What is Script Kiddie

The term script kiddie has come into vogue in recent years.The term refers to
crackers who use scripts and programs written by others to perform their intrusions.
If one is labeled a script kiddie, then he or she is assumed to be incapable
of producing his or her own tools and exploits, and lacks proper understanding of
exactly how the tools he or she uses work. As will be apparent by the end of this
chapter, skill and knowledge (and secondarily, ethics) are the essential ingredients
to achieving status in the minds of hackers. By definition, a script kiddie has no
skills, no knowledge, and no ethics.
Script kiddies get their tools from crackers or hackers who have the needed
skills to produce such tools.They produce these tools for status, or to prove a
security problem exists, or for their own use (legitimate or otherwise).Tools produced
for private use tend to leak out to the general population eventually.
Variants of the script kiddie exist, either contemporary or in the past.There
are several terms that are used primarily in the context of trading copyrighted
software (wares, or warez).These are leech, warez puppy, and warez d00d.These are
people whose primary skill or activity consists of acquiring warez. A leech, as the
name implies, is someone who takes, but doesn’t give back in return.The term
leech is somewhat older, and often was used in the context of downloading from
Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs). Since BBSs tended to be slower and had more
limited connectivity (few phone lines, for example), this was more of a problem.
Many BBSs implemented an upload/download ratio for this reason.This type of
ratio would encourage the trading behavior. If someone wanted to be able to
keep downloading new warez, he or she typically had to upload new warez the
BBS didn’t already have. Once the uploaded warez were verified by the SYStem
Operator (SYSOP), more download credits would be granted. Of course, this
only applied to the BBSs that had downloads to begin with. Many BBSs didn’t
have enough storage for downloads, and only consisted of small text files, message
areas, and mail.The main sin that someone in the warez crowd can commit is to
take without giving (being a leech).
A different variant to the script kiddie is the lamer or rodent.A lamer is, as the
name implies, someone who is considered “lame” for any of a variety of annoying
behaviors.The term rodent is about the same as lamer, but was used primarily in
the 1980s, in conjunction with BBS use, and seems to no longer be in current
use.The term lamer is still used in connection with Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
Warez traders, lamers, etc., are connected with hackers primarily because their
activities take place via computer, and also possibly because they posses a modest
skill set slightly above the average computer user. In some cases, they are dependent
on hackers or crackers for their tools or warez. Some folks consider them to
be hacker groupies of a sort.

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