Who should be called a hacker?

Answer 1

NOTE: If you're just going to copy content directly from Wikipedia without doing any thinking for yourself, you are incompetent (i.e., answering a question you cannot possibly answer). Do me a favor and jump off a bridge, 'kay?


Most people use the word "hack" when they mean "crack". The title hacker is not a negative and originated long before cracking became mainstream. Cracking, sometimes called "black hat hacking", is specifically malicious. Many crackers may be hackers.

Basically, a hacker is motivated by one thing alone: knowledge. A hacker is curious and wants to learn everything there is to know about whatever happens to be interesting. This is the general meaning of hack/hacking/hacker. There are other specific meanings. Some examples are:
A hack is poorly written code that is just designed to function (and probably doesn't do that very well).
A hacker is someone who writes a lot of code.
A hacker is a security expert.
Etc.
But these are only acceptable in certain specific contexts. The more general definition is more widely accepted (except by the crackers and script kiddies who want the title "hacker").

On the other hand, cracking refers to an act, as opposed to a motivation. Crackers may be motivated by monetary gain, publicity, or any number of other possible motivations (even hacking, perhaps). For instance, when you hear the news that the Department of Energy's computers were "hacked", they mean they were "cracked". A cracker cracked into the DOE's systems and stole a list of DOE employees' social security numbers. (If you haven't heard this yet, it's today's news.)

Answer 2

A hacker is a person who creates and modifies computer software and computer hardware, including computer programming, administration, and security-related items. The term usually bears strong connotations, but may be either positive or negative depending on cultural context (see the Hacker definition controversy).

In computer programming, a hacker is a programmer who hacks or reaches a goal by employing a series of modifications to exploit or extend existing code or resources. For some, hacker has a negative connotation and refers to a person who "hacks" or uses kludges to accomplish programming tasks that are ugly, inelegant, and inefficient. This negative form of the noun "hack" is even used among users of the positive sense of "hacker".

In computer security, a hacker is a person who specializes in work with the security mechanisms for computer and network systems. The term Script kiddies is often used for those of this type who either claim to have far more skill than they actually have, or exclusively use programs developed by others to achieve a sucessful security exploit.

In other technical fields, hacker is extended to mean a person who makes things work beyond perceived limits through their own technical skill, such as a hardware hacker, or reality hacker.

In hacker culture, a hacker is a person who has attained a certain social status and is recognized among members of the culture for commitment to the culture's values and a certain amount of technical knowledge.

Answer 3

One who is skilled at programming , ---

Hacker: Highly skilled programmer
The positive usage of hacker is one who knows a (sometimes specified) set of programming interfaces well enough to write software rapidly and expertly. This type of hacker is well-respected (although the term still carries some of the meaning of hack), and is capable of developing programs without adequate planning or where pre-planning is difficult or impossible to achieve. This zugzwang gives freedom and the ability to be creative against methodical careful progress. At their best, hackers can be very productive. The technical downside of hacker productivity is often in maintainability, documentation, and completion.

Answer 4

n.
Computer Science
One who is proficient at using or programming a computer; a computer buff.
One who illegally gains access to or enters another's electronic system to obtain secret information or steal money.
Sports
One who enthusiastically pursues a game or sport:
a weekend tennis hacker.

Answer 5

Somebody who uses computer expertise to gain unauthorized access to a computer system belonging to another, either to learn about the system or to examine its data or somebody who is very interested or skilled in computer technology and programming

Answer 6

anyone who can gain access to Kevin Poulsen computer can be considered a hacker ... lol

Answer 7

Who are expert in computers operations and they miss use their skills for crime, illegal actions and fun.

Answer 8

Who enters in ur heart and makes ur life restless...

Answer 9

someone with an Axe

Answer 10

Zero Cool, and no one else.