Defender
From Slacked
Defender is a security service which attempts to prevent abuse of CGI:IRC and stop virus and trojan bots from connecting to the network.
There are several reasons why clients may be banned or disconnected from the network by Defender:
Contents |
Banned by Defender
Blacklisted VERSION
We maintain a blacklist of CTCP VERSION replies. If you are running a blacklisted client, you will be banned on connect.
I'm using mIRC, why was I banned?
We ban old versions of mIRC which have multiple vulnerabilities. They should NOT be used under any circumstances. Please upgrade to the latest version of mIRC available at http://www.mirc.com
What about Bottler and IRC-Ork clients?
Bottler, IRC-Ork and other clients which facilitate the sharing (through XDCC or otherwise) of files (legal or not) are STRICTLY PROHIBITED and such clients are NOT WELCOME and will be BANNED on sight.
Do NOT contact us about bans of this nature, we will NOT unban you.
This is especially true of clients like Bottler clients which have a tendency to generate high levels of traffic, without any chatting going on. IRC is a medium of communication, not of file sharing, if it were, it would not be called Internet Relay Chat.
There are other networks which welcome such clients, please use those.
Possible litmus trojan
If your client returns only one word as a VERSION reply you will be banned. The litmus trojan return one-word VERSION replies, while most legitimate clients do not.
You have a several options:
- If possible, reconfigure your IRC client to return different text to CTCP VERSION requests
- If possible, reconfigure your IRC client to ignore CTCP VERSION requests
- Convince the author of your IRC client to change the VERSION reply
- Use a different IRC client
Unauthorised CGI:IRC proxy
Due to overwhelming abuse of open CGI:IRC proxies we have been forced to restrict the use of CGI:IRC. You MUST use the CGI:IRC application on the Slacked website, if you use any other CGI:IRC proxy you will be banned and will be unable to connect to the network.
To connect using our own CGI:IRC application, visit the Slacked website, half-way down on the left side is a box where you can enter a nickname and select a channel (or you can accept the defaults), just click 'Chat now!' to get started.
If you cannot use CGI:IRC, we also host a Java IRC applet.
Banned channel
You entered a banned channel and have been banned. This only happens rarely when a channel has been used to facilitate illegal or disruptive activity and other attempts to contain the problem have failed. If you believe your intentions were innocent, just write us at security@slacked.org and we'll remove the ban. Bans placed for this reason tend to expire within hours or minutes, not days.
G-Lined (You entered a banned channel (Reason for channel ban))
Killed by Defender
Defender analyses the nickname, ident and GECOS (real name) information for a given client and assigns each client a score. This score is essentially the probability that the given client is an undesirable drone or bot. If the score assigned is too high, the client is killed.
In this case, your KILL message will be similar to this:
[defender.slacked.org] Killed (You have a score of 28 and are possibly an automated drone. Contact security@slacked.org for further information.)
You should be able to reconnect immediately without any lasting effect. However, in order to connect you MUST change your nickname, ident and GECOS (real name) to ensure that Defender does not perceive you as a threat.
Contact us
If you have any questions, or you believe you have been banned unfairly, please contact us at security@slacked.org and we'll investigate. If you contact us, please include ALL information relevant, your IP, the message you received when you were disconnected and the date and time you attempted to connect. Without this information we cannot act.
