Hacker |
| Hacker is a slang term for a technically sophisticated computer user who enjoys exploring computer systems and programs, sometimes to the point of obsession. |
Additional Comments |
n computing, hacker has several conflicting meanings. More specifically, there are three major hacker subcultures whose members all use the word to refer to themselves (many sources only distinguish the first and the second):
* People engaged in circumvention of computer security. This primarily refers to unauthorized remote computer break-ins via a communication network such as the Internet (black hats), but also includes those who debug or fix security problems (white hats). Its earliest known meaning in the computer context[1] referred to an unauthorized user of the telephone company network (now called a phreaker).
* A community of enthusiast computer programmers, originated in the 1960s around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) and MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. This community is notable for launching the free software movement. The World Wide Web and the Internet itself are also hacker artifacts. [1] The Request for Comments (RFC) 1392 [2] amplifies this meaning as a person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.
* The hobbyist home computing community of the late 1970s, focusing on both hardware (e.g. the Homebrew Computer Club) and software (the demoscene).
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