UGC NET CSE | December 2004 | Part 2 | Question: 50

Question

The term hacker was originally associated with :

• A. A computer program

• B. Virus

• C. Computer professionals who solved complex computer problems

• D. All of the above

Answer 1

(C) is the correct answer.

The term “hacker” was originally associated with computer professionals who solved complex computer problems.

The term was first used in relation to using technical know-how back in 1955 at a meeting of the Technical Model Railroad Club. It was used to describe how members modified the functions of their high-tech train sets. Throughout the 1960s, the term became broader to encompass the growing legions of computing enthusiasts. The first computer hackers were MIT students during the 1950s and ’60s. The word hack in this case was slang for a shortcut—something for which computer-science students at MIT were always searching. Computers were expensive to run, so a programming shortcut saved time and money. As finding such shortcuts became a badge of pride, the students capable of finding them began calling themselves hackers, and hacking became a kind of sport among them.