NMA2050

In “The Hacker Manifesto,” the Mentor is justifying his existence as a hacker. He does that by describing what drives his interests as a hacker and what drove him to it and comparing that to society’s view of him. He compares the computers objectiveness to the judgment of society. “It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it’s because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn’t like me… Or feels threatened by me.. (The Mentor).” He found a place where he belongs in the Internet and manipulating the information available, yet society looks upon this as a crime.

Mentor Claims that being a hacker is to “explore” and “ seek after knowledge”, hacking is a justifiable behavior. When it comes to me, I think hacking in most situations is unjustifiable. Hackers steal privacy information for example, passwords, codes, and locks from people for their own sake of good. Hacking into another entity’s system is, in most cases, morally reprehensible and a clear violation of their security and privacy rights. However, when we view hackers in another sides, they also can bring contributions to our society. For instance, some Internet companies hired hackers to attempt to hack their systems in order to test the security, looking for bugs to exploit and then make them aware to the relevant people. This kind of hacking is obviously much more acceptable than the use of hacking for one’s own unlawful personal gain. In cases of security and safety, hacking maybe the only source of protection. Otherwise, hacking is a way to accomplish meaningless tasks that only hurt instead of help. Hackers could put their computer skills for much better use.