Emergency Trace Aversion Sequence

Emergency Trace Aversion Sequence (ETAS) is an emergency mechanic of Hacknet OS, triggering right before an active tracing sequence timer hits zero. It allows the player to save their Hacknet OS from being discovered by a third party by giving them a time window to change their IP by hacking into the ISP Management Server and changing their IP address.

## Lore

As Hacknet OS needs to stay absolutely undetected, especially before being released, it has been equipped with the ETAS protocol, a state-of-the-art silver bullet that will automatically kill incoming pings before they are sent back to the tracer, confusing it and appearing as a connection error for a limited time until the tracer can circumvent it. This automatic mechanic is the final line of Hacknet OS' defense.

## Mechanic

ETAS will automatically crash Hacknet OS once an active tracer counts down to zero. Player will be greeted with a red screen that reads:

```
WARNING
COMPLETED TRACE DETECTED : EMERGENCY RECOVERY MODE ACTIVE

Unsyndicated foreign connection detected during active trace
## ::Emergency recovery mode activated

Automated screening procedures will divert incoming connections temporarily
This window is a final opportunity to regain anonymity.
As your current IP Address is known, it must be changed-
This can only be done on your currently active ISP's routing server
Reverse tracerouting has located this ISP server's IP address as : (ISP address)
Your local IP: (User address) must be tracked here and changed.

Failure to complete this while active diversion holds will result in complete and permanent loss of all account data -
THIS IS NOT REPEATABLE AND CANNOT BE DELAYED
```

A "Begin" button will appear. Upon clicking, a line with the words "INITIALIZING FAILSAFE" will appear and a loading screen will be shown. The player will booted back into their VM, but with a red box on a bottom corner with information on the process and the IP of their ISP and their address. The screen will also start to turn red from upside similar to the countdown of the mission Bit--Termination.

The player must connect to the ISP's IP, given in the warning box, and hack their way through three ports: HTTP WebServer on port 80, SSH on port 22, and SQL Database on port 1433. After gaining administrator access on the server, they must get back to the "ISP Management System" screen and select "Search for IP". Then they will have to input their own IP (also in the red box) and search. Finally, they have to click "Assign New IP" before the screen is completely red to complete the process. After reassigning their IP, Hacknet OS will be restarted. Hacknet OS will lose admin access from all the nodes, however if their password was found once they will still be accessible through the login screen.

If the player fails to reassign their IP before the screen goes red, they will have to reload their save, and all their unsaved progress is deleted. This is an hindrance considering Hacknet doesn't autosave often.

## Tips

* A rookie mistake while doing this sequence is to try finding the server with scan command. The server will not show up as a scan's result. Connect to the it with connect command.
* If the RAM is reasonably empty, the player can run both WebServerWorm and SSHCrack at the same time, saving time. It should be efficient to run these two commands first, then SQL\_MemCorrupt and preparing to run PortHack while it's working.

## Trivia

* This mechanic will only be available after the player joins CSEC.
* This mechanic can be triggered unlimited times, and will trigger even if the player was traced down by their own node.

## Bugs

* ETAS could be triggered by getting an active tracker to zero while inside another ETAS (see CCC Hacksquad Filedump), cancelling the current sequence and also completing any port cracking processes running, allowing for an instant hack. This bug was patched.
* Player can reboot HackNetOS without doing ETAS. When they restart, they will boot into Hacknet normally.