How to play NullSocket

01Create your account

Open NullSocket, choose Register, and pick a username and password. An email is optional — add one if you want to be able to reset your password. It runs in any modern browser on phone or desktop, and you can install it to your home screen.

02Know your programs

Your rig runs software, and each program has a version. Higher versions beat lower ones.

• Bypasser breaks through remote firewalls · Firewall slows and blocks bypass attempts on you
• Password Cracker recovers admin passwords · Password Encryptor slows and blocks cracking on you
• Antivirus removes viruses up to its level
• Spam Virus earns money every minute from each infected host · Spyware siphons money from an infected player's bank account
• Network Scanner finds more hosts and clues · Log Scrubber erases your IP from a breached host's logs · Decoy Generator plants false IP trails

03Free software at the Starter Hub

The Starter Hub at 1.0.0.1 is always in your network list. It hands out free starter versions of the core programs, and it can't be hacked, robbed or infected — so grab everything there first.

TIP The Hub only takes you so far. Software is never sold in the store; past the starter versions you'll have to take it from someone.

04Your first hack

1. Scan
2. Bypass firewall
3. Crack password
4. Access

• Scan to discover hosts and their IPs.
• Bypass the target's firewall — your Bypasser against their Firewall.
• Crack the admin password — your Password Cracker against their Encryptor.
• Succeed at both and you have admin access. Hacks run as timed processes; a faster CPU and connection finish them sooner.

05What to do once you're in

• Transfer money from the host's accounts to yours.
• Upload Spam or Spyware for income that keeps flowing every minute.
• Download software — and on another player's rig, copy any installed program that's newer than yours (they'll get a notification and a log line).
• Edit or wipe the logs before you leave.

06Logs: cover your tracks

Every action writes your IP into the target's log, and a matching line into yours. Anyone who reads a log can see who's been there — and come after them. Wipe or edit logs after a hack, use a Log Scrubber to erase your IP, or a Decoy Generator to point the blame somewhere else. Your own Logs page lists recent intruders.

07Getting better software

• Warez servers carry a few programs around your level.
• Corporations have the best software — and fewer files.
• Universities have a program or two, roughly at your level.
• Other players are the richest source: copy anything newer off their rig.

08Upgrading your rig

• CPU and RAM make processes faster. Each power supply level powers more hardware, so upgrade it to keep climbing.
• Internet connection tiers run from Dial-up up to Backbone.
• Virtual machines are rented by the hour and each adds a process slot. Every extra VM costs more than the last, and rent keeps billing while you're offline — if you can't pay, VMs shut down.
• The black market offers two exclusive items each day (reset at midnight UTC). Each is a one-time buy with a permanent perk, like faster processes, better odds, extra slots, or an IP spoofer that hides your real IP in victims' logs.

09Banks and bank heists

Keep your money in banks: open an account, then deposit, withdraw or transfer between banks. But every bank keeps a breach log of recent activity — IP and account number — and hackers want it.

• Standard banks keep their breach log for an hour. High-security banks keep it for only 10 minutes, have much stronger defenses, and charge a small fee to move money out.
• High-security banks offer a PIN subscription that makes brute-forcing your account far harder.
• Banks are re-imaged on a schedule: the admin password changes and logs are wiped, kicking out anyone inside.
• The WHOIS directory lists standard banks. High-security banks stay hidden until you discover them — gaining admin on a standard bank is one way.
• The heist: crack a bank, read the breach log, then brute-force a listed account into your own account at another bank.

10Defending yourself

• Keep your Firewall, Encryptor and Antivirus versions high.
• Change your password — it kicks out anyone who cracked the old one.
• Check your logs for intruders, and don't leave big balances where they're easy to take.

11Crews

Create a crew for $2,000 or accept an invite. Crews have owners, officers and members, a private chat and a message of the day — and crewmates can't attack each other. Rent a dedicated server as your base to raise the member cap and unlock a shared vault, where the crew keeps the best version of each program for members to install.

12Daily goals and rankings

You get three daily missions each day. Rewards grow with your level and your streak, up to +50%. Achievements track your long-term progress, and the rankings show who's on top.