Cyberdecks & Legality, quick question Options

[hp_warcraft]

What is the highest legal value for an MPCP in a cyberdeck (assuming no illegal persona programs )?

Why yes, I am establishing my decker's "other identity" - how did you guess? :D

[Backgammon]

Any deck with masking is illegal, so you'd have to put 0 in Masking. Otherwise, I don't think there is a limit.

[hp_warcraft]

Found it! Matrix pg. 20: " in most locales, the MPCP of a cyberterminal is legally limited to rating 4 or less."

[Zeel De Mort]

Ouch! MPCP 4 and no Masking. Although you can get permits for them, it seems.

Does it say anywhere which utilities or utility ratings are illegal? Can't find that info..

[Cray74]

MPCP 4 is the legal limit.
Any level of Masking takes a lot of explaining, if not being outright illegal.
Any level of Evasion is also dubious, though less so than Masking.

[Madda_Gaska]

Matrix- Pg: 20-21:
Evasion legality: 3P-S
Masking legality: 2-S

I can't find the legality rating for MPCP>4 at the moment, but it does state that "in most locales, the MPCP of a cyberterminal is legally limited to rating 4 or less."
I would assume one could get a standard permit for that though, as having MPCP 8 or 12 still isn't going to make you less detectable by itself (as masking does).

[BitBasher]

Yeah, but legal cyberecks dont even have a spot for a masking chip. It's easy to tell if a deck is legal or not, and it's pointless to have a rating 12 deck with no chance at masking. You're kind of screwed either way, either the deck is legal or it's not. Why have a rating 12 deck that you have a permit for but cant use for anything illegal because it has no masking?

[Traks]

You know, even in future admins will want to have the fastest PC's available :)
Of course corps will usually use masking and much nastier stuff, but still...

[Cray74]

[shadd4d]

However, there was something in VR 2.0 stating that a legal MCPC doesn't even have slots for Masking. If there's an empty slot (or two), chances are someone can point the finger and say "that's a cyberdeck."

Don

[DigitalMage]

[Cray74]

[shadd4d]

It states somewhere that they are seperate chips. Your MCPC, as I understand it, has 5 slots: BSME plus icon chip.

Don

[Cray74]

[hp_warcraft]

I assume that any good decker could gut a legal cyberdeck and install the components from their highly illegal "working" deck, but presumably security professionals are going to be able to detect the alterations.

I wanted a completely legal cyberdeck that will contain only information searching
utilities and a Search frame or agent. A lot of my work as a decker is simply compiling background checks on people or places, and I can compile a preliminary report from entirely legal sources. When I need better info, I can arrange with my team for a safe jackpoint and bring out the 'big guns', but when I'm legally staying at a nice, secure hotel under a fake SIN I don't want compromised, why wander around with a million + nuyen of illegal matrixware? :eek:

[Madda_Gaska]

Matrix, Pg: 167 lists a set of actual cyberterminals. They run with Cold ASIST, no masking, no evasion, thus are fully legal. They weigh in at 1,300-7,500 nuyen. Slot a browse 6 and a frame/agent on there, and you have a cheap, legal searching method.

Alternative: If it's a luxury hotel, SSG, pg: 121 suggests that public dataterms in A and AA areas may well have low end cyberterminals. You may be able to take an optical disc in with your utilities, and search to your heart's content on a 'free' (cost of calls not included) cyberterminal.