Define Hacker

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Word association by the mainstream media?

Re Computer Hacking:

1. Gary McKinnon
2. Lisbeth Salander (fictional)
3. Link the above two.

4. hmmmmmm?

''...we are defined by what we do, not by the labels put upon us...''

According to Wikipedia, Lisbeth Salander is another black hat hacker. Not all hackers are black hat hackers, people!

This dude is also a hacker:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM4nDoxoYgQ[/youtube]

He hacked the security on the iPhone to jailbreak and unlock it, but this was completely legal and not malicious. There's lots of people who do stuff like this with all gadgets.

There also people who hack into computers but then report the security holes to the companies that created them, these people are called white hat hackers and are very important when it comes to securing computer software. It's a legitimate business and a way to make a living.

I could give lots more examples, but the point is, "hacker" doesn't always mean "breaking into someone else's computer".

"Hacker", or rather "hacking", doesn't ever mean "breaking into someone else's computer". The term for a person who does that is "cracker".

Most crackers have no idea what to do with a computer. I.e. they have zero hacking skills. They just mess with off-the-shelf cracking tools.

Exactly, but people who just mess with off-the-shelf tools aren't even crackers, they're script kiddies.

... only if they know what a script is.