Hacker

In computing, hacker has several meanings: Today, mainstream usage mostly refers to computer criminals, due to the mass media usage of the word since the 1980s. This includes script kiddie, people breaking into computers using programs written by others, with very little knowledge about the way they work. This usage is so much predominant in the general public that a large segment of it is unaware that different meanings also exist. This article compares and contrasts the three meanings defined above. There are specific articles about each one of them at Hacker (computer security), Hacker (Free and Open Source Software), and Hacker (hobbyist), respectively. While the use of the word by hobbyist hackers is acknowledged by all three subcultures, and the computer security hackers accept all uses of the word, free software hackers consider the computer intrusion related usage incorrect, and refer to security breakers as “crackers”. The terms hacker and hack are marked by contrasting... full article at wikipedia