Hacker is a term used by some to mean "a clever programmer" and by others, especially those in popular media, to mean "someone who tries to break into computer systems." We
lists five possible characteristics that qualify one as a
Hacker, which we paraphrase here:
- A person who enjoys learning details of a programming language or system
- A person who enjoys actually doing the programming rather than just theorizing about it
- A person capable of appreciating someone else's hacking
- A person who picks up programming quickly
- A person who is an expert at a particular programming language or system, as in "Unix hacker"
The term
Hacker is used in popular media to describe someone who attempts to break into computer systems. Typically, this kind of
Hacker would be a proficient programmer or engineer with sufficient technical knowledge to understand the weak points in a security system. For more on this usage, see
cracker.
A
cracker is someone who breaks into someone else's computer system, often on a network; bypasses passwords or licenses in computer programs; or in other ways intentionally breaches computer security. A
cracker can be doing this for profit, maliciously, for some altruistic purpose or cause, or because the challenge is there. Some breaking-and-entering has been done ostensibly to point out weaknesses in a site's security system.
The term "
cracker" is not to be confused with "
hacker". Hackers generally deplore cracking. However, as Eric Raymond, compiler of
The New Hacker's Dictionary notes, some journalists ascribe break-ins to "
Hacker."
A classic story of the tracking down of a
cracker on the Internet who was breaking into U.S. military and other computers is told in Clifford Stoll's
The Cuckoo's Egg.
