OVERVIEW

THIS BOOK WON'T TURN YOU INTO A HACKER ANY MORE THAN READING A MILITARY MANUAL CAN TURN YOU INTO A SOLDIER. You won't find step-by-step instructions explaining how to break into a computer, nor will you find technical discussions that show all the flaws inherent in any particular type of operating system. This isn't a technical book about computer hacking. This is a philosophy book about the implications of computer hacking. Hacking isn't just about breaking into computers. Hacking is about exploring, extending boundaries, and searching for knowledge for its own sake.

So if you're looking for detailed information about finding flaws in the latest version of Red Hat Linux or how to configure a Cisco router to protect a corporate network from attack, look somewhere else. But if you want a book that explores both the technical and social implications of the hidden, darker side of the Internet that most people never see, read, or hear about, keep reading. The world of hackers, virus writers, political activism, censorship, racism, and government, religious, and corporate propaganda and intolerance disguised as news, advertising, and press releases awaits you.

Not surprisingly, some people will find the information in this book distasteful, disturbing, and downright dangerous. Yet others will see this same information as an excuse and a reason to cause havoc and make trouble for others. But neither side is correct.

The purpose of this book isn't to teach you how to be a hacker, but rather to teach you to think like a hacker, which means challenging your own preconceived notions about right and wrong and looking beyond the mental limitations that your culture has trained you to think no matter what part of the world you may live in. Computers and the Internet can help open your mind to new worlds that you never dreamed could possibly exist-or it can shut off your mind and funnel your thinking down the narrow confines of a fantasy world that only you choose to see. The choice is up to you.

So if you want to use your computer as a tool to expand your awareness rather than substitute for it, this book is for you. We need you more than ever before. But don't get me wrong. This book isn't advocating the overthrow of your government or the development of a radically different one.