A
computer hacker is any skilled computer expert who uses their technical knowledge to overcome a problem. While "hacker" can refer to any skilled computer
programmer, the term has become associated in
popular culture with a "
security hacker", someone who, with their technical knowledge, uses
bugs or
exploits to break into computer systems.
Today, mainstream usage of "hacker" mostly refers to computer criminals, due to the mass media usage of the word since the 1980s. This includes what hacker slang calls "script kiddies", people breaking into computers using programs written by others, with very little knowledge about the way they work. This usage has become so predominant that the general public is largely unaware that different meanings exist.
