Computers and Hacking

History of “hacking”

What is a hacker? To understand the word, one must go all the way back to the days of punch cards, when it originated. Back then, a hacker was someone who wants to be totally immersed into the world of the computer: in other words to “eat breath and sleep computers.” The term hacker has been perjorated over the years. In the 60s through the mid 70s, “the term hacker was applied to anyone doing anything with computers, but especially to someone who worked on programming the machines. In the late 70s the term referred to anyone who tinkered with building a home computer in their spare time. Between ’79 and ’81, “a hacker was most likely someone so fascinated by computers that his involvement with them… [bordered on obsession] – this was the “classic” hacker who ran around with a calculator in one pocket and pieces of computer in the other.”

Modern hacking

With the advent of more computers on the market, coupled with the fact that both the software and hardware were designed to allow easier communication between large and small computers, a new definition of hacking arose: “a person who attempts to gain unauthorized access to large systems by using his personal computer equipment.”

Definition of “hacking”

According to the Jargon File another definition of a hacker is:

1) A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as poopsed to most users, who prefer to learm only the minimum neccessary

2) One who programs enthiastically (even obsevssively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programing

3) A person capable of appreciatring hack value.

4) A person who is good at programming quickly.

Types of hackers

Crackers are people who attempt to (and sometimes actually) gain entry into password protected systems. Nowdays there are crack programs which speedup the process. These programs contain two basic components: remote computer access and a dictionary of likely account names and passwords. Once in the system, the cracker tries to increase his privelage level to that of a system administrator
Phone phreaks, phreaks for short, are crackers who specailize in attacking phone systems. They are people who use social engineering by calling others, claiming to be someone who legitimately needs the password information. Sometimes, if company employees doesn't realize that the person calling isn’t an authorized user, they’ll give out the passwords.

Another classification of hackers are tourists, who are out for nothing more than an adventure or the challenge of solving a puzzle, that puzzle being the particular system they're hacking into. Tourists feel the need to test themselves and have no interest in being destructive.
Furthermore, there are the crashers. They are illogical troublemakers, “motivated by the same elusive goals as a vandal.” Crashers can cause a variety of problems from simple removal of email all the way to erasure of an entire system or physical attacks on the computer.

Levels of hackers

1.“plain” hacker
2.elite (uber hacker)
3.“white hats” - those who sworn off hacking
4.“black hats”
5.Phreaks (Phreakers)- telephone hacking
6.Script kiddies, wannabes, push button hackers
7.Warez Dudes