And all the other names. There are differences. Now tell me. What are the differences? And there’s another type of internet freak who sends the viruses, if that’s not a hacker, what’s it called?
And all the other names.
Black “hats”. Not black “cats.”
There are differences.
Maybe, maybe not. There may not be as much difference as some people would like you to believe.
Now tell me. What are the differences?
Roughly, hat color is used to describe the ethicality of a hacker. Black hat hackers are evil and use their computer knowledge to break into people’s computers, and destroy or steal data. White hat hackers are good and use their powers to create useful programs and to foil black hats.
But like an arbitrary conception of good and evil, a single hacker could be considered either white or black hat at different times by different people. I think most hackers are probably “grey hat”… but they tend mostly towards either white or black.
There are also “crackers” - essentially a synonym for black-hat hacker.
And a bestiary of hacker (either white or black fedora) wannabes: script-kiddies (who can’t actually hack themselves, they just use scripts or programs other hackers wrote), lamers (wannabes with no clue), l33ters (who type “3” instead of “E” and think they are “el33t” (elite)), etc, etc, etc…
-Ben
Keep in mind, “hacker” iteslf has different meanings depending on who you ask. It can be an expert at breaking computer security, but it can also be a very good programmer, a very bad programmer, (who “hacks” together code) an expert at forcing computers/electronics to do things they wern’t originally intended for, a very good engineer who may or may not be involved with computers directly, or about two dozen other variants.
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“Damn! Erased my identity again!”
My company has a “white hat” team, but for various legal and reputational reason the name changes - most recently from “Ethical Penetration” to “Attack & Penetration”. We basically do everything from social engineering and tailgating to old-fashioned sitting-in-front-of-a-PC hacking - all with plenty of legal letters from the client, obviously.
mattk, does your company have any job openings? I’d LOVE to be able to tell people, when asked what I do for a living, “I’m an Ethical Penetrator.”
“I’m an Attack & Penetrator.” might result in legal problems, though used in the proper company . . .
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“That’s it, as close as I’ll ever come . . .”
There’s also “phreaking”, which is just hacking the phone system, getting free long distance calls, making red boxes, and such.
I thought this was going to be about the phenomenon of hackers having black cats for pets. Which as far as I knew wasn’t that common, but it does apply to me so…
While we’re talking about hat colors, don’t forget Red hats, who think they know what they’re doing, but the majority of them don’t. (It’s a joke).
I’m with TheNerd here…I thought this was going to be about hacker’s pet preferences. I suspect that black cats are the most common pet among hackers, although I have no hard data here. In my experience (backed by the Lexicon Meg linked) more hackers are cat people than dog people, and hackers do tend to have a thing for symbolism. The only pet I’ve ever had was a black cat (whose dramatic entrance into my life I’ve detailed elsewhere on these boards 
).
I think you’ve got a pretty good picture of the different groups–the only major term not yet mentioned is “warez d00ds”. You might think of them as an unholy amalgam of l33t3r5 and script-kiddies; they use scripts scavenged from crackers’ leavings to break security on software to pirate it, and type badly. If you want more detail, the Lexicon’s the place to go (and it’s a fun read, besides).
Oh, and the internet freaks who send viruses? They’re generally either script-kiddies (the source of most of the recent Lookout! viruses) or crackers. Creating a new virus can be regarded as a form of security cracking. Either way, they’re jerks.
When it starts raining, a new container is set outside, which must be filled and brought inside before the sun shines.
If lightning shines on it, it is ruined.
The water is used for a bath.
You must fast for 24 hours, and you may seem to lose your body while the mind stays clear.
When it is dark, catch a hacker with your bare hands.
In the woods, a special place is prepared. A circle is drawn around the pot and “protected” by nine horseshoes.
When the water begins to boil, the hacker is thrown in. With each scream, you must curse him.
The lid is clamped down and the fire kept hot. At midnight the lid is lifted.
This is the moment where the bones of the hacker are passed through the mouth until one tastes bitter. But it is also the time of death and unless you have faith, you will die.
By morning, you will have a small white bone to carry.
– ritual collected by Zora Neale Hurston, 1935