I am building my first real hacker and my discussion with the GM has raised questions about how Mute works and what alarms do exactly.

Example:
Hacking + Exploit VS Firewall - Firewall gets hacked in two passes. On that second pass the intrusion is noticed (Analyze+Firewall VS Stealth). With the Mute program, I have one full combat turn before the alarm goes off.

1. Does this mean I have 5 passes (Full VR with Simsense mods) to turn off the alarm and remain completely undetected?
2. If I Hacked in with an admin account(+6 threshold), don't I have system rights to just turn the alarm off?
3. If it was a wireless comlink and I captured and decrpted the signal before 'Hacking on the fly", is it just one complex action to turn off (or reset) the alarm?
4. Even if I get detected while still trying to get in (hacking+exploit vs firewall rolls), they can't disconnect me from the port unless they beat me in an opposed test of some sort, right?
5. If I am 'probing' the target to get in, they only get one analyze+firewall test to detect me but my interval for breaking in is much longer, right?
6. If these are true, doesn't that make Mute wicked powerful?


Random Noob questions:
7. If I hack into a node, do I bring my agent with me? If so, can I bring two and monkey stomp an unsuspecting victim that was chillin' in that node?
8. If I hack into an admin account, can I just log other people off as I see fit?
9. Can I spoof a command to create me an admin account then log on using that?

Lets see. I can field some of these.
1: Mute: Combat Turn is a Combat Turn, not an Initiative Phase. Yes, a whole turn. Its like sprite Suppression, only less good.


4: Bear in mind that Alert really means Restricted Alert, and that comes with a Firewall Bonus against you, which raises the threshold of the test before you're finished with it. And the ARC will already be executed by the time you get inside, so there may be IC waiting to attack you. Additionally, your Stealth will not be working properly(see the FAQ):

Q: When you trigger an alert, will security automatically spot you, or do IC and security hackers still need to succeed in an Opposed Matrix Perception Test?
A:IC or security hackers will need to spot the intruder as normal, unless a Restricted Alert was issued. If a Restricted Alert has been issued against the Hacker, IC and Spiders (users with a legitimate account) do not need to make a Matrix Perception Test in order to know of the presence of the intruding Hacker because the Node has already identified them. These icons may attack the hacker or take other actions that target the intruder. They do not, however, know any further information about the intruder beyond the fact of their presence. If defending icons want to know more information (access ID, what programs are running) they must succeed in a standard Matrix Perception Test.

See Alerts, on page 67 unwired. Namely, that it also strips all user rights from the user the alert is against.

The crux of the issue is whether you can cancel an alert before it triggers. Alerts can definitely be turned off, but if there is no alert, you can't turn it off, can you?
I think what will happen is that the Alert will go off as soon as the Mute time runs out - the firewall has noticed the problem, and will trigger the hacker alarm, but is temporarily confused by the option. Basically it gives you a turn with which to try to accomplish your objective before you are discovered.

The reason I suggest this is that there area already methods in place that can automatically trigger alerts against users, regardless of their account type. Passkeys(unwired 64), for example, will automatically trigger an alert when the access log writes, if you don't have one. Patrolling IC can also identify intruders.
On the other hand, its apparently possible to edit the access log before it Writes, so it may still be possible to cancel the alert while its still in the middle of being triggered. In the end, its up to your GM.


7: I believe you may, yes. I don't recall exactly where the rules for it are, and it depends on HOW the agent is running, but one definitely says it can assist you in nodes you're in.
8: Yes and no. See Terminate Connection, page 67-68 Unwired. It expands on the core book rules slightly, in that security users can spend actions to make the node kick people.
9: Only if you know the admin's Id anyway before hand(spoofing has to appear to come fron not only an authorized user, but a user who has the permissions to do what you want), with a pretty substantial penalty (see Advanced Spoofing, unwired 98).

Okay. so If I have 5 passes per combat turn, the restricted alert will not be raised until one full combat turn after would have triggered it even though the firewall realized there is something weird going on, right? so if I would have triggered it on pass one, no restricted alert to increase the threshold will be issued until one combat turn later? So the alert might still go off but I will hopefully be able to do what I came to before I am noticed, right?



Thanks VERY much for your response!!!

I think you've got it.

Depending on your GM's interpretation, the alert may remember to go off at the start of the next combat turn(like vehicle things coming online), or one full combat turn later depending on which pass it should have triggered.

5. Yes, but don't forget that a successful probe does not log you in and the node's single Firewall check doesn't happen until you do. Even then it's only on your first log in that it gets to roll.