Hacking

Hacking is an activity in The Sims 2: University and The Sims 3 that can be performed on a computer. It returns in The Sims 4 as a Programming interaction.

The Sims 2
"Grade Hacking" is an action available on college computers in The Sims 2: University after a Sim joins a secret society. While hacking, a Sim's class performance will slowly rise, however there is also a risk of getting caught, and that risk generally increases the longer the Sim hacks. Having higher Logic skill reduces, but does not eliminate the chance of getting caught. If a Sim is caught hacking grades, the police will come and fine them, their class performance will be lowered to its original level, and the police officer may pull out a repo-izing gun and confiscate the computer. While hacking, a display in the top-right hand corner of the screen will show the Sim's risk level and the number of security alerts that have been tripped, which allow the player to estimate the chance of being caught. Closing this display will end the hacking session. Players should note that this display may be lost if they switch away from the hacking Sim.

The Sims 3
Sims with the Computer Whiz trait or in the Investigator profession can hack in The Sims 3. Hacking is only possible between 9 pm and 7 am, although Investigators can hack anytime. Depending on the number of times a Sim has hacked before, a set amount of money is put into the household funds every 15–60 minutes (depending on quality/price of computer used). The amount of money the Sim gets depends on how accomplished a hacker he/she is. A high level hacker can earn 4000 simoleons a night and more. Hacking is a hidden skill, so the only way the skill gaining is shown is by the amount of money coming in, there is nothing about it in the skill journal. There is a chance of the police sending a virus to the Sim's computer and breaking it. If this happens and the Sim repairs the computer and keeps hacking, another virus is likely to be sent. The holo computer introduced in Into the Future cannot be broken by a virus.

The Sims 4
Sims that reached Level 2 in the Programming Skill unlock the ability to Hack on the computer, to earn some money on the side. At first, they only have Llamacorn Listserv as a target, but as they raise their Programming, more various targets to hack appear. There is a cooldown of 24 hours after you hack a server/account, to prevent abuse. The Supercomputer is an exception, and it takes 7 days to attempt to hack it once more. If Supercomputer hacking fails, the computer the hack was attempted from will be broken. Hacking has a higher chance to succeed when the Sim in question is Focused. The time at which the hacking is initiated seems to not change the outcome of the process. At Level 8 of Programming, Sims learn to hack faster, speeding up the process passively. A computer upgraded with ECC RAM and IP Spoofers will perform better at Hacking.

The Sims 3

 * When hacking, the computer's screen animation is referencing the defense systems of the United States. Something that looks like an NSA logo can be seen too.

The Sims 4

 * Most servers available to hack are Easter Eggs to various other servers or characters from The Sims:
 * Lothario Trust Fund is a reference to the Lothario family.
 * Landgraab Systems are a reference to the Landgraabs, a powerful magnate family from most of The Sims series.
 * National Sims Security Agency are a reference to the real-world NSA, the United States security agency.
 * Plumbook is a reference to the popular social network Facebook.
 * Crumplebottom Servers is a reference to Agnes Crumplebottom, a well-known character of The Sims series.