Here’s an interesting but potentially controversial piece written by a parent who discovered that his son was into some serious hacking. He put together a list of telltale signs that other parents can use if they are concerned about their son (or daughter) hacking.

My personal verdict: Some of his signs are not really that extreme at all- Playing Quake? Asking for new hardware? Wanting to dump AOL for a better ISP?

It sounds a bit naive and even a little nutty (Linux is a communist platform??), but for all the parents out there, I figure you can decide for yourself. My guess is most of the warning signs point to a smart teen who loves computers more than other activities. Maybe our readers with kids can do a better top ten than this, or weigh in on what they look for.

Is Your Son a Hacker?