Computer Hacker. The word tends to induce in people a sense of injustice, and even rage in some cases. Highly misunderstood by most, the term actually means something completely different than a computer junkie turned renegade. In all reality, a Hacker is defined by ethics and morals that are quite strict- they abide by a certain code of conduct. A Hacker is a person greatly talented with computers that believes it is correct to hack into a system and look for errors and “chips in the armor” of a program, so that they can help the person who designed the program better it.
As stated before briefly, the turn Hacker is greatly misunderstood by the masses. The term has been thrown around by the media and public, losing more and more of its original meaning as it became widely accepted and popular. What most people deem to be a Hacker is normally a Cracker. The words are separated only by two letters, but using one or the other makes a world of a difference in a true Hacker’s eyes. A Hacker is a person who has a code of conduct to follow, if you will. There are unspoken rules Hackers choose to follow, which is really what separates the two groups. A Hacker will never take advantage of something that they worm their way into. They will never commit fraud, nor vandalize another’s system nor take any malicious movement towards another person’s computer. Instead they take it upon themselves to help others improve their computer’s security, keep their programs running smoothly and without wormholes for Crackers to squeeze through and cause damage. A Cracker, however, is really the exact opposite. They always have malicious intent when going into another person’s program and normally don’t have half the skill or knowledge that Hackers do. A Cracker steals, and gives themselves a false sense of superiority and authority over others by trashing their computers and generally making a mess of things. In the end, the key differences between a Hacker and a Cracker is that one wants only to further the internet and put themselves to good use on it, and the other wants only to cause problems and make themselves look intelligent.
A Hacker normally had a very positive mindset and outlook on things. They believe that the computer world is full of problems waiting to be solved- they just need to figure out a good solution. Hackers love to delve deep into a complex problem, burying themselves for hours in the breathtaking coding that they write from scratch. However, Hackers also tend to be very anti-authoritarian. They do not believe in being told what they can and cannot do- after all, what they’re doing is technically illegal, no matter how it’s justified. Hackers also tend to lose themselves to the problems that modern day computers present to them. After all, piecing together codes and finding holes in systems can take hours upon hours to do. Because of this, while Hackers constantly challenge their minds and help others with their diligent work, they tend to find it very hard to find time to have a social life or do anything else, really.
Hackers, as mentioned briefly in the former paragraph, as very good at finding problems and fixing them. They are normally extremely intelligent individuals with high IQs and very abstract, creative ways of thinking. This also doesn’t help with their social lives, as it is easy for them to look down upon another person for their lack of understanding. As the saying goes, if you can’t play with the big dogs, get out of the junkyard and back to your kennel. Hackers are apt to go at their own pace and not slow down for anybody. Some of the things they do might seem strange and even repetitive to others. The best thing to do, though, is to not question the Hacker. Just go with it.
Hackers are defiant, bright, creative free thinkers. They go their own way in life and hope to make the internet and computer world in general a better place for all, no matter what the cost may be. Hackers are what made the computer world what it is today, and without them, we’d all surely be lost in a sea of immature Cracker brats.