computer hacking and hacker
Originally “hacking” or “hacker” had a neutral or even a positive connotation. Hacking was referred to many things, usually related to a style of working that was either very good or carried out in a spirit of experimentation, possibly originating at MIT, where “hacks” or clever pranks were carried out (http://hacks.mit.edu). A computer hacker was anyone who enjoyed the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations, primarily in their fields of interest, namely programming or electrical engineering. When free software authors use the word, they often use the old meaning, having a neutral or even a positive meaning. However, the word “hacking” has recently been used in the mass media to mean unauthorized access to data/information, to obtain or to modify it. Such kind of unauthorized or illegal hacking is referred to as cracking and those who engage in cracking are called crackers. For general information about computer hacking and hacker, check out the web pages at http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacking and http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker. For more information about the history of hacking and culture, check out the websites at http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/ and
http://www.wbglinks.net/pages/history/. For a brief list of common hacking techniques, check out the web page at http://www.flower.com.hk/securehk/hacking.htm. For more up-to-date information on hacking, check out http://www.happyhacker.org/indexb.shtml . The website at http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/views/security/articles.jsp provides some in-depth look at computer security in general and hacking techniques in particular.
