Whats the key to hacking terminals I dont really get it./

[bluejwestd85]

Well the only thing I do is pcik a couple words and hope it works no skill or idea what im doing.

[twizzy]

Lol its just a challenge they implemented into the game

[One Mad Bastard]

Process of elimination , choose a word, depending on how much letters that were correct in that word you check the possibilities available on the terminal screen.

Enjoy !


(Personally i love hacking terminals.)

[troymacdonald1969]

A tip also: if you keep looking through the junk data that is stored in a computer when your trying to hack it you can remove words that are not the right password. for Example. if i see something in brackets like. () or <> and i click on it Both highlighted you can remove a Dud word

[White Knight]

First off, it is a puzzle. There are ways of approaching such things that are unappealing to those who hate puzzles. This is what I do...

Take a look at the words available and look for similarities. Most will have the same suffix or prefix. That is a pretty quick way to rule out most of the list.

Then consider the meanings of the words. My assumption is that some drone chained to a cublicle someplace was tasked with doing all of the writing for the hack attempts, so I try to get into his or her head. Often, the key word stands out from the others.

Your first two attempts should be completely different types of words. That way, you can identify what it is that you are looking for.

Then there are the special characters - run your cursor over them and select the ones that pop-up in a group when highlighted. Those have various uses but in New Vegas, I think they might only remove a dud.

Most importantly, quicksave before you try.

Hacking computers and picking locks are some of my favourite things in these games. Tasks that require some skill from the player rather than the amazing powers of the character are particularly appealing to me.

[Mauno]

The easiest way is to guess three times, back out and try again. You will never get locked out of a terminal and won't have to resort to savescumming.

Now, if you want to do it properly, the way it's supposed to, check out Coookie's guide. Explains everything and has pictures to make things absolutely clear.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=113272010

Originally posted by tiredofpain:

Those have various uses but in New Vegas, I think they might only remove a dud.

They can remove duds and replenish your attempts.

[XBaneX]

So........hacking the terminals is nothing more than hacking terminals!??.....No data to retrieve, no bonuses, no secrets??.....maybe a cookie or gold star!?! @.o
Seems pointless. :{

[VERGE101]

Look for symbols locked in parenthesis or brackets as they will eliminate duds. Ex: (@X#%) and things of the sort

[Threnody]

You have to guess to start off. Pick a random word, and if you get 3 or less matching characters, pick a completely different word. I you have done this three times, don't guess again. Close the terminal (the red button in the corner) and go back in again, it will reset the password, but you will be able to have four more tries. If you get to three again just reset it until you can guess a word with over 50% of the character matching.

[I am watching you.]

First one is gonna be a wild guess so no helping that.
For the next one take note of how many are correct.

If the number is low chose a completely different word.
Also take note if the word you chose ends with "ing" and <3 are correct you can eliminate all words that end that way.

If the number is high you can eliminate all words that share less letters then your first guess.

After the third guess seek out the { } [ ] < > ( )

When you move the mouse over the left bracket/parentasis it should light up like a word.
Select them to make a wrong word become completely blocked or replenish your chances.

If one of them does replenish your chances keep guessing.

If none of them replenish exit out and try all over again.

[Piggins992]

Originally posted by tsteelman677:

So........hacking the terminals is nothing more than hacking terminals!??.....No data to retrieve, no bonuses, no secrets??.....maybe a cookie or gold star!?! @.o
Seems pointless. :{

Why do you assume there's no point in hacking terminals? This thread is about hacking terminals, not whats inside them once they're hacked.

[Proteus]

As "I am watching you" says,
it is always helpful to look at the ending (and choose words with the same ending or a different one depending on the number of characters that are right.

Aside from the ending I always check for the word, that has eaxtly the number of chars in common with the words I already selected, as I have in correct chars
(lets say we have selected "running" as first word and got 4/7 correct chars and the remaining words ending on "ing" are: "kidding", "canning", "cunning", "sending" then I know for sure that "sending" is the right password [at least if I have established beforehand that "ing" is de facto the corrrect ending], as all of the other words either have > 4 chars in common with "running" or < 4 chars)

[omegablue0231]

Pay attention to how many letters you got right. If you see you go 3 out of 10 for example, and the word ends in ing chances are ing is in thye correct word, so choose a word that ends in ing but the rest of the word is totally different.

Also once you get to 3 out of 4 tries, exit and start over so the computer won't lock.

[BIGCELL]

Notes:

Only click on words not symbols/numbers.
When you have one attempt left you exit the terminal and try again.
You will get it aventrly.

[Vic Evicerator]

Originally posted by Octavia:

Pick a random word,

Yes, but no. The best thing is to look at the words before your first pick and find one that has several letters in common with others - words ending in "-ing" or "-ed" or "-tion", if you have many of those. At that point, either a high correct-count tells you it's a word that has that ending or a low correct count tells you it's a word that doesn't have that ending.

Sometimes words have common beginnings, but I've found that common endings are more, um, common. The basic idea is to narrow your search pool drastically with each search, so by choosing a word that has many letters in common with other words for your first pick you can eliminate half the pool or more...

[josheg96]

What's the purpose of hacking the terminals. I just hacked the one in Good spring School House (1st playthrough). Clicked 'disengage lock' Nothing happened.