Traditionally, a hacker is a cool programmer, who can sit down, and "hack out" code, just like that. Hacker was the top compliment you could give someone, just as lamer was the biggest insult. Hard discs stored less than computers now have RAM, and it was all before Apple sued Microsoft for stealing their idea of ripping off Xerox's Parc desktop. You were lucky if your clock speed was in two figures... ( wobbly fade as we return to present day )
However, the media picked up on this term, and used it wrongly. They took "hacking" to be "unauthorised access" because the "hackers" were the ones who had the skill to do it. The media "Hacker" is really a "Cracker"
Recently, hackers have had competition from haxors. To tell the difference, here are some of their distinguishing features:
| Situation | Hackers | Crackers | HaXoRs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virus writing | A hacker might write a virus as an experiment. Most wouldn't though. | A cracker might write a virus for revenge on a company. | A HaXoR might use a virus writing utility for a practical joke. |
| Piracy | A true hacker sees copyright as theft, and only uses free software. | A cracker will break into a program and distribute the solution. | Haxors have DaVeZ hOuSe Of WaReZ, with ripped off serial numbers from crackers' sites. (might look like this instead). |
| Chat Rooms | Hackers are usually willing to show of their great skill by fixing any problem. | Crackers will be trying to steal someone's identity for fraud. | Haxors say WaReZ rUlEz a lot, and put their URL on screen about 20 times. |
| Remote administration utilities | Hackers write them to show off their skills, and the flaws with Windows. | Crackers use them to steal information. | HaXoRs use them to show off, and play tricks. And then think they're really hard. |
| Demos | Hackers write them. Some hackers think demos suck, and make demolike programs that do stuff instrad. | Crackers write them to put on their Warez, for greets purposes. | HaXoRs use a utility to make them, which just puts a scrolly with custom greets and the same wobbly background. |
| Coding Skill | Very good, could fix something just by staring at it. | Good. | Poor, couldn't hack their way out of a paper bag. |
| Attacks | Hackers don't attack unprovoked. If you DO provoke one, anything could be possible. Now where did that police record come from? | Crackers don't attack if you don't have anything worth stealing. | HaXoRs will attack randomly, for fun, because it makes them feel big. |
| Security | Hackers expose security holes. | Crackers exploit security holes. | HaXoRs request security holes. |
In conclusion, HaXoRs want to be hackers, but for the wrong reasons, and they don't have the skill.
Of course, there ARE some people that are trying to become expert hackers, just for fun. Stealing and deleting accounts shouldn't be the fun part. Getting in should be reward enough. Getting onto the attrittion mirror won't exactly make you stand out.