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Please Help!
I’m a psychology student, and I’m trying to find out some information about hackers and crackers for a research project I’m doing.
In particular, I’m interested in ethics and interpersonal relations. I’ve got a questionnaire all ready to go, and just need a few people to fill it in.
Any information you give me won’t be passed on to anyone, and you can remain completely anonymous. The data I collect will be amalgamated, and no single individual will be identifiable from the report I produce at the end of my project. All information will be held in the highest confidence.
So please take a look at my questionnaire, if you have the time. I’ve attached it to the end of this message. If you are interested in filling it in, you may still back out at any stage, and I’ll remove your data from the work. You can also refuse to answer any question which makes you feel uncomfortable.
You can e-mail your completed questionnaire to me at researcher@oceanfree.net - or you can just drop me a line if you’ve got any questions about the work.
Thanks, and Happy Holidays!
Researcher
Questionnaire
1. Are you a white hat or a black hat (cracker)?
2. Where are you based (state/country)?
3. Are you male or female?
4. Can I ask for your month and year of birth?
5. Are you still in school or college? If so, at what stage are you at?
6. If you are doing or have completed a college course, what subjects are/were studied?
7. What do you currently work as?
8. Do you regularly go to the cinema/theatre/museums/sports games/other places of interest?
9. Do you play any sports?
10. Are you a member of any local community groups/organisations?
11. Do you enjoy travelling regularly?
12. Apart from computers, do you have any other hobbies or interests?
13. Do you hack mostly using a PC or a mac?
14. Is it a stand-alone computer or is it networked through a work/school/college system?
15. If it’s stand-alone, do you use a traditional phone line or broadband/ISDN/DSL?
16. Can you outline the specifications of the computer you use for hacking (type and speed of processor/operating system used)
17. How long have you been a hacker?
18. Have you ever made any attempts at cracking, and if so, how many?
a. How many of these attempts have been against companies?
b. How many of these attempts have been against private computers?
c. Did you have specific targets in mind when making these attempts, or were your victims chosen due to pure chance/availability?
d. What is your preferred method for cracking into systems?
e. Why do you crack into computers?
f. Do you think that there is anything the police or government could do to prevent you from making further cracking attempts?
g. Do you think that other crackers do so for the same reasons you do and if not why?
h. Do you consider yourself to be one of the better crackers around?
19. Where did you learn how to hack?
20. How efficient do you think firewall software is at protecting computers on a scale of one (not efficient at all) to ten (very efficient)?
21. How many people are in your immediate family?
22. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very weak and 10 being very strong) how would you rate your relationships with each of your immediate family members?
23. Are you currently involved in a romantic relationship?
24. Of your friends you know in real life, how many would be involved in either cracking or virus writing?
25. How many are not involved in either cracking or virus-writing?
26. Which group would you consider closer to you?
27. How do you think that people you know in real life would describe you?
28. Do you regularly communicate with crackers online? Approximately how many?
29. Do you regularly communicate with virus-writers online? Approximately how many?
30. How do you think people on-line would describe you?
31. Do you think that this description is more or less accurate than that of those people you know in real life?
32. Do you generally feel closer to people you know online, or people you know in real life?
33. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for crackers?
34. Why do you think people write and release viruses?
35. Are virus writers any good at what they do?
36. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for virus writers?
37. Do you think that general computer users deserve to be the victim of a cracking attempt?
38. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for general computer users?
39. Do you think that major software developers deserve to be the victim of a cracking attempt?
40. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal) how much respect to you have for major software developers?
41. How many times in the past year have you had direct conflicts with family members and/or colleagues?
42. How many colleagues and/or family members have you rejected in your own mind (without telling them) during the past year?
For the remainder of the questions, please answer on the following scale according to how much you agree or disagree with each statement:
1 = Strongly Agree
2 = Agree
3 = Neither Agree nor Disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Strongly Disagree
43. I have the very same understanding of life and life interests that my spouse (or lover) has.
44. I trust my spouse (or lover)
45. I depend on my spouse (or lover) emotionally
46. My spouse and I have harmonious sexual relations
47. I have a stressful relationship with my family members
48. I often feel lonely even though I live among family members and colleagues
49. I get along well with my colleagues
50. I often feel uneasy because of my poor relationships with family members and colleagues
51. I am always in a bad mood for a long time after I have disagreements with colleagues
52. It is easy for me to engage in a quarrel with others
53. I feel that many people are biased against me
54. Whenever I face pressures in life, I feel that there are always people offering me moral support
55. I find it easy to make friends and maintain friendships
56. I am always on the alert against hurts from others
57. I have more fun when I am alone than when I am with other people
58. I feel that nobody truly loves me
59. I spend more time alone than with others
60. I seldom share with others the frustration and difficulties in my heart
61. The members of my family are really concerned about each other.
62. When it is necessary, I can rely on my family to overcome difficulties
63. I feel that as time has passed, people have become distant from each other
64. I feel that as time has passed, my interactions with other people have become more and more difficult.
65. A person should make certain that their actions never intentionally harm another even to a small degree
66. Risks to another should never be tolerated, irrespective of how small the risks might be
67. The existence of potential harm to others is always wrong, irrespective of the benefits to be gained
68. One should never psychologically or physically harm another person
69. One should not perform an action which might in any way threaten the dignity and welfare of another individual.
70. If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not be done.
71. Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing the positive consequences of the act against the negative consequences of the act is immoral.
72. The dignity and welfare of people should be the most important concern in any society.
73. It is never necessary to sacrifice the welfare of others
74. Moral actions are those which closely match ideals of the most ‘perfect’ action.
75. There are no ethical principles that are so important that they should be a part of any code of ethics
76. What is ethical varies from one situation and society to another
77. Moral standards should be seen as being individualistic; what one person considers to be moral may be judged to be immoral by another person.
78. Different types of moralities cannot be compared as to ‘rightness’
79. Questions of what is ethical for everyone can never be resolved since what is moral or immoral is up to the individual
80. Moral standards are simply personal rules which indicate how a person should behave, and are not to be applied in making judgements of others
81. No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie is permissible or not permissible totally depends on the situation.
82. Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
83. Ethical considerations in interpersonal relations are so complex that individuals should be allowed to formulate their own individual codes
84. Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents certain types of actions could stand in the way of better human relations and adjustment
I’m a psychology student, and I’m trying to find out some information about hackers and crackers for a research project I’m doing.
In particular, I’m interested in ethics and interpersonal relations. I’ve got a questionnaire all ready to go, and just need a few people to fill it in.
Any information you give me won’t be passed on to anyone, and you can remain completely anonymous. The data I collect will be amalgamated, and no single individual will be identifiable from the report I produce at the end of my project. All information will be held in the highest confidence.
So please take a look at my questionnaire, if you have the time. I’ve attached it to the end of this message. If you are interested in filling it in, you may still back out at any stage, and I’ll remove your data from the work. You can also refuse to answer any question which makes you feel uncomfortable.
You can e-mail your completed questionnaire to me at researcher@oceanfree.net - or you can just drop me a line if you’ve got any questions about the work.
Thanks, and Happy Holidays!
Researcher
Questionnaire
1. Are you a white hat or a black hat (cracker)?
2. Where are you based (state/country)?
3. Are you male or female?
4. Can I ask for your month and year of birth?
5. Are you still in school or college? If so, at what stage are you at?
6. If you are doing or have completed a college course, what subjects are/were studied?
7. What do you currently work as?
8. Do you regularly go to the cinema/theatre/museums/sports games/other places of interest?
9. Do you play any sports?
10. Are you a member of any local community groups/organisations?
11. Do you enjoy travelling regularly?
12. Apart from computers, do you have any other hobbies or interests?
13. Do you hack mostly using a PC or a mac?
14. Is it a stand-alone computer or is it networked through a work/school/college system?
15. If it’s stand-alone, do you use a traditional phone line or broadband/ISDN/DSL?
16. Can you outline the specifications of the computer you use for hacking (type and speed of processor/operating system used)
17. How long have you been a hacker?
18. Have you ever made any attempts at cracking, and if so, how many?
a. How many of these attempts have been against companies?
b. How many of these attempts have been against private computers?
c. Did you have specific targets in mind when making these attempts, or were your victims chosen due to pure chance/availability?
d. What is your preferred method for cracking into systems?
e. Why do you crack into computers?
f. Do you think that there is anything the police or government could do to prevent you from making further cracking attempts?
g. Do you think that other crackers do so for the same reasons you do and if not why?
h. Do you consider yourself to be one of the better crackers around?
19. Where did you learn how to hack?
20. How efficient do you think firewall software is at protecting computers on a scale of one (not efficient at all) to ten (very efficient)?
21. How many people are in your immediate family?
22. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very weak and 10 being very strong) how would you rate your relationships with each of your immediate family members?
23. Are you currently involved in a romantic relationship?
24. Of your friends you know in real life, how many would be involved in either cracking or virus writing?
25. How many are not involved in either cracking or virus-writing?
26. Which group would you consider closer to you?
27. How do you think that people you know in real life would describe you?
28. Do you regularly communicate with crackers online? Approximately how many?
29. Do you regularly communicate with virus-writers online? Approximately how many?
30. How do you think people on-line would describe you?
31. Do you think that this description is more or less accurate than that of those people you know in real life?
32. Do you generally feel closer to people you know online, or people you know in real life?
33. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for crackers?
34. Why do you think people write and release viruses?
35. Are virus writers any good at what they do?
36. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for virus writers?
37. Do you think that general computer users deserve to be the victim of a cracking attempt?
38. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal), how much respect do you have for general computer users?
39. Do you think that major software developers deserve to be the victim of a cracking attempt?
40. On a scale of 1 to 10 (one being very little, ten being a great deal) how much respect to you have for major software developers?
41. How many times in the past year have you had direct conflicts with family members and/or colleagues?
42. How many colleagues and/or family members have you rejected in your own mind (without telling them) during the past year?
For the remainder of the questions, please answer on the following scale according to how much you agree or disagree with each statement:
1 = Strongly Agree
2 = Agree
3 = Neither Agree nor Disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Strongly Disagree
43. I have the very same understanding of life and life interests that my spouse (or lover) has.
44. I trust my spouse (or lover)
45. I depend on my spouse (or lover) emotionally
46. My spouse and I have harmonious sexual relations
47. I have a stressful relationship with my family members
48. I often feel lonely even though I live among family members and colleagues
49. I get along well with my colleagues
50. I often feel uneasy because of my poor relationships with family members and colleagues
51. I am always in a bad mood for a long time after I have disagreements with colleagues
52. It is easy for me to engage in a quarrel with others
53. I feel that many people are biased against me
54. Whenever I face pressures in life, I feel that there are always people offering me moral support
55. I find it easy to make friends and maintain friendships
56. I am always on the alert against hurts from others
57. I have more fun when I am alone than when I am with other people
58. I feel that nobody truly loves me
59. I spend more time alone than with others
60. I seldom share with others the frustration and difficulties in my heart
61. The members of my family are really concerned about each other.
62. When it is necessary, I can rely on my family to overcome difficulties
63. I feel that as time has passed, people have become distant from each other
64. I feel that as time has passed, my interactions with other people have become more and more difficult.
65. A person should make certain that their actions never intentionally harm another even to a small degree
66. Risks to another should never be tolerated, irrespective of how small the risks might be
67. The existence of potential harm to others is always wrong, irrespective of the benefits to be gained
68. One should never psychologically or physically harm another person
69. One should not perform an action which might in any way threaten the dignity and welfare of another individual.
70. If an action could harm an innocent other, then it should not be done.
71. Deciding whether or not to perform an act by balancing the positive consequences of the act against the negative consequences of the act is immoral.
72. The dignity and welfare of people should be the most important concern in any society.
73. It is never necessary to sacrifice the welfare of others
74. Moral actions are those which closely match ideals of the most ‘perfect’ action.
75. There are no ethical principles that are so important that they should be a part of any code of ethics
76. What is ethical varies from one situation and society to another
77. Moral standards should be seen as being individualistic; what one person considers to be moral may be judged to be immoral by another person.
78. Different types of moralities cannot be compared as to ‘rightness’
79. Questions of what is ethical for everyone can never be resolved since what is moral or immoral is up to the individual
80. Moral standards are simply personal rules which indicate how a person should behave, and are not to be applied in making judgements of others
81. No rule concerning lying can be formulated; whether a lie is permissible or not permissible totally depends on the situation.
82. Whether a lie is judged to be moral or immoral depends upon the circumstances surrounding the action.
83. Ethical considerations in interpersonal relations are so complex that individuals should be allowed to formulate their own individual codes
84. Rigidly codifying an ethical position that prevents certain types of actions could stand in the way of better human relations and adjustment
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