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.
Full Version: Commlink - Why bother?
WIthout a Comlink, how are you going access your Smartlink, how would you access anything?
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.
| QUOTE |
| Having no Commlink in SR is like someone today saying they have no phone or computer, it's kind of ridiculous. |
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.
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.
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.
| QUOTE (Magus) |
| WIthout a Comlink, how are you going access your Smartlink, how would you access anything? |
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?
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
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
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.
| QUOTE (shadowbod) |
| So apart from the 'everyone else has got one' reason, is there any other reason to have a commlink? |
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.
| QUOTE (hobgoblin @ Mar 13 2006, 01:52 PM) |
| 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... |
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.
| QUOTE |
| its not so much about being "invisible" as being just another joe on the street |
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.
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.
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.
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.
| QUOTE (shadowbod) |
| 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? |
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.
| QUOTE |
| If a comm link is stolen, can the theif use the SIN etc contained within? |
Just like someone who intends to hack it. If they win, they get the prize.
~GTT
| QUOTE |
| 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. |
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.
| QUOTE (Cain) |
| 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. |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
| QUOTE (Cain) |
| 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. |
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:
| QUOTE ("p. 213 under Signal") |
| Note that for two devices to communicate with each other (as opposed to one-way communication), the devices must be within the range of the weakest signal rating involved. |
(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.
| QUOTE (Cain) |
| 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.) |
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.
| QUOTE (neko128 @ Mar 13 2006, 04:19 PM) | ||
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. |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
or basicly the drone calls the rigger sitting overwatch, and he jumps into it to do the talking...
should not be hard.
i can allready see the LS grunt sitting in a backroom somewhere, looking at a empty wall as he have AR feeds coming in from all over. or maybe he is in plain clothes and sitting on a bench or moving about while his drones are doing the checking?
still, kigmatzomat brings up a interesting point about having multiple SINs. you biometric data would be the same on all of them. so if they ran a check on them without attaching stuff like a name they could potentialy get multiple hits. that should make any person go "hmm, somethings not right here".
but if all they want is to verify a face with a name, they could end up feeding both into the system and get a match, and then tell the person to "get lost". question is, would the system allso display partial matches?
should not be hard.
i can allready see the LS grunt sitting in a backroom somewhere, looking at a empty wall as he have AR feeds coming in from all over. or maybe he is in plain clothes and sitting on a bench or moving about while his drones are doing the checking?
still, kigmatzomat brings up a interesting point about having multiple SINs. you biometric data would be the same on all of them. so if they ran a check on them without attaching stuff like a name they could potentialy get multiple hits. that should make any person go "hmm, somethings not right here".
but if all they want is to verify a face with a name, they could end up feeding both into the system and get a match, and then tell the person to "get lost". question is, would the system allso display partial matches?
| QUOTE (hobgoblin) |
| still, kigmatzomat brings up a interesting point about having multiple SINs. you biometric data would be the same on all of them. so if they ran a check on them without attaching stuff like a name they could potentialy get multiple hits. that should make any person go "hmm, somethings not right here". |
That depends entirely on how specific the data is: fingerprints, retinal scans, or dna would have a possibilty of catching multiple false SINs, however..."1.9 meters tall, 82kg, blue eyes, black hair" is going to get so many false positives as to be utterly worthless for anything other than a quick "is this the person that the commlink's broadcasted SIN data says it is?" (sort of like the "can I see your ID?" that you get at stores sometimes.)
I'm basing my response off the things I've read here so far, as my own SR4 stuff comes this week. But I was thinking, there has to be a way around it. I mean its not just runners that benefit from privacy, security forces, law enforcement, etc would need it too right? Unless you always worked your investigations through surrogates or something, you would have undercover law types constantly getting their cover blown if you were able to compare biometrics and the like. On the higher end of the food chain, powerful, paranoid corp types would have to have a way to get around potential blackmail info being gathered when they go visit joygirls, etc. (Sure corps have their OWN joygirls for that purpose) or allowing the competition to easily track their movements in the cityscape.
Well, in the case of undercover law types at least one would presume that they have people in the law enforcement agency who would provide the cover background and possibly suppress or temporarily remove from the publicly accessible system the real ID info.
anyone that can issue a real SIN can allso issue a fake SIN.
the trick is to get them to issue a SIN that they think is real but is fake. kinda like getting a drivers licence under a fake name
the trick is to get them to issue a SIN that they think is real but is fake. kinda like getting a drivers licence under a fake name
I kinda wonder if certain comlinks also have a hacker like override/erase datatrail function to avoid drawing too much attention. I mean like say you're a Federal Agent, would your default comlink have a "active yeah I'm a fed" mode, and a sorta-passive "I'm a fed but ignore the fact you notice I have a gun and erase the fact that you noticed I had a gun" to a drone or security sensor up to a certain level? Must be a pain in the ass otherwise for any plainclothes cop/federal agent that would otherwise keep triggering something like a mall's security scanners or something.
| QUOTE (Voran) |
| I kinda wonder if certain comlinks also have a hacker like override/erase datatrail function to avoid drawing too much attention. I mean like say you're a Federal Agent, would your default comlink have a "active yeah I'm a fed" mode, and a sorta-passive "I'm a fed but ignore the fact you notice I have a gun and erase the fact that you noticed I had a gun" to a drone or security sensor up to a certain level? Must be a pain in the ass otherwise for any plainclothes cop/federal agent that would otherwise keep triggering something like a mall's security scanners or something. |
Well, keep in mind that the mall may well not be UCAS territory, but rather sovereign turf of whatever corp owns it. With the patchwork of "nationalities" in Shadowrun, it's likely that undercover agents of a government simply broadcast illegal fake information most of the time, rather than try to negotiate access to all of the drones and security nets in another entity's territory.
| QUOTE (Azathfeld) | ||
Well, keep in mind that the mall may well not be UCAS territory, but rather sovereign turf of whatever corp owns it. With the patchwork of "nationalities" in Shadowrun, it's likely that undercover agents of a government simply broadcast illegal fake information most of the time, rather than try to negotiate access to all of the drones and security nets in another entity's territory. |
Exactly. And while it's technically illegal to do this, as long as the person doesn't actually do anything obnoxious (shoot someone, hack something, etcetera) the corp will at the very least let them go on "professional courtesy".
If they didn't, and some corp nabbed a UCAS plainclothes cop, next time their security forces wanted to nab a runner out in the Barrens, the Metroplex Guard may take exception to the "armed extra-territorial excursion"...
a plain clothes cop is somthing totaly diffrent from a under cover cop.
a plain clothes cop carrys a badge.
a under cover cop will not carry any kind of id that can make people think he is a cop (that would be very dangerus at worst). most of the time they have a secondary id that they use.
atleast thats my understanding of it. so lets not use those terms interchangeably...
ok, so if a plain clothes cop walked onto a corp compound without first id-ing himself there could be a problem, but hardly the kind of problem a under cover cop would have in the same scenario...
so a plain clothes cop, alteast while on duty, would present that fact when interrogated by a drone or similar for id. most likely it will show up even if he is off duty as well (when is realy a cop off duty?).
it allso brings to question what databases a normal id sweep checks. i would hazard a guess to say it covers a credit check and national/corp id check(s). but going any deeper then that would realy require a high rating check. and allso be performed by someone that wants to read up on the background of the person, not just trying to verify someones identity...
a plain clothes cop carrys a badge.
a under cover cop will not carry any kind of id that can make people think he is a cop (that would be very dangerus at worst). most of the time they have a secondary id that they use.
atleast thats my understanding of it. so lets not use those terms interchangeably...
ok, so if a plain clothes cop walked onto a corp compound without first id-ing himself there could be a problem, but hardly the kind of problem a under cover cop would have in the same scenario...
so a plain clothes cop, alteast while on duty, would present that fact when interrogated by a drone or similar for id. most likely it will show up even if he is off duty as well (when is realy a cop off duty?).
it allso brings to question what databases a normal id sweep checks. i would hazard a guess to say it covers a credit check and national/corp id check(s). but going any deeper then that would realy require a high rating check. and allso be performed by someone that wants to read up on the background of the person, not just trying to verify someones identity...
You could also just say the battery is dead too.
Look how often your cell battery is dead today.
Look how often your cell battery is dead today.
| QUOTE (hobgoblin) |
| a plain clothes cop is somthing totaly diffrent from a under cover cop. |
I'm not sure that's true in 2070, when anyone can query your PAN and get your ID information. A plainclothes cop, to be carrying a "badge", would have to be broadcasting information that marked him as a cop. If he's not broadcasting, then I think it's reasonable to say he's undercover.
One way to beet COM link tracking is to buy only a response chip, connect it to a skin link modal and have every pan devise operating skin link only. You loos AR but keep smart gun.
Another one I do for my mage is to have an agent spoofing my data trail every second (it gets 3 initiative passes on a 3 second round) I don’t have to do any work at all. Even the hacker can forget to do his but not me.
In some high security arias they monitor for people without active COM links broadcasting your name and SIN. If you’re in hidden mode of don’t have a COM link security will take you in for questioning. In other places it’s only impolite not to have your pan active. socially you only need to give a name, not a sin.
What surprises me is that in only 5 years a convenience went from brand new to legally required to enter government facilities when it costs 2 months low lifestyle, and there are a large number of people living hand to mouth on low lifestyle that have SINs (cleaners, low level retail assistants).
Finally some of the security architectures I will be wrighting up formally after work tomorrow could be used buy a runner on there pan, it means carrying a pile of COM links but it can be done.
edward
Another one I do for my mage is to have an agent spoofing my data trail every second (it gets 3 initiative passes on a 3 second round) I don’t have to do any work at all. Even the hacker can forget to do his but not me.
In some high security arias they monitor for people without active COM links broadcasting your name and SIN. If you’re in hidden mode of don’t have a COM link security will take you in for questioning. In other places it’s only impolite not to have your pan active. socially you only need to give a name, not a sin.
What surprises me is that in only 5 years a convenience went from brand new to legally required to enter government facilities when it costs 2 months low lifestyle, and there are a large number of people living hand to mouth on low lifestyle that have SINs (cleaners, low level retail assistants).
Finally some of the security architectures I will be wrighting up formally after work tomorrow could be used buy a runner on there pan, it means carrying a pile of COM links but it can be done.
edward
| QUOTE (Edward) |
| One way to beet COM link tracking is to buy only a response chip, connect it to a skin link modal and have every pan devise operating skin link only. You loos AR but keep smart gun. |
A Response "chip" is useless if you're not running a System. With no System rating, you can't run any programs or have any subscribers. There's no network, and no device.
| QUOTE |
| Another one I do for my mage is to have an agent spoofing my data trail every second (it gets 3 initiative passes on a 3 second round) I don’t have to do any work at all. Even the hacker can forget to do his but not me. |
Why do you think a hacker wouldn't do the same thing? Of course, a hacker would probably have the ability to just modify the hardware, as well, and not risk failing the roll.
| QUOTE |
What surprises me is that in only 5 years a convenience went from brand new to legally required to enter government facilities when it costs 2 months low lifestyle, |
The Meta Link costs all of 100 nuyen.
Edit: That's not include the 200 nuyen for the OS, though. So 300 nuyen. Not nearly even a month of low lifestyle, although it is enough for infinite months of street.
| QUOTE (Azathfeld) | ||
I'm not sure that's true in 2070, when anyone can query your PAN and get your ID information. A plainclothes cop, to be carrying a "badge", would have to be broadcasting information that marked him as a cop. If he's not broadcasting, then I think it's reasonable to say he's undercover. |
thing is that there is no hard and fast rules (that i can recall or find) about what shows up on a id check. hell, im not even sure if any joe of the street can do a check, or if its something special (most likely its hidden on some page, but i have checked under SIN and there is nothing about it) that only some people can do.
hell, it may even be that plain clothes cops have special comlinks issued that can show and hide their "badge" when the cop feels like it (or maybe they just jump from hidden to broadcast?).
| QUOTE (hobgoblin) | ||||
thing is that there is no hard and fast rules (that i can recall or find) about what shows up on a id check. hell, im not even sure if any joe of the street can do a check, or if its something special (most likely its hidden on some page, but i have checked under SIN and there is nothing about it) that only some people can do. hell, it may even be that plain clothes cops have special comlinks issued that can show and hide their "badge" when the cop feels like it (or maybe they just jump from hidden to broadcast?). |
I guess this is probably stuff that's open to individual interpretation. I'd say that, in my games, based on current laws that require a cop to identify himself if challenged, that a cop who's not operating undercover would be required to set his PAN to answer with his identity when asked. Similarly, I would think that any official PAN checkpoints, anyone with anything they wish to hide, and significant portions of the population who are either curious or mischievous would set their PANs to query anyone nearby to see if they were an officer.
OK, just to make sure I follow...
1. EVERYONE (for all practical purposes) has a comlink.
Just like everyone has a cell phone.
2. All commlinks broadcast (more or less) a PROFILE.
Just like on AIM or MYSPACE, Brief, or in depth, at the Users Discretion
3. Your PROFILE is going to broadcast (unless you tell it not to) your basic info to everyone who wants to see it.
I'm in the pub, see a cute girl, I query her PROFILE, and it tells me her name is Molly, and she likes Irish Beer and Mercenaries.
4. Appointed personnel, in Protect/Serve Roles, can further query my COMLINK to get my crucial (and private data) such as SIN, Licences, etc, etc.
The Star, Corp Sec, Etc
5. If my COMLINK is set to an OFF or HIDDEN position, said Appointed Personnel may jack me up.
Because they cannot see or validate my license to be there. Be it SIN, Employee ID, so on and so forth
6. If my COMLINK is set to an ACTIVE or PASSIVE mode, my SIN CAN (or will?) be run through NCIC (or its equvilant) to see if it's been stolen, or if I have an outstanding warrants.
So, is that SOCIAL aspect of Commlinks, or did I miss something?
1. EVERYONE (for all practical purposes) has a comlink.
Just like everyone has a cell phone.
2. All commlinks broadcast (more or less) a PROFILE.
Just like on AIM or MYSPACE, Brief, or in depth, at the Users Discretion
3. Your PROFILE is going to broadcast (unless you tell it not to) your basic info to everyone who wants to see it.
I'm in the pub, see a cute girl, I query her PROFILE, and it tells me her name is Molly, and she likes Irish Beer and Mercenaries.
4. Appointed personnel, in Protect/Serve Roles, can further query my COMLINK to get my crucial (and private data) such as SIN, Licences, etc, etc.
The Star, Corp Sec, Etc
5. If my COMLINK is set to an OFF or HIDDEN position, said Appointed Personnel may jack me up.
Because they cannot see or validate my license to be there. Be it SIN, Employee ID, so on and so forth
6. If my COMLINK is set to an ACTIVE or PASSIVE mode, my SIN CAN (or will?) be run through NCIC (or its equvilant) to see if it's been stolen, or if I have an outstanding warrants.
So, is that SOCIAL aspect of Commlinks, or did I miss something?
I'm not sure if you'd roll this into "social" or not, but your commlink is also your wallet/credstick for most money-handling purposes. A lot of places frown on the use of certified cred now.
| QUOTE ("bustedkarma") |
| So, is that SOCIAL aspect of Commlinks, or did I miss something? |
sounds about right...
alltho the profile may well be stored on a seperate node, and the comlink only broadcasting a pointer to said profile. still, that would effectively be the same as broadcasting a profile.
| QUOTE ("shrike30") |
| I'm not sure if you'd roll this into "social" or not, but your commlink is also your wallet/credstick for most money-handling purposes. A lot of places frown on the use of certified cred now. |
its fully possible that what the system does when you use your comlink to pay is to ask for the sin and the bank account to send the bill to. the system then verifiy that the account is attached to the sin, and that the sin is valid.
then most likely the bank will query the user of the account and sin to verify the amount.
a interesting real life system is showing up more and more here in norway.
if i want to, i can have diffrent companys that i repeatedly make payments to (like say for a mobile phone subscription or whatever) just send the amount to my bank. ill get a email prompting me to log onto the banks web service, and verify the payment.
hell, there is plans to roll out a digital identification system, so that one can do all kinds of paperwork online...
| QUOTE (bustedkarma) |
| OK, just to make sure I follow... 1. EVERYONE (for all practical purposes) has a comlink. Just like everyone has a cell phone. 2. All commlinks broadcast (more or less) a PROFILE. Just like on AIM or MYSPACE, Brief, or in depth, at the Users Discretion 3. Your PROFILE is going to broadcast (unless you tell it not to) your basic info to everyone who wants to see it. I'm in the pub, see a cute girl, I query her PROFILE, and it tells me her name is Molly, and she likes Irish Beer and Mercenaries. 4. Appointed personnel, in Protect/Serve Roles, can further query my COMLINK to get my crucial (and private data) such as SIN, Licences, etc, etc. The Star, Corp Sec, Etc 5. If my COMLINK is set to an OFF or HIDDEN position, said Appointed Personnel may jack me up. Because they cannot see or validate my license to be there. Be it SIN, Employee ID, so on and so forth 6. If my COMLINK is set to an ACTIVE or PASSIVE mode, my SIN CAN (or will?) be run through NCIC (or its equvilant) to see if it's been stolen, or if I have an outstanding warrants. So, is that SOCIAL aspect of Commlinks, or did I miss something? |
1. Basically. Obviously, there's an underclass of SINless folks without comms, but if anything they're more proliferate than cell phones are today. It's more like as common as a regular phone.
2. Yeah, although you can certainly turn that off. Most users probably won't, and in some situations it would be impolite or illegal to do so.
3. Right.
4. Yep. Then, from your SIN, they can find other information, like country of birth, age, and initials.
5. Yep.
6. Can. Will, in certain situations, such as when you're on UCAS property, or within a corporate office. If your ID's fake, the querying system will roll against its rating to pierce it.
A comlink checker would be a great thing for organized crime. Sniff out cops who aren't running fake ids, raise flags on anyone running hidden or off comlink. Helps narrow down the potentials.
Useful for runners too, set it up to monitor your safe house area, and it might tip you off to people approaching, especially people approaching with their comlinks off/hidden.
Useful for runners too, set it up to monitor your safe house area, and it might tip you off to people approaching, especially people approaching with their comlinks off/hidden.
Azathfeld.
So sorry, response chip and system software.
300 nuyen is still a lot. To somebody working in a low paying industry.
bustedkarma your sin may or may not be part of your profile. In some arias you must be broadcasting a profile that includes your sin and/or employ ID. Cops don’t get to look at a second set of data.
Secondly your not going to get run threw a background check unless your doing something suspicious. But if you do something suspicious in front of a law or security officer with your SIN showing in your profile the first thing there going to do is run such a check.
Edward
So sorry, response chip and system software.
300 nuyen is still a lot. To somebody working in a low paying industry.
bustedkarma your sin may or may not be part of your profile. In some arias you must be broadcasting a profile that includes your sin and/or employ ID. Cops don’t get to look at a second set of data.
Secondly your not going to get run threw a background check unless your doing something suspicious. But if you do something suspicious in front of a law or security officer with your SIN showing in your profile the first thing there going to do is run such a check.
Edward
edward you can probably get a free commlink if you sign for 24 months with the same phone and matrix provider, and pass a credit check
or just sign you life away to ma corp...
that too
but y suggestio occurs today
but y suggestio occurs today
For that matter, depending on the Corp, they may even provide you with the equipment necessary for your job - seeing as many wageslaves end up living in the corp enclave housing units more often than not.
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