Question on the term "hacking"?

Question

My question is about the term hacking. Today’s meaning of the word "hacking a system" is typically considered bad, particularly by people who have no idea of what they are talking about. Hacking wasn’t always used as a "bad" term in computer history, once it was a word of respect, from what I understand at least. When, and why did the term hacking tend to mean someone that was doing something bad/illegal?

Answer 1

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
Among computer programmers in good standing with the technical community, the words hacker and hacking is used more often in the admiring or awed sense of a wizard software developer. People favoring this usage typically look with dismay on the usage of the term as a synonym for security cracking.

In the non-technical community, the concept of wizard programmer is poorly known, and the meaning of hacker as someone who "hacks into" a system by evading or disabling security measures...

Answer 2

"Hackers are pirates" --

I strongly disagree. Hackers do not always steal money and other financial (or other personal) information. It depends on the hacker, and his/her status as a black-hat, white-hat, or gray-hat. Anyone who gains illegal access to a system using a third-party application (i.e., a trojan horse), for the purpose of damaging the data contained on the target machine, and for other malicious purposes, is known as a black-hat. Their main targets are personal computers.

A white-hat is the more respected hacker in the hacker community. A white-hat gains entry to a machine for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge about how computer security works. And they always tell the administrator of the vulnerable machine about the "hole" they find, so they can fix it, and that way a black-hat CAN'T damage any data in the future. Their main targets are semi-large (or huge) business computers/servers.

A gray-hat is a mix between a white- and black-hat.

Black-hats are also known as script-kiddies. They use third-party applications to perform their "dirty work." White-hats do everything themselves. They write their own programs/exploits, they find holes themselves, etc. A gray-hat, of course, does both.

If you are a white-hat, you're MUCH more respected than a black-hat. If you tell someone in a serious hacking community, "Hey, I broke into this computer and messed with him/her SSOOOOO bad.", you'll be looked down upon. They'll tell you to go away. Same as if you ask someone, "How do I hack my friend's computer?".

That's all I have to say about hacking. I used to hack my friends, for the sole purpose of being funny. I never damaged anyone's software/personal data/etc. If I remember correctly, hacking was the main reason I got so interested in programming.

Answer 3

Primarily it came about through the media. Movies use the term hackers, TV and newpapers and magazines also.

Crackers was the right term but it was already popular within a race context and thus easier to use hackers for all of the computer stuff.

I think the when is a gradual shift over time.

Answer 4

You'll have to thank the media for putting the derogatory spin on that term. Once system break-ins and piracy became newsworthy topics, we were automatically given black hats and demonized. Yes, I proudly wear the label of hacker and always will.

Answer 5

hackers are pirates
So as pirates in the old days were stealing gold and stuff fro the merchants ships
hackers steal money ,creadit card and countries security info's to sell them

thats all