Simple little programs, apps are useless for hacking against other devices or hosts. They usually only en- hance a user’s augmented reality or virtual reality ex- perience, with a few minor options for support pro- grams. A commlink can run as many apps as half its Device Rating, rounded up.
AR Games: Typically casual games that are displayed in augmented reality, allowing a user to enjoy them as a pastime while also still somewhat paying attention to reality. The number on the market is huge, with some
older flatscreen and trid games being modified to run on commlinks.
Diagnostics: An ongoing self-evaluation system that monitors all the devices in a user’s PAN, giving constant vital statistics on their behavior. Popular with computer-literate and interested users who enjoy trying to squeeze every last bit of usefulness out of devices, they are also popular in keeping people aware of attacks against their PAN in a manner similar to a biomonitor.
P2.1: A dramatic update to the old P2.0 system put into place by Horizon, this social networking app mon- itors and supports all other social networks that a per- son might use, incorporating it all into a dramatic web of information. It also generates a P-Score that is a major piece of status in a lot of virtual places and within Hori- zon as a whole.
Theme Music: An algorithm that constantly moni- tors the owner of the PAN in all their interactions with devices. Taking this data, it attempts to determine the emotional state of the person and generates a playlist of songs to better support said user, either enhancing the feelings or dampening them. Essentially the mood ring of the Sixth World.
Ticker: A series of commlink apps that provide an information feed from a specified source, the vast ma- jority being legitimate, such as stock markets and news organizations. Some shadow services also use these apps to give details on other shadowrunners, fixers, Mr. Johnsons, police response times, and current payment rates for a variety of services and bribes. Ticker reduc- es the time for subject-related Matrix Searches in half. Obviously, there are a great many topics out there that don’t generate enough traffic to merit an information feed—for example, you can’t subscribe to a feed with up-to-the-minute news about Medieval Europe when Mr. Johnson sends you after a weird-looking cup and expect results to come flooding in.
COMMON
CYBERPROGRAMS
Originally developed to legally work with networks, hosts, and grids, some of these programs are quite useful for deckers if they have a little bit of imagination.
Bootstrap: An IT expert’s tool of choice when work- ing with boot code of a device. Corrupted by many hack- ers, Bootstrap allows for hidden commands to be input into the device after the next reboot. Popular options include announcing the location of the device when it connects to the Matrix, adjusting the processing of the device so that the default device attributes are the choice of the user, annoying the user with constant de- mands for ownership permissions, and making a record of every action on the device. This cyberprogram allows for a variety of tasks to be set up in the boot record by way of a Format Device action rather than just setting the device up to no longer function.
Search: When loaded, this cyberprogram tailors the cy- berdeck’s search algorithms to match the specific iconogra- phy of the host, making the decker’s Matrix Search results more likely to contain the paydata he’s looking for. This is quite popular with Mr. Johnsons, who often provide copies with pre-loaded search requirements that are programmed to self-destruct after use, so that they can only be run once. The program provides 2 extra dice on a Matrix Search ac- tion when looking for specific data on a host that contains that data. There is no bonus is if the decker is searching for something that originates from outside the host.
Shredder: Designed to assist in erasing files and all their redundant back-up options that might be around inside a host and grid that the host inhabits, Shredder adds 2 to a cyberdeck’s Data Processing attribute for the purpose of deleting a file with the Edit File action. It functions by entering a large amount of random junk data into designated files, overwriting them repeatedly to help deter attempts at recovering them. A nice secu- rity option that is legal for users to use. Recovering a file that has been Shredded (or destroyed by a Data Bomb, for that matter) requires constant access to the host or grid the file was originally on, and a Computer (File Re- covery) + Logic [Mental] (18, 1 week) Extended Test, which explains why offline back-ups are quite popular.
HACKING
CYBERPROGRAMS
Illegal, horrible pieces of code designed to work in an- tisocial methods against the legal and proper users of the Matrix, its various grids and hosts, and the whole- some and honest protectors in GOD. But enough about the positive things about these programs ...
Cat’s Paw: A low-offensive attack program that dis- tracts the user instead of damaging the device he is us- ing, Cat’s Paw is useful to prevent a user from performing Matrix actions while not bricking the device they may be using. This program fills the AR display or VR experience with annoying errors, spam pop-ups and pop-unders, or other distracting garbage. On a successful Data Spike action (p. 239, SR5), instead of doing damage, the pro- gram generates a negative dice pool modifier equal to two plus the number of marks the user has on his target. Marks added or removed after using Cat’s Paw will also modify the penalty accordingly.
Cloudless: Not comfortable with your data stored only in the Matrix’s cloud? This program uses legacy code from previous incarnations of the Matrix to place data in physical media and physical media only. In ad- dition to saving a file, it allows the user to use a suc- cessful Edit File action to move a file off the Matrix into the memory of a single designated device. This test is an Opposed Test, using the normal rules for Edit File (p. 239, SR5). The Public grid has a dice pool of 6, local grids a dice pool of 8, and global grids a dice pool of 10 for the purposes of this test.
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KILLER APPS AND RAZOR FORMS >>
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Crash: One thing deckers have learned about the new Matrix protocols is that the ability to force devices to reboot can be very beneficial. Crash is there to help deckers who want to do this. When running, it attempts to fill a targeted device with an exceptional amount of reboot-worthy errors, adding 2 to the Data Processing attribute of a deck running this program when it at- tempts a Reboot Device action (p. 242, SR5).
Detonator: With delicate monitoring, this cyberpro- gram is able to determine how often a file is accessed, and it sets a data bomb to go off after it has been affect- ed a set number of times. To use this program, a deck- er attempts a Set Data Bomb action; if successful, they can then select how many actions can be executed with the file before the bomb goes off. They can also choose whether the Data Bomb does Matrix damage or just de- letes the file. Similar to a Data Bomb, a Detonator can be detected with a Matrix Perception Test and defused with a Disarm Data Bomb action. Notoriously difficult to spot, Detonator-enabled data bombs are considered to have a Device Rating of 3 and a Sleaze attribute equal to [Re- maining actions before detonation – 1] for the purposes of opposing Matrix Perception tests. This program costs twice as much as normal hacking cyberprograms, mean- ing it costs 500 nuyen.
Evaluate: With constant updates from a series of Black BBS that specialize in monitoring paydata auctions, this program calculates how much a certain amount of pay- data might be worth, in order to allow the decker to only take an amount that would limit the amount of heat they would generate in stealing a little extra while on the job.
Fly on a Wall: Haven’t you always wanted to be the fly on a wall, in order to see the look on the faces of people when the final tally of their lives comes up? Well, GOD tends to prevent long-term surveillance by unau- thorized personnel, but this program helps rebalance the scales. While this program is running, and the decker is performing no actions other than Matrix Perception tests, the Overwatch Score only increases by 1D6 per half-hour (rolled in secret by the gamemaster as normal). The program requires a Hide action in order to activate properly, and it does not assist in any way in preventing any other icon from noticing the decker.
Hitchhiker: There are some special parts of the Ma- trix where you can take others with you--and where you definitely don’t want to be alone. Grab this pro- gram to take your non-hacker friends to foundations and UV hosts.
Nuke-from-Orbit: A hugely powerful file destruc- tion program that requires frequent updates as adjust- ments in file recovery technology continue to progress. This upgraded and outright illegal program is designed to ensure that no one will ever be able to recover a file that it destroys. If used to delete a file (the Edit File action should be used), this program ensures that no one will ever be able to recover the file from the Matrix A brutal and decidedly unsubtle cyberprogram, any Overwatch
Score generated from the Opposed Test is doubled. Of- fline back-ups and the Resonance realms are the only options for getting the file back. Nuke-From-Orbit has an Availability Rating of 12F
Paintjob: Resprays and textures a persona’s icon, as- sisting in erasing or knocking off marks as it does so, ensuring the decker is able to trust in the fact that his cy- berdeck is not being affected by outsiders. This program adds 2 to the Attack attribute for the purpose of making Erase Mark tests.
Smoke-and-Mirrors: Adds significant amounts of misleading location information in order to keep the decker from being located IRL. This program increases the cyberdeck’s Sleaze attribute between 1 and 5 (us- er’s choice) with an equivalent amount of noise added to any tests performed with the deck. The noise also af- fects Trace Icon tests performed against the deck using the program. This program has no effect against conver- gence (p. 231, SR5), as GOD and all the demiGODs can- not be distracted by so simple a trick.
Swerve: Just as deckers have seen the benefits of forcing other devices to reboot, they have seen a need to keep their devices safe from those efforts. Swerve adds redundant code to the OS of the cyberdeck and any connected devices in the decker’s PAN, making it easier for the devices to resist crash attacks. This pro- gram adds 1 to the Firewall attribute of a device for the purpose of resisting Reboot Device attempts.
Tantrum: This program overlays cold simsense sen- sations on top of a Data Spike action, hitting the target with a quick and disgusting sensation if even a single box of Matrix Damage is scored. The program is effec- tive against all technomancers, as well as cold sim or hot sim deckers, but it does nothing to users working in the Matrix in AR, any form of IC, and agents. The pro- gram does no damage from the Data Spike; instead, the targeted user experiences Nausea (p. 409, SR5) for three Combat Turns due to the sensory input. Popular options this program uses to make targets feel queasy include the smell of a dirty diaper or the feeling of being punched in the junk.
Tarball: A powerful but inaccurate combat program based on the old tar-based IC used for decades, Tarball adds 2 to the Attack attribute and 1 to the dice pool of Crash Program attempts (both of these bonuses only ap- ply to Crash Program attempts), but its broader-based attack affects a random program rather than a chosen one.