SIMPLE NETRUNNING PROGRAMS

NETRUNNING PROGRAMS

PROGRAM	FUNCTION	VERSUS (Target #)
Attack	destroys other programs	Armour (resisting) or Evasion (running)
Access	standard passcode verification	Stealth, Attack or Infiltrate
Armour	provides protection from attacks	Attack
Camouflage	hides identity of a host computer	Probe or Scanner
Command	misc commands such as copy/delete/etc	Colour of host
Crippler	reduces deck’s hardware temporarily	Mirrors
Codewall	tough barrier which can only be attacked	Attack
Disinfect	destroys viruses, worms and traps	Virus, Worm or Trap
Evasion	helps to dodge computer attacks	Attack or Trace
Evaluate	finds valuable paydata	Masking
Fuse	protects against Black Ice	Black Ice/Black Hammer
Infiltrate	deceives and fools ICE	Access
Guardian	like access, but not fooled by infiltrate	Attack or Stealth
Probe	finds long-distance info about system	Camouflage
Masking	distorts and hides your ‘signature’	Scanner or Evaluate or Search
Medic	rebuilds hit points (Heart)	none
Mirrors	protects against Cripplers	Crippler
Repair	rebuilds corrupted programs	none
Search	finds files and objects	Masking
Stealth	sneaks invisibly around ICE	Access or Guardian
Scanner	finds info about program/avatar/node	Masking or Camouflage
Scramble	encrypts sensitive data	Unlock
Trace	finds physical jackpoint	Evasion
Tarpit	corrupts programs in memory or storage	Victim program
Trap	hidden bomb, explodes when attacked	Disinfect or Attack
Unlock	decrypts scrambled datafiles	Scramble
Watchdog	protects against Tar programs	Tar program

Attack Program Variants

Icebreaker/Killer does standard damage
Steamroller does 2x damage against Tar programs
Reveal does 2x damage versus Stealth or Masking
Krash does 2x damage versus Nodes
Black Ice/Flatline does physical neuromuscular damage
Killjoy/Knockout does stun damage, induces unconsciousness
Acid/Firestarter damages deck hardware
Mindwipe destroys the decker’s mind
Zombie reprogram’s the decker’s mind
Spiderweb infinite loop inside deck
Stimulant provokes sensory reaction (eg vomiting from bad smell)
Judas unknown psychotropic conditioner

Program Options (optional)

Shielding : provides extra protection from attacks

Mobility : can move between nodes and hosts on its own

Intellect : partial reasoning and speech capability

Tactician : can organize and command other ICE

Learning : learns from past mistakes (rating increases after Rating3 uses)

Skulk : reduces ‘scream’ when ICE is destroyed

Optimization : reduces program size, increases design difficulty

Sensitive : only works in certain nodes/hosts/types of computer

One-Shot : works once then erases itself

Penetration : pierces through shielding defence

Polymorphic : can shapechange into another program

Passcode Verification

Access is the most common and easiest to bypass. Guardian is immune to all Infiltrate attempts because it runs identity checking programs connected to outside databases. Codewall is immune to both Infiltrate and Stealth because nothing is supposed to bypass it. Use an Icebreaker instead.

Viral Constructs

Viruses are very sophisticated now, and have the ability to appear very intelligent. They are net-mobile, are often outfitted with Attack and Stealth programs to penetrate systems, and are extremely difficult to find and remove. Some popular ones include Hive, Termite, Parasite, Jericho and Soulburner.