Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 11:02:23 +0000 From: Richard Smith <richard@jezebel.demon.co.uk> To: "Jason C. Wells" <jcwells@u.washington.edu> Cc: FreeBSD-chat <freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: Confused on Hacker/Cracker Definition Message-ID: <3699DA3F.532024DB@jezebel.demon.co.uk> References: <Pine.BSF.4.05.9901092054590.18456-100000@s8-37-26.student.washington.edu>
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Jason C. Wells wrote: > > I have long held the understanding that in computing, a "hacker" fixes > things and a "cracker" breaks them. As I continue to try to learn about > information security I read many articles. That distinction may certainly be true for the majority "in computing", the problem is that outside of computing the "cracker" term is never used. The press (and your average joe public) associate the term "hacker", only with the malicious kind. > It seems that the distinction between hacker and cracker is blurred in > cyberpress. This blurring seems to occur even on computer savvy news sites > like cnet, slashdot, and wired. > > TNHD still provides a negative view on "crackers". Some of these cracker > groups seem to claim themsleves as hackers. Is this a bid for credibility > akin to a terrorist claiming to be a politician? > > I am wondering if the meaning of words is shifting and the people that I > continue to call cracker are gaining (perceived) credibility enough to be > called hacker? Is my understanding outdated? The meaning of words is shifting all the time. I have a couple of teenagers with there own language; they use the same words as me - but mean something subtly (sometimes completely) different. :-) We're fighting a losing battle it seems. It might be better to drop the "hijacked" term altogether and find some other self descriptive noun. How about "freebsd-gurus@freebsd.org" ;-) > > Catchya Later, | UW Mechanical Engineering > Jason Wells | http://weber.u.washington.edu/~jcwells/ > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message -- _______________________________________________________________________ Richard Smith Assistant Chief Engineer TRL Technology Limited To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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