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self and a mingle and mix and make new bigger and better versions then they would scan ip addresses and hammer themselves into a computer and begin building themselves there , crippling the computer to nothing more than an advertisement box. Lots of money was made that way and lot's of machines where ruined.
For a while that was perfectly legal, but no longer is. but it is still live and active and people still practice those methods.

Another is an age old scam called "phishing" where people send you a letter and tell you that you need to send them information back and they will end up using that information to to rip you off. in the email version just like the postal mail they send you a letter and make the message look just like it came from your bank and tell you that there has been a problem with your account and your information has been wrecked, and that your money is still there but the log in process is ruined, they need your account number, any passwords you have and or routing numbers to your account. Some times they build a website that looks just like the real website and put a link in the message telling you to click that link and log into the account and re-activate her/his name and the account will be fixed. usually victim will try their password multiple times because the website isn't real and won't really allow anyone to log into anything, this verifies the actual spelling used to create the account. this is one of the many methods used for "phishing" if you take the bait, you know why it's called phishing.
"spoofing" is the creation of a website or account or name or anything that makes someone become another person, commonly used to get another person into trouble, be it out of revenge or no regards for the other person. spoofing is a cruel trick.
In the typical sense of "hacking most people refer to the tags of "white hat" and "black hat" hackers. Cowboy stuff. White hat good guy, black hat bad guy. White hat just cracks programs and looks for flaws that could lead to potential danger if a program is distributed and next step is to notify the makers of the software. The black hat hackers either use the flaws they find to do bad things.
Hacking has evolved quite a bit over the years. The most common reason is to steal money, but there are Deeper scarier reasons that make us question who we share information with. Some times hacking is for blackmail. Sometimes hacking is for revenge, or stalking.
Your best defense is YOU. Do not click links in email, do not share your password with anyone, do not leave your password on a note pad on your desk or in your top desk drawer. Do not download from a site you know nothing about.When you break up or divorce someone , change your passwords asap and the email addresses assigned to the sites you are registered with, then close the old email account.
That stuff will not prevent hacking but will cut out most of the issues that you can or could have prevented.
Good luck and good surfing.

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