How To be a Hacker

An Ebook By

Eminent

By writing this Ebook I am representing the Informers Group of Hack forums

If you find any errors in this writing, or have anything to contribute, then please contact me at

[e-mail]

Additionally you can send me a private message at Hack Forums

HERE

What is a Hacker?

Knowing what a hacker is is obviously the first step to becoming one. If you ask any regular day person

what a hacker is, they will most likely just tell you “someone that messes up computers and gives you

viruses”. They also think that it is just like in the movies, where a hacker just pushes a couple buttons

on a keyboard and they instantly break into any system in the world that they want. If you think about

it, that is ridiculous, but the media is making look like something it's not.

Hacking, in it's essence, just means: Modifying something to the user's ease. Yep, that's it. A lot of

people will tell you that hacking is only done in cyberspace, but electronics in general are a hub of

hacking. A lot of people think hacking is all bad, but that is not the case.

There are 3 main types of hackers:

•

Black Hat

◦

These are the bad guys; the ones that you hear about on the news. They hack for personal

gain, and destroy other people's computers and networks for fun. This makes up a large

portion of the hacking community, because when people hear about hackers on the TV, they

think it's cool and so they try it. There are many other motives that may be the cause of a

black hat, such as greed or revenge.

•

Gray Hat

◦

Gray Hat hackers are the people who fall in-between white hats and black hats. They

usually won't go out of their way to be bad, but may do something illegal every now and

then. Another difference between gray hats and white hats is that white hat hackers get

permission to pentest on a company or website and then they tell the owners about the

vulnerabilities, while gray hat hackers will do it without permission, and possibly even

release the exploit to the public.

•

White Hat

◦

The good guys! White hats dedicate their time to securing the Internet and making it a safe

place for everyone. They are rivals with the black hats, and try to patch up the exploits that

they make. Good white hats have years of experience in computer security, and can fix

almost any computer problem.

A lot of people spend long periods of time just trying to decide what kind of hacker they will be. I

personally don't think it matters. I don't put any specific hat on myself, because I feel that it is just a

limitation. For example, if I was to say that I am going to be a white hat, then I may be limiting myself

to just do security related things. I myself choose to just hack how I want, and let other hackers decide

what hat they think I am.

The Hacker Manifesto

A small essay was written about the manifesto of a hacker. These strong words influenced me greatly as

I was beginning. So take them in; think about these words, and never forget them.

This was written by

The Mentor

Another one got caught today, it's all over the papers. "Teenager

Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering"...

Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain,

ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what

made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a hacker, enter my world...

Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of

the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me...

Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to teachers explain

for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No, Ms.

Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..."

Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is

cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it's because I

screwed it up. Not because it doesn't like me...

Or feels threatened by me...

Or thinks I'm a smart ass...

Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here...

Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through

the phone line like heroin through an addict's veins, an electronic pulse is

sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is

found.

"This is it... this is where I belong..."

I know everyone here... even if I've never met them, never talked to

them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...

Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They're all alike...

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at

school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip

through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadists, or

ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us will-

ing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the

beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying

for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and

you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We seek

after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color,

without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us criminals.

You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us

and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is

that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.

My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me

for.

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual,

but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike.

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The Hacker Manifesto has influenced thousands of hackers around the world, because of one simple

thing. Truth. The reason the hacking community thrives beyond most others, is because of the

allowance and acceptance. Hackers “exist without skin color,without nationality, without religious

bias”. In the world of hackers, you will meet people from all around the world; people that you

otherwise would have never met in your life. As long as you have a desire to learn you will be

accepted.

What is Hacking?

So now that you know what a hacker is, you may be asking what is considered “hacking”. That is not

easily answered.

This chapter will attempt to cover:

•

What is hacking?

•

What are the benefits of different hacking styles?

•

How do I know if I am already a hacker?

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Many people come to the dark side of hacking because of lust. They seek revenge. Or they want to

show off. Hacking was never meant to be something that people used for a malicious purpose, but it

evolved into that (see A History of Hacking).

Preforming a Denial of Service (DoS) attack is not considered hacking. Using programs that other

people have created is not considered hacking (with the exception of an operating system/web

browser/etc.). Copying a code that someone else gives you is not hacking, unless you are modifying it

yourself and know what you are doing to it. If you are just following a tutorial that you found on the

Internet (with the exception of a guide like this that tells you 'how to be a hacker', as apposed to 'how to

hack') then you are not really hacking. If you are using a common exploit, then you are not hacking, but

if you are developing a new exploit you are.

There are multiple styles of hacking, and I basically covered them in Chapter 1, but to say them in

different terms, I would say that you can either:

•

Hack for glory

•

Hack for money

•

Hack for revenge

•

Hack for security

•

Hack because you have to

Glory: You want everyone to know your name. A form of lust. Greed. You want to destroy or build

systems and you want everyone to be damn sure it was you that did it.

Pros:

•

You will be remember for a long time

•

You will have a taste of fame

•

People will fear you

•

Some people may love you

Cons:

•

You will get caught

•

A lot of people will dislike you

•

The consequence can be worse than the benefits

•

Prison... People get raped there.

Money: You are either a sort of cyber-bounty-hunter, or you are offering assistance in exchange for

money. This is taking your skills that you have worked hard to get and trying to get some pay out of it.

Usually illegal work is in play.

Pros:

•

People will pay you for it

•

You may actually get some decent practice to keep your skills sharp

Cons:

•

Doing these illegal acts can get you in trouble

•

The person hiring you may be undercover, and it could all be a trap

•

There is always the risk of getting scammed

Revenge: Your girlfriend dumped you. Rage is filling your soul. What is the one thing that she can't

live without? Her Social Networking account? Lets hack it. This is an example of hacking for revenge.

Although I personally don't believe in this kind of revenge hacking, it is one of the most popular

reasons.

Pros:

•

You can savor the sweet taste of revenge and watch that person suffer

Cons:

•

The person could report you to the police

•

You could have had a decent friendship with that person, but you just ruined it

•

They could get you back for it later

Security: This basically defines a white hat hacker. Security hacking is all about finding exploits in

your own system and then finding a way to patch them (This method is called penetration testing). Your

cause it to fight off black hats, and to make the Internet/cyberspace a safe place for everyone.

Pros:

•

There will be very little chance of you getting a virus

•

You will learn a lot about security and computers in general

Cons:

•

You might get bored

Because You have To: I am referring to an actual job. What? Didn't think that the people that work for

Google or Microsoft are hackers? You basically have to be a form of a hacker to get into there.

Pros:

•

You are hacking for a living, what more could you ask for

•

You may get to see software that won't be released for months

•

You might get free products, or at least a discount

Cons:

•

Maybe you hate your job

•

You could have a bad boss

•

You might have a small paycheck

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So how do you know if you are a hacker already? Well basically if another, well respected, member of

the hacking community considers you a hacker, then you are a hacker. Hacking is not about degree, it is

all based off of experience and achievements. So if you are a well known, helpful member of the

community, then you are probably a hacker. “How do I help out?” you may ask. Well, in a number of

ways.

•

Teach new hacklings how to hack

•

Test and debug beta software

•

Help develop programs

•

Release open sourced software

•

Give out free guides and tutorials

Those are the basic few that will get your status up. But don't limit yourself to those, those are just the

most common ways. Be creative. The more you can do for others the better.

Part two will be released shortly, expanding on this vast subject

The Teacher