SECURITY

Usage: SECURITY <command> [<parameters>]

Security options help you manage and protect your server.

AKILL - Permanent akill on the server, prevents user from connecting.

CHAN - Set Prohibited and Allowed Channel Masks.

CLONE - Clone detection from multiple identical ident@host.

KLINE - Prohibit users from a domain mask for entering the server.

LIST - List your security settings.

NONICK - Prohibit certain nicknames from being used except by network operators (Qlines).

SET - Additional security settings.

TRIGGER - Retrigger an address to a higher level then the clone detection default.

ZLINE - Deny any response from the specified IP address.

Example:

/as help security <command>

Security features allow you to keep any users you wish away from your server. You can also set various options that help prevent users from being able to engage in many abusive behaviors.

Usage: SECURITY AKILL [<command>] [<mask>] [<reason>]

This command set will be one of the most used security settings for your server. It has the same function as a KLINE but works in a clustered/server to server environment. This will prohibity users from gaining access to your server, or in the case of a multi server environment all the servers on your network by method of matching the mask of the user trying to connect to the server. 
If the user matches a mask they will be given the reason that you placed in the akill as part of their disconnection notice.

ADD - Adds an akill

DEL - Deletes an akill

LIST - Lists all akills

Example:

/as help security akill <topic>

In a single server environment you can also use the SECURITY KLINE command set to do the exact same thing.

Usage: SECURITY AKILL ADD [<mask>] [<reason>]

This command adds a permanent autokill on the server. These are bans that will stay intact even if the server shuts down and restarts.

Example:

/as security akill add user@*.test.com Flooding the server

As with all bans, they should be carefully set to be as specific as possible while still keeping the problem user off the server. Since these bans are permanent, it is very important that you keep track of them and manually remove them when you think it appropriate.

Usage: SECURITY AKILL DEL [<mask>]

This command deletes a specified mask form the list of permanent akills.

Example:

/as security akill del user@bad.test.org

The mask must match exactly to a mask that was placed using the SECURITY AKILL ADD command. A wider mask will not delete masks that are contained in that mask.

Usage: SECURITY AKILL LIST

Lists all akills on the server.

Example:

/as security akill list

Usage: SECURITY CHAN <add|del|list> <allow|deny> #<mask> [<reason>]

This command set gives you complete control over channel naming conventions on your server. There are two concepts that you need to understand prior to using this system:

The first is allow and deny. You use allow and deny to set up what can be used on your server. An ALLOW will always take priority over a DENY. So if you DENY all channels on your server, then you ALLOW a specific channel name or names then people will be able to join the channels that are ALLOWED inside the wider DENY. So you could DENY all channels that start with #help* and then allow only those channels you select by adding each one, or by using masks (as discussed below).

The second concept is wildcards: There are two main wildcards that can be used the first is the * and it will allow any characters and any length to be used following it. If you wanted to block out all names that end with Serv then you can do DENY #*Serv. Now you've just blocked any channels that end with serv. Consequently you can also block all channels that start with a specific word. So if you wanted to block all channels that start with #support then you can do DENY #Support*.

The second wildcard is a ? this wildcard lets you do a single character replacement. If you added a mask of ALLOW #support.? Then #support.1 #support.d could be used but #support.11 couldn't as that is two characters and not the single one that you added an ALLOW for.

Example:

/as security chan add deny #* We follow a channel naming convention.

/as security chan add allow #music.* Alt Group

/as security chan add deny #music.warez* No warez allowed

/as security chan add allow #pacer.* Science Group

/as security chan add allow #foo.* Something to Delete

/as security chan del allow #foo.*

/as security chan list

In the above example we set a DENY of all the channels on the server, then we used ALLOW and wildcards to specify what could be used on the server. In this way we have made a server where #music.* and #pacer.* can be used. So you could have a channel called #music.irc.foo or #music.games and one called #pacer.math or #pacer.physics but only channels that start with #music. or #pacer. can be used.

Note: This series of commands replaces the previous NOCHAN commands found in the 2.0x and earlier servers.

Usage: CLONE [<command>] [<parameters>]

Clones are duplicate clients from the same client address. There are two general types: The first is an internet caf� or similar that is connecting through something like WinGate to access the web, these are valid users for your system. The second is a user that loads your server with fake clients that are usually harmful or disruptive. 
The default level of clone detection is set to 10 if a single host brings on more than 10 clients the server will send you an alert. To set it so that a single host can have more than 10 you use the trigger command to lift that host's threshold.

ALERT - Send notices to local or remote servers.

DETECT - Detect on local or remote servers.

LEVEL - Set the number of clones before it alerts.

OFF - Disable clone detection.

ON - Enable clone detection.

Example:

/as help security clone <topic>

Clones are a problem for two reasons. First, they take up space and resources for no particular point. Most administrators would rather their servers have a large number of people on their servers, rather than a smaller number on multiple times. The second problem is that most people load up clones with bad motivations. 
Some do so simply to see if they can or to experiment, but some do it to flood rooms or engage in similarly disruptive behaviors. Clones are generally not a major problem, but they should be monitored and dealt with.

Usage: SECURITY CLONE ALERT [LOCAL|NETWORK]

The server can either alert the entire network when the clone limits are triggered or it can just alert the operators on itself. The default is to only send alerts locally.

Example:

/as security clone alert network

If your server is part of a network where you trust any of the operators to deal with your clones, then it may be better if all servers report globally. However, it would depend on how many clone alerts the network tends to get and how much you want other operators doing with your clients.

Usage: SECURITY CLONE DETECT [LOCAL|NETWORK]

The server can search for clones either only among its own users or on the entire network. The default is to only search locally.

Example:

/as security clone detect network

You will probably want to leave detection local. But, in theory, you could set detection to network and alerts to local and only authorize operators on that one server to deal with clone alerts. The advantage of this would be that other operators would not have to deal with the extra scroll and you could have people specialize. 
The disadvantage is that if a server were to split off, nobody would be dealing with its clones.

Usage: SECURITY CLONE LEVEL <number>

This command sets the default level for searching for clones. Triggers will still take precedence for specific hosts. The default is 10. 

Example:

/as security clone level 12

Clone level is always a compromise. If you set the value too high, you will miss too many clones. If you set the value too low, you will be investigating too many innocent users. Ten tends to be a decent amount, but you can experiment and see what works best for your server.

Usage: SECURITY CLONE OFF

This command will turn off clone detection for the server. 

Example:

/as security clone off

You would probably only want to turn off clone detection if you are part of a network where another server is watching for clones over the entire network. While clones won't be a major problem for most networks, if ignored they may become so.

Usage: SECURITY CLONE ON

This command will turn clone detection back on.

Example:

/as security clone on

This is useful if you temporarily turned off clone detection for some reason.

Usage: SECURITY KLINE [<command>] [<mask>] [<reason>]

This command set will be one of the most used security settings for your server. It has the same function as AKILL but works in a single server environment. This will prohibity users from gaining access to your server by method of matching the mask of the user trying to connect to the server. If the user matches a mask they will be given a reason why they couldn't connect.

ADD - Add a permanent kline.

DEL - Delete a permanent kline.

LIST - List your all your klines on your server.

Examples:

/as help security kline <topic>

If you run an open chat network, then you should make sure to go through your klines and remove old ones. Since these klines will never go away on their own, you may end up with people being banned for a very long time. Even if a ban only affects one user, many users will reform and begin behaving eventually and most bans will block chatters who use the same ISP.

Usage: SECURITY KLINE ADD [<mask>] [<reason>]

This will add a permanent kline on your system. A kline will prohibit users from joining the server. The security parameter uses a mask of user@host and a reason. These will stay even if your server is shut down and can only be added through the AdminServ command set. Other klines added with the /kline command are temporary and will not remain after a /rehash or you stop your server. 

Examples:

/as security kline add user@*.test.org Flooding the server

If you run an open chat server, then you should make sure to go through your klines and remove old ones. Since these klines will never go away on their own, you may end up with people being banned for a very long time. Even if a ban only affects one user, many users will reform and begin behaving eventually and most bans will block chatters who use the same ISP.

Usage: SECURITY KLINE DEL [<mask>]

This command deletes a specified mask form the list of permanent klines.

Examples:

/as security kline del user@*.test.org

The mask must match exactly to a mask that was placed using the SECURITY KLINE ADD command. A wider mask will not delete masks that are contained in that mask.

Usage: SECURITY KLINE LIST

Lists all akills on the server.

Examples:

/as security kline list

Usage: SECURITY LIST

This command will give you a list of all of your security settings.

Example:

/as security list

It's a good idea to skim over your security settings every so often. The list will probably be somewhat lengthy.

Usage: See CHAN

This command set has been replaced with CHAN
Example:

/as help security chan

Usage: SECURITY NOCHAN ADD <room> <reason>

These commands control the list of rooms that cannot be created. If the room already exists, then people can join it. But if the room empties then nobody can enter it again until it is removed from the nochan list.

Example:

/as security nochan add #webcam

You can use masks when creating prohibited channel names and all channels that match that mask will then be prohibited. Example: #webcam*

Usage: SECURITY NOCHAN DEL <room>

This command deletes a specified prohibited channel.

Example:

/as security nochan del #webcam

The mask must match exactly to a mask that was placed using the SECURITY NOCHAN ADD command. A wider mask will not delete masks that are contained in that mask.

Usage: SECURITY NOCHAN LIST

Lists all prohibited channel names.

Example:

/as security nochan list

Usage: SECURITY NONICK [<command>] [<nick>]

These commands control the list of nicknames that users are prohibited from using. Network operators can still switch to these nicks. These prohibited nicknames stay on your server until deleted.

ADD - Add a prohibited nickname.

DEL - Delete a prohibited nickname.

LIST - List all prohibited nicknames.

Example:

/as help security nonick <topic>

There are some pre-set prohibited nicknames on every ConferenceRooms server. They are there to ban a list of nicknames that are commonly used in various chat places as the nicknames for services or administration. On networks that do not ban them, sometimes users will switch to these nicks and try to harm other users who recognize them as services or official nicknames.

Usage: SECURITY NONICK ADD [<nick>] PASSWORD [<password>] [<reason>]

This command will allow you to create a list of nicknames that cannot be used by anyone that is not an operator on the server or that doesn't have the password. To connect with a password you must either use 

Example:

/as security nonick add *Serv password foo Services Abuse

You can use wildcards when creating your nickname mask. If you use Web* then any nickname that starts with web will be prevented from being used.

Usage: SECURITY NONICK DEL [<nick>]

This command deletes a specified mask form the list of prohibited nicknames.

Example:

/as security nonick del WebBot

The mask must match exactly to a mask that was placed using the SECURITY NONICK ADD command. A wider mask will not delete masks that are contained in that mask.

Usage: SECURITY NONICK LIST

Lists all prohibited nicknames.

Example:

/as security nonick list

Usage: SECURITY SET <command> [values]

The security set commands are used for configuring specific security settings on your server.

DEFTRIGGER - Set the default trigger.

Example:

/as help security set <topic>

These settings should be reviewed before a chat server is opened to the public. While you can change them while your server is in use, several of them will create changes visible to the users. With all such changes, some people will be confused and there will be a period of adjustment.

Usage: SECURITY SET DEFTRIGGER <number>

The default trigger used by services

Examples:

/as security set deftrigger 5

Usage: SECURITY TRIGGER [<command>] [<mask>] [<number>]

Sets a threshold for the server clone detection on a per host/hostmask basis.

ADD - Add a permanent trigger mask.

DEL - Delete a permanent trigger mask.

LIST - List all current triggers

Examples:

/as help security trigger <topic>

These are permanent triggers for clone detection. Triggers allow you to make an exception to the normal trigger level for specific masks. This allows you to add cybercafes or similar at higher trigger levels or problem hosts at lower trigger levels. Over time, your clone alerts will become more efficient.

Usage: SECURITY TRIGGER ADD [<mask>] [<number>]

Sets a threshold for the server clone detection on a per host/hostmask basis.

Examples:

/as security trigger add *.conferencerooms 50

This setting should be applied as conservatively as possible to avoid letting large quantities of clones onto the server.

Usage: SECURITY TRIGGER DEL [<mask>]

This command sets the specified mask back to the default trigger level.

Examples:

/as security trigger del *.conferencerooms.org

The mask must match exactly to a mask that was placed using the SECURITY TRIGGER ADD command. A wider mask will not delete masks that are contained in that mask.

Usage: SECURITY TRIGGER LIST

Lists all triggerss

Examples:

/as security trigger list

Usage: SECURITY ZLINE [<command>] [<IP address>]

A zline will reject any attempt from a specific or masked IP to contact the server. The zline acts as a sort of firewall. 

ADD - Add a permanent zline mask.

DEL - Delete a permanent zline mask.

LIST - List all the permanent Zlines on your server.

NUMBER - Sets the number of seconds that zlines will remain active on the server.

Examples:

/as help security zline <command>

Zlines are the strongest form of server ban. As with any ban, make sure to set them no broader than necessary and to periodically review the list and clean out old entries.

Usage: SECURITY ZLINE <command> <IP address>-<IP address>

Zlines are added in either a single IP, or as a range of IPs. You can zline as few or as many addresses as you want. If you do not have a good understanding of the Internet, or Zlines it would be a good idea to use an AKILL or a KLINE rather than a Zline.

Examples:

/as security zline add 10.132.51.0-10.132.52.255

Be VERY carefull. zlines work across both the web server and the chat server and if you set a zline on the masks that your administrative lines are tied to you will have to shut down the server and manually edit the configuration to let you get back on the server. For those with console or control panel access the changes can be made from there.

Usage: SECURITY ZLINE <command> <IP address>

This command deletes a specified IP or IP range form the list of permanent zlines.

Examples:

/as security zline del 10.132.51.*

The IP or IP range must match exactly the IP that was placed using the SECURITY ZLINE ADD command. A wider range will not delete IPs that are contained in that range.

Usage: SECURITY ZLINE LIST

Lists all akills on the server.

Examples:

/as security zline list

Usage: SECURITY ZLINE NUMBER <number>

Configures the number of seconds that zlines will remain active on the server. 
After the set number of seconds the zline will automatically remove itself.

Examples:

/as security zline auto 10