White Hat
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White hat symbolism indicates that a white hat represents good: idiomatically, a white hat is an ethically good person with a righteous goal. In United States films of the Western genre between the 1920s and the 1940s, white hats were often worn by heroes and black hats by villains to symbolize the contrast of good versus evil; the 1903 short film The Great Train Robbery was the first to apply this convention, and the Lone Ranger wore a white hat. The convention also gave rise to the terms white hat and black hat for ethical and malicious computer hackers, and white sailor caps are worn by several navies.
Good verse evil can not easily be determined. However, if a hat color helps show a persons true colors, it certainly helps. White hat symbolism indicates that a white hat represents good. However, don't count on this in real life. It is mostly symbolism and obviously can't be used to determine a persons behaviors or characteristics. Don't judge a book by its cover. Also, don't judge a person by the color of hat they are wearing.
The term white hat refers idiomatically to an ethically good person, in this case one who has a righteous goal.
In United States films of the Western genre between the 1920s and the 1940s, white hats were often worn by heroes and black hats by villains to symbolize the contrast in good versus evil. The 1903 short film The Great Train Robbery was the first to apply this convention.
Although he wore a mask, The Lone Ranger was on the side of good. He wore a white hat, so obviously he was a good guy.
White hat symbolism has gone beyond cowboy films and TV shows.
Sailor Caps: Many Navy (armed forces; not the color navy) are white in color. United States Navy, Bolivian, Philippine, and Venezuelan sailors wear a white canvas hat with an upright brim, often referred to as a "Dixie cup" in reference to its similarity to the shape of a common disposable drinking cup, or a "gob hat" or cap.
This convention gave rise to the terms black hat and white hat to refer to malicious and ethical hackers respectively. Also, in regard to search engine optimization and other scenerios.
In reference to white hat computer security, the term "white hat" in Internet slang refers to an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security expert, who specializes in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization's information systems.
- One of the first instances of an ethical hack being used was a "security evaluation" conducted by the United States Air Force, in which the Multics operating systems was tested for "potential use as a two-level (secret/top secret) system." The evaluation determined that while Multics was "significantly better than other conventional systems," it also had "... vulnerabilities in hardware security, software security and procedural security" that could be uncovered with "a relatively low level of effort."
By 1981 The New York Times described white hat activities as part of a "mischievous but perversely positive 'hacker' tradition".
White hat bias (WHB) is a phrase coined by public
health researchers David Allison and Mark Cope (2010) to describe a
purported "bias leading to the distortion of information in the service
of what may be perceived to be righteous ends", which consist of both
cherry picking the evidence and publication bias. Allison and Cope
explained the motivation behind this bias in terms of "righteous zeal,
indignation toward certain aspects of industry", and other factors
You may also have interest in learn about the black hat which is the other side of the coin.
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White Hats as Clothing
Beyond symbolism, a white hat is a practical warm-weather choice with a real drawback set. White canvas, straw and felt reflect sunlight and show less heat gain than dark colors, which is one reason white and natural straw hats dominate summer dress and resort wear. The cost is maintenance: white shows soil, sweatband staining and scuffs that a black or brown hat hides, so white hats are typically cleaned more often, stored boxed away from dust, and reserved in many wardrobes for the season and occasions where they will stay clean. The hat definitions list linked from this page covers the named styles — including the Western hats the film convention made famous — for readers choosing a white hat by shape rather than by symbolism.
Common Questions
Why does a white hat symbolize a good person?
Because of the Western film convention: in U.S. Westerns of the 1920s to 1940s heroes wore white hats and villains black hats, so the hat color told the audience at a glance which side a character was on. The Lone Ranger, masked but on the side of good, wore a white hat.
What is a Dixie cup hat?
The white canvas sailor cap with an upright brim worn by United States Navy sailors — and by Bolivian, Philippine and Venezuelan sailors — nicknamed the Dixie cup for its similarity to the shape of a disposable drinking cup, and also called a gob hat or cap.
What is a white hat hacker?
In Internet slang, an ethical computer hacker or computer security expert who specializes in penetration testing and other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization's information systems — the counterpart of the malicious black hat hacker. The same white hat / black hat pair is used in search engine optimization for ethical versus manipulative practice.