We are planning to start the SRM, and for once I get to be a player (yay)...
Everyone has decided on their characters, 1 street sam, 1 martial adept and 1 cat burglar... And me...
A latent awakening mage with face and doc skills...
Then it struck me...
A script kiddie with uncracked shareware can fuck up our party...
So I was thinking about the cheapest hacker possible, that way I could try to free up some BPs and reallocate them to hacking...
For power level, the package should enable the char to reliably hack fizzy pop machines without getting cought, but doesn't really have to have a realistic chance against FastJack...
I cannot figure out what is essential and how essential (read dice pool size) it is since I have never had to use the matrix rules...

Any help?

generaly you roll skill+program, so a high-response commlink with good programs is important, and can easily cost you about 75,000

skills you need: Hacking(vitaly important), cybercombat(for attack programs), and some electronic warefare (encrypt/decrypt), computer, and data search. software and hardware are optional but advised. you could 'get by' with cracking 4(or hacking 5, cybercombat 5, electronic warfare2) and electronics 1. so thats 15 BP of gear and 50 BP of skills, which can be a substantial chunk. trode net and hot sim will work well enough.

anything less than that, and i would worry. you want the highest hacking+exploit roll you can get, and the highest stealth. you want the highest response you can get, as that affects your dice pools and number of programs. you can start with response as high as 5.

All you need to get hacking support covered is buy a good commlink (4's in everything) and a rating 4 agent with data search, command, edit, exploit, attack... maybe a few others. That will cover your asses. Not super well, but better than a sucky hacker with minimal BPs invested. In order to beat that agent, you'd need to be a fairly substantial hax0r, definitely not a n00b like you're suggesting.

If you need something more proactive, default on Cybercombat and Data Search, using Hot-VR to counteract the penalty. Logic 5, natch.

Scorched [ -10BP ]
Sensitive Neural System [ -10BP ]

Hacking (Exploit) 5 [ 22 BP ]
Computers 5 [ 20 BP ]
Electronic Warfare 5 [ 20 BP ]

MetaLink Hot Sim (Response 5 Signal 5 System 5 Firewall 5) [ 10,350 ¥ ]
+ Analyze 5 [ 500 ¥ ]
Browse 5 [ 500 ¥ ]
+ Edit 5 [ 500 ¥ ]
Attack 3 [ 1500 ¥ ]
Decrypt 3 [ 1500 ¥ ]
Defuse 3 [ 1500 ¥ ]
+ Exploit 5 [ 5000 ¥ ]
Sniffer 3 [ 1500 ¥ ]
Spoof 3 [ 1500 ¥ ]
+ Stealth 5 [ 5000 ¥ ]

[ 29,350 ¥ = 6BP]

48 BP

This build can fly hack Device Rating 2 pretty easily, and probe hack most systems, even on alert, but it's weak in cybercombat. If you can afford the points, go for Electrons skill group 4, so you can code your own agents and upgrade your own hardware.

I suggest a medic-hacker. Logic overlap, and such. If you've got the 5BP laying around, Nanohive 1 [ 10,000¥] + Neocortical 3 [ 15,000¥ ] is a pretty big boost (+3), for most slow hacking situations.

One word: PuSHeD

A latent awakening mage... you are positive you are going to be a mage (it is a GM decision)?

Seeing that you can´t invest into magic skills, you might get a pretty decent hacker. The trick is building a hacker that offers good groundwork for a mage.

1)Implant anything you might ever want. This is your one chance not to loose magic with implants. Muscle Toner, Cerebral Boosters, Wired Reflexes (good for hacking actions, too), or even a Dermal Sheath.

2)Buy Electronics 1 and Hacking 3 or 4, depending on BP allocation. Once you are awakened, you are pushing the magical side.

3)Buy a solid comlink, but most programs at 3. Money is rarely an issue for the awakened, it should go into augmentations at chargen.

Keep in mind you can only start with one skill at 6, or two at 5, everything else has to be 4s or less. Assuming his character is primarily a something-else... and only a hacker to shore up a weakness, he'll probably want 4s in those skills.

I'd like to thank everyone for the suggestions, I decided to go for the agent approach and get a hacker contact (13 BP in total I think)...
Everything else just cut too much into me being a good doc and face...
The defensive side of things is what I hoped, but I don't really have any offensive capabilities, I think I may just start getting the hacker skills ingame...

I did forget that. *shakes head*

I meant to add to this conversation the other day but i forgot. I think all you really needed was command 4 (16BP), and R4 Agent (2bp), All 7 comon programs (R4-R5 depending on your agent or response/system) (-2,800 to -3,500 1bp), All 15 hack programs.......this will be the most expensive part... I would suggest taking R3's. They are alot cheaper and would give your agent dice pool of 7. You can only goto R4 cuz of your agent rating and those are alot more expensive but would give your agent a dice pool of 8.... (R3 x15 = -22,500 5bp, R4 x15 = -60,000 12bp). Oh and then you have your commlink, I think you have to max it to get the most out of it. Signal, System, Response 5 + Firewall 6 on a Metalink/ Vector Xim =( -10,800 3bp)

So super cheap version with an agent with dicepool of 7 = 27bp (probably less bp cuz I was rounding money up)
Slightly better agent with a dicepool of 8 = 36bp (probably less)

That will let you command your agent and let you defend your PAN and even go offensive with the agent.