Hackers: Not As Bad As You Think
What is a hacker? A hacker is not easily defined, that would simply be like asking what is a human? Our society views hackers as nerds who defile computer security for personal gain. Contrary to popular belief, hackers are in fact the good guys and quite inspirational innovators in today's technological world. Some of our greatest geniuses are considered hackers, such as Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak and Microsoft's Bill Gates, as well as Linux's Linus Torvalds.
Unfortunately, there are hackers who do hack for personal gain and will not hesitate to ruin someone's day just because they can. These hackers are the Black Hat Hackers, they have the skill necessary to perform a hack, but they do it for all the wrong reasons. There are also White Hat Hackers, or better described as the administrators of websites and computers, they protect and manage systems and learn hacking for the knowledge rather than the practice. Finally, we have our newest breed of Hackers, the Grey Hats. These are the hackers that lie in the middle and interact with both parties. These are our hackers that hack for an ethical reason, against digital oppression and create ways for the common people to enjoy their music, movies, and software freely.
Most experienced hackers will probably be the most intelligent people you will ever meet. They are known for creations such as Open Source (Richard Stallman), which allows all software to be free. Free to use, free to change, and free to redistribute, as long as credit is given where credit is deserved.
What's that? Your game account was hacked? Your Facebook or Twitter was hacked? Don't immediately blame the hackers, even the term "hacked" is used incorrectly there, but it's become so assimilated in pop culture that it's the most common word used. The truth is, what you are is a victim of one, bad security, and two, a "script kiddie." Script kiddies or "skiddies", are just your run of the mill users who came...