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It is time to talk about the negative stigma behind the concept of hacking.
The idea of the evil hacker stealing millions of dollars from the Pentagon might be the concept that a ton of people have in their minds when they think of the word hacker....Somebody who steals information.. or identity. The use of hacking for malicious intent. This is detrimental to growth now that we live in the information era. Let's first start by defining hacking when talking in terms of a computer or device. We can check out out the definition on the "Dictionary" Website.
Hacking Computers
A. to modify (a computer program or electronic device) or write (a program) in a skillful or clever way: Developers have hacked the app.
B.to circumvent security and break into (a network, computer, file, etc.), usually with malicious intent: "Criminals hacked the bank's servers yesterday."
"Our team systematically hacks our network to find vulnerabilities. "
Source:Dictionary.com
We are going to focus on all aspects of hacking when it comes to this article. I want to break the concept down into 3 sections. Good hackers, neutral hackers, and bad hackers. Most people do not realize there is even a difference and that is just my problem. The negative stigma stops us from growth and I will explain why.
1. Negative hacker:
This is where our negative idea of hacking comes from. This is the person who hacks into your email and steals your identity. These types of hackers have become the most popular in society and I feel like our government even gets these types of hackers confused with the good guys.
People who create viruses, dox, or use their knowledge of technology in ways that are negative, or ways that in turn hurt others, are the worst kind of hackers. We all pretty much have heard horror stories of peoples credit cards being hacked or someone revealing personal information on a celebrity status. This creates fear of hackers and hacking. This is a bad way to use technology and certainly nobody to look up to.
2. Neutral hacker:
This is a person we might be friends with. The person who modifies their computers to do special things.... For example I have an Amazon Fire tablet that I purchased for $30. It did not have the capabilities of downloading any apps beyond the apps that were provided and that did not include social media or Youtube. I wanted to use this tablet to watch Youtube videos, so I hacked it and put the Google play store on it. This way I could get Youtube to work. The true definition of hacking is to use technology in a non conventional means or in a way that it was not intended to be used. By adding Youtube to my Amazon Fire Tablet I was not stealing or hurting anybody. This is not even against the law. It is considered hacking by definition and by action, yet the only person whom it helps is me. This is what I consider neutral hacking. It doesnt hurt or help society, it only helps you as an individual. There are plenty of examples of this that we see in society when people hack remote controllers or program things to be used in non conventional ways. Not illegal and not negative.
3. Positive hacker:
This is the good time to introduce you to what is known as a "hacktivist". Lets let our good friends at dictionary.com define this one for us as well.
Hacktivist
a computer hacker whose activity is aimed at promoting a social or political cause.
Source: Dictionary.com
The concept of this being a positive thing is debatable and sometimes can also be negative, but I have seen A TON of positivity come from the hacktivist and there are some good examples in the history of hacking. For example the liberation of public documents by Aaron Swartz. This man was only using hacking to do the right thing for mankind. I speak a little more about his story in a previous blog post. You can check that out here.
I believe the restriction of information is the most detrimental thing we could do to ourselves as a society. Especially educational information. This sort of stuff is being slowly ripped from our fingertips and we are watching it happen right before our eyes. The internet is a place that we all share information and we see it go under fire constantly. They have now passed the laws getting rid of net neutrality in America and we will soon continue to see the suffocation of information. There couldnt be a more damning thing to human growth than the restriction of information. These hacktivist have liberated information that WE AS HUMANS deserve to share. That we deserve to have. Things that our government or the organizations involved had no business hiding from us. Had no business charging us money for things that will better mankind as a whole.
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Hacking is innovation. It is using technology by which the ways that YOU WANT. It is the freedom of information.