Or use a "spoof" program to spoof that guy's ID... fooling the device in that case is probably a lot easier than hacking into his commlink - but requires you to be within a couple of feet of him.

If you're that close...you're close enough to knife him or be knifed...ejecting his clip at that point is the LEAST of your worries

Agreed. I'm just saying you COULD.

Don't forget that to spoof someone with their ID, you have to have also spent time to percieve them on the Matrix. Throw that commlink into hidden mode and you have to find it before you can percieve it. Encrypt it, too, and you could have to decrypt it before you can percieve the Access ID. Now you've spent three matrix actions on trying to get to their smart link meanwhile the sammie just shot them in the head.

what the range of a rating 0 rfid again? 3 meters?

and there are times, like when someone puts said gun to your head (lets leave the headshot cant kill in SR discussion of it tho). with a simlink you can then in theory crack his smartlink (if he have one) and covertly flip the safety or something similar. and then make it eject the clip. that way, even if there is a bullet in the chamber (another detail that SR do not cover), he will most likely be so surprised by the sudden ejection of the clip that he will try to fire the gun with the safety on, buying you some seconds...

you don't hack them. you hack the guy's commlink, which the contacts route data through via skinlink.

That's only if your target has had the presence of mind to disable all other forms of communication with his device. If it will talk only to his comm for whatever reason, then you have to go through the comm first.

well, unless there is something specific in the text for contacts, their range is 3 meters, just like any other rating 0 device...

as for hacking a device directly. so far noone have pointed to a bit of text that says specificaly that something like that can or cant be done. hell, we dont even know if you can run a smartlink setup without a comlink iirc...

The above says it's a good idea to slave all your devices in your PAN to your commlink. If that's an example of a good idea, we can assume someone could have the extraordinarily bad idea of choosing not to slave one or more of their wireless devices to their commlink -- which would leave it open to hacking without having to go through a commlink first.

So, anything can have their wireless link removed, which makes a lot of sense for a lot of devices.

IMHO, any attempt to fit SR's hacking rules into a real world network security model makes it all fall apart -- leading to nothing but tears and crying... alone, in the shower... for hours on end.

haha, yeah. especially when they start trying to place too much importance on the VR metaphor, like it's some kind of metaplane or something, instead of a cybernetic interface.

Such has always been the nature of the SR Matrix. Not just security either. But then if the real world made for a great game all the time we would have a lot less need of games.

My first SR4 character has all his gear equiped with skinlink and routed throug his implanted comlink, nothing (not even the comlink) ever being wirreless by default. He uses a secondary external Comlink with its own Monocle and Headfones for the communication with the environment, only enabeling the wirreconection to this secondary comlink externaly via his datajack after disabeling the wirreless conect of the secondary manually by physical switch. Even than the Datajack does never conect to the secondary and his main pan simutaniously, functioning as another security "airlock". This stuff is pretty inconveniant but he ought to be paranoid after getting stuck in DEUS Arcology and being in prison all the wile, since before the wirreless revolution. He´ll probably get used to it and relex a bit with time.

@ Angelstandings

Sounds like a personal experiance

Or just buy a smartlink that's 10 years old, so that instead of being wireless, for which there would be practically no benefit at all, you have to actually touch the gun in question, which completely eliminates the possibility of some douche setting a wireless antenna near where you'll be, or wandering within 3 meters of you, hacking your comm, and firing off your gun while it's in its holster.

I mean, really. Why would anyone bother to have a wireless network that included their own gun? If wireless technology is this permeating, I wouldn't even have a commlink at all.

So you can carefully place you're gun on a table acting all innocent like, and then try to get the bad guy lined up while he's reciting hisBBEG™ monolouge, and then popping him one wirelessly?

Because in some places, it's required? there's a passing comment in the SR4 book I read last night, mentioning that (if I recall correctly) broadcasting your ID is required by federal law in the UCAS.

BBEG monologues are something of a lost art in Shadowrun, per my experience. I have to install Wired-3 in my masterminds just so they can get a chance to talk a little more before combat ends.

PC1: "Get him!"
BBEG: "Okaysomyplanwasactuallytoframeyouforthemurderof..."
PC1: *BLAM!*
BBEG: "Ow!Soanywaythemurderof..."
PC2: *BLAM*BLAM*
BBEG: (dies)

... Oh, hey, maybe I'll have them prepare their speeches ahead of time and just use a Free Action to wirelessly broadcast a hyperlink to the document.

PC1: "Get him!"
BBEG: "Please click here."
PC1: *BLAM!*
BBEG: (has time to get away)
PC2: "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was reading his speech."

Ah, you're correct; the quote I was thinking of (page 210, right column, last paragraph) only mentions federal property. However, it also has to be broadcast in high-security zones (see example 3 on the same page, and the description of hidden mode on the next page)... And most definitely, the more paranoid corps will do the same on their own turf, even "public" bits like malls... So the general point still stands.

Nah, what you need to do is have it transmitted, like an audio ad. And a new bit is loaded everytime the runners advance into a new area/room.

<runners enter the lobby of BBEG copr. Compound>

Everyone receives the following through their audio line.

"Ah, so you've finally found my compound. I guess you're going to try and find me now eh?..."

<move tot he next room>

"..well, it wont be that easy you see, because i've got all sorts of nasty things..."

etc

rember, we are seeing it from the runners perspecitve.

for say a security guard the story will be diffrent. with a wireless link the corp system can track the gun, count how often its used and so on.

basicly there are not enough joe wageslave style benifits from having it that way listed.

its kinda like how you may look at wifi today. why would anyone use it as people can just hijack your connection or even break into your network if you have it attached behind the firewall.

2 most common reasons is that 1 its very convinient, and 2 they dont have a clue about computer security. and frankly i dont see that change (sadly).

basicly, when it comes down to selecting between userfriendlyness and security, security looses on any item made for joe. the more loopholes joe have to jump thru to get something done, the more likely it is that he will find himself something else that will not get in his way.

hell, people bypass security rutines all the time becase they are in a hurry or some other crazy reason.

still, high level secuirty companys like knight errant or similar will probably issue skinlinked smartlink systems for their troops. but the comlink will still be there, alltho with a high rating firewall and encryption.

rember that to attack a device you have to be within 3 meters of it or go thru the comlink, either option have its problems if its the smartlink your after...

Wait so it just adds one more step in the prcoess then right? I mean all your post really says is "I hide really well in a crowd, then take my time while you're smoozing the waitress, and hack your shit." Now instead of one step, I have three. Gee, it's so much more difficult now isn't it?

Otherwise what you're saying is "We have magic button that we press when we want to be hack proof made by Lofwyr or the gods of Role Playing."

Huh, no...

It means a whole lot more than that if you've been reading any of the different threads on the subject. My post simply means it isn't as simple as people were making it out to be and that you can make your PAN relatively safe with a tiered-PAN system or even pull it off-line by disconnecting the two systems. That is assuming you use a local PAN to run critical systems in the first place.

The most popular configuration set up by this rules is to have a private commlink for your systems and a public commlink for connecting to the Matrix - completely disconnected from one another. This essentially makes you unhackable over the open Matrix, though you are still vulnerable to direct Spoofs from nearby hackers (basically your suggestion) - but getting that close in a situation where someone is using a smartgun is potentially complicated. However, there are other options to protect your PAN which have been covered in depth in other threads and I won't rehash here.