I don't like that one of the linked articles suggests an end of IRC. Any server can be DDoS'd and there's nothing that makes IRC more vulnerable than any other service being provided. In general, the IP addresses of hubs are hidden from ordinary users, the the worst damage that can be done is taking some client servers offline.
Yes, the kiddies get large botnets, but that doesn't mean they win. There were times a few years ago that most EFnet servers were offline for days, and that EFnet logs many servers during that time. But the kiddies were never able to destroy the network, and it's come back stronger than ever. If anything, the kiddies didn't hurt the network, they made it better. There's a chanfix, inspired by the attacks, to restore opless and some taken-over channels. This goes a long way to preventing attacks. Most of the EFnet attacks were motivated by channel disputes.
Undernet has hid which server a user is connected to and has disabled commends such as/links. There's now a +x mode which if a user is logged into X/W, hides the user's host.
Where I'm going with this is the best IRC networks generally survive the attacks and are stronger in the end. I don't think an attack on Dalnet is the end of IRC.
While I'm no expert on this, as a longtime user of IRC, in the past couple years I've seen a huge rise in the number of users who send you a website to visit upon joining a channel. Some networks take the steps of helping these users remove the trojan, or removing them from the network. On the other hand, some networks do nothing to solve these problems. If these are the same trojans that provide DDoS bots, opers could be doing a lot more to track down and solve the problems. I, for one, often report these to EFnet opers, and the opers are almost always quick to remove the user from the network.
What's my point in all of this? With some common sense, some coding skills, and opers who are willing to help, a network can solve a lot of its problems. If EFnet and Undernet managed to overcome DDoS attacks many times in the past, one wonders why Dalnet wasn't able to.
And the end of Dalnet doesn't mean the end of IRC. Other networks are better prepared to deal with this sort of thing, and can survive much more than Dalnet has. While the article raises valid concerns, it's written from the standpoint of someone who doesn't seem to know much about other networks.
Anyway, I hope Dalnet doesn't just cease to exist. Somehow I doubt it will, though.
Part of the point of the article was that the DDOS attacks mean that ISPs are becoming less and less likely to allow IRC servers on their networks.
The attacks on DALnet have apparently been over 3GB/s of traffic for periods, and attacks have lasted for days. The attacks have been so large that they don't just overwhelm a single IRC server, but they have a serious impact on whole ISPs.
ISPs are doing IRC-ers a favour by letting IRC servers use their networks as a free service, but if these DDOS idiots start affecting those ISPs' ability to function, the easiest thing for the ISPs to do is to stop hosting IRC servers.
DALnet, or any other large IRC network, can always get a few servers sorted out easily enough. But what if all the large ISPs won't let them use their connections ?
This is why the article is saying there's a threat to IRC.
Maybe you can't buy happiness, but these days you can certainly charge it.
The end of Dalnet != The end of IRC (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes, the kiddies get large botnets, but that doesn't mean they win. There were times a few years ago that most EFnet servers were offline for days, and that EFnet logs many servers during that time. But the kiddies were never able to destroy the network, and it's come back stronger than ever. If anything, the kiddies didn't hurt the network, they made it better. There's a chanfix, inspired by the attacks, to restore opless and some taken-over channels. This goes a long way to preventing attacks. Most of the EFnet attacks were motivated by channel disputes.
Undernet has hid which server a user is connected to and has disabled commends such as
Where I'm going with this is the best IRC networks generally survive the attacks and are stronger in the end. I don't think an attack on Dalnet is the end of IRC.
While I'm no expert on this, as a longtime user of IRC, in the past couple years I've seen a huge rise in the number of users who send you a website to visit upon joining a channel. Some networks take the steps of helping these users remove the trojan, or removing them from the network. On the other hand, some networks do nothing to solve these problems. If these are the same trojans that provide DDoS bots, opers could be doing a lot more to track down and solve the problems. I, for one, often report these to EFnet opers, and the opers are almost always quick to remove the user from the network.
What's my point in all of this? With some common sense, some coding skills, and opers who are willing to help, a network can solve a lot of its problems. If EFnet and Undernet managed to overcome DDoS attacks many times in the past, one wonders why Dalnet wasn't able to.
And the end of Dalnet doesn't mean the end of IRC. Other networks are better prepared to deal with this sort of thing, and can survive much more than Dalnet has. While the article raises valid concerns, it's written from the standpoint of someone who doesn't seem to know much about other networks.
Anyway, I hope Dalnet doesn't just cease to exist. Somehow I doubt it will, though.
Re:The end of Dalnet != The end of IRC (Score:2)
The attacks on DALnet have apparently been over 3GB/s of traffic for periods, and attacks have lasted for days. The attacks have been so large that they don't just overwhelm a single IRC server, but they have a serious impact on whole ISPs.
ISPs are doing IRC-ers a favour by letting IRC servers use their networks as a free service, but if these DDOS idiots start affecting those ISPs' ability to function, the easiest thing for the ISPs to do is to stop hosting IRC servers.
DALnet, or any other large IRC network, can always get a few servers sorted out easily enough. But what if all the large ISPs won't let them use their connections ?
This is why the article is saying there's a threat to IRC.