Dirty Hacker Tricks, Ya got any? Options

[Sumo Neko]

One of my good buddies wants to run a hacker in his next game so we got to talking about all the awful things a hacker could do to fuck with someone. Locking them out of their own commlink, hacking their cyberlimbs, hacking their commlink to go on speaker mode and exclaim "My name is <Insert Actual Name Here>! I'm a sccccaarrry shadowrunner! For a good time comm #234234 etc".

But he suggested we toss it to the wolves... that would mean you fellow dumpshockers.

So what are some terrible thing a hacker could do to someone he really doesn't like?

All I have to say to all of this post and replies is very entertaining. But you had better permanently disable that person or their allies. Little pranks or distractions are all well and good. But if not you will earn an enemy that becomes a relentless stalker and your life may become {smile} (insert Chinese Proverb).

Just remember you reap what you sow.

[The Jake]

Put a black-IC data bomb in a rigger's car, set to go off only when he goes over 120 kilometers per hour.

"POP QUIZ HOTSHOT! There's a BOMB on a BUS! If you go over 60 the bomb is armed! You go under 60, the bomb explodes! What do you do?"

- J.

[Rasumichin]

All I have to say to all of this post and replies is very entertaining. But you had better permanently disable that person or their allies. Little pranks or distractions are all well and good. But if not you will earn an enemy that becomes a relentless stalker and your life may become {smile} (insert Chinese Proverb).

Just remember you reap what you sow.

The real entertainment starts when you link all of these little pranks to one of your enemies.

[Rad]

-use the target's commlink as a proxy for hacking the Zürich Orbital

Wins.

That said, I thought the whole "Upload Troll on human rape sim on a (metaracist) human's link, forged so that your mark is the human star, then blackmail them with it, and leave an agent on their link that will drop them into hotsim and loop it if they call the cops" bit was pretty evil.

From a security standpoint, load your programs with the Optimization option that lets them function at full rating on a lower-system node, then use a crap commlink that can barely handle the IC and whatever else you're running. When someone tries to hack in, they automatically exceed the limit and cause the System rating to degrade even more, leaving their programs stuck at X rating while yours hit them at full strength.

Oh, and it's Juhseung Saja, the Choson-ring IC that knocks you out, pulls your contact list, kills your family, and then comes back to finish you off.

On a more devious note:

Use psychotropic IC to give a wageslave the inexplicable compulsion to buy a rival corp's products. Bonus karma if he's the head of marketing for his division. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Ryu]

A hackers programs run on the hackers commlink, even if they are used on another node.

[Rad]

Eh, maybe I'm getting my terminology wrong--the SR4 hacking rules do read a bit like they were written by Cthulhu.

Why they think learning to hack in an RPG should be almost as complicated as learning how to hack IRL I'll never understand...

...to my understanding, there were certain circumstances where you had to operate on the node you were hacking, and counted against the limit of subscriptions and/or running programs.

In any event I'm sleep deprived and can't fathom such things right now. There's a reason I play combat characters--compared to the hacking, rigging, and vehicle rules, the combat rules almost make sense.

[edit]Hmm, so on a cursory glance, system gives a hard limit to the number of subscriptions, but the degradation only comes into play if you run too many programs on your end. Seems kinda stupid and contradictory. Anyway, you could "use up your bandwith" to prevent hackers from accessing your link, if you kept your subscriptions maxed out, but that seems like it would be more trouble than it's worth.

[Ryu]

Maybe you are confused by the rules for independent agents.

You generally run all programs you need on your commlink. If you want to use them on another node, you need a subscription to that node.

There is a 2*system limit on maintained subscriptions. A node that has more active subscriptions than that has to count them as additional program(s) (might happen on both sides). If you use exploit to gain access, you will usually be able to open a subscription, as that right is usually available with user access and better. Both Exploit and Spoof are used from your node, even if spoofed orders will try not to give that fact away.

Overloading your own nodes with subscriptions until System is reduced to one is possible, but it will do just that. System 1 + Firewall 6 means 7 dice for resisting spoofed orders.
Agents/IC can´t have the optimisation option, so the node can´t run it´s own defensive programs. The key is having as little program load as possible, and since the coming of Unwired, the ergonomic option can take care of that. (2*Agent, 2* ergonomic Analyse, 2* ergonomic Armor, 2* Attack = 4 running programs on a rating 4+ node.)

[Rad]

Maybe you are confused by the rules for independent agents.

You generally run all programs you need on your commlink. If you want to use them on another node, you need a subscription to that node.

There is a 2*system limit on maintained subscriptions. A node that has more active subscriptions than that has to count them as additional program(s) (might happen on both sides). If you use exploit to gain access, you will usually be able to open a subscription, as that right is usually available with user access and better. Both Exploit and Spoof are used from your node, even if spoofed orders will try not to give that fact away.

Overloading your own nodes with subscriptions until System is reduced to one is possible, but it will do just that. System 1 + Firewall 6 means 7 dice for resisting spoofed orders.
Agents/IC can´t have the optimisation option, so the node can´t run it´s own defensive programs. The key is having as little program load as possible, and since the coming of Unwired, the ergonomic option can take care of that. (2*Agent, 2* ergonomic Analyse, 2* ergonomic Armor, 2* Attack = 4 running programs on a rating 4+ node.)

Could you post page refs for some of that?

I was aware of most of it, but I don't recall seeing anything that said excess subscriptions count as additional programs, or that agents can't have the optimization option.

As for egronomic, I was aware of that. My current character has a pair of IC with all egronomic programs named "Shiro" and "Kuro"--sort of a poor-man's version of the "3 Musketeers" prepackaged IC.

[edit] Just re-checked Unwired, you're right about optimization being limited to common, hacking, autosoft, and simsense programs--which makes it all but useless. Still don't see anything about excess subscriptions causing degradation. The BBB just states a limit and nothing else, implying that you can't go over the limit at all.

[Ryu]

Unwired on subscriptions, pg. 55 (like clusters/slaving) I think. Agents can´t have program options, at all, they just run autosofts.

[Rad]

Ah, okay, there it is. Still don't see anything confirming my earlier notion that a hacker fighting IC "in" a node operated from with within the node in question, and was subject to it's system/response limitations.

Damn, and I thought that was a really clever idea I'd come up with. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Ryu]

Optimisation is far from useless - it will, for example, permit your core defensive programs to run on any node without restriction. I would personally also count it for agent load purposes, analogous to the ergonomic option, but that is admittedly a loose interpretation.

[Rad]

Yes, but if those programs are just running off your 'link when you use them (as you say), then being able to use them on other nodes becomes a niche situation that wouldn't come up much, and it's unlikely that a dedicated hacker's own link would have a low system or response.

For independent agents on other nodes, or low-rating agents/drones it might be useful, but it's not going to affect your main use of the program though.

[Stahlseele]

"POP QUIZ HOTSHOT! There's a BOMB on a BUS! If you go over 60 the bomb is armed! You go under 60, the bomb explodes! What do you do?"

- J.

gett off the bus.
fuck that noise, i'm going home and having a beer, watching the news . .

[Fir3y]

"POP QUIZ HOTSHOT! There's a BOMB on a BUS! If you go over 60 the bomb is armed! You go under 60, the bomb explodes! What do you do?"

- J.

Find Neo so that he can fly us off the bus!

[Ryu]

Yes, but if those programs are just running off your 'link when you use them (as you say), then being able to use them on other nodes becomes a niche situation that wouldn't come up much, and it's unlikely that a dedicated hacker's own link would have a low system or response.

For independent agents on other nodes, or low-rating agents/drones it might be useful, but it's not going to affect your main use of the program though.

At least optimised Analyse is very interesting - you can now beef up the defense of all your nodes. Plus you can take a hit to your response without reducing your program ratings. It is also important for stealth, as you´ll want to have that at the highest possible rating. Special-opportunity programs with ratings above 6 are practically useless without, too.

[JFixer]

As for Cyber Security... remember that most Limbs/Ware are DNI, and thus unhackable at all. They're not connected to the Commlink in any way, so can't even be accessed through that. Only the stuff that is independant of you, like an EyeSpy Eyeball drone, has a wireless linkup. Anyone with a nice handfull of greymatter in 2070 is buying a skinlink for their smart-tech, to keep it from getting hacked.

You also cannot hack a datajack. It has no signal rating, and thus does not intercept transmissions. A Datajack is DESIGNED to hook directly into a device, which means a wire, which means no hacking unless you can come at the device from another direction, or hacked it before they connected to it.

You want to connect to someone's ware, you do it with nanite injections and such. Otherwise limbs are pretty well isolated from the signals that allow you to get in and hack.

[ornot]

I'm not sure where you got that idea. I've not got my book on me, but I'm pretty sure that a canon SR4 datajack will communicate wirelessly with all your gear obviating the need for a commlink at all. It's signal of 0 means it can still communicate wirelessly within around 3m.

IIRC there are even rules/suggestions for hacking 'ware in Unwired.

[InfinityzeN]

JFixer, that is pretty much GM call by RAW. Although my call in my games is pretty much as you described it.

This came from the grenades thread, talking about grenades...

But luckily in SR the entire firing chain is electronic, and wireless enabled!

Which leads to the next dirty hacker trick... hacking and activating their grenades while their in the middle of a mission.

[Fir3y]

Unwired specifically mentions that ware can be hacked, though they are usually slaved to something with a high firewall rating, such as a commlink or datajack. Of course GM-fiat trumps the rules if that is your preference.

[KarmaInferno]

I wonder, can a communications link be fitted into a launcher?

Hit a target with it from afar, loaded with some agent that can freeze the guy long enough for you to establish a link and hack the guy.

Or have the loaded Agent hack directly.

Commlink bullets?



-karma

[The Neutronium A...]

Mass hack the wage slaves on their way to work with some sort of dance inducing psychotropic and leave an evidence trail pointing to your target.

[RedeemerofOgar]

I wonder, can a communications link be fitted into a launcher?

Hit a target with it from afar, loaded with some agent that can freeze the guy long enough for you to establish a link and hack the guy.

Or have the loaded Agent hack directly.

Commlink bullets?

Probably far easier to add some sort of grapple system to a minidrone...

[GreyBrother]

Or actually use a friggin minidrone with Gecko Grip.
*Jokerface* Why so complicated?

[JFixer]

Datajack: p331 of 5th Printing
A datajack allows a user to directly ihnterface with any electronic device via a fiberoptic cable. Datajacks also allow users to slot and mentally access chips, softs, and BTLs. Datajacks equipped with their own memory storage for downloading or saving files. Two datajack users can string a fiberoptic cable between themselves ((Thus inviting ruin and disaster...)) to conduct a private mental communication immune to radio interception/eavesdropping.

If they put a new one with wireless capabilities into something, that's like /jacking in with your brain/.

[Lagomorph]

Eh, maybe I'm getting my terminology wrong--the SR4 hacking rules do read a bit like they were written by Cthulhu.

I agree, I definately lost sanity trying to understand them.



As for hacker tricks, negotiate a sizable loan from a mafia using his SIN/bank account information, then forget to pay it back.