>From the Jargon File (http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/):
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). An earlier attempt to
establish `worm' in this sense around 1981--82 on Usenet was largely a
failure.
Use of both these neologisms reflects a strong revulsion against the theft
and vandalism perpetrated by cracking rings. While it is expected that any
real hacker will have done some playful cracking and knows many of the basic
techniques, anyone past larval stage is expected to have outgrown the desire
to do so except for immediate, benign, practical reasons (for example, if
it's necessary to get around some security in order to get some work done).
Thus, there is far less overlap between hackerdom and crackerdom than the
mundane reader misled by sensationalistic journalism might expect. Crackers
tend to gather in small, tight-knit, very secretive groups that have little
overlap with the huge, open poly-culture this lexicon describes; though
crackers often like to describe themselves as hackers, most true hackers
consider them a separate and lower form of life.
Ethical considerations aside, hackers figure that anyone who can't imagine a
more interesting way to play with their computers than breaking into someone
else's has to be pretty losing. Some other reasons crackers are looked down
on are discussed in the entries on cracking and phreaking. See also samurai,
dark-side hacker, and hacker ethic. For a portrait of the typical teenage
cracker, see warez d00dz.
Unnamed sources report that Raoul Boenisch said:
> On Tue, 19 Jan 1999, Kurt Wall wrote:
>
> > Unnamed sources report that [EMAIL PROTECTED] said:
> > > Aaron,
> > >
> > > I used the word hack. I meant hacker. It is not to be confused with
> > > someone trying to hack at a process or program to get it operational. A
> > > hacker is someone who brakes into a software or hardware system.
> >
> > That would be a "cracker".
>
> I thought crackers are guys "cracking" games offline. Like taking away
> annoying password checks in commercial games and other copy protection.
>
> --
> Raoul Boenisch, Winkhauser Talweg 165, 45473 Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany
> homepage: http://www.raoul.home.pages.de/ home phone: +49 208 764257
>
>
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--
Kurt Wall
Informix on Linux FAQ - http://www.xmission.com/~kwall/iolfaq.html
Spanish Translation - http://www.xmission.com/~kwall/iolfaqsp.html
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