---
title: Introduction to Hacking - What is a hacker?
show-content: 1
layout: console
---

A hacker is someone who likes to tinker with electronics or computer systems.
Hackers like to explore and learn how computer systems work, finding ways to
make them do what they do better, or things they were not intended to do. There
are a lot of types of hackers, even though these are the three main/most known:

**White Hat**: These are considered the good guys. White hat hackers don't use
their skills for illegal purposes. They usually become Computer Security experts
and help protect people from the Black Hats.

**Grey Hat**: These are a mix of White Hat and Black Hats, they usually try to
break into systems without a previously written permission without personal
ambition (such as asking for money or breaking networks).

**Black Hat**: These are considered the bad guys. Black hat hackers usually use
their skills maliciously for personal gain. They are people that hack banks,
steal credit cards and deface websites.

The _White Hat_ and _Black Hat_ terms came from the old western movies where the
good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats.

[Index](/blog/intro_hacking/index)
