These programs are often distributed among the hacker community as ways to break into certain systems.  Many of these programs are freely available on the Internet today for any novice interested in getting started as a hacker. Some hackers do not attack the computer systems at all, preferring to manipulate the human behind the system instead.  These hackers, known as social engineers, are usually behind most of the phishing and pharming scams on the Internet. Hackers come in two varieties, called black hat and white hat.