Just joined today--have some very important questions reddit / irc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- happygore · 2013-11-25 16:46 Hey all. I'm in the chat right now and it's the first time I've used an IRC client and to be honest, it seems really cool. I first became curious when I watched the Pirate Bay documentary and saw they were using an IRC. I want to get more involved in computer security. My question is, why did they choose to use IRC? Is anyone able to give me an ELI5 explanation about how IRCs are good? I apologize if this post is out of place or obscure... I'm desperately trying to strengthen my security and anonymity online as much as possible. Any input is appreciated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AltReality · 2013-11-25 17:27 IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It was one of the first protocol's built for the internet, similar to HTTP (Web pages) and FTP (File Transfer). While using IRC, your actual internet address is generally obscured/hidden from all but the network operators, so you can be anonymous and protect your identity. IRC is simply a protocol, and you can use any number of different clients to connect to any number of different servers and channels. What would you expect them to use rather than IRC? Instant Messaging like YahooIM or something? Too much need to add and confirm "friends" or "contacts". Facebook Chat? probably not..too insecure. What other chat options were you thinking of? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- happygore · 2013-11-25 18:01 Simply put, I was seeking a secure way of communicating with individuals online. Basically, I use a variety of tools to secure and anonymize my internet use but I'm still learning. I wanted a chat client I could rely on to be lightweight, secure, and possible anonymous. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- greenduch · 2013-11-25 19:31 IRC is neither secure nor anonymous, particularly not by default. Any belief that it *is* secure or anonymous is... misleading, and part of what screwed over lulzsec. Is it anonymous-ish, and able to be secure-ish? Sure, and fairly easily. By *default*, when you join a channel, it shows your IP address^1. by *default*, stuff you say is not encrypted. Whether or not anyone is actually going to be likely to care enough to try to intercept it is a different story. Using a [bouncer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNC_%28software%29) [proxy] can make IRC more anonymous. For most people though, that really isn't necessary, and a regular vhost (offered by most networks) is totally fine. Connecting via [SSL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer) can make it more secure. Though SSL isn't particularly useful unless everyone else in a given room is also using SSL (it is possible on most IRCd's to require usage of SSL in order to join a channel, though this function is rarely used afaik). What measures you take and how much you get into IRC really depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. Who are you trying to be anonymous from? Random people, or the feds? If its the former, that is generally pretty straight forward and you can follow the basic directions on this sidebar to set you up fairly safely with that. With the feds, generally speaking they probably don't care about you. \*1: this depends on how a network is set up. Snoonet, for example, partially cloaks your IP info by default, but will still show your general area (normally only state or country of orgin). Most irc networks allow you to set up a "vhost"- a virtual host / cloak, upon registering with nickserv. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthaneezy · 2013-11-25 19:34 > While using IRC, your actual internet address is generally obscured/hidden from all but the network operators No it's not. You can easily see everyone's address. Some networks have cloaking services which hide that, but it's no way "generally obscured/hidden". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- happygore · 2013-11-25 21:32 So, if I'm using a VPN, the IP it displays is the IP I'm using through the VPN? Is it likely for hackers to try and penetrate people's identities over IRC's? Sorry for the noob questions.. I'm fairly new to this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- greenduch · 2013-11-25 21:50 nope if you're using a VPN, it shows as the VPN's host info. And no, you can't particularly penetrate someone's identity over *just* IRC, without other information to go on. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AltReality · 2013-11-25 21:59 Every network I've ever used has had cloaking set up to protect their users. Sure one should verify that before assuming it is secure, but i stand by my original comment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Anthaneezy · 2013-11-25 22:35 The facility is there, but it is in no way automatic. By your statement he would assume he's anonymous. > While using IRC, your actual internet address is generally obscured/hidden from all ---------------------------------------------------------------------- greenduch · 2013-11-26 03:04 Freenode, efnet, undernet, quakenet, all of the big networks that I can recall offhand do not do partial obscuration by default. Snoonet, Synirc, many of the mid to small sized networks to. Many to most networks offer virtual hosts. Telling someone who is completely new to IRC that their IP info is protected, without knowing what network they are connecting to, is irresponsible, which is probably why you were downvoted (i didnt downvote you, but trying to explain it) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamondwolf · 2013-12-04 01:09 I just joined today and thought it would be cool to have the top post here with minimal effort due to the only other post having -4 imaginary internet points. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2013-12-04 10:29 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tokesbury · 2013-12-05 03:21 It wasn't used for anonymity purposes as it has been pointed out by other comments. You're not very anonymous on IRC since your ip address and chats are public and usually logged (if not by the server then by users in the channel who have logging enabled). If you want to beef up your privacy you have a few options: a BNC, a client like Irssi running on a VPS, or connect via a VPN. This will prevent malicious parties from getting your IP address. This is important because on most networks if someone uses /whois on your name, then your IP is right there. In the 90's people used to get your IP and use a "nuker" program which flooded you with too many packets and your poor 36.6K Baud modem couldn't handle it. Nowadays it's a good idea since your ip is usually static and always on. It is used by many different communities because it is a familiar and reliable protocol that has stood the test of time. A lot of other chat programs and even games borrow from IRC's channels and emote features. It can be used in long form or short form with messages spanning over seconds or several days. There's nothing quite like it. If you want to setup a community chat you tend to do it on IRC because there isn't really any other protocol that can compare to the flexibility, support, and open nature of IRC. To me, it's the last remnant of the "free internet" and it's good to know more people are discovering it to this day.