Tavis Ormandy showing LastPass exploit proof of conceptTavis Ormandy, one of the security researchers from Google’s “Project Zero” group, has been looking for (and finding) vulnerabilities in popular password managers for the past few months. He recently found a new bug in LastPass’ extension that would have allowed attackers to steal any of your passwords saved via the service. Another similar-but-different bug was also reported in the utility’s Firefox add-on.
Password Manager Security
Security experts generally recommend password managers, not necessarily because they’re an ideal way to deal with passwords, but because they’re the best way to deal with them without re-using the same password on multiple sites.Re-using passwords seems to be a much bigger risk than keeping all of your passwords in a password-protected and encrypted vault. Plenty of data breaches or account hacks have showed the risk of password reuse.
As an example, your Gmail password may be safe on Google’s servers, but if you use the same password for another website, and then that website is hacked, the attackers could log in to your Gmail account. Gmail’s servers were secure the whole time, but that didn’t matter in the end, because the attacker was able to obtain that same password from a much less secure website.
Password managers may be of great help in such situations, but they are not without risks, either. For instance, password managers that use browser extensions can more easily be attacked remotely, through the browser.
Syncing your password vault with an online server comes with its own risks, too, compared to using a local vault such as those provided by KeePass or KeePassX (two applications recommended by Ormandy). It gives attackers the opportunity to brute-force your master password and login to the vault.
LastPass’ Latest Vulnerabilities
The flaw that Ormandy discovered on March 20 in the LastPass Chrome extension (version 4.1.42.80) was found in an intermediary JavaScript script that stands between the browser extension and LastPass’ cloud service, where your password vault is stored. This bug could allow an attacker to steal your passwords as the vault is accessed.
If you had the “binary component” installed, it would have allowed arbitrary code execution, too. The binary component for the LastPass browser extension contains additional convenience features such as enabling fingerprint authentication support, exporting and importing data, and much more.
Ormandy put together a proof of concept in which he showed that the “calc.exe” application could be started remotely on Windows via that LastPass extension vulnerability. According to a recent LastPass post, the bug affected all versions of the extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari). The company said this bug was addressed–apparently via workaround, rather than a complete fix–hours after it was reported.
Another vulnerability was reported for Firefox on March 21. This bug seems to affect version 4.1.35a of the Firefox extension, and the company said the flaw is “largely the same” to the one reported the previous day. However, instead of addressing the Firefox extension’s issue via the same workaround used for the previous bug, LastPass decided to wait until a full fix was ready. The company said it released version 4.1.36a of its extension for Firefox to fix the reported issue at 12:15am ET today.
LastPass added that it has no knowledge of the vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild and that it plans to release a more comprehensive summary of the events soon.
The Khronos Group wants the world to know that Vulkan, its next-generation graphics API, will not restrict multi-GPU support to Windows 10.
Vulkan debuted in March 2015 with the goal of taking on AMD’s Mantle, DirectX 12, and other graphics APIs. It quickly found its way into smartphones thanks to support from Google, Samsung, and other Android smartphone manufacturers, and PC games like Doom and Dota 2 were also updated to take advantage of the new API. Other titles, like the upcoming Star Citizen online game from Cloud Imperium Games, chose Vulkan over DirectX 12.
And that’s just Vulkan’s start. Khronos announced at GDC 2017 in February that “all major GPU companies” have shipped Vulkan drivers for both mobile and desktop platforms, that game engines like Unity and CryEngine will support the API, and that it’s been built into the Nintendo Switch console. (Khronos also revealed the OpenXR working group, which is dedicated to improving VR and AR development, as well as updates to other APIs.)
One of the biggest Vulkan updates revealed at GDC 2017 was multi-GPU support. That’s where this clarification about Windows 10 comes in. Khronos said in a blog post that “one key question” it’s been asked since GDC 2017 is “whether the Vulkan multi-GPU functionality is specifically tied to ship only on Windows 10.” Here’s from where Khronos thinks that confusion stemmed:
Some of the Khronos GDC presentations mentioned that for Vulkan multi-GPU functionality, Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) must be in Linked Display Adapter (LDA) mode. That was not a very clear statement that has caused some confusion. And so it is worth clarifying that:
The use of WDDM is referring to the use of Vulkan multi-GPU functionality on Windows. On other OS, WDDM is not necessary to implement the Vulkan multi-GPU extension.
On Windows, the use of LDA mode can make implementing Vulkan multi-GPU functionality easier, and will probably be used by most implementations, but it is not strictly necessary.
If an implementation on Windows does decide to use LDA mode, it is NOT tied to Windows 10. LDA mode has been available on many versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and 8.X.
Khronos also reiterated that it “always strives to make its specifications as cross platform as possible” even though “what products ship on which OS is up to the implementers of each specification.” Vendors already plan to bring Vulkan’s multi-GPU support to non-Windows 10 platforms, including Linux, Khronos said. So don’t worry–you won’t have to use Windows 10 to enjoy the power of multiple GPUs via this up-and-coming graphics API.
OnePlus is a company that doesn’t much like its reputation in the smartphone business as a plucky upstart. Yet that’s what it is, competing as it must with the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google for the crown of best smartphone in the world. The OnePlus 3, launched in June 2016, was a sublime blend of design and performance for just over £300 but nevertheless, here’s our OnePlus 3T review. See also:Best phones 2017.
So it’s odd that just five months later OnePlus has ended production of that handset, sticking to it’s motto of ‘never settle’ and released this upgraded version of the same phone, the OnePlus 3T. The company that prides itself on listening to its fans’ reaction to its products has boldly dared to update a handset that people have had for less than half a year. Will the move gain new fans while annoying existing ones, or both?
It’s hard not to compare this phone, when reviewing it, to the OnePlus 3. Since there’s only five months between iterative updates to a high-end phone, we have to compare the two to fully understand the reasons why.
OnePlus 3T: Midnight Black edition
Following the extremely limited Collette edition of the OnePlus 3T (just 250 units), the firm has announced the Midnight Black version of the phone. This is still a ‘limited release’ but doesn’t involve queuing up in Paris for.
The Midnight Edition is very similar but without the Collette branding and features “space-grade aluminum with three carefully applied dark coatings 14 microns thick and maintains the natural look and feel of metal.”
OnePlus said the 3T Midnight Edition is available from Hypebeast to start (the first 250 units) at 4pm on 24 March (UK time), then on the official store at a later date for those in North America and Europe. It comes in 128GB and 6GB of RAM only priced at $479, €479 and £439.
In the UK you can get the OnePlus 3T from O2 on a 24-month contract deal, for both the 64GB or 128GB models. Bear in mind that it’s only available on O2’s Refresh tariff that allows you to upgrade your handset more regularly.
OnePlus 3T: Design and build
Even the ‘s’ iterations of iPhones have an ‘s’ stamped on the back, but in this case there is absolutely no design change from the OnePlus 3 to the OnePlus 3T. The only change is in the darker colour option, the grey of which on the rear is a tad darker than the old model. The forthcoming Soft Gold option is exactly the same, and visually indistinguishable from its five month old brother.
This reinforces that OnePlus sees the 3T as a small tweak for the line, hoping as it does to not frustrate loyal fans that shelled out for a 3. The 3T happily retains an outstanding design, with build quality to rival any premium smartphone maker in the land. It does what Apple has still failed to do and made a 5.5in screen phone slim, svelte and usable with one hand (just).
Apparently carved out of one piece of space-grade aluminium alloy the OnePlus 3T measures 153 x 75 x 7.4mm and weighs 158g. The frame of the handset houses a power/lock button on the right edge, a USB-C port, speaker, mic and 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom and a volume rocker and OnePlus’ excellent Alert Slider on the left, leaving the top edge flat, curved and smooth. With a front facing fingerprint scanner that relies on haptic feedback as opposed to a physical button, this is a phone that screams ‘use me’ from the second you take it out the box.
In that box it also already comes with a screen protector pre-applied, handy if you want to use it with one. The only lines that break the dark gunmetal of our review unit are the aerial lines and the OnePlus logo that sits beneath a 16Mp camera that protrudes ever so slightly from the casing. The front facing camera sits next to the earpiece and is also an amazing 16Mp, something we’ll explore later.
At the launch event for the OnePlus 3T, co-founder Carl Pei explained that the company is always striving to do better; he used Apple’s design as a benchmark and the phone is one of the best looking handsets on the market, rivalling the matte black iPhone 7 Plus in the looks department, which is no mean feat. It does however remain slightly slippy, and is a phone that could be destroyed with one drop onto the pavement. We recommend one of OnePlus’ subtle but grippy cases that fit both this and the older OnePlus 3.
OnePlus 3T: Specs, hardware and performance
Much of the 3T’s spec sheet remains the same as its predecessor but there are also some important upgrades. Let’s take a look.
OnePlus 3T screen
Despite initial rumours, the OnePlus 3T has exactly the same display as the OnePlus 3. It’s a 5.5in Optic AMOLED with Full HD (1920×1080) resolution and 401ppi. By its own admission, OnePlus continues to ship a screen that recreates colours more vibrantly than most, but with the Oxygen OS skin of Android that it runs this feels right; the handset and feel of the software that the screen runs is right at home with the popping colours and bright whites.
There’s the option to calibrate the colours to your tastes though, and this is one example of the granularity of Android helping the OnePlus 3T more than most become a truly personal device.
OnePlus 3T processor, memory and storage
The OnePlus 3T’s upgrades are mostly all internal, and while they’re all welcome, it took a fair few days of use to see why it’s come to be. We’ve used the OnePlus 3 for a few months, so can draw decent comparisons – straight off, you need not upgrade for fear of missing out on processor power, speed or battery life if you own the older model.
Having said that the 3T is faster, yet only noticeably so if you are really hammering it at full pelt. It joins the Google Pixel and Pixel XL in having Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 821 processor, the current pinnacle of smartphone chips. While only the most graphically intensive games and busiest of multitasking days will make the 820 sweat, the 821 is faster on the OnePlus 3T. Going from the 3 to the 3T, the difference is noticeable if incredibly subtle.
In a full week of use we experienced absolutely no lag, slow app changes or overheating. It is truly like using a desktop at some times, and even has more RAM than some of those computers with 6GB on board. Pair that with Adreno 530 graphics and you have an obscenely powerful smartphone in your pocket – alongside your fat wallet full of the money you’ve saved by choosing it.
Our benchmarks show the OnePlus 3T runs equal with the best smartphones out there, though remember these benchmarks don’t represent real world use. The phones in this graph are the absolute best you can get right now, and broadly all perform to the same unbeatable standards.
Note: OnePlus has been caught cheating popular benchmarks such as Geekbench and GFXBench with its OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T. XDA-Developers accuses OnePlus of having configured the processor to automatically switch into overdrive mode when a popular benchmark is detected (you canread the full story here).
OnePlus has confirmed the practice and apologised, stating that“In order to give users a better user experience in resource intensive apps and games, especially graphically intensive ones, we implemented certain mechanisms in the community and Nougat builds to trigger the processor to run more aggressively. The trigger process for benchmarking apps will not be present in upcoming OxygenOS builds on the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T.”
For now you can see our benchmark results below as accurate as they were run on OxygenOS before the changes were implemented. Also note that with the flagship-level hardware onboard both phones should be decent performers, and behaved as such during real-world testing.
The OnePlus 3T is available with 64GB of internal storage, but bear in mind there’s no SD card slot. The fact you only need to spend £30 more to get an impressive 128GB shows you that Apple charging £100 more for that jump in storage for the iPhone 7 is unnecessarily high. For most, spending that extra money will be well worth it.
OnePlus 3T fingerprint scanner and other specs
The fingerprint scanner is on the front bottom face of the device, which is still where these sensors work best, despite Sony trying the side and Huawei and others the back. The button is non-moving and gives the perfect level of feedback when unlocking the device or using a compatible app like Android Pay to verify your identity. Unlike the iPhone 7, it doesn’t feel like the whole phone is clicking down – it’s way better here.
Tapping the same sensor acts as a home button, and is so good that when we try phones with physical buttons it feels wrong. The best devices change our habits for the good, and the OnePlus 3T has the best fingerprint sensor/home button combo of any current smartphone on the market.
OnePlus 3T battery life
The non-removable battery clocks in at 3,400mAh, a step up from the 3,000 of the OnePlus 3. The internals are exactly the same dimensions but the battery is denser, hence the increase. In general use the phone will last a full working day which is about average. We left the house most days at 8am with 100%, and by the time we rolled in from work at about 6.30pm the OnePlus 3T had about 30% left in the tank.
This was when using the device as our primary email sender and using apps like Slack, Spotify, Pocket, WhatsApp, train timetable apps, GPS battery-drainers like Google Maps and several others throughout the day. The battery percentage chugs down at the expected rate, and we didn’t experience any dramatic unexpected fall-off.
On one particularly busy Google Maps day out in Barcelona even after 12 hours on the go the battery was sitting at 15%, and that was with the phone used to navigate, take photos and video and more besides. Obviously it depends what you’re doing on the device, but for all but the most intensive users, the OnePlus 3T will last the whole day no questions asked and lighter users should be able to get a decent chunk into a second day with the 3T.
Included in the box is OnePlus’ Dash Charger. The brick and cable, only when used together (important to note this point) charge the phone to 60 percent in 30 minutes. This is OnePlus’ claim, and it rings true – Dash Charge is excellent. It means you need not charge your 3T overnight, instead giving it a quick boost when you get up in the morning. There’s also a Dash Charger for your car in the shop.
Not only does this encourage a better way to charge your phone (sometimes lithium-ion batteries degrade with overnight overcharging) while allowing you to top up very quickly, but also more importantly means you won’t panic about running out of juice for all but the most phone-focussed of days – and that is something that every smartphone user wants, bar none.
The slight downside is that this fast charging only works with the included combo of plug and cable. Any other USB-C cable will charge it, but at a slower rate. OnePlus sells the Dash Power Bundle for £27.53.
OnePlus 3T cameras
The slim casing of the 3T means the camera protrudes slightly. This is an acceptable pay-off for what is an excellent sensor: a 16Mp lens with f/2.0 aperture and an LED flash. It’s also capable of shooting video at 4K resolution or 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second. We used the camera extensively in Barcelona, and the results were very impressive.
The panorama mode stitched together a mountain view exceptionally well, giving full detail to the scene. A football match in cloudy weather was reproduced well with no blur and in a low-lit church the camera reproduced colour and shadow to a high quality level.
The front-facing 16Mp camera is an upgrade on the 8Mp of the OnePlus 3, and is one of the highest resolution selfie cameras on the market, matching as it does the megapixel count of the rear one. It’s an impressive upgrade, but one that only the most ardent of selfie fans will notice. However, it did improve the quality of video calling considerably, and will benefit those into Snapchat stories and similar services.
OnePlus 3T: Software
Refreshingly the software update that the OnePlus 3T ships with changes the user experience in all the right ways to represent a clean, intuitive and pleasant to use Android version that is every bit as good as Google’s own version. By basing its Android skin Oxygen OS closely to stock Android Marshmallow 6.0, OnePlus has been able to make small tweaks that don’t completely change the way we used the phone, but enough to notice positive improvements day to day.
An update to Android 7.0 Nougat began rolling out for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T at the end of December, ahead of many of its rivals. Note that we have reviewed this phone running Marshmallow, not Nougat.
Oxygen OS 3.5.1 is the new version, compared to the 3.2.7 we had installed on the older OnePlus 3 at the time of writing. Nevermind the decimals, here are the differences. Menus, in settings for example, look cleaner with no lines between options, a neater top bar and a bluer default font from the green of the 3. To be honest, they are minor changes, like the layout of the notification bar that you pull down from the top of the screen. In the comparison pictures below you can see the changes (OnePlus 3 on the left, OnePlus 3T on the right).
The OnePlus 3T cleverly combines a physical slider with profile changes to quickly switch between modes. Here, the three-position switch goes between Silent, Do Not Disturb and Ring. These are customisable and are useful for putting your phone into a quieter mode for meetings or when you go to bed for example. This is different to how the slider worked on the OnePlus 3, where it went between Silent, Priority Notifications and All Notifications. The functions are basically the same, but again have some software tweaks within the settings menu.
All in all, the alert slider is a great idea, improving on Apple iPhone silencer switch, and is a button you’ll miss if you use other phones afterwards.
The best thing about these tweaks is the way they simply blend into the OS and are intuitive, thoughtful upgrades. OnePlus confirmed that the 3 and the 3T will both receive updates to Android Nougat 7.0 in December 2016. We hope there is more of the same incremental updates rather than a full overhaul, because Oxygen OS 3.5.1 is very good indeed. Nor would it make sense for OnePlus to work so hard on an upgrade that most users would only see for one month.
OnePlus 3T: Should I upgrade from the OnePlus 3 to the OnePlus 3T?
So it’s crunch time; you bought a OnePlus 3 in June and five months later, do you upgrade? Well, no, you shouldn’t in our opinion. The OnePlus 3T may have, on paper, a better processor, bigger battery and better selfie camera but if you own the 3, it isn’t worth spending another £400 for those features. If you can sell on your old device for a good price then perhaps you’d be tempted, but if the company has done the 3T this fast, it surely can’t be that much longer until we see a OnePlus 4.
The OnePlus 3 has, like the newer 3T, 6GB RAM and come December will also run Android Nougat. Sure, we love the changes to the 3T and the Gunmetal colour is awesome, but you can’t even see it with a case on and in everyday use, you can barely notice the difference in speed. You can just about tell the battery life is better though, but it was already excellent on the OnePlus 3. Don’t panic – you don’t need to upgrade unless you want a OnePlus phone with 128GB of storage.
OnePlus 3T: Should I get the OnePlus 3 or the OnePlus 3T?
This is a trickier question, and one that ran with a time limit – OnePlus has ceased production, so once they’re gone, they’re gone and the 3T will be the only phone the company still sells. On the day the 3T sent on sale in Europe, the OnePlus 3 was completely sold out on the company’s website.
At the time of writing however the OnePlus 3 was still available on contract from O2. We’d wager this is the last way in the UK to get the old model brand new – otherwise, look to eBay.
At the RRP, if you only need 64GB and want to save £70, the OnePlus 3 remains an outstanding piece of hardware that will be more than adequate at the high end of the market for at least another year and a half. That £70 could buy you OnePlus’ new Bullets earphones, an official case and a spare Dash Charge Bundle with change to spare.
However, if you want 128GB on board storage, you’ll have to go for the OnePlus 3T, setting you back £439. It’s also the best way to get hold of the Soft Gold colour if you prefer – the OnePlus 3 has sold out of this colour, while the 3T will soon be stocked in it. So you’ll have to wait if you prefer Gold to Gunmetal, but the 3T is the way to go.
Yet for all the similarities, we’re still inclined to recommend the OnePlus 3T. It has a bigger battery, lightning fast speeds and a selfie camera that means video calls are actually worthwhile experiences. While nitpicking indeed, the software updates are also commendable, and the overall experience is (just) better than the five month old, soon-to-be-gone OnePlus 3. It’s an odd dilemma to have from a company that had until now made your buying choice very simple.
In a few weeks you’ll only be able to get a OnePlus 3T, but for now, there’s a decision to be made for prospective buyers.
There are just two days left to enter our latest Steam Giveaway! Up for grabs are three copies of Ghost Recon Wildlands. It’s been a while since the last Ghost Recon game–nearly five years, to be exact. We played the game in January and were impressed by what is said to be Ubisoft’s largest open-world game.
To enter, head to the forums and answer the discussion prompt. You can also win by entering the raffle hosted in the giveaway thread.
The Steam Giveaway will run until 12pm EDT on Friday, March 24. The game will be awarded to the winners as a Steam gift. A Steam account is required to receive the prize and play the game.
GOG brought its Galaxy client out of beta with a 1.2 update featuring cloud saves, a frames per second counter, and many other new and improved features. These additions should make GOG’s marketplace for DRM-free games even more attractive to anyone willing to try something besides Steam.
Many of Galaxy’s new features are common to other clients. There are desktop notifications for game invites, friend requests, and messages; support for screenshots captured by pressing F12 in supporting games; indicators that show if an achievement is common or rare among GOG users; and more. You can enjoy many of these same features on Steam, or if you’re a console gamer, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and their respective online services.
Not that GOG needed to reinvent the wheel, of course, and the company smartly incorporated all these whirligigs and doodads into the Galaxy 1.2 update. Many features (desktop notifications, achievements, and more) can be disabled. You can also limit Galaxy’s bandwidth usage at certain times; decide on a per-game basis if you want to enable automatic updates; and view notifications, the FPS counter, and online chat via an in-game overlay.
All those options should make it easy for you to configure Galaxy to your liking, or you can just play games purchased from GOG without ever installing Galaxy on your system–the company said that “GOG Galaxy will never be mandatory.” Use it, don’t use it, GOG titles don’t care either way. That, and the fact that DRM-free purchases mean you don’t need an internet connection to play a game, makes GOG more flexible than some other sellers.
Still, it’s clear that GOG would like you to at least experiment with Galaxy. The client offers crossplay support that lets you join your friends in multiplayer games even if they use Steam instead of Galaxy, and it offers access to the same games as the GOG website, including those from the Steam Early Access-inspired “Games in Development.” (GOG Connect, which lets you import Steam games to your GOG library, is site-only, however.)
You can download Galaxy 1.2 via GOG’s website. The client is available for Windows 7 and later as well as macOS 10.8 and newer. GOG said a “Linux version of our client is planned eventually” but that it doesn’t “have an expected release date right now.” You can also learn more about GOG’s vision for Galaxy in the video below.
GOG.com Galaxy: Introducing a DRM-Free Online Gaming Platform!
A Lithuanian man has been charged with tricking two US technology firms into wiring him $100m (£80.3m) through an email phishing scam.
Posing as an Asian-based manufacturer, Evaldas Rimasauskas tricked staff into transferring money into bank accounts under his control, US officials said.
The companies were not named but were described as US-based multinationals, with one operating in social media.
Officials called it a wake-up call for even “the most sophisticated” firms.
According to the US Department of Justice, Mr Rimasauskas, 48 – who was arrested in Lithuania last week – deceived the firms from at least 2013 up until 2015.
He allegedly registered a company in Latvia which bore the same name as an Asian-based computer hardware manufacturer and opened various accounts in its name at several banks.
‘Fake email accounts’
The DoJ said: “Thereafter, fraudulent phishing emails were sent to employees and agents of the victim companies, which regularly conducted multimillion-dollar transactions with [the Asian] company.”
The emails, which “purported” to be from employees and agents of the Asian firm, and were sent from fake email accounts, directed money for legitimate goods and services into Mr Rimasauskas’s accounts, the DoJ said.
The cash was then “wired into different bank accounts” in locations around the world – including Latvia, Cyprus, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary and Hong Kong.
He also “forged invoices, contracts and letters” to hide his fraud from the banks he used.
Officials said Mr Rimasauskas siphoned off more than $100m in total, although much of the stolen money has been recovered.
Acting US Attorney Joon H Kim said: “This case should serve as a wake-up call to all companies… that they too can be victims of phishing attacks by cybercriminals.
“And this arrest should serve as a warning to all cybercriminals that we will work to track them down, wherever they are, to hold them accountable.”
Darknet is not the type of VR game I would expect to hold my attention. When I imagine a great VR game, I usually envision a first-person game that makes me feel like I’m somewhere other than my living room. To me, virtual reality is about transporting me to a new place. I want to walk on the surface of Mars, and pilot a space ship, and shoot zombies in the face, and throw slushies at my customers. Darknet is none of those things, and yet I find myself drawn to its simple but challenging gameplay.
Hack The Mainframe
In Darknet, you become an elite hacker-for-hire with the tools needed to steal data from “the world’s most secure networks.” Your goody bag includes viruses, hydras, exploits, and worms, which help you get past the strongest security systems around. You must poke and prod at the target network to find vulnerabilities and take down the security measures one by one so that you can retrieve sensitive data and collect a bounty.
Of course, hacking in Darknet doesn’t resemble the real thing in any way, but don’t let the video game hacking trope scare you off; Darknet is a surprisingly fun puzzle game.
Darknet starts off with an easy to understand tutorial puzzle to get you familiarized with the controls and the game mechanics. The first tool you learn to use is the basic virus, which lets you take control of vulnerable nodes (represented as spheres on the map). When you deploy a virus to your target, the view zooms in to show a puzzle that you must solve so that you get control of the node’s core.
Each puzzle features a variety of blue hexagons that represent antivirus software, which is there to stop you from reaching the yellow core and taking control of the node. Antivirus software stops your viruses, but your viruses also knock out the antivirus programs. With enough viruses and a strategic delivery plan, you can reach the core of any node.
Node puzzles vary in difficulty. Some nodes are unprotected and can be cracked with a single virus; others are protected by shields and firewalls, which increase the difficulty and lower your chances of success. The difficulty of the puzzles increases in relation to the size of the node, too. Larger nodes have more complex puzzle structures with more antivirus applications than smaller nodes.
Uncontrolled nodes are usually orange, but you’ll notice that some of the larger nodes are blue instead. The large blue nodes are called Sentinels, and they provide additional protection for adjacent nodes. Sentinels power the shield and firewall layers on neighboring nodes. If you take control of a Sentinel, you also deplete the protections it provides to other nodes.
Spread The Infection
Once you have control of a node, you can use it as a jumping off point to launch the other attacks on the network. Hydras are the second class of cyber-weapon that you get access to. When you deploy a hydra into the network, it seeks and infects any adjacent unprotected node and continues to spread until a node with a shield stops it in its tracks. The third class of attack is called an exploit, and those are used to weaken the firewall protection of the network. You can use exploits to launch a directed attack towards a Sentinel node to remove one of its firewall layers. Sentinels sometimes have a layer of ice on them, too, which must be removed before you can take control. The exploit attacks can remove the ice for you.
The fourth and final class of cyber-weapon at your disposal is the worm, which you can deploy from a node you control. The worm infects a nearby node and nullifies the target’s shield protection. A worm won’t necessarily infect an adjacent node, though; it could skip the adjacent node and move to the next one.
The worm attack isn’t available to you at the start of the game. You must unlock the worm after collecting a few bounties. Remember, you’re a hacker-for-hire looking for a pay day. The missions you accept come with a bounty to collect once you’ve retrieved the desired data. Bounty missions pay you in BTC, which you can use to purchase upgrades. The worm upgrade will cost you 10 BTC, but it’s well worth the investment. Other upgrades include faster viruses, starting funds, and access to deeper levels of the web.
BTC isn’t the only currency in the game. While you’re hacking, you’ll collect money from the nodes you control. That money doesn’t do you any good after a bounty mission is complete, but during the mission, you can use the money to purchase hacking applications. Each time you purchase a virus, hydra, exploit, or worm, the price of the next one will go up. You must continue to take control of additional nodes to help pay for more hacks so that you can gain access to more fortified targets. Fortunately, when you purchase a virus, it’s yours to keep for the duration of the bounty mission. You can deploy all your viruses every time you hack a node.
The ultimate goal of any bounty mission is to reach the central root node. The root node contains the data that you’re being paid to access, and it’s heavily fortified. Expect to find several firewalls and a shield protecting the root, and an array of sentinel nodes that you must get through before you can take control of the root node.
Once you finish a bounty mission and collect your reward, there are many more missions to chose from. Some bounty offers are more lucrative than others, but the more it pays, the tougher the challenge. And some of the bounties have time limit stipulations, which adds a psychological factor to throw you off your game and make you choke.
And therein lies the beauty of Darknet. The game is simple on its surface, yet it’s filled with challenges that keep you pressing on to beat the next one. I thought I was going to play Darknet for 20 minutes or so to get a feel for the game. Little did I know, three hours would pass before I gazed upon (actual) reality again.
