Spoof, trojans and the unplug virus, Disabling smartguns and cyberware Options

[Johnny B. Good]

Snip!

I'd imagine that most gangers will not have much 'ware, and anybody that does will have at least some modicum of matrix defense, be it IC or hardwiring to a datajack. It's real easy to nerf hackers that way. All you need to do is say that their wired reflexes are hardwired, but oh lookee their cyberears are connected to their PAN. Bombard them with Goblin Punk and all of a sudden they have a -2 distraction modifier.

Also Adepts are good specialists but not great at most everything else. They're nerfed enough as is in my mind. The cyber is a trade off, they have phenomenal utility, but without proper security they actually pose a risk to the character.

[Saint Sithney]

The building's own security is the Hacker's weapon.

If you didn't bring Drones to the fight, Johnny Corpsec sure as hell did.

[hobgoblin]

Well, things like hacking devices and ware *are* balanced by how slow it is. If it takes 2-3 Complex Actions, that's not abusive.

sadly, most of the really interesting stuff takes longer then that, and in the same time the sammie or mage may have forcibly defused the situation.

[Yerameyahu]

Yeah. I'm saying that's something to shoot for, if your goal is to make hackers more combat-involved. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I enjoy playing a hacker because they have so much to do *outside* combat, and then I just shoot people in combat. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Jaid]

again, the hacker should be doing everything he can to gain access *before the fight begins* in my opinion. if at all possible, see what you can do about getting into the target facility's nodes with a slow hack before you ever start to infiltrate people. at the very least, *find* an exploit, which cannot be detected, and then when you start the infiltration you just need to logon to host (which is when they have a chance of detecting you).

if at all possible, do your best to compromise the security force's commlinks as well. most likely, this may require at least some degree of infiltration before the main run begins, so make sure your hacker is extremely good at getting drones into a facility. on the other hand, any place that has on-call spiders must therefore have their security nodes connected to the matrix (otherwise you couldn't very well just have a spider show up in your system from wherever else they are). find out who the corp contracts their security to, and see if you can get access to some of their employees AIDs. maybe even try to hack the security company's node, although presumably a security company is not going to be an easy target.

but really, think ahead, plan ahead, and prepare ahead of time. if you have to hack into their system before doing anything, and they already have a gun pointed at your head, it's not time to start hacking; you already missed the time when you should have started hacking. even hacking on the fly won't get you in fast enough at that rate.

ideally, by the time you're ready to go in, you should have already bypassed some, if not all or most, of the matrix security, and you should have already subverted some, if not all or most, of the physical security (the ideal situation would be that they use a spider who telecommutes, so that you would have bypassed all matrix security and any physical security that is connected to the matrix, such as maglocks, turrets, drones, cameras, motion sensors, etc).

the key to being an effective hacker is getting into the system *before* you need access, not starting to hack when you need access.

[Daylen]

But why why why would anyone hook their combat ware to a comm? Why hook a smartlink into a computer that also has a comm on it? WHY?! So hackers can have something to do in combat? threads like this seem to come up every now and then but why it is even slightly possible never gets answered other than "oh gee I assume everyone is too dumb to think about that" or even worse for someone expecting combat or preparing for possible combat "oh but that's not something that many can do so no one prepares".

[Yerameyahu]

Because the whole point about data is sharing it. Were you using that TacNet? Oh, maybe you should link in your smartgun. Etc. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

And lets not forget... A person may indeed be smart about data security, but people as a whole are dumb about it... if that were not the case, the current proliferation of Data Crimes would not be as booming of an industry (Multiple Billions of Dollars per year) as it is today... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Just Sayin'

[Jaid]

i would expect most security forces to have their smartguns (if present) tied into the main security system because smartguns are also cameras, and if someone takes the guard's gun it would be very useful to have video coming from it. after all, many criminals will also not be very smart about wireless security.

likewise a biomonitor (if applicable), and any other sensory 'ware or equipment the guard has.

[Mäx]

Why on earth would anyones smartlink be wireless thats what the skinlink is for.

[Yerameyahu]

That's not the point: it has to connect to the commlink, regardless of method, if you want to share that data in any way.

[Johnny B. Good]

But why why why would anyone hook their combat ware to a comm? Why hook a smartlink into a computer that also has a comm on it? WHY?! So hackers can have something to do in combat? threads like this seem to come up every now and then but why it is even slightly possible never gets answered other than "oh gee I assume everyone is too dumb to think about that" or even worse for someone expecting combat or preparing for possible combat "oh but that's not something that many can do so no one prepares".

Different groups will be different levels of smart when it comes to hardwiring 'ware. Most people won't hardwire a a smartlink to their eyes, since it requires an actual cable to work. Cables during combat are bad business, things get wrapped around harms, people trip over them, etc. IF it's a group of gangers, they probably won't even think about matrix security. There aren't THAT many wiz hackers out there. If it's an Ares Firewatch team, they will probably have a matrix overwatch specialist, who set up his systems spesifically to keep you out.

Not everybody is going to be the same level of smart.

[Johnny B. Good]

Why on earth would anyones smartlink be wireless thats what the skinlink is for.

Skinlink is like putting a lazer sight on your gun. Is it a good idea? Yes. Will it improve your accuracy? Probably. Does everybody do it? Nope.

[BobChuck]

Why on earth would anyones smartlink be wireless thats what the skinlink is for.

I actually went into some detail on this. A shadowrunner can EITHER have their gun skinlinked OR wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints. The gun isn't touching anything besides your hand, and gloves aren't going to transmit the skinlink - it's a skinlink, not a "everything touching my body is magically working just like wireless but not actually wireless" device.

There are lots of gloves a shadowrunner (or CorpSec guy) might be wearing, and none of them are going to conduct. AR gloves? send/receive data along the skin, but inside they have important hardware, so they are somewhat insulated. Rappelling Gloves? made out of special materials to prevent damage to the hands, almost certainly not conductive enough. Gecko-tape? Using a gun while wearing those is a bad idea; sure, you can fire it, but how do you put it down? Insulted Gloves? of course not. Leather/Handyman gloves? Designed to protect the hand and specially treated to block moisture; not completely non-conductive, but not conductive enough. Latex Gloves? well, maybe. probably not though.

Want to wear nothing at all on your hands, go right ahead. You'll leave fingerprints (and skin cells / DNA) all over the place, but you can configure your gun's smartlink to be skinlinked instead of wireless. Of course, this also means you can't check the ammo/status/etc without touching it, too.

It's just easier to make it wireless. Unlike your cyber/bio ware, commlink, SIM module, and other gear, you aren't exposing yourself all that much with a wireless smartlink - all a hacker can do is take away a +2 bonus. Unless he hacks it beforehand, which is a separate topic, he can't fiddle or control or change anything, just jam it. Of course, losing that +2 bonus could be the difference between a hit and a miss, but that's the point.

[Johnny B. Good]

I actually went into some detail on this. A shadowrunner can EITHER have their gun skinlinked OR wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints. The gun isn't touching anything besides your hand, and gloves aren't going to transmit the skinlink - it's a skinlink, not a "everything touching my body is magically working just like wireless but not actually wireless" device.

There are lots of gloves a shadowrunner (or CorpSec guy) might be wearing, and none of them are going to conduct. AR gloves? send/receive data along the skin, but inside they have important hardware, so they are somewhat insulated. Rappelling Gloves? made out of special materials to prevent damage to the hands, almost certainly not conductive enough. Gecko-tape? Using a gun while wearing those is a bad idea; sure, you can fire it, but how do you put it down? Insulted Gloves? of course not. Leather/Handyman gloves? Designed to protect the hand and specially treated to block moisture; not completely non-conductive, but not conductive enough. Latex Gloves? well, maybe. probably not though.

Want to wear nothing at all on your hands, go right ahead. You'll leave fingerprints (and skin cells / DNA) all over the place, but you can configure your gun's smartlink to be skinlinked instead of wireless. Of course, this also means you can't check the ammo/status/etc without touching it, too.

It's just easier to make it wireless. Unlike your cyber/bio ware, commlink, SIM module, and other gear, you aren't exposing yourself all that much with a wireless smartlink - all a hacker can do is take away a +2 bonus. Unless he hacks it beforehand, which is a separate topic, he can't fiddle or control or change anything, just jam it. Of course, losing that +2 bonus could be the difference between a hit and a miss, but that's the point.

You're forgetting the spoof command. If you have the poor sod's access ID, you can make the smartlink do whatever you want. Turn off, display a wrong image, mis-calibrate so that it actually makes him worse at shooting, or make his clip eject.

[Mäx]

I actually went into some detail on this. A shadowrunner can EITHER have their gun skinlinked OR wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints.

Thats why you skinlink the gloves your wearing, in my Sashas case hardliner gloves incirporating AR gloves technology.
There's no limit on what you can skinlink. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)

[Karoline]

Thats why you skinlink the gloves your wearing, in my Sashas case hardliner gloves incirporating AR gloves technology.
There's no limit on what you can skinlink. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)

Or why you read skinlink, and find that it says that it actually operates a couple of inches away from your skin and isn't blocked by clothing, allowing you to wear regular gloves and still be skinlinked to your gun.

Edit: Hmm, actually it doesn't (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) Could have sworn I'd seen something about it working through clothing and such...

[Mäx]

Or why you read skinlink, and find that it says that it actually operates a couple of inches away from your skin and isn't blocked by clothing, allowing you to wear regular gloves and still be skinlinked to your gun.

Well that works too, but she "needs" the skinlink for the AR gloves anyway.

[Yerameyahu]

It *should* require direct skin contact. That's kind of the whole point. …And it should cause cancer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Doc Chase]

…And it should cause cancer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Nobody's lived long enough to verify that claim. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Karoline]

…And it should cause cancer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Everything does that.

Edit: Actually, is cancer even still a problem in SR? I would imagine with all the gene therapy they can do and such, they could cure cancer. Maybe not everyone could afford it, but it could be done I'd think.

[Udoshi]

I actually went into some detail on this. A shadowrunner can EITHER have their gun skinlinked OR wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints. The gun isn't touching anything besides your hand, and gloves aren't going to transmit the skinlink - it's a skinlink, not a "everything touching my body is magically working just like wireless but not actually wireless" device.

AR gloves! They have a device rating.
Skinlink accessory! Compatable with any electronic device!
Match made in heaven! Yes!

[Yerameyahu]

Karoline, there are rules for cancer in the cybermancy stuff, I think? Otherwise, no clue. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Hehe.

Bleh, who uses AR gloves? That's why god made trodes.

[Karoline]

There is some sort of tumor/cancer thing that is specifically kept alive by the 'brain in jar' technology. That would seem to suggest that it could be otherwise cured.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

I actually went into some detail on this. A shadowrunner can EITHER have their gun skinlinked OR wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints. The gun isn't touching anything besides your hand, and gloves aren't going to transmit the skinlink - it's a skinlink, not a "everything touching my body is magically working just like wireless but not actually wireless" device.

There are lots of gloves a shadowrunner (or CorpSec guy) might be wearing, and none of them are going to conduct. AR gloves? send/receive data along the skin, but inside they have important hardware, so they are somewhat insulated. Rappelling Gloves? made out of special materials to prevent damage to the hands, almost certainly not conductive enough. Gecko-tape? Using a gun while wearing those is a bad idea; sure, you can fire it, but how do you put it down? Insulted Gloves? of course not. Leather/Handyman gloves? Designed to protect the hand and specially treated to block moisture; not completely non-conductive, but not conductive enough. Latex Gloves? well, maybe. probably not though.

Want to wear nothing at all on your hands, go right ahead. You'll leave fingerprints (and skin cells / DNA) all over the place, but you can configure your gun's smartlink to be skinlinked instead of wireless. Of course, this also means you can't check the ammo/status/etc without touching it, too.

It's just easier to make it wireless. Unlike your cyber/bio ware, commlink, SIM module, and other gear, you aren't exposing yourself all that much with a wireless smartlink - all a hacker can do is take away a +2 bonus. Unless he hacks it beforehand, which is a separate topic, he can't fiddle or control or change anything, just jam it. Of course, losing that +2 bonus could be the difference between a hit and a miss, but that's the point.

Easy way to avoid Skinlinking the gloves as well (Wearing gloves with skinlink and smartlink)... have the palm cut out... there... skin to gun contact, and your fingerprints will not compromise you in any way...... perfect, and I even save 50 nuyen or so doing it that way...