Are YOU a Hacker?

Are you? It’s not necessarily a derogatory term. Neither is “geek.” But what does “hacker” really mean? Here’s one opinion:

Someone that is looking to work outside the normal parameters. The media grabs the term and turns it into something bad. Like all hackers are evil and looking to steal your identity, your money and bring down the system in some [sort of]  anti-government/corporate protest. Sure there are always extremist[s] on the either side of nearly any issue…For a true hacker, statements like, "Never do this…" or "one use only" or even better the golden "authorized users only" tend to get us thinking. What is behind that interface, that door, that piece of tape that will void my warranty if removed you are trying to keep me from learning.

Folks, I’m a hacker. I hack computers and networks—it’s part of my job—I  don’t do anything malicious, but I dig into things I probably shouldn’t. I’ve always been the kind of guy who takes things apart to see what makes them tick. Usually, I get them back together the way they were. Sometimes, I break them; but, I always come away with a better understanding of how things work.

If more people were “hackers,” if more people knew how things work, if more people *understood* how this universe is put together, if more people even cared to look, this world would be a better place.

I’m a hacker. Are you?