I DONT UNDERSTAND PLS HELP
reddit / irc

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[deleted] · 2022-02-17 08:45

[deleted]

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pedz · 2022-02-17 09:25

Those warnings are about backdoors and trojans using this protocol to
communicate. If you are infected by one, it's possible that it's using
this protocol to communicate with a "base".

However, port 6667 is just the standard port for IRC. Botnets,
backdoors et al. can use it but it doesn't make the protocol dangerous
in itself.

It's as if you were looking for information on a specific highway and
find out it's also used by criminals. Anybody can use that highway and
the criminals are also just using it as a means of transport, not to
attack you.

That port is just a mode of transit. It can be used to send text and
chat with other people, but it can also be used by robots and bad
actors to coordinate and transmit commands between themselves.

As long as YOU are not the server with port 6667 open and that you are
just connecting to it, you're going to be fine. Just don't put
important information on IRC, like a credit card number, even in
private. Keep in mind that everything sent on IRC has the potential to
be intercepted and read.

And that's pretty much it. If *your* computer/phone has port 6667
open, you may want to worry a bit and scan it for backdoors and
trojans. But if you're connecting to a legitimate IRC server, there is
nothing dangerous in that. You're just using the same highway everyone
on IRC is also using.

That's why some ISPs and places can block that port and warn people
about it. It's not inherently dangerous, but it **can** be used to
coordinate an army of bots... or just to chat.