script kiddies and hackers, hackers and crackers?

in case anyone has not noticed i am new to network security, and due to the fact i read alot. i have have already completed 6 different books, among them being java in a nutshell, XML by example, and secrets of a super hacker.but none of the books ive read have given a good answear to one question, what is the difference between a script kiddie and a hacker, and whats the diff between a hacker and a cracker? ive read very vauge answears but i would like opinions from you guys.namely so i can avoid being the lesser of the evils. thanx in advance guys.

hatebreed2000,

Script kiddies download automated hacking tools from Internet sites and launch them against random blocks of IP addresses, looking for unprotected computers to play with. Then they use similar low skill tools to do whatever they please with your computer. The problem is, there are many thousands of script kiddies, and more every day.
In the "nerdy" culture, a "Hacker" is a highly skilled computer geek who does "great hacks" (generally clever computer code). You will be told in no uncertain terms that the people who break into systems are called "crackers", that "hackers" are honest folks who would never, never do such a thing (even though they have no respect whatever for authority, business, government, laws, property, "suits", grooming, personal hygiene, mom or apple pie). OK, some wouldn't. Of course every "cracker" referrs to himself as a "hacker". Common usage lumps the whole lot under the term "hacker".

Bye.

hatebreed2000: Basically, all of those terms are just words that are made up to make one seem more "mighty" or "elite." One might say that a script kiddie is not as worthy of respect as a cracker, because the script kiddie does not write their own exploits and code. While in the same sense, one might say that a hacker is more worthy of respect than a cracker, because a hacker does things that are morally right while a cracker is bent on destruction.

All in all, though, I think the gods have thrown down those different terms for computer geeks just to get everyone in a ruccus and fighting. :)

To make matters worse, there's also the idea of the colored hats :D
(ie: White Hat Hacker (supposedly good), Gray Hat (neutral) & Black Hat ("evil"))

those replys were exactly what i hoped for, i especially like the extra thought on how the terms are just used as almost a stereotype...its a different perspective but a very good one, thanx again everyone.

Here's a doc I once wrote about the difference between a hacker and cracker...


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Hackers vs. crackers.

For a long time hackers have been getting a bad reputation, and several things are to blame for it. However, instead of ranting on about how unfair life can be I’m going to explain what a hacker really is, and what it is that many often mistake them for.
Hackers are commonly associated with criminals. In reality hackers aren’t criminals, hackers are well-educated, intelligent individuals with a desire to learn and educate others. The term “hacker” was created by the first of the kind at M.I.T. in the late sixties. Security experts, programmers, all highly educated people who found a new ideology to follow. It is possible to become a professional hacker today, to be educated in the art of exploitation techniques, so to speak. However, such education only involves the hacking skills not the ideology and ethics (more about this later).
So who are the people you mistook the hackers for being? The ones you’ve seen on the news being sentenced to many years of prison for computer crimes.
They’re Crackers. Crackers are the rotten fruit of the computer-technology. Computers, like everything else in this world, can be used for doing either good or bad. Let me make an example.

Take e.g. a locksmith. He possesses a unique skill called lock picking. When people lock themselves out of their homes or something like that he can open the door for them in a few seconds. Now, with a skill like lock picking he could also have been a very good burglar. You see what I mean? Good :)

Hacking is a skill. When a hacker is working he is “hacking”. When a cracker is working he is “hacking”. The same skill is used for two very different purposes. So, how do you know the hacker from the cracker?

1. A hacker doesn’t break the law, a cracker does.
2. Hackers and crackers does not in anyway share the same ideology or ethics (not to mention morals)

Some will probably disagree and say that crackers “crack” and don’t hack… well, yes you could say that but it would only make things more complicated. Many hackers don’t even like the term “cracker” and hardly ever use the word. They prefer to say hacker vs. cyber criminals or malicious hackers (though the term malicious hacker still uses the h-word and can create misunderstandings).

This should have described the differences between a hacker and a cracker. I’ve tried to make it as simple as possible without talking about the hacker ethics. A security expert isn’t necessarily a hacker but that is a whole other subject and doesn’t belong in this document… and just so that you know: “The ethics is what defines a hacker, not just the skills”.

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I define my self as a user not some kind of hacker. I know hackers, crackers, and script kiddies are all the same just different degrees of ingnorance. Today "hackers" are honest programmers out there writing bug fixes or users expliting thier own networks for vulnerabilities. But I don't think these people consider them selves hackers. Just my 2 cents.