datamine: copy malware

[vioray]

so after numerous hacks I finally got around to looking into just what the difference between daemons and quickhacks was.... and it seems that daemons are part of a removed feature? from what I gather they just no longer exist. so why does the hacking minigame still include an option to "makes a copy of the daemon infecting the shard"? is it really useless?

[Amanoob105]

Near as I can tell there's demons and daemons, with each being something different.

Demons are basically like summoning spells, but for when inside computer systems. You would call them up with a number of pre-set programs loaded in that they can then carry our for you. More complex version could carry more programs at once.
Obviously these aren't a thing in the game.

Daemons (ignoring the fact they seem to be a legitimate thing in real world software) are automated programs that are in the game.
They're basically the lore explanation for why whenever you target something/someone you are then able to instantly take over systems or upload quickhacks.
The daemon is the thing that's doing the heavy lifting of why we can hack cameras and set people on fire.
Which funnily enough seems to be a accurate description of what they do in the real world, "a type of computer program that runs in the background, performing various tasks without direct interaction from the user".

As for when you get the option to "make a copy of the daemon infecting the shard", successfully performing the act gives you a free quickhack. If we're talking about the shard you get from the Militech woman, what you get is a Synapse Burnout quickhack.
Likely implying that if anyone that wasn't meant to tried to access the money on the shard without knowing it was trapped would have that happen to them.

[Mentally Unstable]

I'm not familiar with the lore but from what I gather, daemons is specifically used for breach protocol (access points and encrypted shards). There's even an achievement for uploading 3 daemons in one access point minigame attempt.

What the "make a copy" function does is essentially give you a random quickhack. It implies that it is copying the virus (quickhack) from the encrypted device that would have been set off if someone tried to use it.

The money shard Meredith Stout gave you, I presume?

[vioray]

this shard was from a job for Nix in the Afterlife
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3429939171
I've seen the same thing on a couple of other shards too, seems odd that they use the terms "daemons" and "quickhacks" in different options if both means the same thing

[Millimidget]

Daemons appear as upload options during breach protocol.

Pre-2.0, this included a basic icebreaker daemon which reduced the cost of other quickhacks against targets on that same network, camera and turret shutoff daemons which turned off cameras or turrets on that network for 3/6 minutes (depending on how much you invested in the associated perks), and the mass vulnerability daemon, which increased damage against enemies on that network.

The big downside to breach protocol was that a network could only be breached once, meaning if you returned to a place you couldn't breach it again. This happens a few times in the game, most notably when you return to the site of Hippocratic Oath to clear a suspected organized crime activity.

Now daemons limited to offering eddies, quickhack components and quickhack recipes through access points, and some additional effects through the odd shard, such as copying malware.

[Coleman]

The old system sounds more interesting, but at the same time I can see why they simplified it.