Copy Protection Noshing, Taking a new look at Programs Options

[Spike]

The recent questions threads about the matrix and multiple copies of programs, Armies of Agents and 'what happens if I load Agent X into a commlink that is not on the wireless, turn it off.... what happens to my Agent...' and other stuff has got me thinking about the copy protection in the 2070 era and 'how things work'. Not everything is going to be rational or practical, but then not everything in life is... ask any five year old.

Before I move into heavy speculation, I'm going to put forth the fact that I haven't exactly tried to compare this to RAW. I'm working on speculation, after all, and I think I'm sort of working inside the 'gaps' of the game but I might stray a bit.

Now, we know that a commlink can run a set number of 'programs' at one time, but there isn't a limit on how many are loaded, that all nodes in a PAN can be used for storage, even if it might not make obvious sense...(whaddya mean my browse software is on my assault rifle I had to leave behind!??)

All of this is known. I've already speculated that you can abstract out and essentially handwave hordes of identical programs into the single die roll... multiple copies become fluffy ways to describe your 'attack' or 'Agent' rather than dice multiples....as you can bet your sweet bippy that hackers in 2070 are already doing shit like this, after all, tehre are more of them than there are us IRL people speculating on what they might try...


We also know that copy protection can be broken in a threshold 10-20 test, and a glitch can ruin the original you are trying to copy. Now, lets look at it a bit closer.


Lets suggest that at least half the copy protection is physical. Programs come encoded on special datasofts. They actually RUN off that datasoft, that soft has to be slotted for you to have access to it, period. Now, you can make a copy of it that is your active Matrix copy, and that copy can run anywhere you tell it to run... but you can only have that one copy from that one soft. The older copy is automatically overwritten by the 'Soft' when you try to load up a new copy, the copy is in constant communication with the sourcecode on the 'soft', and if it ever loses that contact, it self deletes.

Breaking the copy protection allows you to copy the data onto another datasoft, and even have mulitple softs running the same 'program', thus multiple copies can be running concurrently, each communicating with their own parent soft. But they can't just run mulitple iterations, the nature of the software is a check against that.

The only way to beat THAT is to either recode the software, removing these built in checks.... thus making it entirely a 'net entity', or code software from the ground up to work in that fashion. Either one of which will essentially be an extended 'building' task, taking months to years to accomplish for high end software.

Now, you CAN do it, so the problems with hackers with thousands of agents running around (even with the abstraction element) is still around. I mean, what I'm suggesting is a violation of all the basic Matrix programming 'laws', but those laws were designed by the corps to try to keep a lock on their 'intellectual property', rather than the nature of data flow.

But not entirely a problem. See, when you run a normal Program (with the 'base station' datasoft slotted in) you can fairly easily reload the program under normal operations. It isn't lost when the Node its on is shut down, destroyed or otherwise corrupted, the actual hardwired program is fairly durable. Not so much the hacked 'warez. First of all the uploaded copies might be more vulnerable to attack software, lacking teh error correcting hard data to refer back to. Second, once a given copy is corrupted it's useless. You can't fix it, re-rez it, anything. If the node goes down, the program is lost as well. Sure, you might be able to completely reload it from the original copy you made, that only makes sense after all, but you lose everything that active copy did prior to that. Never mind that the original hardcopy is, by default, not going to be hardwired into the architecture of the chip it's in. That means if it's loaded up on your commlink and you get hit by an attack program there is a chance the hacked ware is going to get corrupted (that's what attacks DO...)

But the big issue is this: Only hacked warez can be found 'online' in data havens. And those strictly E-copies (to use old terms) are already probably full of bugs, not to mention often being out of date. You CAN"T get reliable programs out of a Datahaven, not unless you can get a hardwired chip too.

Now, this makes the Matrix a tad more Gibsonian. A 'Chinese Military Icebreaker' is a real, and valuable thing, because it IS so hard to get ahold of, or to share. The GM can hand teh player a 'One Use Super Hack' Datasoft and make it mean something. Is it Shadowrun? Maybe not, but I don't think I've just re-written the Matrix either

[Eleazar]

[Spike]

Eleazer:

One: this is just for SR4

Two: because if it wasn't I'd have to know what the fuck you were just talking about. And I don't. Go slowly and gently on me, I'm lucky I can use forums, ok? :eek:


I mean, I've seen people talking about Warez type stuff in Shadowrun (including magic formula) on this forum, and I'm trying to get into the hows and whys of it. Like most stuff you get is strictly homebrewed junk, and the goodstuff is so famous that it's already patched over and so forth. Now I'm trying to talk about the promulgation of copy protection broken programs in the wireless age and how they function, primarily in relation to the average shadowrunnner, but linked into fluffy reasons how it actually works that way to head off 'but in the real world...' followed by a hell of a lot of technobabble that makes me cry in the corner like a hungry angry baby.

[cetiah]

[Spike]

Cetiah:

I know copy protection can be broken. I even repeated the outline of the basic rules. I'm assuming that for commercial programs that its the vital first step before improvements can be made. I'm not sure what your post is saying? :|

[DireRadiant]

There are currently 7 million + copies of WOW out there today. Probably lots more copies, at home I have installed it on two desktops and one laptop. I installed it from the single box set I purchased. Cool, I made lots of copies, it was easy. I can play it on any of my machines. Easy.

I can only play running one copy at a time. I have one license, and must be logged in and authenticated at all times to actually use that software.

I get running patches and updates every time I use the software.

I can easily see this model extended to all software.

Yes, you can hack accounts, you can run a cracked copy with friends on cracked servers. But it is not as simple as hack once and distribute an infinite amount of copies. It's not like the days of Office 95 where if you knew the correct 14 digit code you could install as many working copies as you wanted.

Besides, its 2070. Who knows exactly how it works then.

[cetiah]

[kzt]

[Eleazar]

Shadowrun programs don't require you to connect to a server to use, nor apparently do they require updates. Though I don't see how WoW is pertinent to Shadowrun as it has already been cleared up we are speaking in Shadowrun terms and not real life. So we really only have to go by what the book says. Right? In fact, I can't see anywhere in the SR4 book that says programs need updates from the software developer to properly function. Even if they did, the hacker would still receive these updates because no where in the book does it say removing copyright protection limits the use of the program or cripples it. So it is assumed the full functionality is there and the program still receives updates. That is, if Shadowrun programs even need updates to begin with.

One thing any hacker is going to do when they crack a piece of software is make sure it doesn't "phone home". My guess is the only way you tell a program is cracked or not is by examining the program on the commlink where it is stored. You could do this by actually physically having the commlink or by hacking into it.

[Ravor]

Well my question would be why is it 'broken' for Deckers to be able to crack the copy protection on their software and then upload it to the Matrix for anyone else who wanted it? Rating 5 programs are easy enough to get your hands on that starting characters have them by the bundle, and even if your Decker buddy gave you his wiz Rating 6 programs unless you have a SOTA link yourself then it's rather pointless as they are degraded to whatever your crappy link is. (This is one of the reasons that whenever I actually get to play instead of bing the DM I geek any team member who is dumb enough to claim that just because they are a Mage, Adept, Sammie, ect they don't need to buy a decent link for themselves. And note that I almost always play a Mage.)

Still as a house-rule I'd grant a bonus to a Decker attacking or defending against a program which he had taken the time to study the source-code of, that way although its possible for a Decker to give away his programs for free, very, very few actually would give away anything that they actually plan on using themselves.

(Of course, even when playing my mage, I always buy all of my programs from my own contacts and not acepting 'free-bies' from our team Decker, just in case she has decided to install a backdoor or something into the code, after all my character doesn't have the knowledge to check it out himself, and she'd rightfully kill my mage if I dared to give her code to a third party for examine.)

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[nathanross]

I think the idea of licenses in Shadowrun, especially for hacking utilities is absurd. What kind of hacker walks into best buy and lays down 6000 for the newest, hottest Exploit program. Not only would they trace it back to you, but it is illegal right from the get go. Its a possession prosecution.

The copy protection on it is either from the corp it was stolen from, or from the underworld dealer that wants to sell one to every shadow runner. There are some dealers of pirated software (The Choson Ring), and I think you should be able to purchase pre-broken software from them. This should not be cheap though, seeing as they spent a good deal of time cracking that code, and will want their cut.

As for updates, I'm waiting till Wireless comes out hopefully with SOTA rules and cost to stay on the cutting edge (which is where all professional criminals should be).

[Spike]

I get this surreal feeling that no one is actually commenting on what I wrote in the OP...

Maybe I'm just confused. :eek:

[Jestercat]

You guys have quoted very well the dangers of the current state of DRM, and why many parliaments are discussing illegalizing the current state of it outright.

Anyway, here's the skinny from a guy in the field (telecom software engineering). In SR, there *should* be a way to get ahold of cracked hacking programs, or freeware versions thereof. Also, a bonus to attack/defend against hacking programs whose code you know is only somewhat reasonable - it's mathematically proven that "security through obscurity" is just Microsoft smoke and mirrors. Open source stuff is usually *more* secure and to translate that to SR, harder to defend against, because more people have gone over the code to find vulnerabilities.

Seriously speaking, "buying" hacking programs to me should be in BP at creation, representing time and resources, and later on upgrades can be written or found on the Matrix. The idea of buying hacking programs in the traditional sense is utterly absurd, no matter whose Sixth World you're in. It just violates all semblance of common sense.

...This is why I don't play hackers often. :P

[pestulens]

[Jestercat]

I haven't tested the "agent smith problem" yet, but I'm about to tonight. I'm playing a hacker well-connected to a data haven admin, and with DRM Systems knowledge 6(cracks 8) so even if the GM makes me roll all those break copy protection checks through the game, I WILL have my agent smiths. Likely he won't even bother because he knows I'm going to succeed, and it's in my background.

As for balancing technomancers, I'm not sure if hackers are too good or technos are too weak yet. Technomancers get RIDICULOUS later on, but hackers start out extremely powerful. Personally I think being a hacker is a good way to be strong in the Matrix while still having other abilities, whereas being a Technomancer is the slow path to Matrix godhood. I do find them underpowered at the start compared to hackers, though...big time.