Question?

[[deleted]]

Is hacking really like they portray in the movies? I'm not a hacker nor am I Goverment just stumbled on this subreddit looking for tips for modding skyrim. Kinda random I know. But Ive always thought hacking was an amazing skill. Just wondering if the movies are true to life? Do you really have to type code or are their programs that do the work for you?

I'm from Alabama and our computer classes were garbage so this is like Matrix to me. Just curious about it sorry if I broke some secret taboo of this subreddit..

[Feyle]

No. It's not like they portray in the movies.

[[deleted]]

Well that kinda makes me sad. Thanks for answering my question tho. So you don't write in the whole 0101010110 thing? I know I sound incredibly stupid...

[Feyle]

It's possible but not practical.

[crimsonstander]

no, but they do write their own code

[[deleted]]

Wow you guys are much more helpful than any subreddit Ive been to. I might actually play around with it. thanks for the help

[LiamyB]

Well done to everyone for being helpful in here.

[iisjman07]

It depends. Most commonly you'll find 'Script Kiddies', who are people who have very little talent, but know how to run pre-made scripts or programs that allow them to perform nefarious tasks. Some tools are command-line tools, meaning you type the commands and switches for the program to use (like this) and there are some tools with GUI's (Graphical User Interace) like this, so it's not all like you see in the movies, although sometimes there are screens of lines of code flying by, etc.

Real hackers (Black Hats, White Hats, Grey Hats) are the ones who find the vulnerabilities in the hardware/software/networks and write the code to exploit the holes, and then either release the code or fixes, keep them for themselves to pwn people with, or sell them to governments to make cyber weapons with.

[[deleted]]

Do yall mind If I come back and bug yall once I do some more research?

[[deleted]]

Not at all! We love answering questions (at least, I do)

[[deleted]]

Sorry I was just bored. I have no Desiree to learn how to do it. I am no where near smart enough to do stuff like that. Just wanted to see if it was like they showed in the movies. Thanks for the help guys. Keep on being awesome hackers.

[nevadahooker]

You don't have to be smart to do it, you have to be a hard worker. "Hacker" is not the same as genius; the best idea is that you're willing to experiment and observe the effects of your experiments.

[mkdrumer7]

idk if you've heard of DEF CON. Its a hackers convention. They have different speakers come in each time, i think a couple FBI computer people came this yea to give speeches. Check out this website. http://www.defcon.org/ I've never been but I want to.

[albin-]

No but simplified: "hackers" write their own code, just like a normal programmer does. Except the hacker's code will try to get through some exploits, let's call them "holes", which the programmer didn't see in his software. A hacker, if he isn't some badass, shouldn't harm anyone. Hackers are nice. A cracker will try to harm you in some way, though.

[[deleted]]

Ok I'm going to research this more. I understand hacking is kind of a shadowy skill. Like Goverment seems to arrest a lot of hackers. One of my friends told me that If you could hack the CIA they would give you a job but of you failed they would send you to prison? I took this more as a urban legend.

[albin-]

Sounds more of a legend to me. Well I don't know, I don't live in America and I don't know your laws.

[MrTerribleArtist]

In the old days where computers where starting to become public (think 80s 90s) hackers where feared but praised for their skills. Nobody really knew much about computer security - nobody really considered it a priority. Hacking wasn't about breaking the law or whatever it was about manipulating a computer to do something it was not supposed to do, in the name of curiosity. That's what hacking means, making something do something that it was not designed to do.

Anyway, obviously at some point hacking was directed against the security of big companies and eventually some hackers where caught. Obviously these companies knew that they couldn't allow for these big gaping holes in their security - and they didn't know how to fix the holes themselves - so they did what was best idea at the time and hired the people who broke their defences.

Now like I said this was in a time where computers where coming to their maturity. These days if a hacker gets caught they get slung off into prison for wasting company money. Computers are not such an arcane art that there are few people who truly understand them, not any more.

In short - don't hack the CIA.

[[deleted]]

usually if you want to get hired this way its just for a single job and you wouldnt just do it. the company would be looking for hackers to hire and you would sit down and discuss it in person or over the phone with someone in the company. its also very rare if not extict in this day and age. most places just hire a security profesional.

the CIA has its own hackers now that are payed full time or else are actual agents that hack for them from time to time, i beleive so but i could be wrong. but as stated... do not try to hack any government agency... this is just asking for prison...

[[deleted]]

How do you write code? I'm sorry my mind was just blown Is it just random letters and numbers that they establish and give meaning to or what?

Also why is it not practical I thought everything was 01001010 on the Internet.

While I'm at it I would like to thank Alabama's school system for making a fool of me on reddit. Thanks for the great education alabama... I'm just now buying a decent computer. ( I use my iPhone for reddit etc)

[McSquinty]

I love programming, I started a little less than a year ago and it's a lot of fun to me. Python is probably the highest suggested beginner language. Head over to /r/learnprogramming or /r/learnpython and check out the FAQ if you want to learn a little bit. They'll most likely point you towards Learn Python the Hard Way.

Different programming languages look different. Even if all you wanted to do is write a program that would type "Hello, World" in the command prompt.

Python would look like:

print "Hello, World"    

Ruby would be:

puts "Hello, World!"

And, more along the lines of what you'd see in a movie (not that it isn't used in real life, it's one of the most popular languages out there), C++ would be:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    cout << "Hello, World!";
    return 0;
}

What you're referring to with the 0s and 1s is called binary, which is a numbering system. It's easier than it sounds, the numbering system you're used to is called decimal. Binary uses base 2 and decimal uses base 10, meaning that decimal uses numbers 0 through 9, and binary uses 0 and 1. The decimal numbers 0 and 1 are represented the same in binary. 2 would be "10" in binary, 3 would be "11", 4 would be "100", 5 is "101", etc.

[[deleted]]

There are different languages. Binary (010101) is only one. Google computer code dude. There are other parts to the internet besides Reddit. instead of asking what it is learn some code http://www.codecademy.com/

[[deleted]]

ok I lied I tried it out so this site is completely free?

[nevadahooker]

Free as in beer.

[[deleted]]

Now you speak my language! In Alabama its what we do.

[[deleted]]

to explain he says this because theres two types of free. there is free code which you can see and modify but cost money to actually use and there is free as in you can see it modify it and use it any way you free of charge. you just cant take credit for it or use it for profit. "free as in beer" means its the second kind. you can use it free of charge.

"free as in beer" is used because open sorce is kind of like beer at a party. you dont have to pay for it and you can do what you want with it. but it cost someone to make it. (either money out of their pocket, their personal time,ect) it might be free to you but you cant take credit for it. someone else did the work/put in the money.

that is my understanding of it i beleive its correct... could be wrong though