What does hacking actually LOOK like? For example, what interface is the hacker using, what’s their goal, and are they typing in a bunch of passwords like in the movies?

Question

What does hacking actually LOOK like? For example, what interface is the hacker using, what’s their goal, and are they typing in a bunch of passwords like in the movies?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Mostly just a good text editor and/or a shell login and hitting the refresh button in the browser with the Console tab (Ctrl+Alt+C) open or nitpicking details from extensive unreadable garbage text dumps or test output.

It usually takes a lot longer to develop a new hack than the quick hacks shown in short cutscenes. Once it’s well known though, 10-30 seconds can be enough to deploy or that can be automated.