History Main / HackedByAPirate

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' episode ''Tragical History'' features a computer virus [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJnklyxbcL8 accompanied by a cute pirate video]] and an EarWorm.

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* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' is the TropeCodifier, when David displays a laughing skull and crossbones to the aliens as a joke... just before he and Capt. Hiller throw a nuke at them. Played with in that David didn't display the skull until long ''after'' he'd covertly hacked into their system and uploaded a virus: he only did the skull thing when the jig was up and stealth was no longer necessary.

%%* ''Film/IndependenceDay'', of course. Also a CrowningMomentOfFunny and PreAsskickingOneLiner. One must wonder how the alien civilization viewed the chuckling skull-and-crossbones - would it be too culturally specific to understand, or would it be something universal in ominous meaning?

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'', of course. Also a CrowningMomentOfFunny and PreAsskickingOneLiner. One must wonder how the alien civilization viewed the chuckling skull-and-crossbones - would it be too culturally specific to understand, or would it be something universal in ominous meaning?
** Since the skull is obviously human, it would probably be more shocking. Humans posed about zero threat to them up to that point.

And so, a Skull and Crossbones image shall take the entire screen of the hacked computer, possibly followed by the voice of the hacker laughing in the background. Alternatively, an 8Bit image of the character doing the hacking, or his logo, or perhaps a mix of the above, shall appear on the screen, such as a Skull and Crossbones, only the skull is wearing the very same hat the hacker wears. Reactions vary from confusion to aneurysms.

->''"You should try uploading a virus to the mainframe. I find viruses that feature a laughing skull work the best."''
-->-- '''Dexter Grif''', ''Machinema/RedVsBlue''

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/IndependenceDay http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alienvirus_6727.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:In case the alien might have trouble appreciating the symbolism of a human bone structure, they also packed a [[NukeEm nuclear warhead]].]]

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* The lead character of ''Manga/BloodyMonday'' Fujimaru, known as 'Falcon', always leaves his personal symbol of a diving falcon at the screen of every computer he visits as a calling card.
* Radical Edward from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' tends to do this. Although Ed's more into smiley faces and other sillyness.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Pegasus does this by showing his favorite cartoon rabbit character when he counter-hacks Kaiba trying to hack into his system.
* In ''{{Manga/Heroman}}'', Professor Denton does this using the alien symbol that appears on his equipment, to temporarily prevent the U.S. government from tracking them via satellites.

* Jensen from ''TheLosers'' often has to break into systems on a timetable, but if he's on his own schedule, he likes to work wearing a pirate hat. And only a pirate hat.

* Wiggins from ''Roleplay/CumberholmesRolePlayTwitterCommunity'' employs these methods.

* The famous "Ah, ah, ah. You didn't say the magic word." in ''Film/JurassicPark'' was a justified example, as it was a hacker's ''defense'' against someone else trying to hack ''his'' computer... and a really crappy hacking attempt.

* The brief glimmer of hope that was the hacking scene in ''Film/BattleRoyale'' featured a chibi-style basketball player dominating the monitors at BR headquarters.

* ''Film/{{Eraser}}'': Inversion: Derreguin has several scientists shut down the computers when it was becoming obvious that Arnie and Cullen were using her former boss's computer console to access the disc copy she had (long story short, she copied a second disc in case it turned out the FBI were going to sell her out), to prevent ''them'' from hacking the secrets they had. Upon the computer being hacked, a message then pops up that states "You Have Just Been Erased!"
* ''Film/{{Gutterballs}}'': A skull and crossbones shows up on the scoreboard after every one of BBK's kills.

* In ''Film/TheItalianJob2003'', once SethGreen's character hacks the LA traffic control network and reroutes the truck they need, he displays a huge message word-by-word on all the large screens (apparently, he knows exactly how many there are and how to access them): "You will never stop the real Napster" (he constantly claims to have been the one to invent Napster).

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* Oliver Wendell Jones in ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' once caused global chaos -- cities in flames -- by posting on a stock market computer the message "Avast, ye scurvy corporate swabs! Bank of America is about to go belly up!"

* ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters'': In ''What Lies Below'', when Cortez checks the files on Crow's computer and the self-destruction sequence starts, [[ShoutOut an animation]] appears with Crow [[FingerWag wagging his finger]] and the caption [[Film/JurassicPark "You didn't say the magic word"]].
* A variation occus in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2''-- when [[BigBad Raul Menendez]] uploads his Celerium worm to the US military's servers, the screen shows the virus's spread as a large, red biohazard symbol that gradually fills the display. Takes the whole "virus" thing to a rather literal conclusion.

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* Unwinder of ''Webcomic/TallComics'' discusses his idea for hacker identity with Amy, who actually is a hacker:
-->'''Unwinder:''' I'd call myself "Maestro". My thing would be that when I hacked a website, it would play classical music. I'd refer to the songs as "[[{{leitmotif}} 1337motifs]]".\\
'''Amy:''' You wouldn't last five minutes.

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* Mocked in ''Website/SomethingAwful'''s [[http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/virtual-intrigue-an.php "Virtual Intrigue - An Internet Adventure"]]

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* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' had the [=ISIS=] computer system infected by a virus that displayed a dancing pirate sprite pirate complete with parrot which sang [[EarWorm "Hunch, hunch! What, what!"]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' season 1, Robin's hacking skills is always represented by a chibi Robin on-screen either frowning (in the process of hacking) or grinning (hack complete).

* This very wiki was once hacked and replaced by this sort of showman. (Memory of this event has been somewhat superseded by TheGreatCrash roughly a month later.)

* Anonymous usually plasters their [[http://www.dpaperwall.com/wp-content/uploads/anonymous-3d.jpg logo]] on websites they deface.

* Such practices of depicting hackers using fancy graphics/logos to identify themselves most likely originated with software pirate groups way back in the 80's - who typically did have some form of ASCII based logo that they would insert into the game they cracked and released. Even today, it's common to find such logos/art in the .nfo file that often accompanies such pirated software. With Hollywood being Hollywood, it's no surprise that they have no concept of the difference between a computer {{Cracker}} and a software pirate.

* Wiggins from ''Main/CumberholmesRolePlayTwitterCommunity'' employs these methods.

* In ''Film/TheItalianJob2003'' (2003), once SethGreen's character hacks the LA traffic control network and reroutes the truck they need, he displays a huge message word-by-word on all the large screens (apparently, he knows exactly how many there are and how to access them): "You will never stop the real Napster" (he constantly claims to have been the one to invent Napster).

* Such practices of depicting hackers using fancy graphics/logos to identify themselves most likely originated with software pirate groups way back in the 80's - who typically did have some form of ASCII based logo that they would insert into the game they cracked and released. Even today, it's common to find such logos/art in the .nfo file that often accompanies such pirated software. With Hollywood being Hollywood, it's no surprise that they have no concept of the difference between a hacker and a pirate.

Named after the fact that Skull and Crossbones happen to be the Pirate's symbol of choice. Note that the trope is rarely, if ever, performed by an [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil actual pirate]], since they usually try ''not'' to be noticed.

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'', of course. One must wonder how the alien civilization viewed the chuckling skull-and-crossbones - would it be too culturally specific to understand, or would it be something universal in ominous meaning?

* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' season 1, Robin's hacking skills are always followed by the screen displaying a chibi sprite of him grinning.

* All over the place in ''Film/{{Hackers}}.'' The viruses launched by the hackers all have some malicious and/or cute animation that's displayed while they're mucking about in the system

* In WesternAnimation/YoungJustice season 1, Robin's hacking skills are always followed by the screen displaying a chibi sprite of him grinning.

* In ''Manga/Heroman'', Professor Denton does this using the alien symbol that appears on his equipment, to temporarily prevent the U.S. government from tracking them via satellites.

* In ''Anime/Heroman'', Professor Denton does this using the alien symbol that appears on his equipment, to temporarily prevent the U.S. government from tracking them via satellites.

[[quoteright:350:[[IndependenceDay http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alienvirus_6727.jpg]]]]

* The Jawbone virus in the ''PurpleMoon'' computer games. ExpandedUniverse material goes out of its way to say that this is the ''only'' thing it does, as while invading the computer of [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed the local equivalent]] of Bill Gates is not beyond Bo, [[EvenEvilHasStandards doing actual harm]] is.