HOW-TO: Stay safe on IRC

[grinch]

IRC is one of the great communication tools of hackers.
Using that tool safely is important, and easy to do.

Here is how to setup an irc bnc(IRC BouNCer). I use znc, a free, open-source program.

First, get a shell account. Linux, BSD/Unix, does not matter, as long as its a shell.

Some providers offer "irc bnc" or "irc shell" accounts. These are the best because the server your account is on will often have multiple ip addresses and multiple virtual hosts(called vhosts). Having multiple IPs and vhosts will give you more options with your bnc.

You do not need root to install, just the ability to use the system compilers.
You will also need to know the location of openssl on the server. To do this run:

Code: [Select]

which opensslThis should return the path to openssl on the system. Note this path.

Download znc to your home dir
http://znc.in/releases/znc-0.206.tar.gz
You can find the url for the latest version here:
http://wiki.znc.in/ZNC

untar it

Code: [Select]

tar zxvf znc-*

Code: [Select]

cd znc*
Configure, Make, Make Install
Add the path to install dir, and path to openssl

Code: [Select]

./configure --prefix=/home/username/.znc --with-openssl=/usr/bin/openssl

Code: [Select]

make

Code: [Select]

make install
If you are on a *BSD system, you will want to use GNU make, so substitute

Code: [Select]

gmake and

Code: [Select]

gmake install
That's it, it is installed. Now to set it up

Code: [Select]

cd ~/.znc/bin

Code: [Select]

./znc --makeconfThis will make the "configs" dir and "znc.conf" inside that dir
Defaults are fine here, the only global module to load is "webadmin"
For user name and password, I create a user name with a REALLY STRONG password. I use this user only for logging in to configure the znc. This first user is an "admin" and can add/delete other users
After this is done, restart the znc. Quit/Kill if needed, then

Code: [Select]

./znc
After it is running, point your web browser to the config page

Code: [Select]

https://server.host.com:40000Replace "40000" with the port number you setup for the webadmin module
Log in with the user/pass you setup during initial config.
In the "Global Settings" section of webadmin, paste the list of vhosts that your provider gives you, like this:

Code: [Select]

found.your.picture.at-google.com
dont.need.no.****en.l33t-vhost.com
online.via.your.wireless-inter.net
using.your.wireless-inter.net
carded.this.wireless-inter.net
null.routed.wireless-inter.net
ispeeds.customers.get.free.canadian-ass.net
terrorist.strikes.may.cause-lagging.net
From here it is pretty self-explanatory, setup unique connections as "add user", set nicks, pick vhost, etc

After you setup a user you connect to it from mirc with

Code: [Select]

/server -m server.host.com +30000 username:passwordReplace 30000 with the ssl irc port you setup during --makeconf, and username:password with the user and password for the connection you setup in webadmin

You can string a bunch of these together in a mirc alias(Alt + R, Alias tab) using "|" to separate

Code: [Select]

/bnc /server -m server.host.com +30000 username0:password0 | /server -m server.host.com +30000 username1:password1 | /server -m server.host.com +30000 username2:password2
Now you see why I set the initial admin user with hard password, but do not use as an irc connection. Then my znc log-on details are not sitting in plain-text mirc script
------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: Connect to your znc bouncer using Colloquy (mobile)
In Colloquy:
1.  Add IRC connection
2.  Description can be whatever, something you'll recognize
3.  Address is in server.host.com format. Replace with hostname of your znc
4.  Nick is what will be seen in the channel when you join. Try and use your forum nick, so we recognize you
5.  Real Name can be whatever. Since this post is about staying safe, do not use your real Real Name.
6.  Connect at Launch on
7.  Join Rooms, add channels like #iNinjas
8.  Allow Multitasking on
9.  Advanced > Change port to your znc port number
10.Advanced > SASL off
11.Advanced > SSL on
12.Advanced > Username is the username for this znc user
13.Advanced > Password is the password for this znc user

That's it!

Edit: The webadmin module will run on the port you specify during setup. If you want it to run on a different port than the one used for znc connections, edit your ./configs/znc.conf file to look like this

Code: [Select]

Listener4    = web_only +10391
Listener4    = +10813
You will already have one Listener4 line from setup, add the second line, with the "web_only" parameter
Be sure to add "+" in front of SSL ports, and make sure you use https:// in your browser when connecting to the webadmin module

EDIT: Use AndChat, a free IRC program on ANDROiD, to connect to your znc
Follow this:

[Trcx528]

Beautiful! Extremely well done! +1

[grinch]

Thank you Thank you

I am happy to walk anyone through this, if they have tried it and have trouble

Here are a few irc shell providers
EDIT: ALL removed, because they stunk, down all day

I'm sure there are cheaper ones out there, look around. Just make sure they provide vhosts to use with shell account, otherwise you are stuck with one IP/one vhost of the server

[Ironman]

Very nice!! +1

[brogan20]

Is this your work or copied?

[grinch]

Not even sure if I should respect you enough to respond, so I'll respond for others

Mine, lol, copied from where? This is written in my voice, how I talk as if I were walking someone through it(I have done so for several people)

I have other tutorials I would love to share, but there are a few people here that do not deserve to see them. They would just end up in prison, being stupid.

[brogan20]

...

[Ironman]

Not even sure if I should respect you enough to respond, so I'll respond for others

Mine, lol, copied from where? This is written in my voice, how I talk as if I were walking someone through it(I have done so for several people)

I have other tutorials I would love to share, but there are a few people here that do not deserve to see them. They would just end up in prison, being stupid.

Post any tutorials you wish. iNinjas is all about sharing info. What someone does with that info is their business. There are already a few things on our repo that if used improperly would lead to jail time.

[brogan20]

Most things on there would

[grinch]

Do you have anything useful to add, or are you just here to post garbage, criticize others, be a wise-ass to ops, and question the validity of my work?

[Trcx528]

I don't think he was questioning your work with that last post, more of just expressing his belief that's ironman's statement was an understatement.  

[brogan20]

Do you have anything useful to add, or are you just here to post garbage, criticize others, be a wise-ass to ops, and question the validity of my work?

Dude the reason I asked if it was copied or not is because alot of people do just copy the work and take credit also known as plagurism

[Sleepdawgg]

love your tutorials man im new to linux and hacking in general and they are very helpful

[Trcx528]

Ya, they really are great man! Keep it up!

[grinch]

love your tutorials man im new to linux and hacking in general and they are very helpful

Ya, they really are great man! Keep it up!

Thank you both. I am here to learn new techniques and share what I know