[Setekh]

I considered that possibility too. It was pretty plausible, until I saw Valve's actual reaction... well, IMHO anyway.

[Gloriano]

You probably already know by now that the Half-Life 2 source code has been leaked on the net after a concerted month long effort by hackers to infiltrate Valve Software's network. Unfortunately, Valve discovered the suspicious activity on their webmail account too late and the remote installation and execution of a variety of keystroke recorder attacks targeted their webservers. Valve has set up a specific e-mail account, [email protected], for any information regarding these attacks.

We had a chance to access this file, only to find out that is useless to most people. The file is 30 MB and contains typical C++ source files. So far the leaked source code includes the physics engine, the sound system and other pieces of code from other developers, but nothing of the graphics engine. Without the missing resources, this code is useless and only possible competitors of Valve fluent in C++ programming might find it interesting.


www.teamxbox.com

[demon442]

Valve is hoping that all the mindless zealots out there will grab their pitchforks and torches and drive the hacker out.  This will most likely happen, but those of us with a mind for it are noting that Valve is doing nothing to benifet us by turning this guy in.  Should Valve offer some kind of incentive, sure, i'd go looking but not until.

[aldo_14]

Well, i'd say anything that causes distress to hackers, be it threat of imprisonment or physical injury, is a good thing.  After all, they're basically petty thiefs - electronic pickpockets.

The only excpetion being the sort of 'legal' hackers used to investigate illegal wesbites - i.e. to break down paedophile ring, or soforth.  But I'd consider them exemp from the somewhat negative description / connotation of 'hacker', anyway.

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by aldo_14
So there you go - a legal definition of hacking as a merthod of gaining unauthorised access to a computer system.  And as a 'hacker' is someone who performs the aciton of 'hacking', I think my definition is pretty sound.

So you take your definition of hacker from the popular media and the legal system... two sources which historically are utterly clueless when it comes to computer technology.

Let's see what a far more authoritative source has to say:

From the Jargon File
hacker: n.

1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. RFC1392, the Internet Users' Glossary, usefully amplifies this as: A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular.

2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.

3. A person capable of appreciating hack value.

4. A person who is good at programming quickly.

5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in ‘a Unix hacker’. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.)

6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example.

7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

Not that I expect this will change your use of the word hacker. I can only extend my congratulations to you on being such a well-conditioned media sheep.

[Drew]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
So you take your definition of hacker from the popular media and the legal system... two sources which historically are utterly clueless when it comes to computer technology.
B]

you are absolutly correct. the term "hacker" has been distorted far beyond its original meaning.  
now most ppl think hackers are destructive, powerful criminals...

and that i should be thrown in jail for the (relativly) harmless things i have done at my Uni's LAN

 

[Fury]

Although I care very little about this whole issue, something caught my eyes when I was reading a news article about HL2 beta being leaked to public.

From Neowin.net
Originally the source code leaked in a 32meg package last week. The leak spelt the beginning of an investigation into how this could have happened. The result? A flurry of forums across the internet all buzzing about the leak of code to one of the most anticipated games of all time. Most believe the leak of source code is a bad thing and yet the leak of a beta copy of the game isn't.

Today the Half Life 2 Beta leaked across the world onto the internet via IRC channels. The release by "anon" shows it's obvious that the hackers who managed to sucessfully steal source code of the game itself also stole the game itself and who knows what else.

Today there are reports that Half Life 2 has been put back to 2004 due to the source code leaks, although these reports haven't been officially denied by Valve or confirmed. This latest leak of the game itself is sure to hit Valve hard.

...anon...

[Gloriano]

dammit some peoples are stupid doing harm to company:mad:

[neo_hermes]

Anon? i don't think he would do it.

[kasperl]

well, if you mean our favorite flaming idiot, you spell it an0n.

and he's not stupid enough to misspell his own name, i think.

[Martinus]

Originally posted by kasperl
well, if you mean our favorite flaming idiot, you spell it an0n.

and he's not stupid enough to misspell his own name, i think.

[color=66ff00]Actually he spells it 'Tian guan' now...
[/color]

[kasperl]

and he started with Fattony AFAIK.

all details.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
So you take your definition of hacker from the popular media and the legal system... two sources which historically are utterly clueless when it comes to computer technology.

Not that I expect this well change your use of the word hacker. I can only extend my congratulations to you on being such a well-conditioned media sheep.

Hmm...the Jargon file.

Lemme think.  Now, should i use a well-known definition in common use, or use a jargon meaning?  Which would be the more useful in common usage?

Besides which, my usage & definition is perfectly correct as per the Computer Misuse act.  And i took it directly from a Software Enbgineering textbook.

Oh, and you omitted 8;

. 8. [deprecated] A malicious meddler who tries to discover sensitive information by poking around. Hence `password hacker', `network hacker'. The correct term is cracker.

Which is odd, as it somewhat supports what you just said.... maybe you didn;t want to aknowledge this usage of the term?

And finally, as you know doubt will know, the meaning of words and terms is shaped through the common usage of them anyways.

[ZylonBane]

Y'know aldo, as a computer-literate individual, I find your enthusiastic embrace of the mass-media bastardization of the word "hacker" to be more than a little bewildering.

I'd say the majority of us around here would qualify as hackers to some degree, yet you continue to blather off gems like "anything that causes distress to hackers ... is a good thing". You might want to save the "common use" definition for speaking to "common people".

[Sandwich]

Bicker bicker.

[diamondgeezer]

Where exactly do you get off on this stuff Zylon?

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by ZylonBane
Y'know aldo, as a computer-literate individual, I find your enthusiastic embrace of the mass-media bastardization of the word "hacker" to be more than a little bewildering.

I'd say the majority of us around here would qualify as hackers to some degree, yet you continue to blather off gems like "anything that causes distress to hackers ... is a good thing". You might want to save the "common use" definition for speaking to "common people".

iI'd rather encourage a common understanding, rather than the smug, snooty intellectualism that you seem to prefer.   I don't see what you're problem is, seeing as you clearly know what i mean, and that you recognise it is a common use definition.

Although, frankly, you're caste-definition between people who are computer literate (a fairly spurious assumption to make anyway) is a bit of a disgrace.

[Falcon X]

Look, anyone can laugh at anyone for not knowing something.  If you get your rocks off by feeling smarter/better than someone on the internet, you really need to unplug.

You both need to can it.

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by diamondgeezer
Where exactly do you get off on this stuff Zylon?

Here.

[aldo_14]