Know where you belong in the Hacker Culture

However, it wasn't until the advent of the industrial revolution, and the appearance of the phone network, that the first hackers of the modern era appeared. In those days, the operators of this network were men. Unfortunately,

many of them had a knack and a desire to exploit this system in their own benefit. Due to this fact, all men operators were fired and new, women operators were contracted (a practice that continued for many decades).

The next revolution in hacker culture came with the appearance of the first computers in the universities around the country. Groups of students at the MIT were paid for developing the operating software of the giant computer mainframes. In order to make their work easier, these young men created hacks, or shortcuts, to determined sensitive areas of their programming.

Are There Any Subcultures?

In computer hacker culture there are two divisions. The first one is known as the Academic hacker subculture, composed by the students, engineers and professionals who had the ability to use the machines provided by universities. These people worked in computer science and had the latest in technology. Many of them were able to use their knowledge and expertise in the second division.

The other hacker subculture is the one which has its origins in hobbyists; people who built computers in their garages (ala Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the founders of Apple) or were quite good with electronics (many of the were subscribed to specialized magazines). This subculture had its first golden age with the advent of personal computers and the first computer games.

Thousands of people across America looked for ways to hack computer game passwords and copy-protection schemes (in those days there was no internet, so the computer game companies weren't able to check online if your copy was an original). However, the true revolution came with the internet.

Now, hackers from around the world could hack, literally, millions of computers thanks to the weaknesses found at Microsoft Windows products and the lack of knowledge of computer users (only a small percentage makes constant software upgrades, and has a firewall, an antivirus and a spyware installed).

Finally, if you wish to learn hacking culture, or embrace it, start with some movies and literature! The Matrix is an excellent place to begin, but there are also excellent science fiction and non-fiction books that can transport you to a world you never imagined. One of the most popular ones is Neuromancer, written by William Gibson.

For many, hacking culture has become their way of life. Bored with the standardized lifestyle of the western civilization, hackers and it millions of new followers have created their own niche among our technological society. Hacker culture, once considered part of the underground, is now part of us.

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Know where you belong in the Hacker Culture

Are There Any Subcultures?

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