Player0
05-27-2003, 03:30 PM
Time for me to go on another rant again here. The cause again seems to be the media in this country. I've seen a few TV shows on hackers which just seem wrong. Why is it that the media in this country can't seem to portrait an accurate image of any subgroup of people? The media loves playing hype and pop culture up. How many hacker movies have we seen in the past decade?
It's 'cool' to be a hacker. Women find it sexy, and guys call it bragging rights. But wait, what is a hacker? There's really nothing cool or sexy about it, even though the media and so called hackers would have you beleive so. I am by no means an expert on this subject matter, and the fact is, NO ONE is an expert on hacking because by it's very nature, it's elusive. I laugh so hard when I see people on TV claiming to be elite hackers because they read 2600 or visit hacking conventions. Yet true hackers wouldn't be caught dead being so blatent about their 'hobby'.
Hacking is bypassing a security measure meant to keep you out. A hacker is of course anyone who breaks a security measure. Although the true definition of hacker simply means one who writes code. We'll focus on the pop definition for the time being. There are of course different 'leagues' that hackers occupie:
Lamer: These people are barely hackers. They want to be, they think it's cool, but usually have so little computer knowledge it's scary. People who read e-mail headers, understand how to retreive an IP address, or do a WHOIS lookup and generally act impressed with themselves fill this category.
Script Kiddie: These people, usually younger in age, usually have some computer experience, they might even know how to install an OS from scratch or build a PC. Of course, everyone here knows that building a PC that turns on, and building a PC that runs stably is a different matter. Anyone can piece together the hardware, but so few of the people who do understand BIOS, ram timings and OS tweaks. Script Kiddies usually surf around the internet and download port scanners, backdoor exploiters, brute force password blockers, and port flooders. Most hackers fall in to this category, and in fact, script kiddies can do a good amount of damage to systems with poor security policies. Script kiddies are only as good as the software they can download, and really dont have any true skill themselves, just the know how enough to use the tools of True Hackers. They also have no idea how to keep from getting in trouble.
True Hacker: Usually programmers with a good knowledge of networking and security. These guys write the tools commonly used by the script kiddies, and are usually the first ones to exploit large holes in software/firmware. True hackers are also responsible for most of the viruses out there, and most do a fairly good job of hiding their identities. True hackers are usually rebels with out a cause, and don't cause too many wide spread problems (apart from the virus guys). They're really in it for the challenge, and dont commonly put the tools to good use.
Elite Hacker: So few of them exist, and I've never seen one myself. These are the professional hackers, the ones that try to make a living off of it. They are nearly impossible to catch, and are usually going after governmental institutions (working for other governments of course). Most of the work here is covert spying and data interception. Im not sure many of them actually get away with too much identity theft or stealing.
The common misconception about hackers, especially elite hackers, is that they can simply type a few keys on the keyboard and break in to any system. That's simply not true. People like to exaggerate and brag, and threaten others with hacking their PCs (on any IRC chatroom or some gaming servers). Script kiddies can cause havoc if you dont prevent against security holes, keep a good firewall, check for viruses/backdoors, etc. If you piss a True Hacker off enough, they can cause some more specific problems like a DoS attack, or they might get some of your passwords and get in that way.
It should be no surprise that people are so mystified about PCs that they believe the movie style hackers exist. People that can steal your identity and credit cards and money simply by touching your computer don't exist. Most credit card fraud is caused by people who actually work at the company your trying to do business with, not by hackers intercepting SSL packets.
End Rant.
It's 'cool' to be a hacker. Women find it sexy, and guys call it bragging rights. But wait, what is a hacker? There's really nothing cool or sexy about it, even though the media and so called hackers would have you beleive so. I am by no means an expert on this subject matter, and the fact is, NO ONE is an expert on hacking because by it's very nature, it's elusive. I laugh so hard when I see people on TV claiming to be elite hackers because they read 2600 or visit hacking conventions. Yet true hackers wouldn't be caught dead being so blatent about their 'hobby'.
Hacking is bypassing a security measure meant to keep you out. A hacker is of course anyone who breaks a security measure. Although the true definition of hacker simply means one who writes code. We'll focus on the pop definition for the time being. There are of course different 'leagues' that hackers occupie:
Lamer: These people are barely hackers. They want to be, they think it's cool, but usually have so little computer knowledge it's scary. People who read e-mail headers, understand how to retreive an IP address, or do a WHOIS lookup and generally act impressed with themselves fill this category.
Script Kiddie: These people, usually younger in age, usually have some computer experience, they might even know how to install an OS from scratch or build a PC. Of course, everyone here knows that building a PC that turns on, and building a PC that runs stably is a different matter. Anyone can piece together the hardware, but so few of the people who do understand BIOS, ram timings and OS tweaks. Script Kiddies usually surf around the internet and download port scanners, backdoor exploiters, brute force password blockers, and port flooders. Most hackers fall in to this category, and in fact, script kiddies can do a good amount of damage to systems with poor security policies. Script kiddies are only as good as the software they can download, and really dont have any true skill themselves, just the know how enough to use the tools of True Hackers. They also have no idea how to keep from getting in trouble.
True Hacker: Usually programmers with a good knowledge of networking and security. These guys write the tools commonly used by the script kiddies, and are usually the first ones to exploit large holes in software/firmware. True hackers are also responsible for most of the viruses out there, and most do a fairly good job of hiding their identities. True hackers are usually rebels with out a cause, and don't cause too many wide spread problems (apart from the virus guys). They're really in it for the challenge, and dont commonly put the tools to good use.
Elite Hacker: So few of them exist, and I've never seen one myself. These are the professional hackers, the ones that try to make a living off of it. They are nearly impossible to catch, and are usually going after governmental institutions (working for other governments of course). Most of the work here is covert spying and data interception. Im not sure many of them actually get away with too much identity theft or stealing.
The common misconception about hackers, especially elite hackers, is that they can simply type a few keys on the keyboard and break in to any system. That's simply not true. People like to exaggerate and brag, and threaten others with hacking their PCs (on any IRC chatroom or some gaming servers). Script kiddies can cause havoc if you dont prevent against security holes, keep a good firewall, check for viruses/backdoors, etc. If you piss a True Hacker off enough, they can cause some more specific problems like a DoS attack, or they might get some of your passwords and get in that way.
It should be no surprise that people are so mystified about PCs that they believe the movie style hackers exist. People that can steal your identity and credit cards and money simply by touching your computer don't exist. Most credit card fraud is caused by people who actually work at the company your trying to do business with, not by hackers intercepting SSL packets.
End Rant.