Re: [ISN] The Bad Guys Are Crackers

From: cult hero (jerichoat_private)
Date: Fri Apr 30 1999 - 15:52:23 PDT

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    Reply From: edison <edisonat_private>
    
    I'd have to disagree with Mr. Gomes' description.
    
    I would agree that a hacker is someone that has inate technical curiosity,
    but that isn't the definition of the name.  One has to realize that how
    the name is used largely defines what it means.  Ham radio experts, who
    tinker with their rigs daily don't call themselves hackers, nor does
    anyone else that I know of.  Gear-heads that spend more time under the
    hood of their car than with their family don't call themselves hackers
    either.  While these types of folks may "hack"  their radios or cars, they
    aren't hackers. 
    
    Back in the early '80's, a hacker was someone who focused his inate
    technical curiosity into circumventing security measures (if any) on
    computers. 
    
    During the same era, "crackers" were those who focused their attention on
    circumventing the copy protection on software programs. Most of these were
    on the Apple ][, Commodore 64 and maybe an Atari here or there.  There are
    guys today who still do the same thing, and they call themselves crackers,
    too. 
    
    Concurrent, and previous to this time, the guys that hacked the phone
    system were called "phone phreaks."  Not hackers. 
    
    Nowadays, the hackers and crackers are still around, but there's a
    movement to portray those who do bad things with their hacking skills
    crackers.  They don't crack copy protection, they're just bad hackers. 
    Most of the guys in the model railroad club at MIT would be called
    crackers today, but they were the ones who practically invented the name. 
    Go read Steven Levy's book. 
    
    I am a phone phreak, a hacker and a cracker.  My technical curiosity is
    what drove me to become these, but does not define the names. 
    
    -edison
    
    On Wed, 28 Apr 1999, cult hero wrote:
    
    > http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/Geek/geek41.html
    > 
    > The Bad Guys Are Crackers 
    > In Defense of Hackers 
    
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