full-disclosure - Why is IRC still around?

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Message-ID: <20041123192145.GD32578@mars-attacks.org>
From: boklm at mars-attacks.org (nicolas vigier)
Subject: Why is IRC still around?

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004, Danny wrote:

> Well, it sure does help the anti-virus (anti-malware) and security
> consulting business, but besides that... is it not safe to say that:
> 
> 1) A hell of a lot of viruses/worms/trojans use IRC to wreck further havoc?
> 2) A considerable amount of "script kiddies" originate and grow through IRC?
> 3) A wee bit of software piracy occurs?
> 4) That many organized DoS attacks through PC zombies are initiated through IRC?
> 5) The anonymity of the whole thing helps to foster all the illegal
> and malicious activity that occurs?
> The list goes on and on...
> 
> Sorry to offend those that use IRC legitimately (LOL - find something
> else to chat with your buddies), but why the hell are we not pushing
> to sunset IRC?

Are you really serious ? Is it a joke ?

This remind me some stupid article I read on nytime :
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/technology/circuits/06chat.html
(account required, if you don't have one try ptramo/ptramo)

Read it, this is quite funny, they tell us that most of the bad things
on the internet come from IRC. Here are some quotes :
<<
In a room called Prime-Tyme-Movies, users offered free pirated downloads
of "The Passion of the Christ'' and "Kill Bill Vol. 2.''
[...]
And in a far less obtrusive channel, a hacker may well have been
checking his progress of hacking into the computers of unsuspecting
Internet users.
[...]
Yet that pirated copy of Microsoft Office or Norton Utilities that turns
up on a home-burned CD-ROM may well have originated on I.R.C. And the
Internet viruses and "denial of service'' attacks that periodically make
news generally get their start there, too. This week, the network's chat
rooms were abuzz with what seemed like informed chatter about the Sasser
worm, which infected hundreds of thousands of computers over the
weekend.
[...]
There seem to be I.R.C. channels dedicated to every sexual fetish, and
I.R.C. users speculate that terrorists also use the networks to
communicate in relative obscurity.
[...]
Some Internet experts believe that child pornography rings sometimes use
their own private, password-protected I.R.C. servers. Particularly wary
users can try to hide their identity by logging in to I.R.C. servers
only through intermediary computers.
[...]
But perhaps the most disruptive use of I.R.C. is as a haven and
communications medium for those who release viruses or try to disable
Web sites and other Internet servers.
>>

-- 
gpg fp: 8a7e 9719 b38d 97c6 6af0  d345 12a0 3708 2c8c 3c11
http://boklm.mars-attacks.org/