TE - BAY

Wikipedia defines the term ‘Hacker’ as -” A hacker is a person who breaks into computers and computer networks for profit, as protest, or sometimes by the motivation of the challenge”. Traditionally, hackers were geeks who like to tinker with software or electronic systems. They enjoy exploring and learning how such systems operate. Recently, hacker has taken on a new meaning — someone who maliciously breaks into systems for personal gains. But a more accurate term for such guys is criminal hacker or a cracker.

The term ‘Hacking’ can be traced back to MIT (Massachusetts Institute Technology). MIT was the first institution to offer a course in computer programming and computer science and it is here in 1960 where a group of MIT students taking a lab on artificial intelligence first coined this word. These students called themselves hackers because they were able to take programs and have them perform actions not intended for that program. “The term was developed on the basis of a practical joke and feeling of excitement because the team member would “hack away” at the keyboard hours at a time.”

A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, for instance testing their own security system. This classification also includes individuals who perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments within a contractual agreement. Often, this type of 'white hat' hacker is called an ethical hacker.

A Black Hat Hacker is a hacker who "violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain".

Here in this tutorial we will use the following convention:- Hackers (or bad guys) try to compromise computers and Ethical hackers (or good guys) protect computers against illicit entry.