Open Proxy Monitor
Sundiver IRC Networks are protected by the Blitzed Open Proxy Monitor to check against connecting hosts to not host open proxies or facilities to ensure hiding or camouflaging a connecing IP Address.
By connecting to the Sundiver IRC Network, you agree the scanning and quickchecking of your host against probable proxy softwares or open proxy ports.
The need to scan against open proxies arose due to a massiv spamming and multiple DoS attacks we experienced in the past and to protect our networks integrity as well as to uphold the service quality for our users.
What is a proxy?
A proxy is a piece of software that allows other computers to "bounce" connections through the computer it is installed on allowing other computers to access the internet through it. This can allow access to the internet from networks which do not have a direct internet connection.
So why aren't they allowed?
We have no problem with correctly configured proxies, they are sometimes the only way it is possible for someone to gain internet access. However when a proxy is misconfigured to allow access to anyone on the internet (often called an open proxy) it can be used by anyone on the internet to "bounce" their connections through your system! This type of misconfigured proxy is an annoyance to the internet community as a whole because they allow abusers to hide behind someone else's address. This can be abused by spammers to anonymously send unsolicitied email ("spam"), to anonymously connect to a chat network such as IRC or to access (and possibily abuse) websites in an anonymous fashion.How does this affect IRC?
If you have been on IRC for any length of time, you have probably seen an attack using open proxies at least once. Hundreds of clients will enter a channel, often with random nick names, and start sending large amounts of coloured channel and CTCP messages. Commonly they will leave and join the channel rapidly in order to cause more disruption.
Without completely locking up the channel, there is no effective way to stop the flood. Even if the channel is locked up, the floods of text can be sent to individual users and will usually be enough to disconnect them.
Most of these types of attacks use open proxies because open proxies are relatively easy to come by. Lists of them are readily available over the Internet. So this is why many IRC networks do not allow them. If you have to use a proxy, it should be configured correctly.
Blitzed Open Proxy Monitor
Sundiver IRC Networks uses the Blitzed Open Proxy Monitor to crosscheck incoming connections to its IRC service to not host insecured or open proxies on the connecting IP.
You might see requests to open connections to your computer at the time you connect to Sundiver IRC. This is not an attach, but rather a simple check if your computer allows such connections. Simply ignoring those connection requests once for a first time connection to Sundiver IRC will do the trick.
For more information about how the BOPM works, check out the according website:
BOPMTexts are excerptionally taken from the used open proxy monitoring system, supplied by Blitzed IRC. See http://www.bopm.org/ for further details about the used software to protect Sundiver IRC Networks from open proxies.