"Connection Terminated by Remote Host."

With this, welcome to Minoriko's (Me-nori koh) Guide for Dealing with Disavowment! Unless you're hacking a LAN, the above quote usually means the Adminstrator knows your IP address, and with that who you are, and where your Gateway is. Should you accidentally get caught, there's multiple things that can happen.

• International Academic Database - You recieve an email from Government, warning you to not hack their systems again. I haven't gotten caught here yet, but I believe you get one count of 'Unauthorised systems access' added to your criminal record, viewable at the Global Criminal Database.
  
• Early-Game ISMs and Social Security Database - You recieve an email from the Internal email address of the system you hacked, or Government in the case of Social Security. You are given one count of 'Unauthorised systems access' and are forced to pay a fine of 1000c to a bank account specified from your Uplink International Bank Account. Failure to pay the fine after one week will result in you being disavowed, which is when Uplink or Federal Police pull the plug to your Gateway and send you the Game Over Screen.
  
• Global Criminal Database, Mid-Game ISMs, Central Mainframes, and LANs - You will not recieve an email from anyone. However, you will recieve one count of 'Unauthorised systems access'. You have a time limit, about a day or so, until Uplink or Federal Police will be forced to pull the plug on your Gateway. There is nothing you can do to save yourself after the Trace is complete.

If you, by any chance, are confused on what to do with the first two, simply do what the email says. However, if you made the huge mistake of messing up on some of the servers in the last one, follow me and we'll see what we can do.

You're likely here to figure out how to not lose a save you spent hours on again. With proper preparation, you can make losing a Gateway look like dropping your phone under a moving car instead of you being dropped under a moving car.

The key here is all in Hardware. Uplink Corporation sells security devices to both comfort and protect their Agents while they are at work. Among these are the Motion Sensor and the Gateway Self-Destruct.
The drivers for these devices are very compact, using up only 1Gq each. However, you need a Gateway with at least two security slots to use this system. In the official game, the only gateways that are capable of having this system are the ZION, UNITY, AM-CORE, and TRINITY gateways.
It is possible to still get the system to work right with a copy of Revelation from the email ARC sends you after the Agent's death. This allows you to use an equally effective system on the KRONOS and OMEGA gateways, even though they only have one security slot.

If you are using a game mod like Onlink, a Wireless Router can be used to terminate your connection somewhere else. This is the most efficient way to protect your save file, as it is unaffected. Unfortunately, it is only in a game mod.

To prevent your gateway from having it's plug pulled, follow these tips:

• Always have a Trace Tracker v2.0 (or higher) running at all times, and a Motion Sensor v1.0 if you have one. These tools are the most invaluable in the game.
  
  
• Disconnect when your Trace Tracker begins to sound annoying. That's what it's for. Disregard this if you don't play with sound on.
  
  
• Your Motion Sensor has multiple states. When you can't see it a colored bar near your Task Manager (the list of running programs; the place where you can adjust CPU usage), there is nobody near your Gateway.
  
  When it is yellow, there is one person near your Gateway. Usually, this is the result of ordering hardware from Uplink ISS. There is one person sent to your gateway for 30-60 minutes per piece of hardware you order.
  
  When it is red, there is more than one person near your gateway. This is either the result of ordering multiple pieces of hardware at once (don't kill the techies!) or a pair of Federal Police agents arriving at your Gateway (they always come in pairs). In the latter case, use all available means to destroy your gateway.
  
• When making a connection route, always have your first hop be InterNIC. There is no active or passive trace to worry about and the password only needs to be hacked once per save file. Also, make sure your connection route involves as many secure systems as possible, to ensure counterhackers have a hard time tracing your connection.
  
  
• Always delete your logs with a Log_Deleter v4.0 (you can use 3.0 and lower on earlier systems, but it doesn't help anymore after Mid-Game ISMs). On InterNIC, there are two logs you need to delete:
  
  From 127.0.0.1: Password Authentication Accepted
  Connection from 127.0.0.1 routed to [Second Hop IP]

Here's how the individual security devices work together to save your skin. Assume you have just let the Administrator complete an Active Trace on your connection to Darwin Research Associates Local Area Network.

You've done it now. You just got the infamous 'Connection Terminated by Remote Host' message. Question: "Now what?"

You have a mission and 3 methods, based on circumstance.

• Mission - Clear a Criminal Record (Target: You) Payment: -(Price of your Gateway+everything with it) credits.
  
• Method 1 - Without a Motion Sensor (0% Survival Rate)
  
• Method 2 - Motion Sensor with Gateway Nuke (Guaranteed freedom if used when MS is red)
  
• Method 3 - SPOILER: Motion Sensor with Software (Guaranteed freedom if used when MS is red)

Clearing your criminal record is a task you must do in order to get any finances you might need for any last second purchases (like a new Gateway, so you have one after you lose your's). Without that, you will not be able to negotiate prices with most employers.

To do this, bounce a connection to the Global Criminal Database.
Make sure to enable your bypassers using HUD_ConnectionAnalyzer v1.0. You will need at least a Proxy_Bypass v1.0 and a Monitor_Bypass v1.0.
Click on 'Elliptic Curve Encrypthion Cypher' and use your Decypher v3.0 on it.
Go to 'User ID/Password Verification' and hack the 'readwrite' account now.
Proceed, and then go to 'Search Records', where you will...
...enter your agent's name, then hit ok,...
...which will bring you to your criminal record. I took a few liberties with the picture on my record here. ^^ Anyway, hit clear history, and disconnect.
Just to be safe, since GCD passive traces may take a while, clear your logs.
And just to make sure, check your criminal record.

You are now free to take any mission again. However,

You are not safe from losing your Gateway. The Feds still know who you are and where you're at. Your criminal record is irrelevant to them.

Warning: Being stuck with choosing this option will cost you your save file.

A few hours after your Trace is terminated, your Motion Sensor will turn red. Without any security devices, there is nothing you can do. "Hands up!" yelled the captain guy from Prometheus before the ending.

The scariest screen in the game.

And here's a splice of two screenshots - the one Uplink sends you for being disavowed and your score sheet.

Better luck next time!

Warning: Being forced to follow this path will result in the loss of your Gateway and all the files on it. Be sure to save any unique files , such as Revelation and Faith, on any File Server to ensure they are not lost forever.

Here's your game plan if you are using the Gateway_Nuke v1.0.
And here's your game plan if you're using Revelation.


When your Motion Sensor goes red, it's time to act. Bring up your Gateway_Nuke driver. If you are using Revelation, then simply run Revelation, and skip until you get to the screenshot of the black screen. Instead of the next two steps, you will see the slogans of ARC.
Confirm that you wish to use the Gateway_Nuke.
Then do it again.
Black screen. Then, you should get a message like this. This is a good sign, for if you did, you successfully destroyed your Gateway without getting caught.
So you need to rent a new Gateway,
Place it where you want to,
And boot it up again.
Then, you should arrive at the screen of a new GatewayALPHA. Just like you started all over again, except with your credentials and money.
Nostalgic, a little?
With this, it's security from Uplink that you have gotten away with that crime you never committed. You are free to build your Gateway back up and return to the hacking force.

Uplink claims in many areas during startup about how one false move can result in you being disavowed. They weren't kidding.

During my first playthroughs, the Trace Tracker was always open, and I stared at that thing every chance I could. However, good habits die as hard as bad ones. During a 'Frame a User for Destruction of Data' mission on an ISM, I overestimated the amount of time I had left and it ended up being me framed for the crime.

I lost my save file that day, an attempted Arunmor playthrough I believe.

Respect your tools, they just might save you one day. Thank you for reading Minoriko's Guide to Dealing with Disavowment.