Hack the planet! Hack the planet! Let's Play Uplink

Generally speaking, I tend to only upgrade hardware when I absolutely need to (just like real life), but I seem to recall it really making life a lot less aggrivating to upgrade your connection speed early on, and to get a faster processor when you start running the programs that actually have graphics.

This might be on hiatus until I can get a new PC. For whatever reason my current PC seems to be crapping out for no reason I can discern beyond being old and tired. It seemed okay down in SD but the move somehow seems to have made it unhappy?

I have no idea. All I know is that it worked okay before the move and after it chugs along like a 700 pombar diabetic...

The obvious thing to do is to upgrade your gigaQuads for five thousand credits and continue as planned.

My new computer arrived yesterday. It's all set up and I even managed to move my save game over from the old computer.

I'm hoping to get an update out this weekend or sometime in the middle of next week

Remember this? Probably not! Let me re-cap. We are a super L33T hacker and we're on a mission to make a lot of money. So far we've only done simple jobs like stealing or deleting files from corporations. But this kind of work doesn't pay much...

So, now? Now we're going to break into Government networks and make some actual money. It won't be crazy hacker L33T money but it'll be enough to start getting us the stuff we need for making, or taking, serious amounts of credits. Our first stop is the Uplink Job Board:


"Falsifying a Social Security document? That sounds lucrative!"

And it is. These jobs pay double or more than the introductory missions. We have some questions though so we contact the Client:


Contacting clients is good for a couple of reasons. The most important is that you can ask how guarded a network is. This information will tell you whether you have the necessary software to do a job. Low securit governemnt networks have a proxy server and so we'll need new software to get around that.


I always ask who the target is but I've never had a client tell me... The other reason for talking to the client is getting more money out of them or getting the money up front. As you can see in the image above I demanded the full 5100 credits and the client agreed. This is one way to get a lot of money fast. As long as you can find enough jobs/clients will to pony up the money!


We take the job and then check our bank account:


We take a few more jobs. Maybe we'll get lucky and be able to do them all in a single session?


Now that we have some jobs we need to get the software we need to complete them:


I picked up the Proxy Disabler. It's not as good as the Proxy Bypass but I don't have the 20k in credits I need to get the HUD_ConnectionAnalysis I'd need to run the bypass.

Do you remember how to set up a job? What's the very first thing?
.
.
.
.
.

That's right you connect to InterNIC first and then bounce your signal off at least 15 other networks before connecting to your target:


Here we are. Now we run trace tracker. You can see it down in the lower right corner.


Okay, we've run the password cracker and made it into the system with 77s to go. And now we've got to look for Mr. Paul McEvoy


Here he is! Now I just need to highlight personal status, alter it and then save the changes! Oh, no it won't let me! That's right I need to run the proxy_disable! I run it but, it takes too long and I have to kill the connection before the trace is completed...

Hrm... I clean up my trail and try to re-think this. I re-connect and then start the proxy_disable as soon as I begin hacking the password. Running three programs takes a toll on our CPU... Too much of one. By the time I crack the password, disable the proxy, and then search out the target I don't have enough time to alter the record and save it. I guess the first hardware upgrade has been decided for us!


Our gateway currently has a 20ghz processor in it. We junk it and pick up a 120ghz one. That should make software do its work a little faster!

We wait for the hardware to be installed (this is what the fastforward buttons at the top are for) and then try again:


Here we are again. Proxy_disable is just about half way done and we still have 53s before we are traced. While we wait we alter the record and then just wait for the software to finish:


Once it is we commit the change and then notify the client that the job is done!


Even with the hardware upgrade I can only do one of these jobs at a time. Mostly, because I keep messing up with selecting which box of text to edit and then misspelling things... =/

We do this for our remaining two jobs and after doing so are notified by Uplink that our rating has gone up:


With the first three social security alteration jobs done our coffers are a little deeper:


With the rating increase we now have access to new jobs!


We can now accept jobs to:

clear or create criminal records
steal or destroy top secret data
hack into banks in order to see financial data

All three of these jobs will require new software and probably some new software.

Before we attempt those harder jobs we take a few more "social security" jobs. After doing a few more we get an email:


Our Neuromancer rating has changed! Oh no...? So, what does this mean? It's kind of your rating amongst your fellow hackers. It doesn't have any effect on gameplay (as far as I can tell or find.) Basically, this rating determines whether we are a "white hat" or a "black hat" hacker! Are we a good guy or a bad guy? Your neuromancer rating improves when you do jobs that delete files while it decreases if you alter records/mess up people's lives. I don't pay much attention to it since it doesn't affect anything in the game and the best paying gigs mess with people more... Oh well!

Let's try a different job:


Here we go! Let's help people get those college degrees without all that pesky studying and homework! I take three of these jobs as well:


These jobs are a lot like the "Social Security" ones. You need proxy-disable and you just need to alter a single text field. Unlike the social security job though we'll have a lot more time to do these than we did with the social security jobs


(I'm not going to show you the connection bouncing or the log clean ups for every job, nor every job, just assume I'm bouncing the signal and covering my tracks)

We hack into the International Academic Database, disable the proxy, and then search for these people:


See our trace in the bottom right? Plenty of time to do these jobs!


After completing this batch of jobs our Neuromancer rating changes again:


...

There is an alternative version of this job, instead of giving someone a degree you take it away:


Since we have so much time with this job we go ahead and scrub the access log on the target network as well as cleaning up over at InterNIC. Note, that the cleaning up on the target end will never be enough to stop a trace as when you log off a new log will be creating with the IP address of the site you bounced in on.

We've done about 8 jobs and our income has more than doubled:


The next tier of jobs will require things like voice_analyser, LAN_probe, firewall_disable, and decypher and decrypter. These are expensive toys. But, what we'll really want is the HUD_connectionanalysis that will allow us to see the defense systems and to bypass many of them. Bypassing is better than disabling because it takes less time! The HUD upgrade also gives us some other goodies


Or I could get this? Then maybe I could connect to #talkingtime while playing Uplink. That could be fun (the game contains an actual IRC client. The default chat room when you connect is an Uplink one where you can talk to other players of the game and ask for help, etc. I have no idea if anyone still visits the room.


This lets me see the trace on the map having this makes track_tracer obsolete.

Before we leave let's check the news:


That would be us!


This would be the main story line. I believe Agent TheHackerkid may not be long for this world...

see you next time!

(Is there interest in me trying to do this as a video LP? I know these screens are pretty static. The game mostly consists of navigating through menus and watching bars fill up. But it might be more entertaining than this. I don't know what'd do for commentary. Not much to add to what you are seeing, but I'd like to hear from you guys/gals.)

The bypasses have a much more useful advantage over the disablers other than time. As long as you take out the Monitor software first (if the security has one), then bypassers won't trigger an active trace. Bypassing the Monitor also stops active traces on your password breaker. You will still get active traced if you log into admin though.

How is this useful? Well, the Database servers have more than just the "admin" account. There is also a "readwrite" account that does everything you need it to do, and won't trigger an active trace when you log in. You have to manually type the account into the username blank, but once you do, using the Password Breaker will find the password for that account.

Just remember, though, that even if there is no active trace, there will be a passive trace eventually. As long as you remember to kill the InterNIC logs, though, you'll be fine.

tl;dr - Bypass ALL the things!

You don't need to use a bypass to do anything involving the school records, I've found- just the password cracker and the trace tracker. Also, while a video LP would be interesting, I think it wouldn't be very entertaining, considering how the game works. Glad to see the LP make a comeback!

The bypass isn't for the school records. I've already done a few of those its for future jobs

I too prefer the screencap LP style.

Hurrah for its return!

Welcome back to the world of Uplink! Last time we were busy helping people get the degrees they could never get through hard work. Or getting rid of the ones that other had work hard on... We were so good at it that we did all the jobs on the board like that.

We get a few emails from Uplink:


This is the game's way of telling us that future higher paying jobs are going to require some better software, specifically, that HUDConnectionanalysis I was talking about last time. We get one more email regarding our Neuromancer rating:


With our upgraded Uplink rank we see the next tier of jobs. They come in two flavors: destroy corporate data or steal corporate data. Seeing as we still have out starting hard drive and its about to get even more software put on it we'll be sticking to destroying software. The process for both jobs is the same though. before we take those though we'll do some criminal record jobs which are very similar to the social security and college degree ones:


We talk to the client for security details:


I then of course ask for more money and all of it up front (this is standard practice for me.) I take jobs don't pay more or refuse to pay up front but asking doesn't hurt:


Okay, we got the jobs. They paid in advance so we've got quite a bit of money! Time to do some shopping:


The HUD_ConnectionAnalysis shows you the networks you are logged into and the security systems on them having this informaton is nice but what it is really useful for is running bypass software that can quickly disable proxy servers, firewalls, and network monitors. Here is what it looks like:


For the Criminal Records job we'll also need one more piece of software:


The Decypher breaks through encrypted networks. I splurge and get the most advanced version. We also pick up Proxy_Bypass v1.0, Monitor_Bypass v3.0


I also delete the Proxy_Disable v1.0 from my hard drive, with the bypass the disabler is superfluous. Then we connect to the Global Criminal Database:


First step is to run the connection analysis then to bypass whatever security measures are on the network:


The green light tells you the bypass is working


With the GCD network security measures disabled we get about cracking in!

With the Global Criminal Database at our mercy we log in. And, thanks to one of our readers I learned that you can use the readwrite account to avoid triggering any trace at all. So I do that!


This is a new screen. This is the list of active security measures that must be overcome before we can access information on the network (proxy, firewall, and monitor would be passive forms) The Elliptic-Curve Encryption Cypher is why we bought the Decypher software:


It takes awhile, but there is no hurry as we're not being traced


Now, we can finally start altering criminal records! We give Tom Boyer a conviction:


Paul Henderson gets a Robbery conviction:


And, Sean Gilmour gets his criminal record scrbbed clean:


and with that we're done with the GCD. Next job? Destroying some corporate mainframes!


These jobs will require a firewall bypass so we pick one of those up too, v5.0:


Our first job is breaking into Keytron Systems Central Mainframe, the client gives us the IP address:


But, we can't connect... Hrm. Looks like the mainframe only allows connections from other Keytron networks

We look up Keytron networks at InterNIC:


And add both of them to our list of connections and then reroute our connection through them before hitting the mainframe:


Hrm... Voice Print Identification. I don't have anything that can get past that. Disconnect. We're going to need a few things to get past voice pring ID. We'll need someone's voice and then a way to play it. You can find the voice you need by connecting to a corporation's public website and adding the administrator's phone number to your list:


Next, we'll need something to capture voice, manipulate it and then play it back:


We're running out of software to buy, money to buy it with, and room to store it:


But, now we should have everything we need to break into the mainframe, First step call up the administrator:


(You can't here it but there is a voice on the line saying "hello, hello is anyone there" once they hang up though our software does it work and gives us a voice sample)


With the voice recording we reconnect to the mainframe, bypass the passive security and then play the voice sample to get through, wait:


What's that? The Monitor and Proxy bypass both have red lights on them and there is a trace starting on me... Something must have gone wrong. I try to rush through, I have 80 seconds, but it fails when it comes to wiping the mainframe... Cause the Proxy hasn't been bypassed:


And that is why you never by software versions lower than the highest... Cause now I have to get a new proxy and monitor bypass and I just wasted money purchasing the earlier versions... In order to afford the better version, I need to take on new jobs for the cash:


Now, for sure we're ready!


All green lights and we're playing back the voice sample (TT medals of Excellence to people who get the movie reference in the screenshot)


Now that we're in we access the console (it's a menu option under 'Admin', we could delete the files one by one using the file screen but its much faster through the console)


We move to the usr directory (think root) and then 'delete'

The corporate espionage jobs also require us to clear out the logs as well so that the victims don't know how their mainframes got toasted. Sadly, there isn't a way to do that through the console so we go into the access logs:


And I just went crazy and cleaned the whole log out.

We disconnect, erase our tracks and wait for the news to break before contacting the client:


We do some more of these jobs:


Also, all that file deleting has moved our Neuromancer score back towards the white hat region:


Woot! We're now in the top ten Uplink Agents (notice TheHackerKid at number 2? He was in that news story also make note of number one)


Here's the next story article:


Featuring the #1 Uplink agent, who I guess is in the employ of ARC and he says everything is super okay! He can't be wrong! He's #1!

Next time we hack more things! Probably a bank! Gateway upgrade too!

That's the last time I use a computer dating service.


edit: In Uplink Land, no one keeps backups

Ahaha! The medal is yours!

I'm pretty far behind on this LP, but won't anybody who looks at this record realize this is a very old-looking 19-year-old divorced dead guy?

Good LP so far. I came close to beating this once, but couldn't cut the mustard, so to speak. I've currently got a game going (on hiatus) that's pretty close to where I was last time, though. Hopefully I can manage it one day.

I would suggest doing more low-level jobs until you can fully upgrade your bypass software, and also maybe getting some even better hardware. I would also suggest playing a nice game of chess, if you know what I mean.

...then again, that's just my suggestion.

I don't get the chess reference, sorry.

Also, the jobs board in this run has been weird with low level jobs dropping off the board completely. I suppose letting the clock run out might help with that.

My bypasses are maxed at this point

Perhaps a bout of Tic-Tac-Toe, then?

Nope! I'm working 12+ hours a day here guys... My higher brain function has mostly ceased...

Is that your excuse? Or do you just know that the only way to win is to not play?

Just a short update for now!

All the new jobs are tracing hackers or busting into banks to either see where money is being moved or to move money.


We're going to want to be doing that soon, but I don't trust our hardware right now to get us through the bank stuff... Let's get the software we'll need for tracing hackers.


Funny story! I usually don't hacker tracing missions, because they are tedious and long, AND they sometimes lead back to yourself... And I'm not turning myself in for Any amount of money. I pick up the log_undeleter and the HUD_mapshowtrace, because it looks cool...


We grab a mission that involves busting into a bank but doesn't require us to move any money around. We just need to follow a money transfer:


We grab two more! We're like a credit rating agency now! Except more direct:


First, let's do the check loan state, it's really easy. Log in with the account # provided and then just check the loan amounts




Done and done!

Now let's trace some money! The nice thing about tracing a money wire is that the client gives you the account information you need! Log in as the interested party, check recent transactions, right the account # down of where the money is going and then use that to log into the receiving bank and get the name attached to the account!


Okay, I'm going to burn some time, grind for some money, and see you next time hopefully with enough credits to get some new hardware and take on some of the hardest missions.

Until then.

Back! And sooner than I thought! Mostly because I got a bug for playing some Uplink and powered through some more missions.

While I was busy tracing recent transfers and deleting servers, I notice a news story:


This is another story news item, if you recall Potemkin was the top Uplink agent who had begun working for the mysterious ARC company. There isn't anything we can do right now with this information keep it in mind.

*Grind*


That's not a bad pot of money, but getting a fast rig is going to cost more than 50k...

The next set of missions I take on for money are completely destroying computer systems. This is similar to the data wipe missions we did earlier just that we take a few more steps. After we get a voice print, bounce our signal, bypass monitors, proxy, and firewall, we access the console:


We clear out all the files,


We clear out all the logs,


we delete all the system files, and then reboot the system:


And with the system unable to boot up it kicks us off. Before we can collect on these jobs the news has to break, so we wait:


Once the story is public we send an email to the client and collect our credits. These are nice easy jobs that will net you 10k to 14k credits. Nice work.

While advancing the clock to get more jobs we get an unsolicited email:


Interesting! Our dead Uplink agent must have had a kill switch tied up somewhere... ARC is bad huh? Okay, we could check them out, he gave us his password and the server address:


Looks like we'll need more than Potemkin's login info to check out his story. We disconnect and collect the necessary components and try again:


That also won't cut it... Okay, so we hack in the old fashioned way (notice the tracking line on the map?):


Looks like a lot is going on with whatever RevelationCoreV0.7 is. The 8th of April is the day that Potemkin showed up dead. So, he must have been looking for Revelation, hrm. Again, interesting but not much we can do about it now.

Back to making some money....

*Grind*

100k credits is pretty good. I think it's time to upgrade our gateway:


The ZION isn't the best system but's got plenty of power and storage as well as security if we ever decided to install some. We shouldn't because if you do things right no one should ever find you.


24 hours later our new gateway is up with all our hardware and software in it. We log out and log back in as they email says to and then go shopping!


I pick up the best modem our Gateway can handle as well as 64 Gqs of storage, and 200Ghz and 150Ghz processor chips. I have to wait another 24 hours or so for everything to get installed. When it is all down this is what it looks like:


All that shopping has seriously depleted our funds. And the next thing we need is going to be costly:


So, we need to make some more money.


This will work. Removal jobs pay well, are easy, and stackable! I take all of them.

To remove a person we log into the Global Criminal Database, add some crimes (at least 2) and parole to their record and then authorize an arrest:



We do as many of them as possible before we get traced. Once we log out we cover our tracks, like we always do, and then wait three hours:


I'd call that 'removed.' Contact the client and collect our fee.

Some more storyline news:


We do some more removal jobs... *grind*


With all of the removal jobs done, I tackle the next greatest number of jobs on the board "make a donation" jobs. These jobs are also easy. The client provides the bank account number and we log in using the acount #, transfer some funds, and collect our credits!


Once the transfer has been you log out and clean up your tracks. These jobs are also stackable as long as you have multiple jobs at the same bank. I did about eight or nine of them and grew our purse considerably:

Whilst destroying people's lives and bank accounts we get an interesting email! Looks like ARC took notice of our earlier incursion:


Now, there is no way they could have found us. We covered are tracks and they we're quite a ways a way from tracing us with either method. But, as a story mission I guess they get to break the rules.

The question I'm asking you is do we take the ARC mission or do we go about on our own merry away?

Here is where we are. Our Gateway:


Gateway upgrades: we could replace the 120 and 150 ghz chips with 200 ghz ones, we could get 8 more q of space, we could install a security system:


We can buy some LAN software (the hardest nuts to crack our LAN systems, and I hate them...) and/or decrypting software (for IP theft jobs):

"nothing we can do with this information right now"

You actually can do something with that information, and you get an achievement for it.

Why are you not a millionaire yet?

Really? I didn't even know this game had achievements... I played through it when it first came out a long time ago before STEAM and achievements... I'm guessing I know what said thing is, but feel free to enlighten the other readers!

I'm not a millionaire yet because I haven't yet found a big bank account to steal from! Every bank job I get I check the balance and nothing has been big enough to bother with! It's coming. It's coming

Really? Every story mission you do puts a little medal on your status page, the one with the neuromancer rating.

Anyway.




Hello, 1.4 million credit bank account!

Well, I guess I'll be a millionaire sooner than I thought!