Get the latest news, products and how-to information on network systems. Sign up for the Network Systems DesignLine newsletter, a weekly e-mail guide dedicated to the needs of engineers developing networking equipment and components. Here is our RSS feed.


Encyclopedia

Results found for: hacker
 

hacker

A person who writes programs in assembly language or in system-level languages, such as C. The term often refers to any programmer, but its true meaning is someone with a strong technical background who is "hacking away" at the bits and bytes.

Hackers Have a Bad Name
During the 1990s, the term "hacker" became synonymous with "cracker," which is a person who performs some form of computer sabotage. The association is understandable. In order to be an effective cracker, you had to be a good hacker, thus the terms got intertwined, and hacker won out in the popular press.

     However, sometimes, hackers are not even worthy of the original meaning of the term. Today, a lot of malicious acts are performed by people with limited knowledge who gain unauthorized entrance into computers to steal data or perform mischief (see script kiddie). See cracker, hack, white hat hacker and samurai.




Hackers Targeted the Internet
The term "hacker" was entrenched by the time this article appeared in early 2000, which referred to a huge denial of service (DOS) attack on Yahoo!, eBay, Amazon.com and other Web sites. (Article headline courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer.)





similar terms
Entries before hacker
H350
H5
HA
hack
hacked
Entries after hacker
hacking
Hackintosh
Hadoop
hafnium
Hailstorm
 




Or get a random definition
techweb
copyright THIS COPYRIGHTED DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

Copyright (©) 1981-2007 The Computer Language Company
Inc All rights reserved.
eSearch  

 Top 5 Most Read
 How-To Stories
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

 Top 5 Most Read
 News Stories
1. 2. 3.

  • Introduction to Optical Transmission Systems

  • Optimizing Embedded Systems for Broadband 10 Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity

  • Interfacing a DS3231 with an 8051-Type Microcontroller

  • The entire library >>  

     
     Top 5 Most Read
     Product Stories
    1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

     Sponsor

    EE Times TechCareers
    Search Jobs

    Enter Keyword(s):


    Function:


    State:
      

    Post Your Resume
    -----------------
    Employers Area
    Most Recent Posts
    Ascension Health seeking Solutions Development Analyst in St. Louis, MO

    National Semiconductor seeking Principal IC Design Engineer in Santa Clara, CA

    Taylor Guitars seeking Sr. Web Designer in El Cajon, CA

    Covidien seeking Hardware Manager in Boulder, CO

    Sierra Nevada seeking Software Engineer in Hagerstown, MD

    More career-related news, resources and job postings for technology professionals


     Tech Library
    ¤ Looking for the appropriate Industry Association? This comprehensive, up-to-date list will take you to the right Web site for the help you need.

    ¤ Got a question about a standard? Here are direct links to resources detailing the industry's most important communications standards.

    ¤ Freshen up on technology, new and old, with these links to interesting and informative tutorials.

    More from TechLibrary

    Welcome to our DesignLine network of web communities. On these sites, we provide practical how-to technical information for engineers and engineering managers involved in Automotive,audio, DSP, DTV, EDA, Industrial Control, Mobile Handset, Power Management, Programmable Logic,RF,Video, and Wireless networking design. Check out the sites and let us know your thoughts.

    Career Center | CommsDesign.com | Embedded.com | EE Times | TechOnline
    Planet Analog | DeepChip | eeProductCenter | Electronic Supply & Manufacturing | Webinars