Finally, a Trojan Horse is a program that fools the user into thinking it is doing one thing while it does something else entirely. A common ploy is to hide destructive code inside of an innocuous-looking game or silly multimedia animation. When the user tries to play the game or start the animation, the Trojan Horse erases the poor sap's hard drive or uses his modem to blast personal data across the Internet. Network hackers take great pains to distinguish themselves from the more common software hackers and virus developers. They hack for the challenge and to satisfy their own curiosity.
Most hackers try to avoid inflicting harm on the networks they conquer.
This distinction is important within the Hacker subculture. Hackers see hacking as the free distribution of information and not as a crime. Many feel that hackers may infringe on the privacy rights of a few, but they help protect larger society by pointing out weaknesses in computer and network systems. Hacking opponents see hacks as damaging even if no information is taken or damaged. Most hacking attempts slow down networks, stealing computer time from legitimate users and squandering expensive system resources.