[Techie Tuesdays] Fankit Aadia: life is a waste, if you don't know copy paste

Our Techie Tuesdays today is a very special person. Born in a data center, he first got attracted to computers when he was just 011 years old (he calculates his age in binary notations). In fact, an interesting anecdote from his childhood that he loves to narrate is when he went for school admission, the teacher asked him to recite the multiples of two and he did it all in binary notations. At 14, when most boys his age were gathering courage to speak to girls, he had finished reading ‘Let us C’ by Yashwant Kanetkar.

Fankit Aadia is today revered the world over for his exceptional technical knowledge. Fankit, who has been featured in some of the top tech publications of the world, says, “Understanding computers is understanding people, you need to empower them and give them a better way of life (like place an A/C near the heat sink)!" Talking about hacking, he adds, "Hacking is a state of mind, to be a hacker you need to think like one."

Starting very early

His tryst with computers began when he came across Microsoft Paint and painted a picture of Monalisa. To encourage him, one of his friends gifted him a licensed version of WinRaR (this remains the only WinRaR sold till date). As a child, Fankit had a unique ability to interact with computers. As he says, "I could just ping any computer on earth and it would reply to me as if it was talking to me."

Fankit credits his supporting family and friends for his achievements. According to him, “all my accomplishments would not be possible had it not been for them.” When he was 12, he started working with a Nokia phone and hacked it to get its IMEI number. He says he tried brute forcing it and came up with *#06# and it worked in other cell phones too.

Talking about his exploits, he says he was also contacted by the FBI when he was just 14 to help them crack a case. When he was in class IX, because of excessive usage of computers, his blood cells underwent mutations and have now been transformed into Network TCP packets and his white blood cells were replaced by UDP packets.

Youth icon

Fankit got his big break when a notable radio channel decided to make him the youth icon of the year. The youth who voted for him could put his image on their desktop and instantly hack any network on any computer. Such was his ingenuity that when he was in the XI th standard he wrote a software program to connect the vacuum cleaner in his home to the recycle bin. This way he could clean his house by pressing the delete button on his keyboard.

At present, Fankit is trying to track the missing MH--370. Though it is all hush-hush at the moment, Fankit gives us a clue to how he may soon come up with some good news having spotted the registration number plate somewhere near Maharashtra!

Future plans

Talking about his future plans, Fankit says he is looking forward to creating a system which can never be hacked. He says, "I am planning to achieve this by keeping the computer disconnected at all times and will keep it in an isolated box, thus preventing human access to it which will make it impossible to hack."

Lessons learnt

Talking about the lessons from his life, Fankit gives us some amazing tips:

1) When your computer stops responding, pour some espresso over it. It will get refreshed and start working normally.

2) While meditating, switch on your webcam and look into your image. If your reflection is not sharp, you may need to set higher resolutions in your life.

3) Life is a waste, if you don't know copy paste.

Disclaimer: The intent is to play the fool, and not to cause hurt or resentment. Happy April Fools’ Day. All techies of the world unite!