Here are some of my favorite websites around, as they either deal with being able to learn something new, to a particular tool or web product I like using, or it's just plain fun to visit! And I have provided a brief synopsis of each link listed to describe why you may find it a great place to visit as well...
Technology Related Websites
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2600.com
2600 is an organization that publishes a popular magazine, now called "The Hacker Quarterly", ever since 1984. But they also do a weekly FM radio show from New York (which you can download or stream), run the well-recognized H.O.P.E. (Hackers On Planet Earth) computer security conferences, produce movies, manage a large IRC (Internet chat) network, and help establish local and weekly meetings in [probably] a location near your own home. It talks of what a true "computer hacker" really cares about in modern society, such as computer security concepts, public policy issues (i.e., laws), people/websites/places of interest, and more. The perceived notion of "hackers are bad" is a depressing topic, as originally the term hacker was used to describe elite computer technicians capable of solving complex problems in a creative way. Whereas the not-so-much-used term cracker is the true terminology to describe a person who maliciously breaks into a system to cause damage and destruction, which may be for reasons such as political activism (hacktivism) or just for pure fun (which includes amateur "script kiddies"). The hacker term lost its meaning when the public media, such as the news, movies, and radio stations, began misusing this word to describe illegal computer activity.
Learning about the 2600 group will break many of the common misconceptions about what hackers are, why we need them, and how to think like one. I do not like to classify myself as a hacker, per se, as to me this term is sacred. It should only be used to describe a truly elite individual that devotes his or her time to creating something useful out of scratch or has the ability to modify (hack) something differently that explores a new way to do or secure something. A hacker is a professional and mature thinker that helps to build or teach the computer-enabled society for the greater good of things. This leads into the infamous debate about whether a person is a black, white, or gray hat hacker. Whereas the color of the metaphorical hat you wear designates who you are. A black hat will circumvent technological barriers to damage or change something they normally do not have access to (meaning they are the "bad guy"/cracker), a white hat (the "good guy"/not a cracker) will try to expose those exploits in technology to help secure them or track down black hats, and a gray hat is somewhat a cross between the two, in that they can take the stance of wanting to secure exploits (maybe for only their own system or network) but may also love to have fun with the identified exploits to play around with the various users of a system (again, either on their own network or some outside network).
This is just the tip of the iceberg... So if you find this information interesting already, check out 2600.com!
DEFCON.org
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