Generally referred to as a person who hacks or breaks into computers. The term hacking has undergone a mind shift in the past decade or so and has evolved to mean something fun and enjoyable. Hacking has evolved into a counterculture in its own right and has also taken on heroic and romantic overtones much like the ideas behind the likes of Robin Hood and the others. Hackers try to distant themselves from their evil cousins, the ones who hack into computers or networks with criminal or harmful intent. In general both are known as hackers though a 'good' hacker would call the 'evil' one a cracker.