How would YOU define a hacker ?

[ordeliaoser]

i see a hacker as some who is largly misunderstood-mainly by the media.
they have the same basic elements as anyone with a thirst 4 knowledge but to a larger scale and they use their skills to satisfy that thirst.
as mentioned hack to learn,not learn to hack (unfortuantly this quote hasn't been taken in by those who hack for all the wrong reasons)

[lord_darkside_x]

i think that a "good" hacker is someone who loves knowledge and thirsts for that said knowledge. it is one with vast knowledge.... but with the maturity to control it and use it properly.... but actually i think that even someone with out vast knowledge can be a hacker.... it's more of the mentality. the willingness to learn and the willingness to share info and not to use it maliciously.... that's my story and i am sticking to it.

[Tenaga]

Hackers r often misinterpretted as ppl hu go into the private files of another person. Even tho diz mite be true for some hackers, i think dat a hacker iz just anyone hu digs deep into computers and tries to find more about it. Now, diz iz where i think dat we hav to make a distinction. It iz wut da "hacker" duz wit his/her newfound knowledge dat makes him/her a good hacker versus a "bad" hacker. A good hacker uses the knowledge to formulate a better way to do things and may innovate ideas that can revolutionize the convenience that our pc brings us. Diz iz wut Antionline.com bases the site on. A "bad" hacker wud use da knowledge for personal gain and only shows the corruption that we can bring ourselves thru our technological advancements. Der's also the "Swordfish" concept that many ppl associate hackers with. Not all people want to corrupt the CIA or steal money and encrypt it into international banks. Da main character shows an important consequence of hackin and learns from it. He used to be one of the best hackers and now he justs wants to be at peace and tries to do his best with his computer skills.

[KillaT]

Anyone else have trouble reading that reply?

[Matty_Cross]

It looks like english.... but it sure doesn't read like english...

[psi0nic]

There is no definition.

MIT coined the phrase in the late 50's and it has been used by others in the computer science and engineering world every since then to describe someone who is on the bleeding edge of discovery/invention/innovaion/knowledge.

The interpretation of the word hacker that you are speaking of is the newest and is used mostly by young people, the media, and windows users, well we can add people who think they are 133t to that too.

`Hacker' by today's definition is pretty lame and does not denote wizardry the way it once did.

All the same, by the current definition, I would say it is someone who knows enough to discover/exploit flaws in an OS/firewall/software. Whether they do this for exploration, security testing, or theft seems to determine what color `hat' they wear. I would caution anyone interested in doing unsolicited security testing that lately some self proclaimed `white hat' hackers; the good guys, have been arrested by the suits.

Decide for yourself. In my opinion it is totally lame to call yourself a hacker beacuse you know a little about puters and security. This is a title that is still far better if earned by the respect of respectable peers no matter what definition you attach to it.

[zion1459]

this is what a hacker needs to know.

http://home.cyberarmy.com/zion1459/ethics.htm

For any1 who's interested in the hacker ethic, read the book: "The hacker ethic, and the spirit of the infromation age"... sorry but i can't remember who wrote it (but the prologue is made by Linus Torvalds!)....

A hacker follows the nethic (or at least most of it)... to understand what kinda person a hacker is, simply search on google for hacker ethic and nethic...

[Dougie]

a VERY interesting read

[VictorKaum]

*not from me*

http://www.attrition.org/~modify/texts/ethics/

hacker reading stuff

[VictorKaum]

*not from me*

http://www.attrition.org/~modify/texts/ethics/

hacker reading stuff