A great list full of sweet examples that I'm sure we can build on. But I'm curious was this info something left out on purpose, accident or slatted for a future book?

I'm all good with rationalizations...I do it enough myself. But still curious what the intentions of the authors were for these mesh threats.

PROGRAMMING What it is: Programming is your talent at writing and modifying software code. When you use it: Use Programming to write new programs, modify or patch existing software, break copy protection, fi nd or introduce exploitable fl aws, write virii or worms, design virtual settings, and so on. See the Mesh chapter, p. 234. Programming is also applied when using nanofabrication devices. Specializations: AI Code, Malware, Nanofabrication, Piracy, Simulspace Code So player characters have a means to create it (But no mechanics or guidelines). MALWARE The number of worms, virii, and other malware pro- grams that ripped through computer systems during the Fall was staggering. Many of these were part of the netwar systems prepared by old Earth nation-states and corporations and unleashed on their enemies. Others were products of the TITANs, subversive pro- grams that even the best defenses had trouble stopping. Even 10 years later, many of these are still reappearing, brought back to life by the accessing of some long- forgotten data cache or the accidental infection of a scavenger mucking through old ruins. New ones pop every day. Thats it other then some specialized Titan Virus's which are described as AGI's and the scorchers (which effect cyberbrains) it feels like Malware was implemented but never really fleshed out. I know my players too well and one of them see's he can specialize in Malware I'm going to have to answer the question. "Can I make -----?" And I turn to the book and shake my head, dunno. Guess we stop the game and I'll make something up on the fly? Guess the bottom line is I was just hoping for some official parameters concerning Malware. Not too much to ask considering how many times it's mentioned in the core book and how concerned Transhumanity is with it's effects. Was it cut, left intentionally vague, or to be covered later? Till then I can create on the fly rationalized stopgaps but should I just plan on keeping it that way?

I agree with everything thats been said and I'll take it in stride and make the best of it. At the start I just assumed I may have missed something or there may have been a clearer answer I wasn't finding. I guess I was just hoping for some clearcut official guidelines. (Mostly due to the fact that other things given such attention in the core book are more clearly explained.) My apologies if I'm sounding like a broken record. *Removing the needle from the vinyl.*

Scripting which is something I certainly expect Malware to do. Heres a list of currently defined Malware, I'm messing with it to come up with something for my home games. The Many Faces of Malware According to Wikipedia, there are in fact eleven distinct types of malware, and even more sub-types of each. 1. Viruses. The malware that's on the news so much, even your grandmother knows what it is. You probably already have heard plenty about why this kind of software is bad for you, so there's no need to belabor the point. 2. Worms. Slight variation on viruses. The difference between viruses and worms is that viruses hide inside the files of real computer programs (for instance, the macros in Word or the VBScript in many other Microsoft applications), while worms do not infect a file or program, but rather stand on their own. 3. Wabbits. Be honest: had you ever even heard of wabbits before (outside of Warner Bros. cartoons)? According to Wikipedia, wabbits are in fact rare, and it's not hard to see why: they don't do anything to spread to other machines. A wabbit, like a virus, replicates itself, but it does not have any instructions to email itself or pass itself through a computer network in order to infect other machines. The least ambitious of all malware, it is content simply to focus on utterly devastating a single machine. 4. Trojans. Arguably the most dangerous kind of malware, at least from a social standpoint. While Trojans rarely destroy computers or even files, that's only because they have bigger targets: your financial information, your computer's system resources, and sometimes even massive denial-of-service attack launched by having thousands of computers all try to connect to a web server at the same time. 5. Spyware. In another instance of creative software naming, spyware is software that spies on you, often tracking your internet activities in order to serve you advertising. (Yes, it's possible to be both adware and spyware at the same time.) 6. Backdoors. Backdoors are much the same as Trojans or worms, except that they do something different: they open a "backdoor" onto a computer, providing a network connection for hackers or other malware to enter or for viruses or sp@m to be sent out through. 7. Exploits. Exploits attack specific security vulnerabilities. You know how Microsoft is always announcing new updates for its operating system? Often enough the updates are really trying to close the security hole targeted in a newly discovered exploit. 8. Rootkit. The malware most likely to have a human touch, rootkits are installed by crackers (bad hackers) on other people's computers. The rootkit is designed to camouflage itself in a system's core processes so as to go undetected. It is the hardest of all malware to detect and therefore to remöve; many experts recommend completely wiping your hard drive and reinstalling everything fresh. 9. Keyloggers. No prïze for guessing what this software does: yes, it logs your keystrokes, i.e., what you type. Typically, the malware kind of keyloggers (as opposed to keyloggers deliberately installed by their owners to use in diagnosing computer problems) are out to log sensitive information such as passwords and financial details. 10. Dialers. Dialers dial telephone numbers via your computer's modem. Like keyloggers, they're only malware if you don't want them. Dialers either dial expensive premium-rate telephone numbers, often located in small countries far from the host computer; or, they dial a hacker's machine to transmit stolen data. 11. URL injectors. This software "injects" a given URL in place of certain URLs when you try to visit them in your browser. Usually, the injected URL is an affïliate link to the target URL. An affïliate link is a special link used to track the traffïc an affïliate (advertiser) has sent to the original website, so that the original website can pay commissions on any salës from that traffïc. 12. Adware. The least dangerous and most lucrative malware (lucrative for its distributors, that is). Adware displays ads on your computer. The Wikipedia entry on malware does not give adware its own category even though adware is commonly called malware. As Wikipedia notes, adware is often a subset of spyware. The implication is that if the user chooses to allow adware on his or her machine, it's not really malware, which is the defense that most adware companies take. In reality, however, the choice to install adware is usually a lëgal farce involving placing a mention of the adware somewhere in the installation materials, and often only in the licensing agreement, which hardly anyone reads.