Hacking Computers and Ethics essays

Hacking Computers and Ethics essays What comes to mind when you hear the word hacker? For most it means stealing information through the Internet, gaining illegal access to another persons PC, or simply - disruptive behavior using a computer. The subject of hacking is no secret to the general public. Many people have been exposed to it by a bad experience or through the news and media. The idea of hacking that is stuck in the minds of people is that of which they have seen in the movies. The movies portray hackers as young and devious criminals. However, in reality these individuals are, talented people who use their abilities to find new and challenging ways to change how computers work. According to the Cult of the Dead Cow, a hacking organization, true hackers do not get into the system to erase everything or to sell the information to someone else. They get in there to satisfy their curiosity to see if getting into the system can be done, to search around inside of a place they have never been, and to explore the little nooks and crannies of cyberspace. Of course there are those who erase files from other peoples computers, steal information from cyberspace, and vandalize web pages. These people are not hackers, as the media calls them, they are known as crackers. Hackers use their vast knowledge to better the computer industry. Hacking started even before computers became popular. The earliest forms of hacking started in the 1960s, when AT & T was the only phone company. Back then the telephone was taken for granted and the way the phone system worked was a complete mystery. Phones were considered an early form of the computer. Those that tried to understand the phone system more and find ways to make free phone calls from pay phones were known as phreakers. This was an amateur form of telephone hacking. The way this was done was by using the old rotary dial pay phones with three slots for a nickel, dime, and quarter. The phreaker wo...