I have read on an Internet forum someone’s opinion who said that there was a difference between hacking and cracking, cracking being an action by which someone breaks the program codes, thus being able to use them without paying for the license, whereas hacking was described as an action of exploration to the purpose of acquiring knowledge at any cost, even illegally if need be.
I do not think that gaining knowledge can be used as a motivation to break into someone else’s computer. In my opinion, which by the way coincides with the opinion of every civilized country’s law system, any breaking into someone’s computer without their consent is an illegal act similar to a domestic burglary and should, and is, treated accordingly.
Having said that, we can ascertain that the operation of hacking into someone else’s computer is the act of breaking into a computer by cracking the passwords and the protection systems by which the information stored on the computer is safeguarded. If the action of hacking is demanded by the user who finds himself/herself in the position of not being able to access their own machines or by the authorities who back this claim with a judge warrant, then the hacking is legal. If it is a “freelancing enterprise” aimed at prying into someone else’s personal items, it is a criminal offense like all the others of this sort.
Bearing in mind the wish that the present article does not act as a crush course for those who want to infringe the law, I shall explain the actual act of hacking into someone’s computer.
The first thing a hacker does when he/she decided to go illegal (or to use their own vernacular, “go underground” or “become newbies”) is to learn a programming language. Recommended programs: Python, Rubin, Perl, PHP, Bash scripting. Assembly language is a must if the hackers want to be able to do what they set out to do.
Step #2 is using a Unix command interface with Windows to execute the hacking operations. Once this is done, hackers try to secure themselves and make sure they do not get caught. Then they try to know the “target”.
A very important step is determining the operation system of the computer they intend to hack. That can be done by a scan of the ports. After that, they open a port in the system. At that point, the actual hacking can begin with the crack of the password or of the authentication protocol(s). As soon as they do that they obtain super user privileges.
This is all it takes to get full control over a computer. Still, in order to make sure they can take off in case they are made hackers create a backdoor into the service system. It is very important for them to cover their tracks.
Criminals who operate in the streets should be envious at the sight of how few things their internet counterparts need to commit the same type of crime and how well most of them sleep at night without worrying about being caught. All it takes to hack into someone else’s computer is a personal terminal connected to the Internet, a proxy, an IP scanner, petaflap assistance and that is it. Terrifying, isn’t it?
