About Hackers | Who is a Hacker

Question: What is a ‘Hacker’?

You’ve heard of “hackers”, and you’ve seen sensationalized versions of hackers in movies. But what exactly is a hacker?

Answer : A hacker is a computer user who, for either negative or positive motivations, will manipulate and break into computer systems.

Originally, a hacker of the 1980′s was strictly evil and dishonest: a criminal who would illegally and unethically take control of computers and networks. And indeed, that criminal definition still applies today in the 21st century. However, the term hacker has also broadened to include non-criminal computer users. Today, “hacker”encompasses both “black hat” and “white hat” computer users with special systems knowledge:

There are four modern types of hackers:

Black Hat : Criminal Hackers

White Hat : Ethical Hackers

White Hat : Computer Artists/Academics

White Hat : Hobby Tinkerers

1) Classic “Black Hat” Hackers = Lawbreakers

This is the classic definition of a hacker: a computer user who willfully seeks to  commit theft on other people’s networks. This classic hacker is also known as a “black hat hacker“ because of his malicious motivations. Black hats are gifted but unethical computer users who are motivated by feelings of power and petty revenge. They are electronic thugs, in every sense of the word, and share the same personality traits as punk teens who smash bus stop windows for personal satisfaction.

Black hat hackers are renowned for the following common cybercrimes:

• DOS/DDOS attacks that overload Internet servers.
• Defacing websites by hijacking control and replacing the main page photos with rude slogans.
• Performing identity theft by stealing private information of individuals.
• Botnetting: taking remote control of dozens of personal computers, and programming them to “zombie” as spam broadcasters.

2) White Hat “Ethical Hackers” = Modern Security Technicians

Different from the classic black hat hackers, white hat hackers have honorable, or at least benign, motivations. A white hat “ethical hacker” is a talented user computer security user who is employed to help to protect computer networks. These white hats are very much like former convicts who take on work as store security guards. While they themselves may not be completely ethical, their vocation is considered white hat. These ethical hackers perform very technical security work in exchange for money. It is not surprising to see ethical hackers spending their paychecks on very expensive personal computers in their personal lives, so they can play online games after work. As long as they have a good paying job to support their personal habits, an ethical hacker is usually not motivated to destroy nor steal from their employer.

3) White Hat “Academic Hackers” = Creative Computer Artists

An “academic hacker” is not interested in vandalizing or stealing, but rather in creating clever programs and beautiful interfaces. If you are an academic hacker, for example, you will take existing programmatic code, and improve upon it through clever alterations and additions. “Academic hacking” is about obsessively innovating computer code so that it becomes more beautiful or more efficient as a program. Academic hackers, in general, are harmless and do not seek to hurt other people’s networks. Academic white hats are often graduate students in computer programming.

4) White Hat “Hobby Hackers” = Home Tinkers

There are many white hat “hobby hackers” out there. These are users who like to disassemble and modify their own computers for hobby pleasure. Many hobby hackers are gamers who want to extract even more performance from their gaming computers. These individuals will often spend thousands of dollars on custom computer cases and liquid cooling modifications. But hobby hackers also like to do small “white collar crimes”, like downloading pirated movies and music. By this definition, yes, millions of p2p downloaders are hobby hackers. And indeed, if you have ever modified your router and firewall to allow faster p2p downloads, you could describe yourself as a hobby hacker. Gratefully, only a small percentage of hobby hackers ever escalate into becoming unethical hackers.

Now share this information and enjoy Hacking. Keep reading and keep Hacking.:)

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Beginners Guides To Hacking, Hacker, Vulnerability etc.

What is a hacker?
The term hacker was once used to describe a clever programmer. Today, it’s applied to those who exploit security vulnerabilities to break into a computer system. You can think of it as electronic burglary. Hackers regularly break into both individual computers and large networks. Once they have access, they may install malicious programs, steal confidential data, or perhaps use compromised computers to distribute spam.


What is a vulnerability?
Today’s computer software is very complex, comprised of thousands of lines of code. Since software is written by humans, it’s hardly surprising that they contain programming mistakes, known as vulnerabilities. These loopholes are used by hackers to break into systems; they are also used by authors of malicious code to launch their programs automatically on your computer.

How do I protect myself from hackers?

Hackers are like electronic burglars, who use loopholes in your programs - vulnerabilities - to break into your computer system. You can protect yourself from hackers by using a firewall. A firewall program, which often comes as part of an anti-virus software package, protects a PC by detecting potential intruders and making the PC invisible to hackers.

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