You mean you can hack without breaking the law?"
That was the voice of a
high school freshman. He had me on the phone because his father had just taken
away his computer. His offense? Cracking into my Internet account. The boy had
hoped to impress me with how
"kewl" he was. But before I realized he had gotten in, a sysadmin at
my ISP had spotted the kidТs harmless explorations and had alerted the parents.
Now the boy wanted my help in getting back on line.
I told the kid that I
sympathized with his father. What if the sysadmin and I had been major
grouches? This kid could have wound up in
juvenile detention. Now I donТt agree with putting harmless hackers
in jail, and I would never have
testified against him. But thatТs what some people do to folks who go snooping
in other peopleТs computer accounts -- even when the culprit does no harm. This
boy needs to learn how to keep out of trouble!
Hacking is the most
exhilarating game on the planet. But it stops being fun when you end up in a
cell with a roommate named "Spike." But hacking doesn't have to mean
breaking laws. In this book we teach safe hacking so that you donТt have to
keep looking back over your shoulders for narcs and cops.
What we're talking
about is hacking as a healthy recreation, and as a free education that can
qualify you to get a high paying job. In fact, many network systems
administrators, computer scientists and computer security experts first learned
their professions, not in some college program, but from the hacker culture.
And you may be surprised to discover that ultimately the Internet is
safeguarded not by law enforcement agencies, not by giant corporations, but by
a worldwide network of, yes, hackers.
You, too, can become
one of us.
And -- hacking can be
surprisingly easy. Heck, if I can do it, anyone can!
Regardless of why you
want to be a hacker, it is definitely a way to have fun, impress your friends,
and get dates. If you are a female hacker you become totally irresistible to
men. Take my word for it!;^D
These Guides to
(mostly) Harmless Hacking can be your gateway into this world. After reading
just a few of these Guides you will be able to pull off stunts that will be
legal, phun, and will impress the heck out of your friends.
These Guides can equip
you to become one of the vigilantes that keeps the Internet from being
destroyed by bad guys. Especially spammers. Heh, heh, heh. You can also learn
how to keep the bad guys from messing with your Internet account, email, and
personal computer. YouТll learn not to be frightened by silly hoaxes that
pranksters use to keep the average Internet user in a tizzy.
If you hang in with us
through a year or so, you can learn enough and meet the people on our email
list and IRC channel who can help you to become truly elite.
However, before you
plunge into the hacker subculture, be prepared for that hacker attitude. You
have been warned.
So...welcome to the
adventure of hacking!
