Re: Re: Password setting for Irc Client accessing a private irc server
By: Rixter to fusion on Thu Jul 18 2024 09:56 am

I have 6 IRC connections that have been connected for a couple of weeks now. What are they doing? 4 of them show the same IP. I cannot see what they are doing. Is this good or bad? I just ignore them but should I be concerned?

If your IRC server is connect to vert and is up for a while, it'll become part of the rotating irc.synchro.net resolution. When that happens, any client that connects to irc.synchro.net might connect to *your* server.

Or, some one found your irc server by port-scanning or maybe a BBS listing.

Enabling debug-level logging will give you better insight into what that client is doing, but no, I wouldn't be concerned.
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On 18 Jul 2024, Rixter said the following...

I have 6 IRC connections that have been connected for a couple of weeks now. What are they doing? 4 of them show the same IP. I cannot see what they are doing. Is this good or bad? I just ignore them but should I be concerned? ---

people stay connected to irc a lot and just idle when they're not at the computer.. for example on one server i'm on i logged on June 7th and if i get disconnected it just gets right back on.

if it were a problem somebody would notice an extra 100+ users (or whatever) on the network and probably look into it..

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On Thu, 18 Jul 2024 09:56:42 -0400
"Rixter" (VERT/RICKSBBS) <VERT/RICKSBBS!Rixter@endofthelinebbs.com>
wrote:

I have 6 IRC connections that have been connected for a couple of
weeks now. What are they doing? 4 of them show the same IP. I cannot
see what they are doing. Is this good or bad? I just ignore them but
should I be concerned?

---
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Maybe.
You could see if you can turn debugging on and log what's being sent.
You could use tcpdump (linux) or some other tool for windows to snoop
their connection if they're not on via a secure channel.
You could connect to your server and find out who they are and ask
them, or check their idle time.
It's most likely stuck or forgotten clients but it could also be some
of those spambots.
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Hello Digital Man,

here are some results of my experimenting on irc client, with the main intent of sharing my experience:

The irc.js didn't support a password "override" (e.g. via command-line), i.e. it always sent to current user's password via the >IRC "PASS" message upon connecting to a server. I just committed a change to allow the sysop to override the password >sent via the '-p' command-line option to irc.js. Please let me know how that works for you.

Yes, connecting by current user's password works (I only had to disable pw encryption in ircd-hybrid config) and this could fit the scope of my project, actually (connection of very few BBS clients/terminals running on retro machines like Amiga and C64).

Regarding the SysOp power to override the password, I understood that, logged as SO after changed the default irc address/port in mods/chat_sec.js directly, I could input a command like:

!EXEC ?irc.js -p "IRCPASSWORD" but this returned some js variable type errors (and, considering my very poor coding attitude, I did not insist).

So, the issue that is left (by using a common users password as irc password) is that irc.js/Deuce's IRC client module does continuosly rewrite/update a single line on Amiga's DC Telnet screen (both on WinUAE and real Amiga), loosing all the chat history.

I was so close...

Thanks a lot

BR

Marco

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Hello Rob,

you're right: there is a lot I don't know about how BBS potential and mechanisms, expecially about Command Shells and SysOp stuff, I'm sorry and your patience and any help is really appreciated.

Here are my steps;

- I've changed IRC server/port in chat_sec.js directly, for not to rely on modopts.ini IRC settings (otherwise first steps below do not work);

- I connect to BBS by a standard account having password = ircd-hybrid server password, get to Chat section (C key) and activate IRC Cient (R key), it works and IRC Client connect successfully to my personal irc server based on ircd-hybrid;

- then, I re-connect to BBS and login by SysOp account, having a different password than the one of ircd-hybrid;

- If I get to Chat section (C key) and activate IRC client (R key), I obviously can connect to ircd-hybrid server but get "Bad Password" in this case;

- therefore, following the instructions in SysOp menu (! key), I enter the command in the bottom line of the Main page (and this is where my fundamental lack of knowledge and correct understanding of command shell comes out...), just after the names of current group and subgroup: !EXEC ?irc.js -p IRCPWD

- the IRC Module 1.62 starts but it does return the error: !Javascript irc.js line 126: Error: can't convert irc-port to an integer

Just as a note, my whole knowledge about BBS in general and Synchronet comes from the Wiki, of course, and this tutorial page: https://renaissancedork.com/bbsing/

Thank you very much

BR

Marco

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Re: Password setting for Irc Client accessing a private irc server
By: Odusseus71 to Digital Man on Thu Aug 01 2024 06:19 am

- the IRC Module 1.62 starts but it does return the error: !Javascript irc.js line 126: Error: can't convert irc-port to an integer

In the stock exec/irc.js file, line 126 contains: sock.bind(0,server.interface_ip_address); // Use globally defined intereface in sbbs.ini

Did you change this line?
--
digital man (rob)

Synchronet "Real Fact" #4:
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Nope, irc.js is untouched in the exec dir and this is the copy of the whole section:

/* Command-line args can override default server values */ if(argv[cmdarg]!=undefined)
irc_server=argv[cmdarg++];
if(argv[cmdarg]!=undefined)
irc_port=Number(argv[cmdarg++]);
if(argv[cmdarg]!=undefined)
default_channel=argv[cmdarg++];

default_channel=default_channel.replace(/\s+/g,"_");

sock=new Socket();
sock.bind(0,server.interface_ip_address); // Use globally defined intereface in sbbs.ini
history=new History();
screen=new Screen();

Also, no changes to the [Global] section of sbbs.ini:

[Global]
; Override system address for this instance (optional):
Hostname =
; IP address of network interface to bind to (defaults to ANY/ALL interfaces):
Interface =
; IPv4 address of network interface to use for outgoing connections
OutboundInterface =
; Override the SBBSCTRL environment variable (optional):
CtrlDirectory =
........

Thanks a lot

Marco

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Re: Password setting for Irc Client accessing a private irc server
By: Odusseus71 to Digital Man on Thu Aug 01 2024 11:36 am

Nope, irc.js is untouched in the exec dir and this is the copy of the whole section:

The error message you quoted mentions line 126 of irc.js. What is on line 126 of your exec/irc.js file?

The error message you quoted said "can't convert irc-port to an integer" - was that error actually copy/pasted, literally, or did you retype it (possibly with a typo)? The reason I ask is "irc-port" does not exist in irc.js, but "irc_port" does (underscore, not dash).

Anyway, the error seems to imply there was an additional argument provided after the "-p <password>" on the irc.js command-line. I'll re-test the -p option myself and make sure I didn't introduce a bug there, but the code looks okay at a glance.
--
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Re: Password setting for Irc Client accessing a private irc server
By: Digital Man to Odusseus71 on Thu Aug 01 2024 12:14 pm

Anyway, the error seems to imply there was an additional argument provided after the "-p <password>" on the irc.js command-line. I'll re-test the -p option myself and make sure I didn't introduce a bug there, but the code looks okay at a glance.

I just ran the current exec/irc.js using the "exec" sysop command: "?irc.js -p password" and there was no error - ran as expected.
--
digital man (rob)

Steven Wright quote #4:
99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
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