The SRM use of the 'Registration' program option on legitimately purchased software combined with the Software Degradation rules on pirated software makes a hacker really tough to have not get caught in an SRM game. If you "use" enough legit software your commlink is tracked to within 50m in ONE COMPLEX ACTION. The word 'used' may be interpreted as either 'Has used' or 'Is using' which could situationally alter outcomes a bit, but not much.

So let's talk expand on the two things causing the conflict, Registration and Pirated Software so those who don't play hackers will understand the issue.

The 'Registration' program option makes it so that for every Registered program used that two things happen. First off, Registration reduces the threshold to Track the hacker. The threshold starts at 10 so used Registered software makes it significantly faster to get tracked. Secondly, Registration increases the threshold to erase the tracks of the hacker by editing the access log. If you are using Registered Software this test quickly becomes untenable. (See 'Registered Program Option', Unwired p115)

And before you mention the Spoof Datatrail matrix action, if you aren't a Technomancer you can only Spoof Datatrail AFTER the track has started. (See 'Redirect Trace', pSR4A p231)
One complex action by the tracker later and Poof! You're done being tracked, chummer …down to 50m. Now your Spoof Datatrail can start but oh wait, it's completed.

So you decide to write your own program and spend months of lifestyle to do so. To make a rating 6 Exploit program takes 12 hits with a 1mo interval. Since you'll have to buy at 4:1 due to the Missions rule on downtime actions we can compute this pretty easily. With Software skill of 4 specialized in Coding New Software (since SR4A says homemade specializations are ok) and a Logic of 5 and Programming Suite 5 and Hot-Sim bonus of +2 you get exactly 4 hits per month. You use a Nexus to halve the interval and 6 weeks later have saved 6000 nuyen by making your own, unregistered yet unpirated Exploit-6 program. Well, bad news chum… software you make yourself degrades just like pirated software so spending 3000 nuyen on a low lifestyle to make one program that degrades makes the easily purchased 600 nuyen pirated copy a better bet. (See 'Pirated Software', Unwired p119)

So Registered software is nigh-impossible to cover-up, and coding your own just nets you a pirated copy costing months of lifestyle… that leaves pirating the software cheaper.

Pirating is cheap, 10% of the cost of the software making that 6 weeks of low lifestyle while you code your own Exploit-6 program seem sort of silly since you would spend 3000 nuyen to get what acts exactly like a 600 nuyen pirated copy. No penalty to covering your tracks, not bonuses to get tracked, and cheap. But wait… it degrades. Lets patch it.

Calc time!

There are 16 hacking programs which at rating 6 costs 96000 nuyen total. Pirated cost is 9600 nuyen. They degrade after a month.

You decide to patch them. You have a logic of 1 and software skill of 1 and are in Hot-Sim VR because, after all, you're a hacker. You get 4 dice to patch the software which at the Missions rate is spent 4:1 to buy this between games giving you one hit which ups the rating by 1 at a one week interval. You get a Nexus for 15-20k nuyen which halves the one week interval. Now you can patch two per week.

Week one after degradation you patch 2 out of your 16 hacking programs. You have 2/16 back at rating 6.
Week two you patch 2 more out of your 16 hacking programs. You have 4/16 back at rating 6.
Week three you patch 2 more out of your 16 hacking programs. You have 6/16 back at rating 6.
Week four you patch 2 more out of your 16 hacking programs. You have 8/16 back at rating 6.
You get two free weeks thanks to how the Mission Calendar works so you spend two more weeks…
Week five you patch 2 more out of your 16 hacking programs. You have 10/16 back at rating 6.
Week six you use the programs you have (10 are at rating 6 AND 6 more are at rating 5) because next month they ALL degrade… so the 10 programs you just patched drop to 5's and the other 6 programs that degraded a month ago drop another point to 4's.

Time to start again and this time you need 2 hits per test since some programs have degraded twice. With a Programming Suite and Software skill of 1 that's easily done even at a 4:1 buy.

So you need others to help you since the more lifestyle you spend patching the more patching you have to do.

Tutor Sprites with the Software skill cannot patch software. (per SRM ruling)
Agents with the Profession: Software autosoft cannot patch software. (per SRM FAQ)
Patches cannot be hacked from a corporate server between games (Nothing GM discretion between games)

The only way to patch is to, well… patch… and one hacker cannot patch all of his software. If enough people playing hackers united to trade patches that would work but it would have to be players and the certing would be all kinds of messy.

In my last team we would have all six teammembers spend five weeks per month patching software. [Skillwires heavy group]. That's 60 programs we were able to patch resulting in more than a few comments about it being a fun-sponge. As I look at retiring my Technomancer when the 2011 'Seattle' campaign starts I don't see Hacker's being able to hang. Sure, TM's are still as great as ever but it sucks to be a Hacker. Truly.

CONCLUSION
Technomancers are the only ones who can get away with hacking. Hackers will always get tracked since they can't patch software fast enough necessitating the use of Registered software.

The best answer is to allow extra hits on the Logic+Software test to patch additional programs or at a minimum to reduce the interval. (interval reduction is explicitly not permitted per forum ruling).

Alternately reduce the time needed to patch and increase the cost. I suggest either charging a Hacker a month of High lifestyle or better (or some flat rate to become a paid member of the Cracker Underground) to patch ALL Hacking and Common Use programs or to require a very difficult static test to get the patches or to assign a cheap nuyen cost to patches separate from the cost of the originally Pirated software.

A third option is to remove pirated software entirely. Charge full book-price for all software and remove the penalties for Registration. Make a house rule, err… *cough* FAQ rule that a unique copy of all software must be purchased to be used, no exceptions, for game balance purposes. The increases in skillsoft cost in SR4A make this less abusable than pre-SR4A.

Do something, though. SR4A has wireless as a core theme and without hackers the airwaves will be awfully empty.
-Wasabi

Just keep buying Pirated stuff. It's the cost of doing business. Given that Hackers need so little equipment already…

Besides, there are Warez groups, etc.

AFAIK it has been errataed, that Open Source and user created Software does not degrade. Missions should reflect that.

Thanks Dakka Dakka for sharing about the errata. Open Source programs being 'optional' are a no-go but I looked at the Unwired errata and you're right that self-coded software now does not degrade. Short of rebuying software at least thats one way out of the loop, given enough time (aka lifestyle) is being spent.

Trading patches doesnt say anything about GM discretion but the purchase cost of patches isnt listed anywhere AFAIK making that probably not legal unless added to the errata.

Well hey, at least there is the spending-lifestyle option to code your own and thats somethin' actionable.

Actually, it doesn't say that:
That only says that self-coded don't have the 'planned obsolescence' effect, *not* that they don't have the *real obsolescence* effect. It would be a mistake to simply allow a hacker to self-code his programs and be done.

Would it really? Programming takes a lot of time and there are no rules for coding upgrades AFAIK. So each time the GM arbitrarily decides that a self coded program degrades, the player either has to live with the lower rating or start from scratch. For the bit of money saved, he spends a lot of time not running and earning which would allow him to acquire new software, be it legal or pirated.

There are explicit rules for coding upgrades, and we're talking about a lot of saved money, because he never, ever has to replace or upgrade the programs that are literally 50% of a hacker's equipment. The 'time not running' is a one-time cost.

I'm going to let everyone in on a pretty significant secret.


I assume that every piece of software a proffesional shadowrunner with a skill in hacking of at least 1 uses has been purchased from some outfit that will leave off the registration option (or at least the portion that leaves datatrails intentionally) The PTB don't want their pet spiders and matrix specialists leaving datatrails all over either. I agree with Wasabi's assesment that if the curren rules as laid out in unwired are used exactly as written the bookkeeping as costs expand exponentially. Further I don't believe people should be forced to use the morass that is the pirated software rules just to play a hacker character or someone who dabbles on the matrix. I believe that the vast majority of GM's feel as I do or are unaware fo the more complex rules present in unwired.

*shrug*. It's not that complicated. At *most*, a couple dozen programs that degrade half a point per month, and Hacking ones degrade 1 per month. Roll it into Lifestyle and be done with it; even buying new rating 6's every 2 months isn't egregious for how powerful and important they are for a hacker.