IRCnow.org - setting up your own IRC server

geo_c · Post by **geo_c** » Tue May 03, 2022 6:10 am

So I was figuring out how to use irc chat with hexchat, and I got into a discussion with someone who is a team member with the organization discussed in this article: https://www.linux-magazine.com/Issues/2 ... iew-IRCNow

It seems they teach people from the ground up how to use IRC protocol and shell servers.

He quickly began walking me through setting up a shell server account. But it got late in the night and became early in the am hour, so I told him I'll come back when I'm fresh.

After reading the article, their approach may be beneficial to me. Although I'm not immediately looking to invest the time to setup my own servers, etc.

The IRCnow.org website is here: https://wiki.ircnow.org/?n=OpenSSH.Connect

I was just wondering if anyone has an opinion on this. Is it something I should avoid? It seems legit. But I'm a little concerned about security being that puppy runs as root. And I'm on Fossapup64.

user1111 · Post by **user1111** » Wed May 04, 2022 8:09 pm

An old laptop, or something like a pi ... and set up your own server (use much less power than a old PC, but a old PC could equally suffice if you were only leaving it on whilst playing/learning).

If your home network is behind a ISP provided router then if port forwarding isn't enabled, which typically it wont be under a default configuration, then the server will only be visible within the local LAN, so you can experiment to your hearts content.

Only when you intend to open that up to being accessible from anywhere do you need to start doing things like putting it on a separate lan segment to the rest of the local LAN.

I think you'll learn much more and more quickly that way.

For instance most busybox are compiled to include httpd .. a web server ... so ...

cd
mkdir tst
cd tst
echo "<html><body>Hi</body></html" >index.html
httpd

... and then open your browser to localhost ... and you have a web server up and running.

sshd (ssh server) requires a bit more effort, but not much, mostly configuring settings in /etc/ssh/sshd_config ... where in the first instance open that up to root and just password based (learn about ssh keys later) ... before running sshd to start that serving, and ssh into that.

For other servers ... its just a case of messing around. For instance in Fatdog that is more real *nix like where additional userids can be created, create a new userid, set that userid's shell to /bin/myshell (in some nix variants you also have to specify that as being a valid shell in /etc/shells) ... so when that user logs in they run that shell. Which may be as simple as

#!/bin/sh
while : ;do
read A
done

... basically nothing but repeatedly reading a line. You can extend that over time, to maybe do certain actions according to what was type in, perhaps using a 'case' statement. Which will develop your scripting knowledge.

geo_c · Post by **geo_c** » Thu May 05, 2022 9:46 pm

rufwoof wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 8:09 pm
An old laptop, or something like a pi ... and set up your own server (use much less power than a old PC, but a old PC could equally suffice if you were only leaving it on whilst playing/learning).

So what IRCNow.org seems to be about is recruiting people to run IRC servers and training them by having them log into their OpenBSD shell server. And I'm am of course hesitant to get into involved with that, although you already put the bug in my ear to try out hashbang. So what I think you're telling me here is that I can simply set up my own server on my protected home wifi network and log into that machine from another machine to experiment and learn within the privacy of my own network.

Am I getting this correctly?

That approach actually sounds fantastic to me. I have at least 3 laptops that could do the job.

user1111 · Post by **user1111** » Sat May 07, 2022 8:27 am

geo_c wrote: ↑Thu May 05, 2022 9:46 pm
rufwoof wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 8:09 pm
An old laptop, or something like a pi ... and set up your own server (use much less power than a old PC, but a old PC could equally suffice if you were only leaving it on whilst playing/learning).

So what IRCNow.org seems to be about is recruiting people to run IRC servers and training them by having them log into their OpenBSD shell server. And I'm am of course hesitant to get into involved with that, although you already put the bug in my ear to try out hashbang. So what I think you're telling me here is that I can simply set up my own server on my protected home wifi network and log into that machine from another machine to experiment and learn within the privacy of my own network.

Am I getting this correctly?

That approach actually sounds fantastic to me. I have at least 3 laptops that could do the job.

I suspect you would learn more/quicker using your own kit/setup.

Maybe start with using a smartphone, set to be a hotspot with no password ... open, but with mobile data and wifi turned off (yes a phone can still be a wifi hotspot without its wifi being turned on), so only anyone within range can access that, including perhaps one of your laptops that also wifi connects to that and acts as a server to that network. The functionality of that server limited only by your imagination - maybe a web server so only people within range of that phone/wifi net can freely access the web pages, but not gain access to your main internet connection nor your main home router. Also attach the laptop to your main network via its ethernet such that its connected to two networks simultaneously - and you'll learn about routing, iptables (kernels internal firewall) etc. Then maybe do away with the phone, as most laptops integral wifi cards also support being access points so can also be set up to be a open wifi. During all of that you'll also be learning script and perhaps vi/vim ..etc.

Security wise, most approach that from a 'kept out' mindset, its better however to instead approach it from a 'has been breached' mindset. The laptop I use for gui based surfing runs in a container, so if breached it has no access to my data. If our LAN is breached, individual systems firewalls and ports being turned off prevent propagation. Router admin is limited to hard wired from a specific device ...etc.

geo_c · Post by **geo_c** » Mon May 09, 2022 2:06 pm

rufwoof wrote: ↑Sat May 07, 2022 8:27 am
Security wise, most approach that from a 'kept out' mindset, its better however to instead approach it from a 'has been breached' mindset. The laptop I use for gui based surfing runs in a container, so if breached it has no access to my data. If our LAN is breached, individual systems firewalls and ports being turned off prevent propagation. Router admin is limited to hard wired from a specific device ...etc.

I'll be trying it out. Probably in the summer as my business runs on the school-year calendar. At home my machines are always hard-wired to the router. I do have a spare and powerful phone I could use to try that method.

It's interesting you bring up containers, I was thinking of checking out @BarryK's EasyOS for that reason.

user1111 · Post by **user1111** » Tue May 10, 2022 10:51 am

An alternative to containers is physical separation. One of my boot choices is pretty much just the kernel, busybox, ssh/sshd, screen (terminal multiplexor) and fbvnc. cli/framebuffer.

Start screen and ssh into hashbang ... where the session is as you left it.
In another screen fbvnc into a local box running fatdog livecd and you have X/gui desktop.
In another screen run mc and you have access to all of your local files.

All distinctly physically separated.

The fbvnc code I use is pretty basic, if instead I boot fatdog and use tigervnc along with x0vncserver for the x11vnc session on the server then quality is very good, can for instance watch youtubes with near as good quality as if it was running on the same box.

I believe the next version of Fatdog might be extended to include rx/sx ... sound server tools, which opens up more easy forwarding of sound i.e. fbvnc into the box where gui/youtube is running and also sx/rx forward the sound from that box, so both video and sound from that server back to your cli/framebuffer laptop.

A nice feature is that if your laptop wifi speed is slower than your ethernet speed then by wifi vnc'ing into a ethernet connected box downloads to that hard wired box occur at the higher speeds, all that is flowing via wifi is the screen images. It's also nice having servers that you can access (attach to) and then detach from ... leaving them running in the background, and later from a different place/device re-attach to again - finding them as you left them before (or having moved on - such as if running a large/long compile or render process (or whatever)).

IRC (and mail) servers are perhaps best left to third party boxes (hashbang/whatever); Data I prefer to keep locally - so a dedicated data server box; Gui/browser separated from data, so another box for that; Laptop as the command/control centre; A a separate media box with a large TV for its display; Maybe a development box for the likes of building kernels where the initial compile might take a couple of hours, or where a video render might take 4+ hours; A server box (I like OpenBSD for that) for httpd/whatever ...etc.

Screen/tmux better facilitates a consistent cut/copy/paste between the boxes method, whilst a common shared folder supports moving files between the systems. sshd is good for that, as you can mount a remote folder as though it were a local folder, failing that and scp works much the same as regular cp copying. For always on/servers small scale low power devices will considerably reduce your electricity bills.

Containers are nice for software based replication of physical separation - but only to a degree, for instance lack the capacity to detach, power off, re-attach.

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