What do you get a hacker or IT pro for Christmas? In an industry that is not often well-understood by those outside of it, trying to come up with ideas and presents that will prove themselves valuable and appreciated can be difficult.
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However, it's far from impossible. You can choose to go down the route of valuable tools, educational starter kits, or novelty items such as t-shirts and mugs -- and any of them will likely put a smile on the face of a hacker this Christmas.
Below, ZDNet has rounded up some of the most interesting gifts for hackers over Christmas 2019 to suit a range of budgets and abilities.
The best Christmas gifts for hackers
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Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker for $14
Written by famous hacker Kevin Mitnick, Ghost in the Wires is an exploration of his foray into social engineering, his exploits concerning the FBI, betrayals, and the lessons modern-day companies should learn in relation to IT and security.
WiFi Pineapple for $200
The WiFi Pineapple is a popular rogue access point and Wi-Fi pentest toolkit that can be used to monitor and seek out devices that are misconfigured or vulnerable to attack. It is possible to use the Pineapple to perform Man-in-The-Middle (MiTM) attacks, to harvest credentials -- including WPA credentials in cap, hashcat, JTR, and plaintext formats -- as well as to passively monitor networking activity around the user. A smaller, pocket-sized option is also available.
TV-B-Gone for $20
The TV-B-Gone is not