Editing Hacking (section)

=Staying Safe while Hacking=
Assuming you have planned correctly for the type of site you are hacking, the biggest threat is from hunters. If you ship is set up for exploration/hacking, the chances are high that you will struggle to fight back against an opponent in a similar ship fitted for combat. While hacking you are visible and vulnerable, so the aim is to hack efficiently - get the loot and get out.

==Be aware of your surroundings==
* The most important rule is to be aware of your surroundings. You must be ready to act (run / hide / fight) as soon as you spot any sign of danger.

* If you are in k-space, Local chat will let you know how many people are in the system, and if anyone new appears. It is important to have your Local chat visible all the time. It is safer to avoid hacking if there are other people in the system. But if you still want to try it, select all people in the chat (Ctrl + A) - it'll help you identify when new people enter the system as they won't be selected. You can use tools like [https://zkillboard.com/ zkillboard] or [https://localthreat.xyz/ localthreat] to check danger level of other people in the system.

* Whenever you are hacking in a system with other people or in any wormhole system, regular D-Scanning is the way to watch for traffic. You should be constantly looking for combat scanner probes, core scanner probes and ships appearing nearby your location. You are never alone in a wormhole system and you are at a very predictable spot in the system that any person can scan down at any point in time. Keep in mind that a it may only take a couple of scans for a purposly fitted ship to scan down your location. It is even possible that a hunter has already scanned this site even before you entered the system and is now hiding cloaked among the cans.

* It is very easy to get way too involved with the hacking minigame. So it may be useful to develop a habit to use D-Scan every couple of nodes you explore.

* Consider flying with [[ENG:The_Signal_Cartel_Official_Guide_to_Co-Pilot_(Allison)|Allison]] as she'll remind you to use your D-Scan from times to times.

* Having your overview set up to add a coloured background to other pilots makes it easy to spot when someone arrives on grid with you. [[Public:Signal_Cartel_Overview_Pack|The Signal Cartel Overview Pack]] is a good option.

* There are a lot of cloaked ships in space. Neither Overview nor D-Scan are able to detect such ships. Although it still may be possible for you to de-cloak some of them if you jettison some trash around the "Warp to 0" and, maybe, other warp-in points of the site. It should be able to de-cloak some of the ships which will use these standard points and buy you some extra time to react.

* It may be useful to remember who you see on the Overview and D-Scan as you fly from system to system. Sometimes it is possible to notice suspicious behavior of other pilots ahead of time. For example, people changing their ships and following you for some time.

* Keep track of cosmic signatures in the system. If there are 5 relic sites, there is a 20% chance for people to find you when they warp to once of them. If there is only 1 site left, there is a 100% chance for people to find you when they warp there. Disappearance of cosmic signatures may be an indication of other scanners being active in this system.

==Pretend you are not there==
* Use your cloak whenever it is possible so that other people can't find you.
* It may be a great time saver to continue scanning other signatures while hacking those you've already scanned. However, having your probes in space reveals your presence in the system, your potential affiliation as an explorer, your potential intentions to run data and relic sites and also requires you to multitask making it harder to react quickly.  It is preferential to minimize the amount of time your probes are in space.
* Create perch bookmarks while warping to the site and use it to navigate from one can to another. Usually it is faster to navigate this way and your movements become less predictable to other people as you can jump to any random can on the site.

==Prepare for action==
* Always be ready for action. Prepare for action once you see probes or ships on the D-Scan. Start acting as soon as you see another ship of the overview. You'll not have much time to think once it happens, so think of possible scenarios and plan your actions ahead of time.
* Never try to finish hacking. One can isn't worth your ship, implants, loot, time and nerves.
* Be ready to use you cloak as soon as you see another ship. Prefer using keyboard shortcuts over clicking buttons in UI.
* Be ready to warp away as soon as you see another ship. Align ahead of time. Prefer using keyboard shortcuts over clicking buttons in UI.
* Trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is...just fly away.

==Save your loot==
* You can never guarantee that your ship will be able to survive the next hacking minigame. It doesn't matter how prepared you are, there is always a chance to get distracted and lose your ship. There is always a chance that the internet connection or electricity goes down. So usually it is a good idea to save your loot whenever it is possible.
* Use space stations in k-space to store your loot where it is possible and makes sense. You'll be able to get it later.
* Use mobile depots or simply jettison your loot in space before warping to the site (don't forget to bookmark the location). If your ship gets destroyed you'll still have some time to get back to this system and pick up your loot.
* Use wormholes while traveling through j-space or hostile nullsec to potentially jump to lowsec or highsec and store your loot at a station there. Don't forget to bookmark the wormhole.
* Go and save your loot once you successfully hack a lucrative can. There is no need to hack all cans to do it as you can always return and continue hacking afterwards.
* It may be a good idea to use cargo scanner when hacking in particularly dangerous areas. Focus on the most valuable cans first and warp away as soon as you see any danger. This way you are more likely to get more value from the site.

==Don't worry==
So, you've done all of the above, but your ship was blown up anyway. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. Just take another [[Orientation Guide - First Month#Free Fitted Exploration Frigates and Other Free Stuff | free exploration ship]] and continue your exploration journey.