| When you think of security, it's a good bet that some of your thinking drifts to hackers and crackers. These are both security threats that you have to take into account. But do you know the difference? Well, some people do, and although many of them don't want their names bandied about, as is the case with the author of this tip, they can tell us much about the shadowy hacker community, and other security threats as well. This tip defines the difference between hackers and crackers, and discusses some simple things they can do to get inside your systems.
So now that I have you curious, I will answer your question. A cracker is a person who attempts to break into a system by guessing or cracking passwords, by brute force. Most crackers are youth who are very malicious and get their laughs by destroying or changing the files on a computer system, and planting viruses that destroy or alter the functioning of a computer. Usually the cracker has very low knowledge of computer systems and their inner workings.
On the other hand, a hacker is an individual who wants only to learn. Hackers are usually very knowledgeable, usually knowing several programming languages, and are able to use a wide variety of operating systems efficiently. Hackers keep up-to-date on security related issues involving computers, and generally have a firm understanding of the more technical aspects such as TCP/IP protocols. TCP/IP is the protocol, or set of rules, that your computer uses to connect and communicate with other computers on the Internet and wide area networks. For hackers, penetrating a system is a thrill, a challenge that excites the hacker. The hacker enjoys exploring the system inside and out, searching for misconfigurations, bugs, and holes that would allow him to break in. Once the hacker has broken in, it is against the hacker’s ethics to alter any data other than the logs to clear his tracks. The hacker has no desire to alter or destroy the data on a machine, his only desire is to learn more, hacking more difficult systems, and learning more about the operating systems, and files on the machines.
The hacker’s ethics are the most vital part of a hacker, and they are what separate the true hackers from the wannabes or the crackers. Hacker’s ethics are not to hack to embezzle money, spread virii, or commit crimes. Hackers should be willing to share their knowledge and methods to others. He should never take unintelligent risks; he must know his abilities before he attempts something that could cause harm to a system. Hackers should not distribute, use, or collect pirated software. After a system is hacked, the system administrator should be notified about any security breaches the hacker encounters. And finally, he should treat a hacked system as if it was his own, and hack only to gain knowledge, not to cause harm.
The media uses Hackers as a scapegoat for many computer security problems, but it is crackers who are causing the problems. In reality, the problems are caused by crackers through their inexperience and malicious intents. These malicious acts are harming the data on many computers, including those that contain important and sensitive information. The connotation of "hacker" has led to many misconceptions in society, thus making the hackers’ quest for knowledge and information extremely difficult. |