IRC for tor. How to Setup and configure

How to set up IRC for Tor using Pidgin as a client. 

On this post I will approach the IRC. IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat and basically is an online chat room. Very popular during the 90's it started to die slowly when msn came out, then ICQ and social websites killed it completely.

But IRC is still a great tool to learn stuff and meeting new people.

Groups like Anonymous frequently use IRC services to organize and exchange ideas, you can read more about Anonymous HERE.

Offcourse this kind of groups catch the interest of the authorities, so using irc with tor was one of the ways to keep them self's away  from harm.

After this brief introduction I will give you step by step instructions on how to set up IRC for tor.

 



1. Download your IRC client. Personally, I use Pidgin. The link is provided for you:
http://pidgin.im/. There is a portable version of Pidgin available if you plan on using the client on several machines (which is not recommended as the computer can contain spyware). Also, Pidgin allows you to connect to several servers at once in the chance you get disconnected from a server or a netsplit occurs.

2. To create an account, Click Accounts followed by Manage Accounts. You can add as many accounts as you want; I created a few accounts to connect to the different IRC servers for the reason described above.

3. Select Add. Under Basic, your settings should look like this: Protocol – IRC, Username – your username, Server – IRC server (listed below), Local alias – your username. Again, you can use any of the several Tor IRC servers as they are all connected. Alternatively, you can use one of the several IRC relays instead of connecting to the Tor servers directly.

4. Under Advanced, your settings should look like this: Port – 6667, Username – your username.
In Pidgin, if you do not specify a username under the Advanced settings, your username will be exposed.

When you enter or leave the chat room the username will appear before the hostname.

For example, if your ID is TheBest and your username is Bob, then it will appear as TheBest [Bob@OnionNet].

5. Under Proxy, your settings should look like this: Proxy type – SOCKS 5, Host – 127.0.0.1, Port ‐ 9050 (Tor Port). If you are using Privoxy, the port will be 8118.

6. Click Buddies and Join a Chat to join a channel.
Add Chat will permanently add the channels to the Chats list so you don’t have to remember the channel name every time. Right‐clicking the chat under Chats will give you a host of options.
I selected Persistent to receive the messages in the chat‐room even though they are not currently open. You can use /list to get a list of all the channels or you can use /join #room to join a specific room.
#security and #public are two good channels when asking general questions or questions related to privacy or security.

7. You can use the /msg “username” command to send a private message to someone or use the /query “username” command which will open a new window in both clients for private messaging.
I would advise looking up the IRC client commands for full functionality.
Also, even though I recommended disabling DCC, the servers disable the functionality altogether.

8. Lastly, you should know that most ‐if not all‐ IRC clients cache your username for functionality.
Pidgin, takes this further by creating logs for specific channels and individual users that you chat with using private messaging by default.
Under Preferences > Logging, you should disable Log all instant messages and Log all chats.



IRC Servers

Here is a list of the Tor IRC servers (note that all servers are linked):

 Mixie: 4eiruntyxxbgfv7o.onion (Down)
 FTW: ftwircdwyhghzw4i.onion
 Renko: renko743grixe7ob.onion (Down)
 PB: jkpos24pl2r3urlw.onion (Down)
 Nissehult: nissehqau52b5kuo.onion

 

 

 

IRC Channels

Here is a list of some of the popular Tor IRC channels (ordered by user count at the moment of writing):
 #boys!  #knaben
 #pedo  #torchan
 #cams  #public
 #mjb  #security
 #girls  #hackbb

 

As you can see by the name of the top channels, anonymity bring with it a lot of perverts... But freedom can bring the good as the bad, as long as you stay away from shady channels and individuals, just as in real life you will have no problems at all.