The Dark Side - Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid!

The Dark Side, what does that mean to you? For most people that instantly brings visions of A Galaxy Far, Far Away, Darth Vader and Star Wars. Closer to home however, that refers to parts of the Internet that most people don't consider or even know exist. For those that grew up when the Internet was just getting started, "War Games" in the movies and "The Cuckoo's Egg" in books were windows into a mysterious and foreboding electronic world where hackers stealthily moved about between ones and zeroes, trying to hack into government networks through the phone lines.

What is a "Hacker"?
"There is a community, a shared culture, of expert programmers and networking wizards that traces its history back through decades to the first time-sharing minicomputers and the earliest ARPAnet experiments. The members of this culture originated the term ‘hacker’. Hackers built the Internet. Hackers made the Unix operating system what it is today. Hackers run Usenet. Hackers make the World Wide Web work. If you are part of this culture, if you have contributed to it and other people in it know who you are and call you a hacker, you're a hacker."

Today, real hackers still move about the internet, undetected, in ones and zeroes but with greater speed and proficiency. Hackers are often mistaken for "Software Crackers", a whole different breed of internet culture and a dirge to software developers and copy right holders.


So, where is the Dark Side of the internet? Do you really want to know and will you sleep at night after going there to investigate? Only You can be the judge of that!

Here are 5 examples of The Dark Side. This is by no means all inclusive however...merely 5 out of to many to cite! And, this doesn't even touch on the threats to our children and youth via chat mediums and social sites which are the norm on today's internet. ( Here is a site all parents should read before allowing their children on the internet )



The Dark Side:

1. Usenet: *Warning* If you choose to go here be aware it Can be a very Bad place if you stray into the "Alt.Binaries" threads.
2. In Pictures: The Dark Side Of The Internet
3. Commercial and Illegal Pornography
4. Freenet
5. Warez 

Meanwhile, back at the keyboard, someone is hacking the pooch!


    ciao