Runner's Companion.pdf - Free

Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9survival tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22> A while back, I was asked to put together a primer to everydaysurvival in the shadows for some of the wannabes on ShadowSEA.Something to give the clueless a fighting chance. I was lying lowfor a couple of weeks with nothing to do but catch reruns of KarlKombatmage on the Classic Trid Channel, and I figured I might aswell do some pro bono work. I hooked up with 2XL to put togetherthe short primer that follows. Most of the folks on JackPoint don’tneed me telling them what the dangers are, but in the event that old’Jack invites another of his greenhorn protégés onboard, I thought I’dcross-post the piece to Jackpoint’s database. Any feedback anyonewants to offer will be worked into future updates.> GlitchStaying off the gridPosted by: GlitchMaybe you’ve cracked an MCT zero zone or hacked aRenraku research net and you’re feeling good about yourself. Nowthat the job is finished, you can take off your runner cap and gohome. Slip right in to your civilian life, right? If that’s what youthink, you might want to consider another line of work. There wasa time when a simple mask was all the anonymity that you needed.As long as you hadn’t left a bloody trail of DNA and wore gloves,you were relatively safe. These days? Not so much.It is a whole new world out there, and, if you’re not careful,it won’t be the cyberzombie or the hellhound that gets you. Itwill be information. You’ve heard the old saying, “information ispower.” Well, that’s doubly true if you live in a total informationsociety like ours. The only way you’re going to stay out of cuffslong enough to enjoy your ill-gotten spoils is if you know how tostay under the radar and off the grid. Sensei Glitch is here to walkyou through Anti-Surveillance 101, so pay attention and don’tforget: you owe me a drink.WhAT’S OUT there?Three technologies make it hard for the unenlightened massesand the ambitious shadowrunner to stay anonymous:Cameras and SensorsYeah, sensors are nothing new. Some sensor tech, like ultrawidebandradar, is shiny, expensive, and new, but it isn’t a problemunless you’re trying to crack a high security facility. What youshould be worrying about are the small, cheap sensors scanningyou everywhere you stroll downtown—the cameras in the mallsand storefronts, at the checkout counter, and on the streetlight.With miniaturization, cameras and other sensors have become socheap they’re everywhere in public places.Walk around downtown, and most of those annoying wageslavesbustling past are carrying at least one camera, maybe more.Some of them are recording and livecasting all of the time, capturingtheir pitiful lives for public spectacle.In fact, in most sprawls, any area with a security rating of Bor higher will have public spaces blanketed with the combinationof police surveillance, corporate surveillance (from dedicatedAztechnology satellites monitoring the Seattle pyramid to thedinky wireless camera outside Joe’s B-B-Q), and public surveillance.Corporate enclaves and upscale private homes also subscribeto this idea of blanket surveillance, with automated householdsystems running the show, and built-in sensors providing convenience,unparalleled functionality, and “peace of mind.”RFIDsYour second invisible problem is RFIDs. There’s no avoidingthem. I said that sensors are everywhere, but RFID chips reallyare everywhere: in your clothes, in packaging, in your hardware,in your food, even in you! Moreover, each one is spilling its gutsto the world like there’s no tomorrow.Things are getting hairy with corps introducing RFID “ticks”(programmed to jump on to your clothing) and scanning fortelltale broadcasting. Don’t get me wrong, RFIDs have their uses.They tell you your fridge is empty, they tell your clothing thatyou’re cold, they tell the shop what you bought, they tell your employerthat you arrived at your workplace, etc. To use a commonphrase, they are ubiquitous. But, they’re also a major problem fora shadowrunner, and, if you aren’t careful, the little buggers willrat you out worse than any snitch.Analytical Software and Data FootprintsThe third danger is analytical software and your averagedatatrail. SINs, IDs, access IDs, and those oh-so-convenient electronictransactions leave a datatrail everywhere you go, with everypurchase, every node you interact with, and every store windowyou browse. Average Joe’s data footprint is huge, and analyticalsoftware is how the Man sifts through the dross.Analytical software varies in speed, functionality, and versatility.At the low end is the software your local bodega uses. Itmonitors customer movements on camera feeds and RFID chipsanalyze potential buying patterns. Picking up fancy wine andchocolates? The store’s analytical software checks your publicprofile and notes that your anniversary is today, and then pingsyou with suggestions for additional purchases: lingerie, candles,music downloads.Somewhere in the middle ground is the typical city surveillancesystem, with (more or less) well-spaced trideo surveillanceand dedicated agents monitoring the mountains of visual datacoming in. Fortunately for us, there are plenty of holes with thissystem, and savvy shadowrunners exploit them all. The king ofthe hill is cutting-edge corporate analytical software, like LA’sdowntown ACPS, which has a real-time data analysis functionsthat measures crowd patterns, speech patterns, thermographicdata, cyberware scanners, chemical sniffers … the whole shebang.This type of system requires a huge investment, and equally hugemaintenance, and control will invariably fall to the corporationfooting the bill: in other words, rare, rare, rare. They don’t bringout those guns unless they’re throwing everything they haveafter you, and, really, at that point, you’re already screwed, neh?No, just kidding. Various measures you can take will impact theusefulness of even the most sophisticated system, regardless ofwhat Lone Star says.> Scaring the kiddies good there, Glitch.> Slamm-0!> Well, that’s just the lead in. I can be nice too, keep reading.> GlitchRunner’s Companion