Hacking

Tricky · 03-12-2003, 00:13

Are you allow to try and hack friends PC's over the internet - My mate has setup a IIS server and I have a Linux one. We want to try out various techniques to change each others web sites from our own base, without going in via an authorised route.

Just wondering if NTL frown on this sort of activity?
Couldn't spot anything in the AUP

We're doing this because we're creating a site that'll use both systems and we need to ensure that we can create secure sessions between the two types of OS and backend software etc.

Steve H · 03-12-2003, 00:21

Surely if you both give each other consent to "hack" into each others systems, then its perfectly fine? Seeing as hacking is usually defined as gaining unauthorised access to something..

david_w2k · 03-12-2003, 00:24

Yeah that will be fine, as you are not technically hacking it, you are just opening connections to his computer (hacking would be doing this without his consent).

Seb · 03-12-2003, 00:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve H

Surely if you both give each other consent to "hack" into each others systems, then its perfectly fine? Seeing as hacking is usually defined as gaining unauthorised access to something..

Exactly the point i was going to make... you are not actually a hacker, instead you are an ethical hacker!!

Look at a definition here: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com...921117,00.html

Quote:

An ethical hacker is a computer and network expert who attacks a security system on behalf of its owners, seeking vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker could exploit. To test a security system, ethical hackers use the same methods as their less principled counterparts, but report problems instead of taking advantage of them. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing, and red teaming. An ethical hacker is sometimes called a white hat, a term that comes from old Western movies, where the "good guy" wore a white hat and the "bad guy" wore a black hat.

philip.j.fry · 03-12-2003, 00:48

Hacking actually means a sort of computer artist.

But back to the question, there are some conditions somewhere in the AUP about not using your NTL connection for running port scans against any remote computer.

Xaccers · 03-12-2003, 00:52

Hacking actually means reverse engineering software etc, ie most linux developers are hackers, taking other's work apart and improving it in the spirit of open source.
Cracking is entering another computer without authorisation.

</pedant>

Tiptoes · 03-12-2003, 01:35

Actually the first time hacking was coined in realtion to work was by the Amercian Model Railroad workers,

It was then used to describe people "Hacking away" at keyboard in the Comptuer Engineering labs of AT&T aAnd MIT in the late 70's..

Phone Phreaking was the main hobby then which was then termed phone hacking. Ethical hackers are reffered to as white hat hackers and the rest as black hat hackers.

People who perform reverse software engineering are commonly known as "crackers" but again this is turning into black and white hat.

Hacking Groups will contain both hackers and crackers some although people can do both.

kronas · 03-12-2003, 03:14

i think its against AUP but you should be fine if your helping a freind i doubt they will be watching

Stuart W · 03-12-2003, 09:21

Ignore all the defenitions of hacker above firstly.

You probably shouldn't have used the term 'hack'.

Having said that, if you were to try to connect to your friends PC, WITH HIS PERMISSION, then there is absolutley NO way ntl will be bothered or try to intervene.

The AUP does say you should not use your computer to port scan, but they will not be monitoring your connection, so provided you only port scan your friends PC, nono problemo.

The only time I could see you geting in trouble for any of this is if you do anything to defrade another users service.

Tricky · 03-12-2003, 19:50

Cheers all, see you on the otherside if I get busted!
Digs out dodgy tools CD

philip.j.fry · 03-12-2003, 20:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tricky

Cheers all, see you on the otherside if I get busted!
Digs out dodgy tools CD

I have one you can have if you like

I found it (called Hacking Exposed) in one of the uni CS lab machines so I thought no-ones really going to want to admit to having lost it so I'll have it