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Secrets of the trade
1. Have a constantly curious mind with an insatiable appetite for knowing how things work.
2. The fundamentals of computer engineering may be a bit dry, but without grasping them well, you can't be a good hacker.
3. Stay patient. Never stop testing your hacking tools by keeping up with the latest developments in the community and being hands-on.
Confession of a computer hacker
Hacking is not a five-minute job
Skilled hackers can take months to find a weakness in computer systems
The first thing most of us notice about a website is its interface, design and how user-friendly it is.
Not to people who has a passion for hacking. Hackers usually gets a thrill from discovering loopholes and weakness in computer systems and web applications.
It's like finding treasure, much like how a scientist would feel after establishing a new finding.
While hackers are often seen as people who gain unauthorised access to computers to steal secrets or money, publicise a cause or simply show off their skills, security engineers tries to attack websites to make them more secure.
In tech parlance, they are a "white hat".
There was a lot of talk about a cyber war between the US and China at the time and hackers attacking each other's websites.
One of the biggest misconceptions about hacking is that it is done in five minutes or less, racing against the clock that is ticking ominously.
It's not what the movies make it out to be - entering a line of code and having a series of numbers spinning endlessly at the click of a button.
Established, skilled hackers take months, even years, to discover one vulnerability.
They then work with companies and developers to patch the holes, before presenting their findings at global security gatherings including the Black Hat and Def Con hacking conferences.
Being responsible in declaring vulnerabilities - which involves security researchers reporting bugs to relevant Internet companies - is an important part of being ethical.
The payoffs are attractive, even for people who do not have security-related day jobs.
Facebook, for example, offers cash rewards to security researchers who discover vulnerabilities on the website.
Rewards of the "bug bounty" programme start from US$500 and has no upper limit.
What differentiates seasoned hackers from "script kiddies", or skiddies, are the tools they use.
Script kiddies is a derogatory term used in hacker culture, referring to unskilled people who use scripts or programs developed by others to attack computer systems and networks and deface websites.
It's not uncommon for hackers to let out scripts on the Internet disguised (as something) to help skiddies hack, but actually reformat their computers when applied.
And while some think that an e-mail account is one of the most elementary hacking jobs that may exist, in reality, it may not be the case.
It's easy only when people do silly things like use 12345 as a password.
If you use a complex password, it's definitely not a five-minute job.
Most hackers - generally men - have habits the average person might consider geeky.
While many of us simply hit "proceed anyway" when warned of a dubious security certificate, security enthusiasts explore the details of the warning message.
Another secure way of protection is try not to shop at unsecured websites.
Make sure the URLs begin with https, which indicates secure connection over a computer network.
Never hacked into a website illegally as there are criminal prosecution and lawsuits hackers can face if they do not use their skills responsibility
You don't have to practise hacking on real websites to be good at this. People set up artificial testing environments in their own home-made labs to hone their skills.
If you work as a security expert for a company, that can also be ground for research.
But acquiring hacking skills isn't easy.
Some people think they can be good after a few days. You need patience to get a good grasp of the fundamentals.
1. Have a constantly curious mind with an insatiable appetite for knowing how things work.
2. The fundamentals of computer engineering may be a bit dry, but without grasping them well, you can't be a good hacker.
3. Stay patient. Never stop testing your hacking tools by keeping up with the latest developments in the community and being hands-on.
Confession of a computer hacker
Hacking is not a five-minute job
Skilled hackers can take months to find a weakness in computer systems
The first thing most of us notice about a website is its interface, design and how user-friendly it is.
Not to people who has a passion for hacking. Hackers usually gets a thrill from discovering loopholes and weakness in computer systems and web applications.
It's like finding treasure, much like how a scientist would feel after establishing a new finding.
While hackers are often seen as people who gain unauthorised access to computers to steal secrets or money, publicise a cause or simply show off their skills, security engineers tries to attack websites to make them more secure.
In tech parlance, they are a "white hat".
There was a lot of talk about a cyber war between the US and China at the time and hackers attacking each other's websites.
One of the biggest misconceptions about hacking is that it is done in five minutes or less, racing against the clock that is ticking ominously.
It's not what the movies make it out to be - entering a line of code and having a series of numbers spinning endlessly at the click of a button.
Established, skilled hackers take months, even years, to discover one vulnerability.
They then work with companies and developers to patch the holes, before presenting their findings at global security gatherings including the Black Hat and Def Con hacking conferences.
Being responsible in declaring vulnerabilities - which involves security researchers reporting bugs to relevant Internet companies - is an important part of being ethical.
The payoffs are attractive, even for people who do not have security-related day jobs.
Facebook, for example, offers cash rewards to security researchers who discover vulnerabilities on the website.
Rewards of the "bug bounty" programme start from US$500 and has no upper limit.
What differentiates seasoned hackers from "script kiddies", or skiddies, are the tools they use.
Script kiddies is a derogatory term used in hacker culture, referring to unskilled people who use scripts or programs developed by others to attack computer systems and networks and deface websites.
It's not uncommon for hackers to let out scripts on the Internet disguised (as something) to help skiddies hack, but actually reformat their computers when applied.
And while some think that an e-mail account is one of the most elementary hacking jobs that may exist, in reality, it may not be the case.
It's easy only when people do silly things like use 12345 as a password.
If you use a complex password, it's definitely not a five-minute job.
Most hackers - generally men - have habits the average person might consider geeky.
While many of us simply hit "proceed anyway" when warned of a dubious security certificate, security enthusiasts explore the details of the warning message.
Another secure way of protection is try not to shop at unsecured websites.
Make sure the URLs begin with https, which indicates secure connection over a computer network.
Never hacked into a website illegally as there are criminal prosecution and lawsuits hackers can face if they do not use their skills responsibility
You don't have to practise hacking on real websites to be good at this. People set up artificial testing environments in their own home-made labs to hone their skills.
If you work as a security expert for a company, that can also be ground for research.
But acquiring hacking skills isn't easy.
Some people think they can be good after a few days. You need patience to get a good grasp of the fundamentals.
