Computer Hackers :: Personal Narrative Profile Essays

Personal Narrative- Computer Hackers My perception of hackers was crafted long ago, by my brother, ahacker himself. He was tough with all manner of clandestine activites and tied up our phone line for hours. I, of course, neer under(a)stoodwhat he was involved with, provided remember being frenzied when he broke intoan soldiers base, as the military was my passion at the time. I also neverunderstood the constant calls from strange men our family would receive,nor did my parents. Now, my brother claims it was the FBI investigatinghim. Whether this is neat or not, I do not know, but what I apply alwaysbelieved of hackers is that a certain mystique and romance is importantto their work. He was excited by the fact that the FBI would beinterested in him. Hackers use something as easily accessible as a PCto create peachy waves in the larger world. Although their tasks areoften effective, they are not the close to practical breed. Simply the fancy nomenclature they use a nd their tendency to work outhacking groups shows that a full culture has developed. I have alwaysbeen under the impression that most hackers did not find their callingfor functional reasons, but to join a popular youth subculture. That iswhy I am not surprised that the vast majority were and are young, at least(prenominal) when the culture arose in the eighties. The identity with aformally named group nurture shows this need to belong. The wit of their stunts and insistence on a personal hang also showsthat hacking is an artistic outlet. I was surprised that even in apolitical movement as developed as the Zapatistas, this facet of hackingremains. The electronic Disturbance Theater, as their name suggests,view themselves as performance artists. I was also surprised at how the hacking confederacy has evolved sinceTRS-80s from Radio Shack were the standard. The community haslegitimized itself in many ways. I always believed that wreaking havocwas the main antecedency of ha cking groups, and that their romantic fervorfor it could not be quelled. Bloodaxes final letter in Phrackexemplifies how mistaken I was. Not only is he disgusted by thecommunity, but he admits that he and his contemporaries may have badup. Perhaps, he is implying that many of their stunts were puerile. I also did not expect that hackers would elude the line to aid thecorporate and government machines that they once opposed.