// //HACKERS // //http://www.SturmNacht.de.vu/ //http://www.geocities.com/kornaxx/ // //by Michael K. (m1o1d1) // 03.03.2004 Introduction ------------ In this short article, my goal is to explain the nature of a hacker, what they do and how it is commonly misunderstood. This sentence almost says it all what's going to come, so let's get it on. Hackers? -------- So, what does the term Hacker mean? If you pick up a dictionary and look this word up, you'll mostly get the same definition. A Hacker is a person who likes exploring computer system, and in most cases this includes unauthorized access to various data. It is important to note, that hacking can be alot of things. Things like Programming, or playing around with file-systems. Hacking is basically the stuff you do on a PC, that a normal user would never dream of. Hacking is like a creative art. Yet due to movies, many people think that hacking is an illegal action, which involves theft of Credit cards or destruction of data. The people who do these kind of things are referred to as Carders and Crackers. These sort of actions are illegal and I do not support these kind of actions. How did it start? ----------------- Hacking dates back to the early ages of the internet. During a time, where only academic personel had acces to the internet, like universities. Off course there were people who wanted to gain access to this internet, and soon developed a method called "war-dialling" to gain access, by calling numbers and checking for open connections. These were the first Hackers. Now this kind of hacking has more or less faded away, since internet has become so cheap and accessible by everyone, that it would make no sense to do this. But it is always good to know how it all started. Oh, ok, and? ------------ And so it went on. Nowadays, because of movies like Matrix and WarGames, many young people start hacki ng because they think it's "cool" and they can brag about with their skills. These are mostly also the people who have no idea what hacking is about, and only think of it as breaking into other computers. Mostly they give up their hacking efforts after a short while, because they realize that it's quite embarassing what they were doing. These kind of people are mostly referred to as "Script-kiddies" because they do not know how to program and only go and download pre-done scripts and execute them. This requires no skill except pressing some mouse buttons. Personally, i do not have a problem with Script-kiddies, as long as they do not brag about their "abilities". The most anoying thing a script-kiddie does, is most likely, talking in the so called "l337" talk, which they think marks them as high class hackers. I do not like that "language" because all it actually does, is make the font even harder to read than it already is, and in my eyes, this talk doesn't really suite any purpose, except some ultra-crude encryption. One more thing that can be anoying, is the name script-kiddies give themselves, like "Ultra-Hacker" or "l337_Sub7". These kind of names makes you wonder, if you should laugh or cry. Now, ok, my wierd "nickname" m1o1d1 isn't much better, but i it just happened that i wanted a nickname that no one would ever pick. (And i kinda succeded at that too). I would use my real name, Michael, as a nick, but 100 other people seem to have the same idea. Anyways... Real Hackers? ------------- So what makes a person a "real" hacker? We still don't really know what a real hacker is at this point. If you were to ask me what a hacker is, i'd give you my own definition: A Hacker is a Hardware/Software Engineer, who likes to find out new things, and is willing to share his knowledge. This is THE most important part of hacking. Sharing Knowledge. If you don't want to share your knowledge, you are no hacker. It's all about helping each other out, by teaching them stuff they would like to know, and them teaching you stuff, you would like to know. That's also the reason why script-kiddies are no hackers. They simply don't have any knowledge to share. The fact they can use programs like Sub7 is like the fact a Secretary can open a word document. So, i have to create all the programs myself? --------------------------------------------- At this point you might be asking yourself the above question. And the answer is yes and no. It is the best if you know how the program you are using works, and that you know how to create such a program. But of course it's best if you have created your own version of the program. Using programs created by other hackers doesn't make you a script-kiddie, as long as you know how they work. What kind of hacking should i do? --------------------------------- Nowadays, when talking about hacking, it mostly involves the internet. But it doesn't have to. Hacking can also be like for example, customizing a program, by using Disassemblers, so it's easier to use, etc. What ever hacking you do, it should be what you like the most, and NOT what you think is the coolest. If you started out reading this article, because you tought it would make you cool, you have come to the wrong place. I sincerly hope you came here, because you wanted to know more about Computers and the Internet. I'm ready, where should i start? -------------------------------- The simplest way to start, is to learn some computer languages. Preferably i'd say C/C++ and Perl. They are widely spread and very useful in all sorts of areas. If you are going to become more hard core, Assembly is a must. Now, on many sites i have read, to become a hacker, you will need Linux installed. But these sites never explain why? Why Linux? Whatfor waste my whole Partition? If you are happy with your current OS, stick with it, until you are in the need of more power. In my opinion, it's a rather strange idea to make a new-comer install Linux, since they would have to learn how to use a new OS additionally to what they are learning already. Windows XP can cut it too. Many forget that windows XP finally gives the user Raw access to the sockets like in Linux, which means, 1 less reason to port to linux. Yet of course, Linux is concidered more stable, and the fact that it's open source makes it more attractive, but all i am going to say is, take it one step at the time, don't rush it. Rather take it slow and understand everything. Ok, ok, now what? ----------------- Well, actually that's almost it. The rest comes automatically. I'd suggest you spend a few days "googling" and see what you learn. (In my opinion, you learn ALOT from googling, with googling i mean, entering words that interest you into google and see what you find). Furthermore, IRC won't hurt you either. Filled with nice people willing to help you. One other good thing to do, is to get a real hobby, like some sports. This helps you keep a social life. Hacking can make you quite anti-social pretty fast. Never forget, nothing can be more important than good friends to rely on. If you are about to loose friends because of hacking, give it up and stick with your friends, you can always pick up hacking, but your friends will be gone. Anything else? -------------- Yes. Have fun. That's the whole point of it anyway. If you don't have fun, stop.