hacking

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I hear this term quite a lot of times in my life. People say that their accounts have been hacked or their passwords have been changed. I thought that hacking was an art and not a theft. How can anyone steal passwords which are known only to the user? How can anyone just know the account details known only to the user? Many people claim that they can recover or hack other people's account but they need some cash in return. Is hacking really possible even though we have the greatest of security measures? I found a simple trick online which tells how to block sites using the hosts files and they claim it as a hacking trick. But it's just a security trick which can block sites. I want to understand what really hacking is. Can anyone explain?