Parents teaching kids? (and a lot more...)

Okay, let's try to avoid another worthless flame here.

On topic: My dad taught me the very basics of using a computer when I was like 7 years old. Most of the rest I learned on my own or from teachers.

EDIT: I also know people who have learned an amazing amount of programming from parents.

my dad taught me to use a computer (paint, solitaire…) when i was 5. he taught me some english too. he taught me about linux, and taught me to hate microsoft (really). above all, he taught me how to think.

Well I think I can officially lay claim to the crown of being the oldest dude here on HBH , and I've personally showed my kids all the neat exploits and vulnerabilities that I've came across on the web as I've found them .

I used to give them a shout and say "Here check this out …" and show them some cool new tool or exploit I'd found , and they always seemed eager to learn , ultimately though , you have no control over what they do with this new found knowledge .

Mine infected half my Msn list with "Kryptonic Ghost ", and used the old ' or 1=1– trick I showed them , to access some dudes website , where the members were all required to register with their online user names for a certain global hotel chat room , and proceeded to empty all 70 odd accounts of all their items and credits .

It's things like this that make you truly proud to be a parent , after all , who cares who comes first in the 100 meters , or who won the fucking sack race on sports day .

My father bought me my first computer but other then that I am amazed when he finds the power button.

@OP: Give up. Turn back now. Obviously, if all you were taught is mspaint (:(), you're better off quitting now.

Fucking, idiot.

wow…

@SPYWARE: seriously man not trying to start an argument but, is that the way you motivate others? you should really works at it. Instead of telling others to quit, you can make yourself a little useful by telling them where to start searching/learning/etc and give them a head start.

my opinion: no one should quit on what they want. you want to become a skilled hacker but barely know how to use the internet? well, you can always start by learning the basics.

About Topic: In my family, me and my older brother are the first ones to get into computers. The little things I know at the moment was thanks to HTS, HBH, and of course google.

puertoricanmaxwell wrote:

@SPYWARE: seriously man not trying to start an argument but, is that the way you motivate others? you should really works at it. Instead of telling others to quit, you can make yourself a little useful by telling them where to start searching/learning/etc and give them a head start.

This topic deserves flame, and OP has been around quite a while, so he doesn't need this kind of nudge. We don't care about somebody else whining, nor we intend to provide motivation, if you don't have it, suck it!

my opinion: no one should quit on what they want. you want to become a skilled hacker but barely know how to use the internet? well, you can always start by learning the basics.

That's very nice, but if he suggests it himself, then maybe he should quit

@OP: Either parents give you hand, or you eventually develop the skills yourself, it's only little speed up in the process. Furthermore parents influence can bias quite a lot of your opinions(read Folk Theory's post:)), rather then you basing them on reasonable grounds you've established yourself. But it all comes down to whether you enjoy what are you doing or not, nothing else. If you can't concentrate, be it, try to narrow the scope of material you are researching, but look at it in more depth, this can limit the distractions, and I'm sure you can come up with more measures. And if you are distracted because you don't really give a shit, then drop it and do something more productive and enjoyable…

clone4 wrote:

[quote]my opinion: no one should quit on what they want. you want to become a skilled hacker but barely know how to use the internet? well, you can always start by learning the basics.

That's very nice, but if he suggests it himself, then maybe he should quit [/quote]

In this case, I think its not up to us to advice or decide.

@OP: I was along the lines of "This is a computer, This is DOS, This is how you start a game" the rest is all self taught. I started building computers when I was 12 (old PCs in the $50 and under section are great learning tools). I was 3 when I started computing. I have done much since then. Keep it up and do not loose hope, if you do not have hope on learning, you will not learn.

rex_mundi wrote: Well I think I can officially lay claim to the crown of being the oldest dude here on HBH , and I've personally showed my kids all the neat exploits and vulnerabilities that I've came across on the web as I've found them . Please do tell us how old you are mate…there are some people here that may lay claim to yours…

My son is 9 when he was 5 he got really interested in computers since then i have taught him some basic programming and hacking skills and when people bring me computers to fix i let him help me

1st I would like to say this is a very good topic, and the flamers here have made them selfs look very stupid…

I suppose I owe a good part of where I am today from my 1st commodore PC that my dad got me, I cant remember how old I was, but I do remember some cool kaleidoscope like art program, and Lemmings ^^

Basically, my dad introduced me to the world of computer games, I have never looked back. :)

hellboundhackersok wrote: @Spyware: I said my father taught me that when I was 3. He couldn't teach me anything after that because he passed away. That was a different story, so don't post your opinions without knowing all the facts.

Everybody has a story.

hellboundhackersok wrote: @puertoricanmaxwell: [quote]you want to become a skilled hacker but barely know how to use the internet From my understanding you think I only know the basics, well, I have taught myself a lot and consider myself advanced. (Just clearing that up) [/quote]

I only used that line as an example. (just clearing that up too :happy: ) don't get the wrong idea

One of the first attributes you try to achieve or improve on when you begin learning this topic (hacking, or playing off of vulnerabilities) is to think along different lines or think of something the other person didn't. You must commit an action to put the target in a vulnerable position, same rule as war. So if this is one of the main attributes, thinking outside the box, I doubt the average parent would have the skill to teach this to their children. As most happen to be 'adults'. Adults never grow out of their childhood, but their quite stubborn to insist they have (anybody notice this as a childish trait?).

K_I_N_G wrote:
I doubt the average parent would have the skill to teach this to their children

I also have kid's of my own and teach them how exploits, Viruses etc.etc work and how to use these to your advantage (Nothing malicious, Cause they would stay in jail). Learning to think outside the box applies to everything you do in life, Everyone needs to know that. I'm sure every parent tries to help their kids learn as much as possible.

PS: I won't take offense to that statement.

I don't know why this is surprising. Children are often smarter than they are given credit for, and they definitely learn quicker than adults if they are (self-)motivated. I read that IQ peeks between 8 and 12, later peeks can indicate higher IQ.

That kid's dad didn't seem really supportive though, to say the least.

I'm not the best at advice, and I might be too sleep-deprived for coherent conversation, but here's my spit.

If you want to do it but can't, then motivation isn't the issue, it's productivity. Go in with a plan, think about what you need to do, think about what you can do with the time/situation, and then do that one thing. If you don't need internet access, don't connect. put a physical barrier in front of you, or learn how to multi-task (2+ monitors helps a lot). You have to catch yourself and act before you spend an entire day offtrack. It adds up, and that should probably be emphasized.

Keep a balance too though. After a couple rounds of something on an N64 emulator, I usually get my gaming fix taken care of. You can barrow time from all that other stuff like exercise, a social life, good diet, sleep, etc, but without those I noticed I'll just feel shitty in one way or another. again, it adds up.

If your dad is still around he can be supportive - for me I realized that I have to initiate everything and ask specific questions. I can't talk to my parents about code, because they'd get lost pretty quickly, but they understand logic, so I know I can work with them from that angle.

How long until you finish high school? a lot will change (start planning)

damn, I could replace dear abbey. or a drunk bartender.

@ Korg, yes, I suppose I can see it like that.

@ Everyone else, productive conversation, please try to speak in such a manner.

Perhaps this should be a poll, did your parents teach you to analyze security? Or something of that sort, see how many people learned from their parents or how many did so on their own.