controversial subject: hackers? good or evil?

[ruptured.bizhat.com]

the "word" hacker in itself sounds ugly and menacing, doesnt it? but are they as bad as everyone says?

first of all, people need to get a few things straight:

1. 20 - 30 years ago, a hacker was defined in the dictionary as "a computer enthusiast", as simple as that. so what happened to the definition they give us today - "someone who uses acquired knowledge to do malicious acts or break into the computer system of a company or government".

what?!?! whatever happened to the "computer enthusiast" theory?

i know you and i read about these hackers who break into FBI computers to reak havoc in companies by slipping in a virus and seem hellbent on making the world a terrible place.

But let me ask you this: do you ever hear of any good hackers? Do you ever hear of hackers who work to improve a company's overall security, do you hear of any hackers who use their knowledge to a good use? very very few cases, i can tell you.

or is it that the someone is trying to stop people from becoming hackers? because to me it seems like someone is trying to keep us under control, someone who is a far greater menace than a bunch of teen hackers.

the government?
another agency?
who knows?

the less people know, the easier they are to control - fact of life, but here's the catch - it is in human nature to ask questions and we are curious if we dont know something- which is why there are so hackers around the world.

some of them are bad, in fact a LOT of them are bad (i wont lie and try to cover it up), and they do destroy data or create malicious programs or code with the intent to do damage, but can these people really be called hackers? i dont think so, their knowledge only extends to the point where destruction is their main aim;

real hackers do not have mentiality or these objectives >

which leads me to another point. what is a hacker? you can call an 18 year old you sits in his dark bedroom all day typing away and drinking coffee with no real friends a hacker, but what makes him a hacker? because i dont think its what he physically does, but what he KNOWS, which is what so many companies and governments consider a "real threat".

it took me a while to type this thing up, and if anyone is interested, please reply in this thread... i'd like to hear from you guys.

later, ruptured :-)[/b]

[aeon]

yeah this is a common misconception, hackers are programmers/computer entusiasts, crackers are people who break into things. The word hacker is misused so much that people tend to describe themselves as white/black hat these days.

[hellbilly]

IMO: a "hacker" is a person who wants to learn how things work. so they learn. nothing more, if a person causes harm in what they are doing then we have another work for them :)

[zerodog.bizhat.com]

It is true that knowledge is power. But it's not how much power one has that makes them dangerous. It is the way one thinks that determines if they could be potentially dangerous. ust because someone owns a gun doesn't make them dangerous. If they are careless, don't know how to use it properly or have harmful intentions, then they become dangerous. Give the same gun to a trained police officer, and he doesn't become dangerous. Give a 13 year old kid a script that attacks and spreads through networks and he becomes dangerous. Most real hackers aren't the problem. It's the wanna-be's out there that end up causing most of the damage... They brag and boast about how they did this and that and post scripts and source code about how to replicate his actions. Then a whole mess of kids come along, with a bit of computer knowledge and no real morals yet, and begin attacking all over the place, not really knowing what they are doing. "Hackers" or "reverse engineers" really do pla a positive role in the world and are nessicary in certain circumstances. Lets say you run a buisness, and have a computer network, with around 100 computers + servers. Now you have a tech who has been payed to setup and manage the network. But, it turns out that after about a year, it's not working out with him. So you decide to let him go, but he leaves the building, he locks out the network, and as he's the one who has set it all up , he knows how to do it quite quickly. He now wants a severence pay of $100,000 for the password to the network. Everyday that your network is down, your financial loss is around $35,000 and the information on the server cannot be replaced. What do you do? Who would you call? Sure, you could phone the local authorities, but your ex-techie knows that it will take alot longer than a few days for them to arrest him and attempt to get the password from him. It could be a week, or a month, or if he decides, never. So, basically the only ones you could really turn to at that point is some freelance hacker. Sure, he'll charge you $10,000 to get into your server, but he'll get it done in a day, saving you quite alot of money and data.

It's not what you know that makes you dangerous, its how you use it.

[aeon]

$10,000 for 5 minutes work, resetting the password, nice

[madboyv1]

well it depends on what you are trying to say here. If you are talking about causing harm to a computer, the term now-adays it is "Cracking into someones computer or network", and hense forth done by a "Cracker." These little pricks are the guys that you hear passing viruses and malicious scripts all around the net. Though unfortunately "Hacker" and "Cracker" are used incorrectly as synonyms.

I perfer to think of Hackers as Computer security flaw locators, which are employed mostly by companies to find holes and flaws in their network, sometimes paid well, sometimes not as much, but they are truely reverse engineers, as said before; they work from the finished product into the system to expose flaws...

So lets not confuse the two, shall we? :lol:

[Nemezis]

There is only ONE way to protect your computer from hackers and viruses.
It is: FULL DISCONNECT from this world)
Also you can try FireWalls and Antiviruses.
)

[fuzionmonkey]

i use antivirus, software firewall, and router.

i think hackers keep the computer world in check. makeing sure they dont fall behind.

[DDLForce]

Hackers secrects in pdf

http://www.geocities.com/wwwwarezbborg/E-Books/hackers_secrets.pdf

[fintax]

The basic aspiration for classical hacker - self-affirmation. To prove to itself, to the close friends, that it(he) something can. This normal phenomenon during puberty. Or actions of the loser embittered for the whole world. However now hacker very much frequently - simply technical expert in a criminal team.