1-what did the word ''hacker'' mean in the early days of computing?

1-early 1960s to 1970s A "hacker" was a creative programmer who wrote elegant or clever code.

2-1970s to mid 1990s Hacking took on negative connotations, Breaking into computers for which the hacker does not have authorized access.

3-beginning with the mid 1990s The growth of the Web changed hacking; viruses and worms could be spread rapidly, Large scale theft of personal and financial information.

hacker to many people means an irresponsible destructive criminal hackers break into computer systems

2-is it legal to release a computer virus that puts a funny message on people's screens but does not damage files?

Yes it is illegal. It may cost end users time and money to get rid of it.

3-give an example of hacking by a government?

The real hacking is done by the Governments and you need big money to do it. As an example: To capture Terrorists

4-what is phishing?

Phishing is an e-mail fraud method in which the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking email in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from recipients.

5-describe one method financial websites use to convince a consumer the site is authentic?

6-what is one problem with using biometrics for identification?

Biometrics could find many more application than social numbers

7-for what web-based service did the U.S. government arrest several business executives from England?