“Chapter 1 – What is Hacking Before starting out with actually learning to hack, let us first get the hang of what hacking means in the most basic sense? The term ‘hacking’ and ‘hacker’ have various interpretations according to various sources. In an ideal sense, the term ‘hacker’ was used to define a person who was very skilled in the art of computer programming. This was a person who would use his programming knowledge to solve complex computer problems. However, with the advent of computer technology, the term ‘hacker’ began to adopt a more negative sense. Nowadays, ‘hacker’ is a term that is commonly used for a person who uses his deep knowledge and understanding of computers to exploit the weakness of various systems and gain access to them. This act of exploiting the bugs and weaknesses of various computer systems is termed as ‘hacking.' As you might have guessed, if you are gaining access to a system without the authorization of the owner of that system, it is illegal no matter where you are. Therefore, in the common eyes of people who are unaware of the different types of hacking, the term is seen in a very negative manner and is always assumed to be illegal. These hackers who exploit the vulnerabilities of systems through bugs are also termed as ‘security hackers,' to create a demarcation between the original meaning of the term hacker that was used to denote good computer programmers. In the general discussion of this book, we will refer to all security hackers as ‘hackers’ for the sake of brevity and understanding.              However, as you will learn by browsing through the pages of this book, this is most often not the case.  There are different types of hacking, and while some might lead to you being behind”