downtime ...

www.pizslacker.org will be down for a few days due to software-upgrades.

www.pizslacker.org is once again fully operational ;)

PSN is alive again

After being down since April 17th, it was quite joyful seeing the network up and running again. I switched on my PlayStation3, downloaded the new firmware update, changed my password and synched my trophies :) still wondering about the compensation for the downtime... not that I'm expecting much though.

h4ck_

Hacker, phracker, cracker.
White-hat, grey-hat, black-hat.

Words... they're just words. And what am I? Some would call me a 'grey-hat', some would call me a 'hacker'. I am neither...

I am a hobbyist. I do what I do because I love it, not because I feel the need to prove anything.

The term 'computer-hacker' originated in the 60s, though a lot of people would argue that it originated in the 80s. It didn't originate in the 80s, it was used incorrectly to give computer-criminals a public image for the non-technical masses. Breaking computer security, obtaining illegal access, stealing information, etc. Doing any of these things automatically gave you a hacker-title in the media. And it still does.

In later years, newer terms have been coined to better describe the type of computer-criminal was in question. Some of these include: cracker (criminal hacker), phracker (fraudulent cracker), black-hat (malicious cracker). None of which were actually adopted by the media at all.

My point being: things usually have more than one side to it. And most people only care about the thrilling/adventurous side, which in the media's eyes is the illegal side of it.

I'm not going to use any of these terms anymore. I'm tired of misrepresentation and faulty journalism (which happens more often than not).

Norwegian readers of my blog will probably find this article as an interesting example of where the usage of the word "hacker" is totally unwarranted. If anything, that person was (at best, by copying other people's code and re-using it without any insight of it's logic and algorithms) a "script-kiddie". Various Norwegian e-news agents have published more and more erroneous articles regarding cyber-crime, none of which actually pertain to actual "hackers", like this one. Another Norwegian tech-expert had this to say about "hacking".

I don't utilize aliases when I program and I don't sign off after deleting system logs. I sign with my real name, email address and PGP-signature in my programs/scripts, and I am a heavy log-surfer on my own systems. A so-called super-user if you will ;)

*they* use aliases when code/scripts execute malicious functions to do damage to a system, and *they* remove traces of their actions when the actions themselves prove illegal and punishable by law.

Such people are usually very angry, adolescents with something to prove to themselves and others.

(When I DO remove traces, it is ONLY to protect my own privacy, nothing more, nothing less.)

So, to voice my opinion: fuck the media and fuck the judicial system for endorsing incorrect use of computer-terms coined by competent, upstanding contributors to the computer-society.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(term)
http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/

Some of my blog posts regarding the topic:
http://blog.pizslacker.org/2009/04/computer-illiterates-are-dangerous.html