Begin by approaching the computer terminal you wish to hack, and press unlock. This will bring you into the terminal screen, which will display several columns of words wedged in between random characters and symbols. The words are potential passwords, and it is your job to figure out which word is correct. Some words split between two lines, but are still viable candidates. All potential passwords will have the same number of letters for the given lock. The number of attempts you have remaining is indicated by a series of green squares near the top of the columns, and usually begins with four attempts. As you scan the list of characters, you may be able to highlight groups of symbols. Selecting these groups can potentially remove dud words or reset your number of attempts.
Begin by selecting one of the words in the list to make your first guess. Picking a word that has a similar structure to some of the other words can potentially help narrow down the list. Highlight a word and select it to make your guess. If you are lucky, you might unlock the terminal on the first try. In the high likelihood that you chose incorrectly, your entry will be denied and your guessed word will be listed on the right corner of the terminal screen with a Likeness number. The Likeness number indicates the number of letters in your guessed word that exactly match the terminal password in both letter and position. The Likeness number can aid you in narrowing down the potential password from the remaining set.
Compare your initial guess to the remaining options available, keeping the Likeness number in mind. Even a Likeness of zero can help indicate which letter positions are not found in the password. If the Likeness is above zero, look for words in the list that share the same letters in the same positions as your guessed word. The higher the Likeness, the more you should be able to narrow down the remaining options.
Failing to select the correct password in the allotted attempts will cause you to be locked out of the terminal for 10 seconds, after which you can try again. However, each fresh attempt will offer a totally new set of words for you to work with. Keep in mind that terminals with red unlock text are owned by someone. Hacking an owned terminal is a crime that, if detected, can cause NPC’s to become hostile toward you.
