[Leevizer]

What would be sufficient? Or should she just leave herself hidden and thus need no protection at all? I don't have the advanced Wireless rulebook, and thus am not sure how stuff works there, but with the main rulebook, does a Street Sam need protection in case of a GM deciding to use a hacker against her?

What I think of giving my character is

System 3
Firewall 3 (It's limited by system, right? If not, I'll up it to 5)
IC 3
Analyze 3
Databomb 3
Attack 3
Armor 3

And the cost for this at character creation is 11850 Nuyen, as in, a bit over 2 BP.

[RelentlessImp]

Add an Agent to wield the IC.

[Leevizer]

Isn't IC a special type of an agent program and thus doesn't need an agent?

[JustADude]

Isn't IC a special type of an agent program and thus doesn't need an agent?

Bingo.

Other than good IC, your best tool is to Skinlink everything except your Commlink and physically strip out the WiFi, so that hacking is impossible without going through the "front door."

[Captain Karzak]

Yes, IC is basically just an agent with various types of combat and detection programs loaded and that has been tasked to guard stuff.

Hacker-proofing your gear is really about setting up the right sort of network architecture - it's not so much about your programs or IC - although that can certainly help.

Start with a commlink. Slap a skinlink on it and on every device that you want to be a part of your PAN (for example your smartlinked guns, your vision-enhancing eyewear, any cyberware you may posses, etc). Turn off the wireless capability on every device you skinlink. The truly paranoid can make a hardware + logic test to physically remove the components that allow wireless communication from said devices.

Now if someone wants to hack your PAN, they have to be in mutual signal range, which for skinlinked devices this literally means millimeters or perhaps centimeters from you.

Now your skinlinked commlink with it's wireless capability disabled obviously is not super-effective for communicating with the outside world. In fact that's the reason it's virtually unhackable. You probably need a second commlink. This one is NOT skinlinked and NOT connected to the rest of your PAN. Slave this second commlink to a commlink belonging to your group's hacker whenever feasible. Have that hacker also encrypt your commlinks node.

By doing all this, any hacker that wants to get to you will have to jump through a whole TON of hoops before they can start causing your cyberlimbs to punch your own face, or your image-link to show you visual hallucinations of gummy bears chasing you.

Edit: D'oh! Ninja'd

[JustADude]

Still a good explanation, CK.

And I totally didn't think about slaving your "public" commlink to the Hacker, either.

[RelentlessImp]

Derpaderp, I totally forgot that IC is its own Agent. Sorry.

[SunRunner]

If your smart you physically remove all wireless capability from your runner gear and skin link it all to a com link that has had its wireless capability physically removed as well. You then get a public come link that is garbage to broad cast your fake sin and such as needed and make sure it does not have a skin link and has a cable plug so that you can physically connect it to your shadowlink when you need it to talk to your private link such as to transfer a new fake sin ect. At that point a hacker can have your public com all he wants its got nothing you care about. When you connect your shadow link you either have your team hacker in your public node or you have nasty black ice hot and ready to go and terminate anything in your public node. I also tend to do things like turn on my jammer so the public com is signal 0 or step in a Faraday cage so that you dump anyone in your node and they cant get back in until you have transferred everything and have unplugged. I also you prepaid com codes and such from unwired for phone calls.

[Crunch]

If your smart you physically remove all wireless capability from your runner gear and skin link it all to a com link that has had its wireless capability physically removed as well.

It should be mentioned that removing the wireless capability means that you have to have invasive surgery to undergo routine maintenance.

[Ethan]

Yeah, but if he has Skinlink as SunRunner said you'd still be able to update the firmware.

[Mirikon]

Honestly, why bother? Cyberware has a signal strength of 0, right? Are you saying that a hacker is going to be able to get right up next to the street sammy and hack his ware without him knowing? The most common point of attack is, and always will be, the PAN. So load up on Firewall and IC, and be done. If someone is bound and determined to hack you, they will. The most anyone, even another hacker, can do is slow them down or fry their brains as they make the attempt. Pay attention to the basics, and leave the high end stuff to your party hacker.

[CanRay]

Anti-Hacking System?

I thought that's what the Katana or Monoblade was for...  "Hack me and I hack back.  And I take off limbs."

[FuelDrop]

I was under the impression that a street sam's anti-hacking countermeasures were:
The assault cannon from Gun Haven with a built in 6/6/6/6 commlink.
A rating 3 agent.
Rating 6 analyze.
Rating 6 scan.
If hacking attempt is detected, Agent begins scanning for hacker's node. Once found, apply assault cannon until hacking attempt ceases.

[SunRunner]

Once you have your cyber skin linked it means the doc can still read the diagnostics they just has to touch you to do it and you know when thats happening. The real problem with cyber is that even as signal 0 to use alot of it you have to have it tied into your PAN which means now they just need mutual signal with your com link. It becomes very very important when you start doing things like run a Tac net and such. It can also get nasty when they start throwing grenades with the turn on nanites as well. You know the nanites that if they get on you PHYSICALLY turn on all your wireless even if you flipped the off switch.

[Triggvi]

Cyber ware is hackable, Bioware is not. limit your cyberware were you can. I love skinlinks and use them on everything. I always have a hard off switch for my comlink so that when a hack is detected you flip the switch and the power is cut to the comlink.