Cracker or hacker?
Magnus Aldemark
Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
interpretation of the word hacker is.
//Magnus Aldemark
Cameron Perkins
: What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
: Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
: interpretation of the word hacker is.
It entirely depends on the clue level of your audience. John Q. Public
and the media tend to treat the terms "cracker" and "hacker" as one
and the same. However, the closer you get to areas where you have
hackers in the true sense (the ones who manage to do the strange and
impossible with everyday stuff), the more likely it is that you'll
see the distinction. The FAQ to alt.hackers can expand on the distinction,
somewhat.
--
Cameron Perkins <gt5...@prism.gatech.edu>
William Devine II
>: What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
>: Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
>: interpretation of the word hacker is.
if they break into something and don't do anything, i'd say cracker.
if they break into something and destroy stuff i'd say a
malicious Cracker (not hacker)
if they get something to do something it wasn't supposed to do
then i'd say a hacker.
i don't know if a malicious hacker exists, if they're malicious, then
they're not a true 'hacker', but a 'cracker'
william
Chip Seymour
<magnus....@mailbox.swipnet.se> wrote:
> What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
> Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker?
Defendant.
Joao Oliveira
: What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
: interpretation of the word hacker is.
: //Magnus Aldemark
Definittely not hacker.
However, sometimes you need to hack a lot to crack a system. Hack
means the skill to go beyond (no matter the field - Einstein hacked more than
anyone else). Crack means to break security, confidence, etc.
Nevertheless, when you break a system you are no longer a hacker but
probably a hacker/cracker.
joao
--
+ Joao Barreto Fernandes - Intelligent Network Platform Dep. (research stdt) +
+ HP Labs (INCL), Filton Road, Bristol, BS12 6QZ England +44 0117 9228248 +
+ j...@hplb.hpl.hp.com http://www-incl/~jco http://www.di.fc.ul.pt/~barreto +
+ 'All points of view are my own and not necessarily HP's as well' +
John G Dobnick
: What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
: Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
: interpretation of the word hacker is.
In our state, we'd call such a creature a "criminal".
But then we have laws against the unauthorized use of computing facilities.
--
John G Dobnick "Knowing how things work is the basis
Information & Media Technologies for appreciation, and is thus a
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee source of civilized delight."
j...@uwm.edu ATTnet: (414) 229-5727 -- William Safire
Daniel T Klayer
>
>What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
>Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
>interpretation of the word hacker is.
>
Read Stephen Levy's book called Hackers. Really good reading and it will explain the
term Hacker and Cracker in both their good meanings and their historical good meanings.
David Taylor
>
>What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
>Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
>interpretation of the word hacker is.
>
I think that the best answer to this question is given in Cheswick &
Bellovin's book on firewalls and internet security. They say that
although 'hacker' is possibly not the true name for these people, that is
what the media refers to them as, and that is what they refer to
themselves as, so why not call a horse a horse?
Beside which, saying that you got broken into by a hacker sure saves
typing, rather than being electronically penetrated by a malicious
computer intruder.
:)
Dave
Jason Truesdell
: what the media refers to them as, and that is what they refer to
: themselves as, so why not call a horse a horse?
: Beside which, saying that you got broken into by a hacker sure saves
: typing, rather than being electronically penetrated by a malicious
: computer intruder.
: :)
: Dave
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* So Many Revolutions, So Little Time *
Rob J. Nauta
>What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
>Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
>interpretation of the word hacker is.
Well English is a living language. Unlike other languages, it's not
predefined, but it changes with time. The word 'hacker', although once
a noble term describing a smart programmer who would fix things by
using quick'n'dirty fixes nobody else could understand, has changed
its meaning, and only a fool would be proud to call himself a hacker
now. A similar example: only a few decades ago 'gay' meant 'happy',
and saying 'I'm a gay person' or 'I like gay music' meant something
entirely different that it does today.
Rob
--
~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~
Rob J. Nauta r...@redwood.nl
NOTE: my opinions are strictly my own and not those of my employer
BENJAMIN A LINDSTROM
: Magnus Aldemark <magnus....@mailbox.swipnet.se> writes:
:
: >What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
: >Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
: >interpretation of the word hacker is.
:
: Well English is a living language. Unlike other languages, it's not
: predefined, but it changes with time. The word 'hacker', although once
: a noble term describing a smart programmer who would fix things by
: using quick'n'dirty fixes nobody else could understand, has changed
: its meaning, and only a fool would be proud to call himself a hacker
: now. A similar example: only a few decades ago 'gay' meant 'happy',
: and saying 'I'm a gay person' or 'I like gay music' meant something
: entirely different that it does today.
I would have to disagree with the comment about "only a fool would be
proud to call himself a hacker." You might not like the term, but I
know many programmers/security fokes that are proud to be hackers.
The term "hacker" has been given a bad repuation due to "crackers,
crasher, etc." Hackers are not like what movies show..(gawd, I would
hate that defination!!) When I start looking for holes in my firewall
or in my systems behind the firewall (from an external site) I look
at that as "hacking." Is this bad? No, because it's for improving
security.
Yes, definations make a major different.
Kyle M Forbes
: What would you call a person who breaks in to other peoples systems?
: Cracker, malicious hacker or just hacker? Just want to know what the general
: interpretation of the word hacker is.
: //Magnus Aldemark
Maybe a Cracker jacker hacker? Or slacker..hrm.
- Ky
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyle M. Forbes
Systems Administrator
kfo...@tan.unl.edu
(402) 472 - 7556
Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies
(CALMIT)
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