Hackers Essay, Research Paper

A Hacker A hacker is a person obsessed with computers.At the heart of the obsession is a drive master thecomputer. The classic hacker was simply acompulsive programmer. It is only recently that theterm hacker became associated with the computerizedvandalism.Great description of Hackers:Bright young men of disheveled apperance,Often withsunken, glowing eyes.Seen sitting at computerconsoles, their arms tense and waitingTo fire theirfingers which are already posed to strike at thebuttons and keys on which their attention seems todice.They work until they nearly drop,twenty orthirty hours at a time if possible.They sleep oncots near the computer,but only a few hours-thenback to the console, or printouts.Their crumpledclothes, their unwashed, unsheven faces, anduncombed hair, testify that they are oblivious to

their bodies and to the word in which they move.They exist, at least when so gaged, only throughand for the computers. The majority of hackers are mostly young men,often teenagers who have found within the computerworld, something into which they can mold theirdesires.Another definition-a person totally engrossed in computerprogramming and computer technology. In the1980s, with the advent of personal computersand dial-up computer networks, hackeracquired a pejorative connotation, oftenreferring to someone who secretively invadesothers’ computers, inspecting or tamperingwith the programs or data stored on them.(More accurately, though, such a person wouldbe called a cracker. ) Hacker also meanssomeone who, beyond mere programming, likesto take apart operating systems and programsto see what makes them tick