comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

hacker’s handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
crow service holds on to the money/goods, eventually returning
them if the deal falls through.
piracY
Cracking copy protection on legally purchased software
is covered on p. 228 of SR4 (see the Cracking Copy Protection
table for suggested thresholds). Illegal software, however, be it
home-coded hacking utilities or a copy of a cracked program,
has difficulties all its own. Programs in the Sixth World are constantly
changing to keep up with the cutting edge of technology,
and periodic patches and updates are
the norm rather than the exception.
Unfortunately, these patches and updates
are only for legal purchasers and
licensers of the program—or in the
case of hacker software, may not exist
at all—and without them a program
slowly slides into obsolescence. A
hacker can stall this degeneration either
by fixing the code herself, finding
the patch or update somewhere else on
the Matrix, or by simply downloading
a newer, updated version of the
same program. (See Legal vs. Pirated
Software, p. 108.)
finding pirate networks
A regular Data Search on the open Matrix never reveals
where a hacker can download a rated program or its updates patch
for free, where a runner might find the detailed AR schematics for
the latest wiz tech toy, or where the drivers for that used piece of
cyberware are. Within minutes of such information being posted,
law enforcement hackers appear in the node to investigate all such
claims and trace and arrest whoever is making the claims or offers.
However, with a little work a hacker can gain access to the
peer-to-peer file sharing networks of the Cracker Underground
(see Virtual Private Networks, below), where she can find and
download programs for a nominal fee.
Finding and getting access to an appropriate network requires
an Extended Data Search + Browse (8, 1 day) Test. Once connected
to such a network, the character doesn’t need to find another one
unless the network gets shut down, or if it doesn’t have the program
she’s looking for (both at the gamemaster’s discretion).
downloading programs
Once a character has made contact with the
Cracker Underground, he can start looking for something
to download. To find a specific program on the
file sharing network, make an Extended Data Search +
Browse (Availability + Desired rating, 1 Combat Turn)
Test. Downloading the program to your commlink or
terminal costs 10 percent of the street price of the program
(see Program Costs and Availability, p. 228, SR4).
A glitch on the Search Test indicates the program is
not on the network, and the hacker must find another
network and try again; a critical glitch indicates the
character has downloaded a bogus program infected
with one or more viruses.
cracking copY protection
threshold
program type (interval 1 hour)
Common 9 + Rating
Hacking 13 + Rating
Agents/IC/Pilot 13 + Rating
System 10 + Rating
Firewall 13 + Rating
Autosoft 12 + Rating
Program updates and patches are also available on underground
file sharing networks and may be located in the same way. The cost for
program patches and updates (which restore the degraded program to
its full rating) is 10 percent of the difference in street cost between the
program’s current (degraded) rating and its full rating. All programs,
updates, etc. from an underground file-sharing network have their
copy protection cracked, if they ever had any to begin with.
virtUaL private networkS
A virtual private network (VPN) is an unrated peer-to-peer program
that allows users to communicate and share files and information
on a less-than-simsense level, typically no
Unwired
more than just another window in AR or
VR, and as such not counting as a connection
to a node in terms of subscription
lists unless they are encrypted. Networks
of this kind exist for many purposes, from
simple mobile social software (MoSoSo)
designed to keep members of a social
group in touch to pirate networks trading
cracked software and liberated data.
Security for VPNs varies considerably,
from secretive, passcode-protected,
and encrypted networks on the one
end to completely open networks on
the other. Generally, VPNs depend
on anonymity as much as anything else to protect them, as their
most vulnerable points are the users logged on to them. Spotting a
hacker using a VPN requires a Simple Action to Observe in Detail
(see Observe in Detail, p. 136, SR4) and a successful Opposed Test,
rolling Computer + Analyze against the target’s Firewall + Stealth.
If you determine the target is connected to a VPN, you can attempt
to Intercept Traffic (see Intercept Traffic, p. 224, SR4). Secure and
secretive VPNs are almost always encrypted communications.
Rarely, a virtual private network may make use of a node to
facilitate real-time face-to-face communications, or as a common
dropbox to dump files that other users may access and download or
annotate later. Such nodes are usually in out-of-the-way corners of the
Matrix and almost always hidden, requiring the user’s VPN passcode
to access. A node makes a VPN very vulnerable as it often contains
the commcode and passcodes of all members of the network, and networks
that make use of them often change nodes on a regular basis.
paYdata Street coStS
Situation cost adjustment
Data is damaged, but mostly salvageable –20% to –50%
Data is only available on an obsolete medium –20%
Data is publicly available but obscure –10%
Data is in a Proprietary File Format +10%
Certified data +50%
Sole remaining copy of data +100%
Unique enchantment formula +200%
Nanoschematics +400%
Spirit formula +400%
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9