Maybe you have a reputation as something of a computer genius, or maybe you want people to think you already are. Hacking a computer requires knowledge about computer systems, network security, and code, so when people see what they think is hacking, they are quickly impressed. You don't have to do anything illegal to make people think that you're hacking; using basic terminal commands or cooking up a .bat file to launch a Matrix-esque browser crammed with characters will leave onlookers amazed.