Quote:
Originally posted by DizZzy!
whats the difference between a hacker & a cracker  |
The jargon dictionary:
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hacker
hacker /n./ [originally, someone who makes furniture with an axe]
1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. [ ... ] 6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations. 8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence `password hacker', `network hacker'. The correct term for this sense is cracker.
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And:
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cracker
cracker /n./ One who breaks security on a system. Coined ca. 1985 by hackers in defense against journalistic misuse of hacker (q.v., sense 8). [ ... ]
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In short: A hacker does it for fun. To learn security and to point out security holes. While a crackers abuses and destroys data and systems.