History Main / PlayfulHacker

* The Netherlands has been known to lead at least a few of these on the path of ethical hackership. Mostly they encounter students who hack their school systems out of fun and/or boredom, getting to know their teachers' login data, changing grades, and even being able to give out free days. Because this proves that the hacked system is obviously a sieve, this has motivated some ethical hackers to take these youngsters on and teach them the path of an ethical hacker. This is effective in multiple ways: the student can do what they are good at (hacking), are one less future menace to society and benefit it instead by testing the systems of large scale favilities like banks.

* An issue of ''Franchise/SpiderMan Family'' had a couple of kids looking for the next big game stumble into one of Stark Industries' files. What they thought was an awesome game turned out to be a program devised by Howard Stark dating back to World War II to protect America from the Nazis. Both Spidey and ComicBook/IronMan had to destroy the robots that were activated and Tony (as Iron Man) made sure the boys knew they were in trouble.
* In ''ComicBook/Prez2015'', the recurring characters include a team of anonymous hackers who play a role in the unlikely chain of events that results in Beth Ross being elected president, and later uncover and foil an assassination attempt while challenging each other to hack into various bits of the Capitol's IT architecture.
* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Tim Drake is one and before completing his training this was the only way he was allowed to aid Batman, early in his career as Robin, Dick points it out as one of the things Tim is better at than him.
* ''ComicBook/LabRats'': Dana's hacker abilities help out the team on several occasions and eventually it seems she was able to disable her transponder implant which helps her outlast the rest of the group but does not save her.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* Aram Fingal (played by [[WTHCastingAgency Raul Julia]]) in the MadeForTVMovie ''Film/OverdrawnAtTheMemoryBank'', at least initially. He kicks off the film's plot by spending his work hours "scrolling up cinemas" at the office, but once his consciousness is placed in the [=HX368=] supercomputer (long story) his shenanigans end up creating severe weather disasters all over the world, causing billions in property damage to the [[MegaCorp Evil Corporation]] that he works for.

He may or may not be a MadScientist depending on who you ask. Chances are a more-benign Playful Hacker might turn out to be a ReluctantMadScientist or a StupidScientist. Modern iterations may also be {{Tech Bro}}s.

* Bentley of the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' series is the team's tech expert and can hack practically any computer they need him to. He's also technically TheCracker as he's part of a gang of thieves, albeit a largely heroic gang.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Candy Chip from ''Webcomic/AskTheSunjackers''. She's the team's resident tech girl, and fits the 'trans hacker' stereotype nicely, despite the CrapsackWorld she lives in. This is best exemplified when she gets to answer askbox questions, and gleefully describes how her job works.

* Attila in ''Film/{{Dante 01}}'', who repeatedly teases the head of the prison when he hacks into his computer.

* Tony Stark, AKA Film/IronMan. The guy ''effortlessly hacks a live senate broadcast and several military satellites'' just to prove a point. He also has a tendency to hack other people's sound systems to play appropriate music for his dramatic entrances.

* Dennis Nedry from ''Film/JurassicPark''. He rigged his workstation so that it would lock itself in an infinite loop if anyone tried to access anything on it without "saying the magic word."
--> '''Computer Nedry''': Ah ah ah... You didn't say the magic word.\\
'''Arnold''': '''''PLEASE!''''' God damn it! I ''hate'' this hacker crap!

* Ran Musen the genius programmer from ''LightNovel/{{R 15}}''.
* Lynn Lambretta in ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates''. She was arrested for it when she was in middle school. In high school, she uses her leet skills to foil a pirate attack.

-->'''Claude:''' '(Gleefully)'' Oops, I accidentally downloaded his entire porn collection! ''(beat; confused)'' ...Space whales?

** B.B. from ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid 2''. Instead of being childlike, though, he was--literally--a child (age negotiable, but still in Elementary School). He played comic relief throughout the game, culminating in him copying PsychicPowers from a boss and hypnotizing the President of the United States--totally ridiculous, but it [[RuleOfFunny worked because it was funny]].

* [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]] of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' is mentioned in the 2010 Bloodbath and the second [[DeepImmersionGaming Hetalia Fantasia CD]] as "tinkering" with his computer. He says that one of his hobbies is "tweaking" technology, and at one point hacks Finland's audio and cell devices to get them to go off constantly in an attempt at forcing him to spend time with him. He describes Estonia as his rival tweaker, and at one point, Estonia accuses Russia of hacking his blog and turning it into a fansite for himself. [[spoiler: He didn't...and was [[BerserkButton quite upset at Estonia]] [[PipePain for thinking so.]]]]

* Kermit in ''Series/KungFuTheLegendContinues''.

* ''VideoGame/{{TOME}}'': The [[{{Player Character}} White-Hat Hacker]].

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego, Player is this type of hacker. He specifically calls himself a white-hat hacker when he first talks to Carmen, back when she was Black Sheep.

[[folder:Films]]

As opposed to the malicious [[TheCracker Cracker]] who uses his computer skills for profit and mayhem, the Playful Hacker normally wants nothing more than to explore new territory on the Net and learn new things. Sometimes, he plays harmless pranks which can cause clueless authority figures to confuse him with his dark counterpart. Even when his actions are not strictly legal, though, his intentions and presence are almost always benign--even heroic. [[http://catb.org/jargon/html/H/hacker.html This is what "hacker" used to mean, before mass media mutated it.]]

He may or may not be a MadScientist depending on who you ask. Chances are a more-benign Playful Hacker might turn out to be a ReluctantMadScientist, or a StupidScientist. Modern iterations may also be {{Tech Bro}}s.

* Ed from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', currently pictured above. Ed creates animal-VR viruses in order to discover information about bounties for the ''Bebop'' crew that is being kept secret from the general public. Ed's child-like behavior means she never seems to consider trying to give them money more directly.

* Christina Sierra from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' and Hilde Schbeiker from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' were hinted to be these. Though [[InformedAbility Christina isn't seen doing lots of hacking]], Hilde ''does'' get some info for Duo [[spoiler:which he uses to find Quatre and contact him]], and later [[spoiler: she sneaks into a battleship and gets vital info for the Wing Boys, as the cost of bing severely injured and barely surviving.]]

* Kazari Uiharu in ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''. In the hacker underground, she goes by the pseudonym "Goalkeeper", and is highly respected.

** During ''Anime/LupinIIIDeadOrAlive'', Lupin is able to hack into highly secret government files. As an international thief, he is easily mistaken for TheCracker, however, he doesn't use his computer skills to steal or manipulate people's identity. Lupin's computer skills are used to discover information only.

* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Tim Drake is one and before completing his training this was the only way he was allowed to aid Batman, early in his carer as Robin Dick points it out as one of the things Tim is better at than him.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Glitch is a good natured little gremlin who is quite good at hacking earth based and extraterrestrial computers.

* The ''Series/BabylonFive'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheDilgarWar'' has Francis O'Leary: in his first scene he boasts about his ability to penetrate protected websites, and tries to impress a girl by penetrating the site of [=EarthForce=] and showing her the photography of a female officer. [[OhCrap Who just happened to be the girl he was trying to impress]]. Next scene, he joins the Earth Intelligence Agency to avoid serving prison time.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27162229/chapters/70886148#workskin The Voices of the MiracuChat]]'', "Snowpaw" (real name unknown) hacks a chat conversation ''fifteen years before her birth'' because she wants to talk to her mother as a teenager. She doesn't mean any harm, but her blaseness regarding potential paradoxes gets her childed for being irresponsible.
* In ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'', Rai truly enjoys hacking enemy computers, and makes sure that when he's done, a cartoonish image of Voltron's laughing face is displayed on the target's computer screens so they know just who hacked them.

* David Lightman from ''Film/WarGames'', is a Playful Hacker whose attempts to preview games nearly causes a global nuclear war.
* The entire plot of the movie ''Film/{{Hackers}}''--while the protagonists are not wholly benign, they are put in contrast with an extremely evil villain who makes them seem positively helpful in comparison.

* Stanley Jobson in ''Film/{{Swordfish}}''. Arguably {{Deconstructed}}--he's got the requisite mad skillz and moral compass, but this just means TheGovernment is that much more smug when they catch up with him and punish him for his actions: destroying the FBI [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivore_(software) Carnivore]] program was actually praised by enough of the public to force them to parole him away from computers instead of giving him a prison sentence. But, when his alcoholic wife divorces him due to him losing his job (because they won't let him use computers), they have a judge award her with their daughter even after she marries the porn king she works for. The FBI even brags about how his daughter will end up "a fluffer in her new daddy's videos" as punishment for him screwing up their ability to read every American's email.

* Ender in ''Literature/EndersGame'', who cracks into the desk system in the Battle School and figures out how to send messages under other student's names while preventing other students from using his name. This is only used for pranks, of course, as Ender is only six years old at the time. And the computer system is deliberately set up to allow and encourage this sort of competition/play/hacking.
* In Creator/VernorVinge's cult-classic novella, "Literature/TrueNames", most of the members of The Cabal fall under both this and TheCracker. They're all out to have fun, and to gain bragging rights, but they're all also criminals. Of course, some of them are more criminal than others, so we do eventually get the classic Playful Hacker vs TheCracker showdown.

* Hammer from ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' is said to have top-notch hacking skills, so much so that he's been head hunted by the top corporations of that 'Verse. The database states that in his youth, he hacked into a criminal database, and that his current employers, the Kukai Foundation, protected him from them.

* Yukabacera from ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' is apparently one, according to his [[http://www.remar.se/yuka/index.php hidden character pages on Daniel Remar's official site]]. He'll hack one of the station terminals in the room just to code a video game for other people's enjoyment. (This game can actually be played in Sector 6, the sector where Yukabacera is hiding) He apparently tries cracking his own logbook in his spare time, and is responsible for the [[SillinessSwitch Scrambler]], which was your standard-issue UniversalTranslator before he got his hands on it.

* Vauxhall from ''Webcomic/ATaleOfFiction'' fits the bill. He seems to know more about the tyrannical [[TheEmpire DUF]] than almost anybody else from his hacking activities and works against them, but otherwise is a harmless and funny (if porn-addicted) guy.
* Sollux Captor and Alpha [[spoiler:Roxy Lalonde]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Sollux is probably a better example of the trope--he once managed to initiate contact from Terezi to Doc Scratch. Who doesn't have an account on the chat client. And uses a TYPEWRITER. AND LIVES ON A MOON.
* ''Webcomic/MetompsychosisUnion'': Tilo is a recreational hacker, whose first use of the ability in comic is after being taken captive by revolutionaries who are going to leave the last person in a shipping container behind as they don't have the time or expertise to free them from their bio-locked container. Tilo reaction is to ask for a minute to see if they can subvert the system, which they do, though the imprisoned being breaks out as soon as the containment is breached rather than wait for Tilo to finish unlocking the entire mechanism.

* Odie in ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans'', is this at times. Especially in "Trojan Horse" where he hacks the city's main frame for his own amusement, causing the traffic lights to flash like a disco and VideoGame/Pac-Man to appear on a ATM.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_hat Grey Hat hackers]] often fall into this category, who often try to break into locked systems for [[ItAmusedMe the hell of it]] or to [[SelfImposedChallenge prove they can]] rather than with any intent of helping or harming the system or its owner. Many offer to fix the exploit for a price to profit off of it, however.

* The NSA has their own department of white hat hackers (better known as "penetration testers", since certain less technically-literate management types tend to panic at the word "hacker") that constantly test their own systems. And do some [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29 other]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet stuff.]]

* During the LetsPlay/PewDiePie vs. Creator/TSeries competition, two hackers under the aliases of [=HackerGiraffe=] and j3ws3r [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PewDiePie_vs_T-Series#Hackings managed to hack ten thousands of printers]] and print out messages encouraging people to subscribe to [=PewDiePie=] and upgrade their printer security ([[SubvertedTrope highlighting how serious printer hacking can be]]). They also hacked many smart [=TVs=] running Chromecast with similar messages. Nest cameras and the Wall Street Journal were hacked also to promote the subscribing to [=PewDiePie=].

* Sollux Captor and Alpha [[spoiler:Roxy Lalonde]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Sollux is probably a better example of the trope--he once managed to initiate contact from Terezi to Doc Scratch. Who doesn't have an account on the chat client. And uses a TYPEWRITER. [[UpToEleven AND LIVES ON A MOON.]]

* ''Literature/SnowCrash''. Although his [[MyCard business card]] boasts of his badass swordsmanship and pizza-delivery skills, [[AwesomeMcCoolName Hiro]] [[StevenUlyssesPerhero Protagonist]]'s skills as a hacker actually serve him better in the story than his skills with a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]].

* [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]] of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' is mentioned in the 2010 Bloodbath and the second [[DeepImmersionGaming Hetalia Fantasia CD]] as "tinkering" with his computer. He says that one of his hobbies is "tweaking" technology, and at one point hacks Finland's audio and cell devices to get them to go off constantly in an attempt at forcing him to spend time with him. He describes [[HollywoodNerd Estonia]] as his rival tweaker, and at one point, Estonia accuses Russia of hacking his blog and turning it into a fansite for himself. [[spoiler: He didn't...and was [[BerserkButton quite upset at Estonia]] [[PipePain for thinking so.]]]]

* Robin in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''.
-->"I hacked the motion sensors."

* Marvel UK introduced Adam Reynolds for one of their ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers Generation 1]]'' annuals. He was attempting to find out how much money was in a friend's bank account to win a bet, but managed to accidentally hack into the Decepticons' data files. Which is the equivalent of walking to the bank and ending up in the secret military lab in the middle of the ocean.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Prez|2015}}'', the recurring characters include a team of anonymous hackers who play a role in the unlikely chain of events that results in Beth Ross being elected president, and later uncover and foil an assassination attempt while challenging each other to hack into various bits of the Capitol's IT architecture.
* ''[[Comicbook/RobinSeries Robin]]'': Tim Drake is one and before completing his training this was the only way he was allowed to aid Batman, early in his carer as Robin Dick points it out as one of the things Tim is better at than him.
* ''Comicbook/RedRobin'': Tim Drake is the title character and [[ComicBook/{{Anarky}} Lonnie Machin]] ends up reduced to his VoiceWithAnInternetConnection after being kidnapped and poisoned into paralysis.
* After Barbara Gordon upped her game and became ComicBook/{{Oracle}} she turned into the most powerful heroic hacker in the [[Franchise/{{DCU}} 'verse]] due to her connections, PhotographicMemory, and intelligence.
* Dana's hacker abilities help out the ComicBook/LabRats on several occasions and eventually it seems she was able to disable her transponder implant which helps her outlast the rest of the group but does not save her.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman''

* Sollux Captor and Alpha [[spoiler:Roxy Lalonde]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Sollux is probably a better example of the trope--he once managed to initiate contact from Terezi to Doc Scratch. Who doesn't have an account on the chat client. And uses a TYPEWRITER. AND LIVES ON A MOON.

He may or may not be a MadScientist depending on who you ask. Chances are a more-benign Playful Hacker might turn out to be a ReluctantMadScientist, or a StupidScientist.