What is Hacking

                    The word "hacking" has two definitions. The first definition refers to the hobby/profession of working with computers. The second definition refers to breaking into computer systems. While the first definition is older and is still used by many computer enthusiasts (who refer to cyber-criminals as "crackers"), the second definition is much more commonly used. In particular, the web pages here refer to "hackers" simply because our web-server logs show that every one who reaches these pages are using the second definition as part of their search criteria.

Today the culture is such that hacker is automatically thought as a criminal who had done some crime using computers while that is not the case.Hacking generally refers to one who enjoys programming and finding security problems with system.Hackers are of different categories based upon their deeds:

1.WHITE HAT HACKERS

                     White Hat is a general term used in computer/hacking arena which is used to describe a security expert in penetration testing and programming.White Hats gain permission from the administrator or owner before trying to hack their website/program.They are very well reputed group and are the most trusted ones. They generally work under computer security companies and do no illegal work.According to history, Most White hats have earlier been Black Hats[discussed below].The only problem with being a white hat is that you will have very less freedom and enjoyment in hacking would be lost.

2.BLACK HAT HACKERS

                    Black Hat is your bad guy.He is the guy who acts maliciously with his skills.These guys Hack into computers without prior permission with an intention of earning something from it or just damaging it.They are proficient in using their skills for network hacking and creating computer viruses.Although he is your typical bad guy but he is the most knowledgeable one.DUe to his freedom of mind he is experimental and does not hesitate to test his skills or viruses on other peoples system.Even sometimes FBI calls for Black Hats help when they need to hack a very secure network.But most Black Hats often land in Prison.Due to their bad image they are often hated by society and sent to prison if found.

3. GRAY HAT HACKERS

                  These are the guys in between white and black hats.There categorization depends on variety of spectra and they often get mingled with Black Hats.This type of a guy discover a vulnerability and inform both hacker community and the owner of it.Gray hat may hack into a system unauthorized but they do not cause any damage.Except they sell the vulnerability to the owner or just inform them.Gray hats are the most disputed ones for their work as they sometimes are categorized with White hat and sometimes with Black Hats.Read the proper use of term Gray Hat Here

NOW, that you know the difference between different type of hackers,you might have been starting to think that what type of hacker you would become.I say, DONT THINK NOW.You can't decide what type of hacker you would ultimately be known as.It will be based on variety of speculations and your deeds over time.

Now before ending this chapter, i will have to describe The Hacker Manifesto.The Hacker Manifesto) is a small essay written January 8, 1986 by a very popular hacker who was called as THE MENTOR.It was written soon after he was arrested and this essay was published in Phrack first.It is one of the most famous hacker anthem and you must know about it before you proceed.
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Quote:
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The following was written shortly after my arrest...

\/\The Conscience of a Hacker/\/
by
+++The Mentor+++
Written on January 8, 1986
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Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager
Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...
Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's techno brain,
ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what
made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?
I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of
the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...
Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain
for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms.
Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."
Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is
cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I
screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...
Or feels threatened by me...
Or thinks I'm a smart ass...
Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through
the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is
sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is
found.
"This is it... this is where I belong..."
I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to
them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at
school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip
through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or
ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us will-
ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the
beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying
for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and
you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek
after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color,
without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals.
You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us
and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is
that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me
for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual,
but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

+++The Mentor+++