IRCXpro v1.2 Technical Manual SUMMARY This article describes how to configure your chat server, connecting to your server, securing your chat server, trouble shooting, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) commands, Extensions to the Internet Relay Chat Protocol (IRCX) commands and setting up a Java IRC client for your chat server and frequently ask questions. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introducing IRCXpro Server ............................................................. 2 2. Configuring your chat server 2.1 Connection Monitor ............................................................... 3 2.2 General Settings ................................................................... 3 2.3 Client Rules ........................................................................... 4 2.4 Operators ............................................................................... 8 2.5 Operator Groups .................................................................... 9 2.6 Security ……………................................................................ 11 2.7 Advanced Security ................................................................. 12 2.8 Miscellaneous ........................................................................ 14 2.9 Port Scanner .......................................................................... 15 2.10 Version Checker .................................................................... 16 2.11 Filtering .................................................................................. 17 2.12 Channels ................................................................................ 18 2.13 Channels Advanced................................................................ 22 2.14 Nicknames ............................................................................. 22 2.15 News Flashes ........................................................................ 23 2.16 Memorandum Services .......................................................... 24 2.17 Transcripts ............................................................................. 24 2.18 Messages .............................................................................. 25 2.19 Server Linking......................................................................... 25 3. IRC Command Reference ................................................................ 27 4. Channel Modes …............................................................................. 41 5. User Modes ...................................................................................... 46 6. Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................ 50 - 1 - 1. Introducing IRCXpro Server IRCXpro is an Internet Relay Chat Server (IRC) that supports the Extensions to the Internet Relay Chat Protocol (IRCX). Features and services provided make administration easy and more effective then ever before. The security and reliability makes the chat experience for your users a more enjoyable one. Administration Administering your chat server is done through the Remote Control utility. This utility can be used to connect locally or remotely allowing you to run your chat server at one place and administering it anywhere. Security Securing your chat server has never been so easy. It is no fun for your clients or for yourself having to deal with people trying to flood the server with text messages or trying to disrupt other users. Here are some of the security features provided. • Multiple Connection Limit • Connection Throttling • Server / Channel Attack Protection • Client Rules • Local and Network Wide bans • In/Out Flood Detection • IP/DNS Masking • IP Spoof Protection • Insecure Proxy Scanner • Version Checker • Message Filtering • And much more... Compatibility This chat server supports IRC and IRCX commands defined by the Request for Comment (RFC) 1459 specification. • Commands defined by RFC 1459 standard • Commands defined by the extension to RFC 1459 referred to as Extensions to the Internet Relay Chat Protocol (IRCX) IRCX commands can only be used if the ‘Server is IRC only’ option is disabled. - 2 - Here are some of the following chat clients we have tested: • mIRC • PIRCH • Klient • TurboIRC • Microsoft Chat • Microsoft V-Chat 2. Configuring your chat server You need to use the Remote Control utility provided to configure your chat server. You can access this in two ways. If running as an NT Service you can simply click the IRCXpro shortcut in the Start Menu otherwise double click the IRCXpro icon in the system tray. This will automatically start the Remote Control utility and log you in. 2.1 Connection Monitor This is the first screen on the Remote Control utility. Here you will be able to monitor the number of users and servers connected, how many channels are open, server processor usage (total usage on the machine) and server uptime. From this screen you also have the ability to stop the chat server using the button next to Server Status (this will stop the chat server but continue to accept Remote Control connections) 2.2 General Settings Server Name – This is the field you enter the hostname that resolves on the Internet or Intranet to your server. Obtain – This button takes you to the DNS Manager where you can request a free sub domain of [something].ircxpro.com. If you register a sub domain, this sub domain will always point to your chat server. IRCXpro automatically updates DNS whenever it starts up or a dial-up connection is established. This is ideal for administrators who don’t own a domain name or ones which have a dynamic IP Address. Network Name – This field is used for specifying your network name, if your server is part of a network. Description – The first description box is where you would enter a short mission statement, the second box is used typically for the geographical location of your server. Contact Info – The administrator contact name and URL or email address is normally entered in this field. Ports – The ports your server will listen on separated by commas. - 3 - Only this IP – You can bind the chat server to a single IP address if the system running the IRC server has multiple addresses. If you require specifying different IP addresses on different ports click the Bindings button. Ping Frequency – How often the server will send pings to make sure the connection still exists. Keep Connection Alive – Prevents long connections from timing out in case of inactivity. Limit clones – Clones are multiple users from the same address. These are sometimes harmless like a Cyber-Cafe and other times they can be malicious. Limit connections – How many users may be connected on this chat server before it is considered full and cannot be used until someone disconnects. Connection backlog – This is the maximum number of connections allowed to wait to establish a connection. Enable DNS Lookups – Clients reverse DNS address will appear rather then their IP address. Enable Connection Throttling – Connections will be throttled to prevent users from reconnecting too quickly to the server. Enable Abrupt Disconnects – Forces an abrupt (hard) disconnection instead of connections being terminated gracefully. Server is IRC only – This will disable the Extensions to the Internet Relay Chat Protocol (IRCX). We recommend you keep this option turned off. 2.3 Client Rules Client rules allow you to treat clients differently based on their addresses. This can be useful in a number of ways, for example you can greet clients in a different language based on their domain or restrict a whole ISP if you have been receiving a lot of trouble from their users. The chat server will go through each rule in the order from the top, down until the server finds a match. If the user fits no client rule then the server does not allow the connection (if no client rules exist then the server will accept any connection). Client rules can be added, modified and deleted from this screen. Selection Class Name – The name you wish to call your class Default Class – Tick here to make this rule the default one. This can be used to link the MOTD from other rules back to this one so you only need to maintain one copy. Description – Here you can enter a brief description of the purpose of this rule. - 4 - Start Time & Stop Time – The time window in which this class is enabled for. Client Protocol – Here you can select the Protocol for which the client is using. Logon Mode – Here you can select if the user has been authenticated (for example a successful Ident Server lookup) Only reverse DNS connections – This can be used to select only users who have a reverse DNS on their IP address. Masks – This is where you can enter the masks of the clients you are trying to apply this rule for if the above has selected them. (if no masks are supplied, this will select anyone) Supported Masks • <userid>@<domain> • <userid>@<domain>:<chat port> • <userid>@<domain>$<multi-homed IP address> • <userid>@<domain>$<multi-homed IP address>:<chat port> Wildcards can be used in Masks MOTD This is the place you enter the Message of the Day for your clients (/MOTD). The message of the day can be pasted in here and formatted using the Text Editing toolbar. (The majority of chat clients support color / text formatting) Use Default Class – If you do not want to duplicate your message of the day, you can use this option and the clients will see the MOTD stored on the default class instead. Constraints (only applies to clients selected by this rule) Attack Protection – Creates an artificial delay (in seconds) before