Getting started with netrunning

Alright, listen up, choom. You wanna be a real netrunner? Not just another poser running a corporate-fueled OS with spyware bloating your feed? You need a deck that’s as slick and modular as your next op, a ghost rig that keeps you invisible, jacking into corp nets, sliding past firewalls, and always having a way out when the heat hits. This isn’t just about tech—it’s about becoming untouchable.

The M5StickC PLUS2 is your wrist-mounted recon rig. It’s a microdeck that keeps your hands free and your ops clean. Flash it with M5Launcher, and you’ve got instant payload deployment, deauth attacks, signal sniffing—anything you need, right at your fingertips. No lag, no bulky hardware, just razor-sharp execution strapped to your wrist. Throw in modules for RFID probing or signal jamming, and you’re already deep in the system before anyone knows you’re even there.

A Pixel running LineageOS 22 is your stealth deck. On the surface? A burner phone. Beneath? A full-blown digital warfare toolkit. Magisk roots it, Termux turns it into your personal command-line beast, and with tools like Nmap for network sweeps, Metasploit for payload drops, and searchsploit for vulnerability dives, you’re packing heat. USB-C Ethernet support lets you jack into networks directly, bypassing weak Wi-Fi. Walk into a corporate lobby, plug in, and start mapping their whole network—clean, fast, and silent. This ain’t for chatting; it’s for cracking systems.

Your comms? Get yourself a separate Pixel running GrapheneOS—no Google, no spyware, no telemetry. Just raw, hardened security with sandboxed apps, revocable permissions, and full disk encryption. Vanadium browser keeps your browsing locked down, while apps like Session and SimpleX ensure your messages stay airtight. When the corpo black ICE tries to pry into your data, they’re slamming into a brick wall. You’re not just off the radar—you’re rewriting the map.

For the wrist tech, ditch the corpo slabs. Go open-source with a smartwatch running Gadgetbridge. No corporate tether, no tracking, no leaking your life away. Whether it’s Xiaomi, Amazfit, Garmin, or Fossil, pick a model that cuts out the bloat and stays true to you. Your watch isn’t just a timepiece—it’s an extension of your deck.

The Cardputer’s your pocket black box—your Swiss Army knife for field ops. Load up Bruce firmware from an SD, script payloads on the fly, and interface with NFC or RF modules like a ghost in the machine. Clone cards, intercept signals, swap software mid-run. Adapt, evolve, and stay ahead of the game.

When you’re ready to tackle the deep work, a high-powered rig running Kali, BlackArch, or ParrotOS is your command center. This is where the real ops go down. Nmap for scanning networks, Metasploit for executing exploits, Bettercap for MITM attacks—it’s all here. Tails boots from USB when you need to leave no trace, and VMs keep everything compartmentalized. Qubes is your fortification for when you need rock-solid isolation. VPNs, Tor, full-disk encryption—layer up, choom. You’re stacked so thick, even a corpo AI would struggle to track you.

A real netrunner knows that running scripts is just the beginning. To truly dominate the grid, you’ve got to write your own. Python is the backbone for quick scripting and automation, letting you develop custom payloads and exploit vectors. HTML5 and Node.js give you the tools to craft web-based attacks, building dynamic exploits and backdoors right in the browser. And for those deep ops where performance matters, C++ lets you write ultra-efficient code that can bypass even the most hardened defenses. A netrunner who can’t program isn’t a real netrunner—they’re just a hacker playing with borrowed tools. You’re not just running scripts; you’re crafting your own weapons.

Never jack in raw. You gotta ghost the system—layered, unseen. Never touch Windows or Mac—they’re corpo traps. Linux is home. Scrub your scent. Every device broadcasts its MAC address, a tracker waiting to happen. Randomize it. Every time. Then lock in Mullvad VPN—no logs, no personal info. Choose a server outside the Five Eyes, set it to WireGuard or OpenVPN, and flick the kill switch to keep things clean.

Wrap your signal in Tor—it’s your multi-hop cloak. Force Tor to block bad relays and route your exit through privacy-friendly countries. But don’t run Tor solo—stack it with Mullvad. VPN first, then Tor. Your ISP sees nothing. If you don't need to worry about your ISP seeing Tor traffic, you might not need both at the same time, but stay sharp, choom. Bounce your traffic through Tor’s network, and you’re a ghost.

Even with Tor, DNS leaks are a risk. Lock it down by forcing DNS requests through Tor—nothing leaves the encrypted layers. Bounce your traffic through Proxychains for an extra layer of protection. Every tool you run is anonymized and routed through Tor, making you a shadow in the grid.

Never run tools on your main system. Use a VM or Qubes for every op. Snapshots before, wipes after—nothing sticks. And remember the golden rule: no personal accounts. Don’t link your ops back to your real identity. Rotate your VPN and Tor circuits, encrypt everything, and stay clean.

If the heat’s on? Pull the plug and vanish. Fade into the void, choom. Stay sharp, stay silent, and keep your ops (and the feds) on the low. You’re a ghost in the system.

Gear doesn’t make the netrunner. Skill does. Start small—run Nmap scans from Termux, dig into network protocols, test Metasploit exploits on isolated systems. Level up—automate with Python, script payloads for the Cardputer, analyze packets in real-time. Jack into online hubs—r/netsec, r/brucefw, deep-dive into CTF events, trade knowledge in private chats. Every byte of intel sharpens your edge. Remember, netrunning, like programming or cooking, is never a skill you should stop learning. It's a continuous process, choom.

With this multi-node setup, you’re not some script kiddie. You’re a ghost in the machine, slipping through networks, rewriting the rules, always one step ahead of the corpos. It’s not just about running code—it’s about controlling the data flow, bending it to your will, and never leaving a trace. Stay sharp, stay silent, and let the neon lights keep you hidden.