm link is stolen, can the theif use the SIN etc contained within? Thanks for in advance for any help. |
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Mar 13 2006, 05:55 PM
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#2
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 617 Joined: 28-May 03 From: Orlando Member No.: 4,644 |
WIthout a Comlink, how are you going access your Smartlink, how would you access anything?
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Mar 13 2006, 06:11 PM
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#3
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
Having no Commlink in SR is like someone today saying they have no phone or computer, it's kind of ridiculous. The rules do state (somewhere I think) that certain "cirtical" pieces of info (your SIN, your bank Account #) are considered to have "built-in" Encryption of 6+ as it would be kind of stupid for some Hacker to crack your rating 3 Firewall and then be able to steal all your money and your identity.
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Mar 13 2006, 06:25 PM
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#4
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Grand Master of Run-Fu Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,840 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Tir Tairngire Member No.: 178 |
I know many people who have no computer, a lot more who have home computers but no home internet access; and even a few who don't have phones. Most of the no-phone crowd are a bunch of neo-hippies living on this commune-type thing; but it also includes this one family who's building their dream home way out in the sticks. What I don't get is, why can't shadowrunners simply turn off their commlinks? If their every move is being tracked due to the wireless signal, why can't they just turn it off whenever they don't need it? They can't be tracked or hacked, that way. |
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Mar 13 2006, 06:32 PM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
You can set the Commlink to "Hidden" mode. That way you are very difficult to find, your Commcalls will be auto-routed to your "answering service", but the "PAN functions" (cyberware routing etc) will still operate.
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Mar 13 2006, 06:33 PM
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#6
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Technomancer Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,638 Joined: 2-October 02 From: Champaign, IL Member No.: 3,374 |
I see no reason why they couldn't turn off their commlink. They could run into difficulty if they use their commlink as the the hub of the PAN, but if a runner doesn't need the commlink as an interdevice communications tool and has some other means by which to communicate with his/her team (i.e. micro transciever, kinesics, etc.) then I see no reason why they could disable their commlink.
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Mar 13 2006, 06:46 PM
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#7
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Target Group: Members Posts: 40 Joined: 13-March 06 Member No.: 8,371 |
I thought that a Direct Neural Interface (DNI) was an option for pretty much all the cyberware etc. The most powerful tool of the shadowrunner is being anonymous and undetectable and I still can't think of a better way of doing it than having no commlink. They can always get a legit contact to run any matrix searches for them and they will leave no data-trail as they wander round town (e.g. with grid-guide). So apart from the 'everyone else has got one' reason, is there any other reason to have a commlink? |
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Mar 13 2006, 06:52 PM
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#8
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panda! Group: Members Posts: 10,331 Joined: 8-March 02 From: north of central europe Member No.: 2,242 |
fake SIN(s) and a random rotation of access IDs. your maybe not a ghost, but it will take some datamining to figure out who you are.
and most likely they will never be able to nail down who you realy are (if your real SIN have been purged), instead talking about as if your the most used SIN... its not so much about being "invisible" as being just another joe on the street ;) |
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Mar 13 2006, 06:56 PM
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#9
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Not having a Commlink probably would make you stand out more than having one with a decent fake identity. Furthermore since just about all communication is routed to and from personal Comms in 2070, the Commless runner could quickly find himself out of business, while being impossible to find keeps you safe, being impossible to get hold of makes you much harder to hire.
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Mar 13 2006, 06:59 PM
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#10
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 829 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 770 |
Well, there are presumably numerous places where you would be 'encouraged' to have one broadcasting...such as most open-to-the-public AAA corp property (no commlink - no shopping) i.e. if you're not broadcasting a PAN, you're obviously not there for valid reasons. |
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Mar 13 2006, 06:59 PM
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#11
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,635 Joined: 27-November 05 Member No.: 8,006 |
This is why you can be a shadowrunner with the commlinks everywhere public. Use enough SINs and dispose of them regularly and They won't even have a single most used SIN.
Exactly, hiding in plain sight. Turn your commlink off and you don't fit in. People that don't fit in get noticed. Shadowrunners usually don't want to get noticed. Now that applies to public or semi-public places, especially higher security zones when the general public is expected to walk around. If Joe Public isn't suppose to be there unless the shadowrunner has a identity to broadcast that is suppose to be there then he'll want his commlink off, or on Skinlink only. |
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Mar 13 2006, 07:02 PM
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#12
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Target Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: 1-March 06 From: NYC Member No.: 8,325 |
stevebugge makes a good point. Also, the cops will be VERY suspiscous of someone who's commlink is off. It's pretty much akin hanging a big sign around your neck that says "I'M TRYING TO HIDE." It would be much more useful to have a commlink with 3-5 fake SINs that you alternate based on circumstances than no commlink at all.
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Mar 13 2006, 07:11 PM
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#13
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
I've always seen high security areas (like downtown Seattle) as having an array of security (Lone Star) drones hovering around and "interrogating" people's Commlinks for their SIN number and ID. If one can't be determined (Hidden mode or Commlink turned off) the Drone will stop you and (possibly) alert security. This was the situation in one of the Hacking examples.
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Mar 13 2006, 07:43 PM
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#14
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 327 Joined: 28-January 06 Member No.: 8,209 |
Pretty much, the short answer is "not having an active commlink makes you noticeable". People passing on the street will notice you because you're not broadcasting any data, security guards will noticed you because they can't interrogate your ID, Lone Star will notice you because you don't fit in and aren't broadcasting your ID, vehicles might NOT notice you (tee hee...), etcetera.
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Mar 13 2006, 07:56 PM
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#15
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
Since comminks *are* the means of living in 2070, not having one would be out-of-place in most evironments. SR4 even mentions that using certified credsticks instead will often raise and eyebrow to two.
Just like someone who intends to hack it. If they win, they get the prize. ~GTT |
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Mar 13 2006, 08:00 PM
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#16
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Grand Master of Run-Fu Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,840 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Tir Tairngire Member No.: 178 |
Here's the problem, though. You only know all this stuff because your commlink has been interrogated by the other one. Page 211 says that security drones routinely scan for PANs-- but if they don't detect one, they won't be able to raise an alarm. (This is different than having one in hidden mode, which can be detected.) What's more, since the cheapest commlink in the book has a Signal of 1, Lone Star can't detect your commlink signal from more that 40 meters away. If you've got reasonable stealth skills, and fast-talk abilities, you can use a "damaged" commlink, with signal 0, which is undetectable at anything more than 3 meters. (This works really great if you've got the SINner flaw.) If you're not broadcasting data, it's possible that your commlink is damaged, or just too cheap to have much range, or to be able to make itself known inside a spam zone. If you're careful about it, there's no reason why you can't simply turn off your commlink in certain areas, and expect no trouble for doing so. |
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Mar 13 2006, 08:08 PM
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#17
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
Well there is another possibility, a surveillance drone with decent sensors and pilot could be running a program to match Metahumans in it's field of view up to PAN's. If it can't can't match a count of PAN's to a count of sensor contacts it could start running a facial feature ID program (like the ones beginning to be put in to use at airports) against file footage in SIN's and flag the PANless contact and alert a nearby foot patrol. There may be other ways of accomplishing the task of matching PAN's to People as well. In general AAA and AA security zones, and likely even A zones will have pretty proactive security measures, meaning they will look for potential trouble makers. |
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Mar 13 2006, 08:13 PM
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#18
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panda! Group: Members Posts: 10,331 Joined: 8-March 02 From: north of central europe Member No.: 2,242 |
i guess is that a drone is able to connect a person to a PAN, just need some directional finding antenna so that they know from where the PAN signal comes. if they find a person with no PAN signal within range, they will fly closer in case it have a bad signal or something. if that dont help it will fly in close and address the person, while maybe alerting their controller about it (and the controller can then patch into the mic and speaker setup of the drone and ask the person some questions).
its not like they will scream bloddy murder and open fire, but just like a security guard they will address you if they cant spot a "security id" and dont know the person. hell, a drone looking for PAN signals will be more pedantic about it as they cant become bored like a guard can. however i dont see those kinds of drones being deplyed unless its a high end or secure area, where they look for "undesireables". we dont want that beggar soiling the good looks of our neighbourhood, no sir. |
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Mar 13 2006, 08:32 PM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 192 Joined: 19-July 04 From: N 42° 43.799'. W 84° 27.901' Member No.: 6,496 |
Going back to the smartlink thing, they don't have induction pads as part of the system anymore, so you might need a commlink to act as a hub between the gun and your smartlink system. Course, it could be skinlinked with the wireless removed, but there's a commlink use....
also, you sort of need them to make phone calls these days. I think of it like cell phones now--a friend of mine tried to get one of the *really* early models of cell phones-- friggin huge POS-- hooked up as his cell phone. His provider said "hell no, we don't use that technology anymore and we're not going to go back just for you" If you don't mind being extremely difficult to reach, that's fine, but it's easier to use one. basically runners use commlinks because they're people too. And just like a person today would be able to get by without a cellphone and computer, you can get by without a commlink. But it's more convenient to have one than not, and shadowrunners probably want to live as comfortably as anyone else might. That doesn't mean they broadcast their real SINs (if they have them) or even have wireless enabled all the time--it just means they have one. |
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Mar 13 2006, 09:44 PM
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#20
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Technomancer Group: Retired Admins Posts: 4,638 Joined: 2-October 02 From: Champaign, IL Member No.: 3,374 |
That's not exactly accurate. There could be one-way communication between a high-signal device and a low-signal one. For example, a signal 6 drone and a signal 1, or zero, commlink. The signal 6 drone can detect and send information to the commlink, but the commlink cannot respond since it's signal isn't strong enough. In this situation, the drone may move closer in an attempt to establish a communications link. Now, no rules are given for one-way communication, but it's mentioned here:
(emphasis mine) In the past, when this happened, I applied a -6 modifier (like blind fire) to the communicating device because it was not receiving the proper acknowledgment information from the other device. |
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Mar 13 2006, 11:19 PM
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#21
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 327 Joined: 28-January 06 Member No.: 8,209 |
Well... No, to be simple about it, that's wrong. Almost every drone has visual sensors (read: cameras), and a fair number of them have ultrasound sensors, thermographic/low-light sensors, sound sensors, motion sensors, and - of course - the information from all their friends nearby. They have PLENTY of ways to detect a person without having found their network first. In fact, on page 210, the sidebar's example 3 is about a woman who is detected by a drone, and then has to hack the drone because - after having seen her and ATTEMPTED to scan her network (note the ordering there) - it found out her PAN was in hidden mode. |
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Mar 14 2006, 09:12 AM
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#22
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Grand Master of Run-Fu Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,840 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Tir Tairngire Member No.: 178 |
The catch is, the drone detected that her PAN was in hidden mode; in other words, it detected a commlink, tried to query it, and was denied due to the link being in Hidden mode. A PAN in hidden mode sends out a different signal than one in either normal mode, and all three would be different than no signal at all. It didn't home in on her using signal/person match protocols; it simply detected a PAN in hidden mode and responded. In fact, all the example you cite says is that she failed to notice the drone as it scans her. It doesn't say anything about scanning her first, or her network first. However, given the effort required to observe every metahuman in a given area vs. searching the airwaves, it seems that the drone was probably using it's "scanner"-- as in modern-day police scanners, devices that monitor radio signals. Granted, you wouldn't be able to use this trick all the time; but if you duck into a crowded area, particularily a Spam Zone, you should be able to shut off your commlink without setting off alarms all over the place. There's no way that even the best drone sensors can match faces to every single wireless source in the area, and filter out all the advertising content. A smart shadowrunner should be able to duck into a spam zone, shut off his commlink, meander over to a different area, and turn on a different one. |
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Mar 14 2006, 09:18 AM
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#23
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Target Group: Members Posts: 83 Joined: 20-May 05 Member No.: 7,405 |
man a low signal on your part is not some sort of "Shield" against that active sensors of something else.
Also, why couldn't a drone with a pilot of 4 or 5 track all the sources in say a mall? I mean, if there's 5000 people with 3 devices apiece, that's 15,000 devices to parse . . . it's a computer, that's not a big number for it. |
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Mar 14 2006, 03:30 PM
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#24
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Running, running, running Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,220 Joined: 18-October 04 From: North Carolina Member No.: 6,769 |
i agree, that having a low signal won't save you, i just can't imagine how it doesnt lol.... then again, at even a rating 0, you're still broadcasting within 9 feet, LS could have RFID boosters on every lamppost, just for that reason.
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Mar 14 2006, 03:32 PM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 909 Joined: 26-August 05 From: Louisville, KY (Well, Memphis, IN technically but you won't know where that is.) Member No.: 7,626 |
One thing people are forgetting is that when a security system requests your ID from your Comm that it gets your id. Name, SIN, photo, biometric info, even your GPS coordinates. It uses the data your comm sends to match against sensor data. I'm sure it also does a checksum against your SiN data to make sure you are a) legal and b) sans warrant.
Naturally for a runner most of that data are electronic shadows in the net but the photo has to at least match your current appearance. If not the drone will react as though you had a stolen Comm or a fake passport. (Which really should be "move closer to make sure it's not a new hairstyle/nano tatto" or "call for backup and/or someone at a higher paygrade") If it sees a person ~45ft to the northwest and has no Comms broadcasting GPS coordinates near that area then it should switch to a more intensive search; aka scanning for hidden nodes. If it doesn't find a node there you are either a) without Comm or b) in Hidden mode. This would flag you for an alert. Now IMO this should really be a softer first touch than in the SR4 book; do you really want to humiliate the VP of DooDads because his Comm got smashed? Of course, I would have the drone immediately upload all the pertinent data to the main network and call for backup BEFORE politely accosting the citizen. That way if your sensors notice a guy in a 10,000Y suit without an active comm the security command & control can send uniformed guards to "assist" rather than rely on a drone AI. |
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