Negative Sterotypes. Its time for a change.
Negative Sterotypes. Its time for a change.
Mr_Cheese | 11845 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
Mr_Cheese 17 years ago
im all for freedom of speech, BUT take racism for instance, isnt that illegal to spread racist hate propaganda over the radio/tv? ofcourse it is illegal and rightly so. Why is it then that its tolerated on the internet? being a hacker should be about helping others and ethics. your saying removing "illegal" sites from the internet is wrong? in regards to the paragraph on shc being a "ego boost" i think you misunderstood. that paragraph was there to show how rare work like that is, and how we need to see more actions like shc does. to the people who feel that illegal and race-hate related sites should be allowed to be on the internet… 1) you obviouilsy dont have a full grasp on how this world works. 2) your living in a fantasy world. 3) surely you aknowledge the fact removing those sites is helping and benefitting thousands of people? this is the whole reason i wrote this article, theres too many people out there who think they know it all about what it is to be a hacker, when clearly they dont fully understand the whole concept.
ghost 17 years ago
sweet but myg0t arent hackers. I agree with you but you havnt really made clear what you mean to do. HBH is just about the only site I go to but I do get peaved when people do that.
ghost 17 years ago
Well said Mr_Cheese. Couldn't agree more. The prevalence of the term 'hacker' really disgusts me. There are skiddies, crackers, everyone and his brother calling themselves hackers, where it should really be a title bestowed by others.
ghost 17 years ago
I took up hacking for freedom, anti-censorship and because my freind kept dossing anything i stuck on the net. Since last week… I still remain with the same goals, one i already accomplished (he doesnt doss me anymore :D).
ghost 17 years ago
i am here to learn ,not to bring anyone down…including the racist. i cant agree with some ideas in the article….
ghost 17 years ago
Interesting… nice article. I like what you're doing. Congrats on writing this article and running the SHC! ;)
ghost 17 years ago
Is it me, or is this one of the biggest problems we've got within our hacker community - that it's a rather disfunctional community. Be it newbies gettin flamed/someone for having different ideas, bickering about ethics and morales, etc. Ofcourse we aint all gonna agree on the same thing, thats fuckin impossible. It doesn't happen. But shouldn't we at least agree together on our image and how it is to be projected? Maybe if we can understand ourselves, then we can correct the negative stereotypes that the public hold about us. As for ethics, visit http://www.landoverbaptist.org and see if you agree with that shit! No, but then some people will say "Take it down" whilst others will say "Who are we to do that?" - We are fucking hackers to do that, thats who - and it's that very website that made me get into this, so that i could, for the sole reason, remove it - I don't wan't my family reading up on their articles of child abuse/female insuperiority/racism - If they can't spread their shit on the TV/Radio/Streets, then they sure as fuck can't do it on the internet, one of the most widely accessible communication mediums on the planet! So for those who say "Who are you to take that down?" - who are you to tell they who would remove it, not to? I don't wanna upset/offend anybody, sorry for writing fuckin War and Peace here - I'll try and set this out and post it as an article - Peace!
ghost 17 years ago
I disagree. n00bs: they come and they go.
the people you speak of as somehow "evil" are purely n00bs. They have nothing better to do and overall they do no real damage and they will be out of the /scene/ in a matter of months.
Of course, then you get the real criminals, the "Black-Hats". Those are the guys who actually are interested in the more underground stuff, and guess what? they know what they're doing and dont get caught.
If a website was made by a computer-illiterate admin who skiddies his PHP from a major distributor, then an RFI is found and for 6 months he doesnt even bother to patch it. Yes, its only a matter of time until a bunch of morons come by and deface his site.
is that evil? no. Its just stupid. Hackers are individuals, what they do online defines them as a person. There are no "true-hackers" because everone is different and believes a different thing. In my experience people who label themselves as "the good-guys" and "ethical gaurdians" are in themselves, noobs, and use this title to hide their incompetance.
There is absalutely nothing heroic about defacing a racist website. Its no different that "ISKORPTIX" and all of his defacer kiddie buddies on Zone-h. It was done for the defacer's own image.
ghost 17 years ago
"They do what is morally correct and never target any website without proper ethical reasons.", Lets say hypothetically that I hate this site and I believe you teach about bullshit ethics .. so is it ok if I hack this site since I disagree with it?
ghost 17 years ago
I couldn't simply agree more, i never really knew anything about computers, much at all, until lets say… myspace -.-' yes, myspace, from there i went into html, then into javascript, java itself, c++ assembly, all around, although i am no "master" at these languages, i get the basic point, although, what mostly interest me in everything is the virus, i never became a "Hacker" in the word itself, i became an Observer of these hacks, i couldnt find anything more interesting then openning a virus into its binary, hex, even a language that it might of been programmed in, take a looka t how it ticks, that is the real authensity of a "hacker", curious, wants to know whatever he can get his hands on, or has the ability to. Not someone that harasses others only to find an accomplishment in himself. Me, i couldnt tell you the first thing about going into a web site, getting passcodes using whatever method suits your needs, brute force, talk trickery, w/e, i observe the movements and try to predict where it will continue, i have only begun my 6th month of actual learning of language an such, havent completed a set of anything… but i do have scattered knowledge, the problem is, i dont know where to start so i can actually use it all. Sadly my lack of attention tends to slip off into different subjects, take lego's i begin building a block here… a block there, another there, and one more, now, i go back and look at the pieces and cant really tell what goes where, thats pretty much the predicament im in :/ but either way, im hopin to figure out somehow to arrange it all. That is a hacker, someone who gives intuition to do something, gives his mind to learning something, never quits at lost sights.
ghost 16 years ago
Completely Right! People need to stop coming into to hacking wanting power and fame.
Great Article
Elu-veit-ie 15 years ago
This Mr cheese, is the reason why i am starting to hack, to learn as much as i can. I can probable link you to site that need to be taken down, but the list would simply be to long. Also Another reason i am learning is to seek out melicious hacker and sites to make the internet a better place.:ninja:
Mtutnid 13 years ago
Great article. Nothing new mentioned. But that to make a difference as a hacker is not old-fashioned, but naive or let's say childish. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing and absolutely nothing wrong with that.
bahpomet1105 8 years ago
It's hard for me not to deface racist website and other alike Mr_Cheese That was an amazing Article I too started off ethically hacking. I am always the one helping others for just for nothing but my ideals.