Can one (IC, Hacker, etc) only run 'Trace' against something/someone currently 'connected' to his device, or is it something more abstract like a commcode/phone number/IP address (ie: found this commcode in my logs from last weeks, now to trace it... OR, I have the Mitsuhama exec's commcode, so why not trace it to find his location?). If it's the 2nd, what about the hidden PAN mode?



http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...361&hl=commcode
This was a little helpful, making a stark difference between commcode (screen name) and access ID (mac address/ip)... but how frequently does an access ID 'change', if at all? Is it dependent on your physical location (ie: where you're connecting from?), or would it be tied to the hardware itself (mm, time to destroy my comlink!)?

As in, my COMMCODE is a screen name my friends and contacts know to send messages to, and my Matrix provider will worry about tying that commcode towards my access ID... you can not 'Trace' a commcode, right?

Etc etc etc...

An access ID can be spoofed, (changed via software) or hardware (and can be changed via a hardware check). SR4, 224-225 for how to do that.

I allow both, though if you have a commcode which isn't currently connected (or is hidden) then you might find a record of where this person most recently was rather than where they actually are. Tracing a commcode from last week's log will always lead you to where the that connection originated from last week and from there you'd have to use some other technique to find the person who connected to you.

i would say that the trace program is used for when a agent or persona is present in a host, if not its more of a data search aimed at searching logs.

as for access id, i would say it depends. joe wageslave would rarely change access id (how often does one change a phone number? ok, that can vary depending on the nations as some do not have number-portability) while a hacker would do it more often then he would change underwear (given some hacker archetypes that maybe be very rarely but still).

Well, IMO, a trace is when you have a commcode/access id, and you want to find its physical location. So, while the commcode/access id has to be online (you can't trace a comm that is turned off), I don't think you need to have any sort of active connection to it.

And because there is a redirect action, I commonly allow anyone being traced to know they are being traced, with a fairly easy matrix perception test. Granted, in my campaign, this doesn't come up all that much, but that is the way I have handled it.

As for whether the comm is in hidden mode or not, I don't have that impact anything. In order to get that commcode/access id, at some point you would have had to have accessed it or intercepted some sort of traffic. Once you have it, the trace is pretty basic.

Although, because I make that so easy, I do usually have important NPCs using either anonymous or disposable comms, so a trace might get you to a public library node. Normally, the only contacts that give you accurate location info are you own "trusted" contacts or people that just don't know any better.

trace in SR is one of the things one should not apply to much real life knowhow to.

its designed around the action movie moment of seeing that dot on the map jumping around while trying to get a fix on where the attacker or similar is hidden.

I do not allow normal hacking actions through commcodes. (For example, being on a phone call with someone does not give you the opportunity to try to hack their comm.) This is because I see commcalls as a service you connect to. You are accessing your phone provider (a shadow commservice for most characters), they are accessing the phone network, which the other caller is connected to (also through a provider). You'd have to hack the phone company to get at the other person through a phone call or with their commcode. Not impossible, not as dangerous as hacking the bank, certainly. But not a walk in the park.

To me, trace is for tracking down a hacker accessing your system (which is why it's something that more often gets done to characters, rather than them doing it to someone else).

I just added a post about the topic of traceroutes to the Matrix Explained... sort of... post.

If the post does not answer your questions, feel free to elaborate and inquire.

- der menkey

"Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter."
~ Ernest Hemingway

Thanks for all the replies, especially since my question was awfully vague

I think I'll run it as;

You can run a trace on any Commcode or Access ID, but a Commcode trace will likely end up in the dark (ie: last place his Commcode was? A Public Library, before he went Passive/Hidden/Off)... but tracing an Access ID is easier and more reliable (I imagine that, in a node, IC/Security Hackers would use the Access ID-- since you're logged into their host, it's easy to get it-- whatever 'it' is).

Being something of a network engineer "in RL", I'm familiar with traceroute etc... but let's see where this goes! Thanks, again, now off to the other thread!