who is “hacker” and who is “cracker” ?

Sinhala unicode version of this article also available.

hacker is a famous word in the computer field. Cracker also a famous word but not as famous as the word hacker.

Before we see about hacker, we'll see about the cracker. Cracker is a well knowledgeable programmer who develops programs to computers. Every time he is a good person and there isn't any harm to a computer from him. But many people misidentify him as a hacker. The truth is Cracker isn't a hacker and he never hack a computer.

Now it's time to see about hacker.

There are three types of hackers “White hat hacker” , “Black hat hacker” and “Grey hat hacker”.

“White hat hacker” is the person who cares about the “security of the computer system”. He always try to find errors in the system and solve the problems to prove the security. Most companies hire them to check the security vulnerabilities in their networks and computer systems. They never do any illegal work which harmful to the system , to data or people.

“Black hat hacker” is the worst person who enters tries to steal something from any computer or network. He is a bads person. He is a threat to data, privacy and computer systems. They use the data which they got by hacking to earn money. They know which they do is illegal. Because of their illegal work, they always caught to the “law” and “be in the jail” for many times.

“Grey hat hacker” also a person who is very knowledgeable and try to improve the security of the system. But when he thought or got the chance he do what “Black hat hacker” does. So, “Grey hat hacker” is the person who is in between “White hat hacker” and “Black hat hacker”. Because of their illegal work, they also caught to the “law” and “be in the jail” for many times.

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We are in a Global village, which connected by communication. So, data is valuable to every one. Many people like to learn how to hack because it helps them to secure them from hackers. So, they think to become a “White hat hacker” and learns how to hack. After learning some techniques, they forget about their aim which was to become a “White hat hacker” and try to hack and to be a threat to computers and networks. Sometimes they do it for Fun and sometimes to earn money. But these days, the law is strict for Cyber-crimes. So, think twice before hack.