Negative Sterotypes. Its time for a change.
Negative Sterotypes. Its time for a change.
Mr_Cheese | 12504 Reads | I’ve been thinking about the negative stereotype of hackers and I’m inclined to think… we deserve it, basically.
Virtually everyone on virtually every “hacking” site, such as this one etc… They all talk about hacking and script kiddies and black hats . But I think over the last few years the true meaning of being a hacker has been completely lost.
Most people who wish to learn how to become a “hacker” do it for one purpose only.. To hack everything they can and become famous, or to impress their friends, or to be “powerful”. This couldn’t be more wrong and completely fucked up the true meaning of it.
Take a look at nearly every single “hacking group” out there. To name but a few… locus7 .. A99 … g00ns .. myg0t.. They all call themselves “hackers” but what do they actually do… troll around the internet looking for absolutely any site they can get to hack… for the sole purpose of defacing it to become famous. Just as when they attack other hacking sites as this one, sole purpose is for fame and the illusion of “power”.
More and more people are doing this nowadays and it’s the precise reason everyone wants to start learning about “hacking”. The whole ideology of hacking is lost. As my signature states and as I strongly believe.. hacking isn’t just about computers / exploits, its a whole philosophy that can be applied to everything.
The hacking group called “SHC” is one of the only groups I have heard who actually try to make a difference to the world, taking up the job that I feel is so important to hackers. I’ve only heard of one other group who does what SHC does, and that group died out years ago and wasn’t as advanced as SHC today. What they do is remove unethical sites such as racism and other various hate sites. They do what is morally correct and never target any website without proper ethical reasons. The work shc does is unmatched in any other group I and others have heard of. The work shc does has actually helped hundreds of people across the globe (online/offline) and has cleaned up several hate related websites most of the ones attacked are now empty and bare when they were once thriving communities filled with illogical racism.
But quite frankly if the reasons people are getting involved in hacking are for “fame” and “power”, and if there’s no other groups out there like SHC, then what is everyone supposed to think? People, who call themselves ‘hackers’ without truly knowing what that involves, bring the whole negative stereotype on themselves.
Now call me old fashioned and over the top, but I started hacking so I could actually make a difference in this world. I started hacking to help people. I started hacking to bring unethical sites off the Internet to protect everyone else, before they poison the thoughts and minds of children and easily lead minds.
Now don’t get my wrong, I’m not saying don’t defend hackers when someone negatively stereotypes them. Of course you should defend the whole ideology. But don’t you think we should first understand the whole ideology ourselves first before we go criticizing what others think?
I’m a bit fed up and tired of everyone on these types of forums (not just hbh) going around saying the word “hacker” and thinking they know it all, and start flaming everyone who says something negative about hackers. The majority of these people have no concept of what it is to be a hacker, and that’s made clear by their type of posts. Its understandable not many people know what it is to be a true hacker because there’s very few out there actually preaching the ethics and responsibilities involved in being hacker…. But this has to change.
Perhaps we need to take a good look at what we think a hacker is, and perhaps re-evaluate whether we can call ourselves a true hacker. How can we justify hacking and criticize negative stereotypes if we ourselves don’t even know what a hacker is.
“Hacking isnt just Computers & Exploits. It’s a Philosophy.” - Mr_Cheese
ghost 18 years ago
I saw this in the forums and was about to post " Wow amazing talk, this should be an article." but you moved it.;)
Mr_Cheese 18 years ago
one step ahead of you :) i pleased you like it. hope it made you think a little.
ghost 18 years ago
made me think. i too liked it and im kinda thinking, based on the vast majority that pretends to be hackers, there should be a diffrent name to describe the true people.
ghost 18 years ago
I agree with you, instead of critiscizing people who think negatively of hackers lets teach them, and what makes us different? We're all hackers and thats all most people will ever see.We may be ethical hackers and that makes us the minority and a vast minority at that. I became a hacker for the same reasons Mr_Cheese did, and I respect him for what he does. Also if I'm ever good enough I want to join SHC.
ghost 18 years ago
w00t cheese i started hacking by completing challenges for fun, and then started helping poeple. nice job man ;)
ghost 18 years ago
hey i really liked this article because it made me think of when i started out, which was for the fame/power/whatever. and just being around a site like this has compleatly changed me. 5/5 mate :D
ghost 18 years ago
Thumbs Up ;) … The better thing you can also do is when you see an possible exploit on a site just report it to the admin even if you don't really know the site, don't use it, because you destroy the work of people that have sometime work hard for it. As a programmer i think it's really frustrating to see your hole page deface.
AldarHawk 18 years ago
Yes most of these so called "hackers" are actually what used to be termed a "cracker" or "criminal hacker". These type do what they do for self gain. Then there are the "script kiddies (SK's for short)" who just troll the internet looking for tools other people make that use known exploits. Both these types of "hackers" are nothing like a true hacker. A definition of a hacker is as follows: A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. This is NOT what a 'cracker' or 'SK' is at all. A true hacker will as Mr Cheese has stated do it for the gain of ethics. nothing like defacing a site saying "<insert team name> RU135! G37 4 R341 5173!!!" that is just wrong.
ghost 18 years ago
i would just like to say.. commendable though your extermination of racist websites may be.. do you not think that they may be entitled to their opinion as much as you are. You are no better than a hacker hacking someones site just to put up "n00b" and a string of obsecenities if you screw up peoples websites. You say you have ethics.. but who decides what is morally acceptable? i'm not condoning racism. i hate it as much as anyone but do you not think everyone has the right to their own opinion.. THAT is what the internet is about. The freedom to do what we like, and not be bound by what we are marketed, or forcefed or indoctrinated to believe. Thats why i want to be a hacker.
AldarHawk 18 years ago
shabouwcaw, Basically what you are saying is if some idiot makes a website about him raping 2 year old children this is okay because everyone has their right to put on the internet what they believe? You should really think what you put on the internet is up to whom ever puts it on the net? Racist people are closed minded individuals and need to be left out in an ice storm. The internet is about freedom of though true but with freedom and power comes responsabilities (am I sounding like Uncle Ben from Spider Man?) just remember if you have the power to stop an oppressor whom is trying to spread unrealistic propaganda then do it! I am in no way a Black Hat or even a Grey Hat but this is my thoughts on the matter.
ghost 18 years ago
Im not saying that anyone should make websites about raping two year olds and i agree that racists are subhuman, but who are we to decide what is ethical and what is not. the reason democracy exists is so that everyone has an opinion. what you engage is is vigilantism and is basically you doing what you think is right. if you follow that reasoning then you are saying that, for example, should some religious crazy start hacking and hack a system containing years of research into stem cell research their actions are condoned because they thought they were being ethical. That is a flawed arguement because once you start that where do you stop. I've seen animal rights activists petrol bomb peoples houses and kill peoples dogs because they were breeding animals for scientific experiamentation. they thought they were being ethical. do you think they were. WHO ARE WE TO DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG.
ghost 18 years ago
This article could have got to the point. The hacker philosophy should have been explained in the largest paragragh, instead it was devoted to a SHC talk up :@. Mr_Cheese dont forget cyberarmy.net, i dont care about the amount of work they do but their intentions are the same. Please write an article on the actual hacker philosophy, i'd really like to see it :). It would be much more interesting than this ego boost.
P.S - Is SHC religion biased? you seemed to really push morals for a moment there. If you are biased, your no better than malicious hackers in my view :|. P.S.S - i agree whol heartily with shaboucaw I rate: Poor
ghost 18 years ago
You did propose some pretty interesting points, Mr_Cheese, about hacking along with its definition, however, when you propose to say what is right and wrong, you shuold specify that these are MERELY your opinions and not necessarily vital to the definition of a hacker. Morals and Ethics swayed in any direction shouldn't be used in definind a hacker. Granted, these things usually do play major parts in defining a hacker as a person, but in differnt ways in each hackers life. These diverse ethics or deviations from what was stated doesn' make a person any more or less of a hacker, or a person for that matter.
Furthermore, is it not one of a hackers cherishes and most valued rights the freedom of speech???? As far as I can see, this needs to be included in the definition of a hacker
and is unalienable. Obviously you have your right to your opinion and I have mine. What you want to do is take away someone else's rights. Im not going to call you wrong or right. Mabey a re-evaluation of your opinions are in order, and mabey not. All I ask is to try to please keep an open mind. Thank you all for your time and patience…. —rip—