LearnHacking

Introduction to
Hacking | Different
Types of Hackers
1.originally, someone who
makes furniture with an
axe1. A person who enjoys
exploring the details of
programmable systems
and how to stretch their
capabilities, as opposed to
most users,
who prefer to learn only
the minimum necessary.
2. One whoprograms
enthusiastically (even
obsessively) or who enjoys
programming
rather than just theorizing
about programming.
3. Aperson capable of
appreciating hack value.
4. A person who is good at
programming quickly.
5. An expert at a particular
program,
or one who frequently
does work using it or on it;
as in ‘a
Unix hacker.’ (Definitions 1
through 5 are correlated,
and people
who fit them congregate.)
6. An expert or enthusiast
of any kind.
One might be an
astronomy hacker, for
example.
7. One who
enjoys the intellectual
challenge of creatively
overcoming or
circumventing
limitations.
8. [deprecated] A malicious
meddler who
tries to discover sensitive
information by poking
around. Hence
‘password hacker,’
‘network hacker.’ The
correct term for this
sense is cracker.
One who breaks security
on a system. Coined ca.
1985 by hackers
in defense against
journalistic misuse of
hacker (q.v., sense 8). An
earlier attempt to establish
‘worm’ in this sense
around 1981–82
on Usenet was largely a
failure.
Use of both these
neologisms reflects a
strong revulsion against
the theft and vandalism
perpetrated by cracking
rings. While it is
expected that any real
hacker will have done some
playful cracking
and knows many of the
basic techniques, anyone
past larval stage
is expected to have
outgrown the desire to do
so except for immediate,
benign, practical reasons
(for example, if it’s
necessary to get
around some security in
order to get some work
done).
Thus, there is far less
overlap between
hackerdom and
crackerdom
than the mundane reader
misled by sensationalistic
journalism
might expect. Crackers
tend to gather in small,
tight-knit,
very secretive groups that
have little overlap with the
huge, open
poly-culture this lexicon
describes; though crackers
often like to
describe themselves as
hackers, most true hackers
consider them a
separate and lower form of
life.
It’s clear that the term
cracker is absolutely meant
to be derogatory. One
shouldn’t take the tone too
seriously though, as The
Jargon File is done with a
sense of humor, and the
above is said with a smile.
As we can see from the
above, illegal or perhaps
immoral activity is viewed
with disdain by the “true
hackers,” whomever they
may be. It also makes
reference to cracker being
a
possible intermediate step
to hacker, perhaps
something to be overcome.
The term script kiddie has
come into vogue in recent
years. The term refers to
crackers who use scripts
and programs written by
others to perform their
intrusions.
If one is labeled a “script
kiddie,” then he or she is
assumed to be incapable
of producing his or her
own tools and exploits, and
lacks proper
understanding of exactly
how the tools he or she
uses work. As will be
apparent
by the end of this chapter,
skill and knowledge (and
secondarily, ethics) are the
essential ingredients to
achieving status in the
minds of hackers. By
definition,
a script kiddie has no skills,
no knowledge, and no
ethics.
A phreak is a hacker
variant, or rather, a specific
species of hacker. Phreak is
short for phone phreak
(freak spelled with a ph,
like phone is). Phreaks are
hackers with an interest in
telephones and telephone
systems. Naturally, there
has been at times a
tremendous amount of
overlap between traditional
hacker
roles and phreaks.
White Hat hackers are
good guys who does the
hacking for defensing.
They probably work an
organization for providing
security.
Black hat hackers are bad
guys(the malicious hackers
or crackers). They usually
steal the other bank
information and steal the
money.
They use their skills for
illegal purposes.
They are creators of
viruses,malware,spyware.
They will destroy your pc.
Grey hats are hackers who
may work offensively or
defensively, depending on
the situation.
This is the dividing line
between hacker and
cracker. Both are powerful
forces on the Internet,
and both will remain
permanently. And some
individuals qualify for both
categories. The
existence of such
individuals further clouds
the division between these
two groups of people.
In addition to these
groups, there are self-
proclaimed ethical hackers,
who are interested in
hacker tools mostly from a
curiosity standpoint. They
may want to highlight
security problems
in a system or educate
victims so they secure their
systems properly. These
hackers are
doing their “victims” a
favor. For instance, if a
weakness is discovered in a
service offered by
an investment bank, the
hacker is doing the bank a
favor by giving the bank a
chance to rectify
the vulnerability.
Cracker