Isn't that the final goal? :p

When you say "look suspicious", does that mean they actually can find you that way?

No, and as I recall no again.

This. I tried to aim for the "good" neuromancer rating (choosing only the "good" missions) and ended up with too little money to do anything when the story started. So I bought the best processor for my starting rig and the minimum required software (had to do with a proxy disabler), robbed a 1M account and the world holds no challenge for me anymore.

To be clear, it only look suspicious when you erase your connection log. And remember to use Log Deleter v4 cuz other one leave empty space [Log deleted] and it's possible to recover them.

I did one LAN mission of the "steal files" sort on an easy LAN and just hacked the bad guys' LAN (the admin kicked me out from the server itself) to see whether the following advice holds. It does.

You need the following:
LAN HUD (obviously) - that's the interface you'll be using most of the time
LAN Scan - shows accessible items on the LAN (everything that's not behind locks)
LAN Probe shows what the item being probed is and what it is connected to
LAN Spoof - needed to connect to items in subnets
Voice Spoof (preferably the v2 so there'd be no risk of accidentally closing the program) - the main server on the LAN is under the voice ID
Connection Analysis HUD
Monitor Bypass
Proxy Bypass
Password Breaker
Decypher (the elliptic-quadratic thing)
and whatever you need for the mission itself.

Do prep work: locate the public access server, phone the admin, arrange a long connection, clean up your memory if you're stealing files, clarify the mission (once you connect to the main server, the admin will log in and disconnect you after a very short time).

Connect to the LAN via a long connection, open Connection Analysis HUD, activate Monitor Bypass and Proxy Bypass. Open the LAN HUD.

The LAN HUD displays items on the network. Neighboring items are connected by blue lines (wired connections) or not at all (wireless, which go from transmitter to receiver). The white dotted line shows your current connection route.

You can extend your connection to the next neighboring item by clicking on it (watch the dotted line - it should extend if the connection was successful), go back one item by clicking back, go back to the beginning by clicking reset and connect to the last item on your route by clicking connect. When you connect, you'll see the item's interface (which may as well be a useless wall of text, depending on the item). To go back to the LAN HUD, click on its icon in the bottom panel.

The obstacles:

Lock: prevents you from connecting further. It is possible to bust it with a LAN Force (and it will probably stay busted once the admin disconnects you, you clean up InterNIC logs and log in again), but this is even less fun than backing up savegame data. To open the lock the proper way, connect to the corresponding autentication server, hack into it and press "disable locks".

Authentication server: opens and closes locks. Protected by a password and an elliptic thingy (password beaker and decypher are necessary). When you click on the server, the lock it controls is highlighted.

Wireless router: connects to another wireless router. Connect to it, then set the frequency to start the wireless conntection. (Hack into nearby terminals to find out the necessary frequency.)

Subnets: protect important LAN components; when you click on an item in teh subnet, the other items are highlighted in yellow. To connect to a protected item (usually an authentication server), connect to and hack into an unprotected component on the same subnet (usually a terminal), open the LAN HUD and use LAN Spoof on the hacked item, then go back and connect to the target item.

Terminal: protected by a password (use password breaker). Some terminals contain useful information which will be shown after hacking into it. If there's none, try another terminal.

Main server: protected by voice ID, password and most importantly admin alert. Before connecting to it, prepare the password breaker, load the necessary file into the audioplayer and refresh your knowledge of the mission goals (delete? shutdown? steal? steal what?).

For completeness' sake: Isolation bridge: one authentication server, two locks, only one of which is open at any given time. Never encountered it.

How-to:
- connect to LAN via a long connection
- open connection HUD, use bypasses
- open LAN HUD
- use LAN Scan
- repeat the following until main server is reached:
-- use LAN Probe on everything (note server/lock pairs and subnets)
-- unlock any accessible locks
-- if wireless, hack into every terminal writing down any frequencies you find
-- if subnet, hack into unprotected teminal, spoof
- prepare hacktools
- connect to main server, do your job
- disconnect or get kicked out
- clean logs on InterNIC

If kicked out, connect again, don't forget bypasses. The LAN will most likely stay hacked, but you'll still need to break the server's internal security. Clean logs after every attempt: certain companies (ahem) trace LAN hacks nearly as fast as the feds trace bank jobs.

InterNic is the best server to use for your first bounce for the following reason - It performs NO Active or Passive Traces when you direct connect from your Gateway to InterNic.

With the Test Machine you must BOUNCE to avoid being disconnected immediately unless you have Monitor Bypass.

When you are performing missions where the target has a fast passive trace (Diverting funds from bank accounts for example) the time you save on not having to modify a bounce path and/or invoke Monitor Bypass will mean the difference between success/increase in rank or failure and end of game.

As a side note, with the GOG version of Uplink, acquiring funds IS essential if you wish to be in the best possible position when the story line proper kicks in. I have just played both the GOG and Steam version up to 4-4-2010 (game time) performing every available mission and buying only the bare requirements to perform them:

Password_Breaker v1.0
Trace_Tracker v4.0 (save money and get the best)
Log_Deleter v4.0 (again save money and get the best)
CPU Turbo 200 Ghz (get this as soon as you can after the three above)
Proxy_Disable v1.0 (only version required for every mission encountered up to that point)
Decypher v3.0 (save money and time, get the best)
Memory 8Gqs

Money in Bank account on 4-4-2010
GOG ver - 54250
Steam ver - 158650

In the GOG version of the game I had just enough money to buy the following items which are mandatory so you can hack a bank and get the funds required to play the story line:

HUD Connection Analyzer
Monitor Bypass v5.0 (why waste money on upgrades?)
Voice Analyzer v1.0 (ditch this for v2.0 as soon as hit pay dirt with a bank account)

After hacking every account in every bank I found one with 600,000 in it.

In the Steam version after hacking every account in every bank I discovered 4 accounts with 600,000 - 800,000 - 900,000 and 1,200,000 in them.

Conclusion, the GOG version provides more of a challenge.

Actually, it's random. You may get a lot of easy jobs early on that will give you the money, or you may be unlucky and get almost nothing. Also, how many bank accounts with obscene amounts of money you find is random as well.
Do a replay on both versions, and see if the bank balances are the same or not.

When you have one of those "Trace Balance Transfer" missions, write down the bank account the money has been transferred to, this way you know which accounts to hack once you can do bank hacks.

Will do.

EDIT

I replayed both versions of Uplink and here are the results:

GOG version played up till 0:00:16 on 4-04-2010

System contained:
CPU Turbo 200 Ghz
Password_Breaker v1.0
Trace_Tracker v4.0
Log_Deleter v4.0

Bank Balance - $5370
Two new missions became available at 0:00:01

Steam version played up till 3:58:55 on 24-04-2010 <less than 1 hour of game time>

System contained:
Starting CPU
Password_Breaker v1.0
Trace_Tracker v4.0
Log_Deleter v4.0

Bank Balance - $26200
Sixteen missions were still available

I think I will stand by my original conclusion.

Or you can hack into the admin account of the bank and find out all the bank accounts in that bank.

I agree wholeheartedly, but you do not always get a "Trace a Balance Transfer" mission.

As Ongoingwhy remarked, you hack the bank admin, get every account number and go through them one by one checking both Account and Statement to see if they have money or have transferred money to another account.