Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

Hhackers and hackingStarting in the late 1950s, in computer facilities at MIT,Stanford, and other research universities people began toencounter persons who had both unusual programmingskill and an obsession with the inner workings of themachine. While ordinary users viewed the computer simplyas a tool for solving particular problems, this peculiarbreed of programmers reveled in extending the capabilitiesof the system and creating tools such as program editorsthat would make it easier to create even more powerfulprograms. The movement from mainframes that could runonly one program at a time to machines that could simultaneouslyserve many users created a kind of environmentalniche in which these self-described hackers could flourish.Indeed, while administrators sometimes complained thathackers took up too much of the available computer time,they often depended on them to fix the bugs that infestedthe first versions of time-sharing operating systems. Hackersalso tended to work in the wee hours of the night whilenormal users slept.Early hackers had a number of distinctive characteristicsand tended to share a common philosophy, even if itwas not always well articulated:• Computers should be freely accessible, without arbitrarylimits on their use (the “hands-on imperative”).• “Information wants to be free” so that it can reach itsfull potential. Conversely, government or corporateauthorities that want to restrict information accessshould be resisted or circumvented.• The only thing that matters is the quality of the“hack”—the cleverness and utility of the code andwhat it lets computers do that they could not dobefore.• As a corollary to the above, the reputation of a hackerdepends on his (it was nearly always a male) work—not on age, experience, academic attainment, or anythingelse.• Ultimately, programming was a search for truth andbeauty and even a redemptive quality—coupled withthe belief that technology can change the world.Hackers were relatively tolerated by universities andsometimes prized for their skills by computer companiesneeding to develop sophisticated software. However, as thecomputer industry grew, it became more concerned withstaking out, protecting, and exploiting intellectual property.To the hacker, however, intellectual property was abarrier to the unfettered exploration and exploitation of thecomputer. Hackers tended to freely copy and distribute notonly their own work but also commercial systems softwareand utilities.During the late 1970s and 1980s, the microcomputer createda mass consumer software market, and a new generationof hackers struggled to get the most out of machines that hada tiny amount of memory and only rudimentary graphicsand sound capabilities. Some became successful game programmers.At the same time a new term entered the lexicon,software piracy (see software privacy and counterfeiting).Pirate hackers cracked the copy protection on games219