Do I need an IRC bouncer for safety?
reddit / irc

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[deleted] · 2014-07-26 16:44

Just wondering.

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KindOne · 2014-07-26 16:55

Safe from what?

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badpie99 · 2014-07-26 17:38

Not a bad call, I use one. You can check out
https://www.xzibition.com/

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[deleted] · 2014-07-26 18:56

Probably not but it depends on what channels/servers you visit, and
how well configured your firewall is.

That said, I use one.  It can't hurt.  Some networks will obscure your
hostname/IP address for you.

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[deleted] · 2014-07-26 18:58

This is a common misconception.

The problem you are referring to is that your IP address is likely to
be exposed when you are using IRC. This has no direct consequence to
your "safety". Just like every site on the Internet sees your IP when
you connect to them, and nearly every site keeps record of your IP
when you use their services; your "safety" won't neccessarily be
affected.

Back in the day it was quite popular to use IRC to share content that
could otherwise not find a home on the Internet. Warez, cracks, all
kinds of pornography. People advertising and distributing this data
often used bouncers to hide their real IP address. You ran the risk
the cops came by to confiscate your PC.

There was also the risk that if you pissed off someone in chat
(different opinion, owning a certain channel, having a certain nick,
etc) they could sometimes rather simply launch a flood ping to get you
to disconnect from IRC. Again, long time ago, dial-up era.

If you don't want your IP to be visible look into "hostmask cloaks" on
your network. Most networks provide a service where they will mask
your IP with a string that cannot be traced back to you by other
users.

A bouncer is useful if you want to keep a connection to IRC around the
clock. For instance if you want to keep logging chat if you switch off
your PC or if you are afraid to lose your nick to someone else.

What can help you to stay safe on the IRC: disable/properly configure
DCC and CTCP in your client, don't just open every link that you see,
don't take peoples word for something.

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[deleted] · 2014-07-26 19:55

[deleted]

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tavaryn · 2014-07-26 20:22

A bouncer won't protect you from running warez infected with malware,
only common sense will.

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[deleted] · 2014-07-26 21:11

[deleted]