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Due to constant abuse of TOR we have been forced to block exit nodes that appear in various blocklists. We do provide a TOR server for our users. If your client is already configured for tor please follow these requirements. You must have a registered nick which has been active for 7 days on our network. We do this to limit abuse. You must understand IRC hostmasks, specifically you need to be able to identify the Ident/Username portion. If you believe you satisfy these requirements and have read About TOR then join our #help channel and request to be added to the TOR access list

Introduction

This tutorial will help you connect to AnonOps IRC network using some of the most popular clients. Please read all the steps for the client of your choice throughly then begin to set up your client. Users interested in TOR access must read About TOR BEFORE trying to connect to our TOR server.

About SSL

TLS and SSL are cryptographic protocols that can provide secure communications over the internet. We highly recommend you connect to our IRC network using an encrypted connection. All IRC clients are capable of using TLS/SSL provided you set things up correctly. Some IRC client have SSL included. One popular one that does NOT is mIRC. Installing SSL is the first step.
For Windows users this installer will be sufficient for Win32. This is the latest version available and will work with all common applications that require SSL. Win64 and other downloads are available here
Some older Windows versions may also require the Visual C 2008 redistributables available from MS here

Linux users need to check if OpenSSL is installed and if so, check which version you have. The current stable 1.0.1e is recommended. Verify the version in your repos before using the package manager to install it. If you need to compile from source, the tarballs can be found here.

Connect using mIRC

Connect to AnonOps IRC using mIRC IRC client.

Connect using non-SSL

Default command for connecting on mIRC is /server -m <hostname> [port]. So to connect using a standard unencrypted connection you would type 
/server -m irc.anonops.com
or 
/server -m irc.anonops.com 6667
The default IRC port is 6667

Connect using SSL

If you skipped AboutSSL go back.
To use SSL you will specify the SSL port and include the ssl switch, depending on the format. See below. The SSL port on all our servers is 6697
You can either add the -e switch which specifies that the connection should use SSL:
/server -m -e irc.anonops.com 6697
or you could just prefix the port with the + sign which does the same thing. 
/server -m irc.anonops.com +6697
This will connect you over IPv4 using an SSL encrypted connection.

Connect using SSL on IPv6

You can use SSL on IPv6 connections. 
/server -m -e -6 irc.anonops.com 6697
or 
/server -m -6 irc.anonops.com +6697
The -6 switch tells your client to use the AAAA records from irc.anonops.com.

Using mIRC over TOR

Please follow these requirements. You must have a registered nick which has been active for 7 days on our network. We do this to limit abuse. You must understand IRC hostmasks, specifically you need to be able to identify the Ident/Username portion. If you believe you satisfy these requirements and have read About TOR then join our #help channel and request to be added to the TOR access list.

First thing is to set up your mIRC to use TOR as a tunnel/proxy. TOR is a seperate application and needs to be installed and working.
If you have not followed the instructions in About TOR you CANNOT CONNECT USING TOR.
  1. Press Alt+O to open the options dialog.
  2. Go to Connect -> Proxy section.
  3. Under Connection select Both.
  4. Under Protocol select Socks5.
  5. Under Hostname enter "localhost" or "127.0.0.1" (without quotes).
  6. Under Port enter 9050 or 9150 for bundle version 2.3.25-4 and later.
  7. Press OK.
This sets up your mIRC to use TOR as tunnel/proxy. Keep in mind that ANY server you connect to using the mIRC installation you just configured (not just AnonOps) will use TOR. Some (most) IRC networks however do not allow TOR or require extra steps (such as our) in order to connect. You should therefore probably have a separate mIRC installation that you will use with TOR.
Second, you will need to have an unique IDENT when connecting with TOR.
This is the same IDENT you gave to the help staff when you were added to the TOR access list.
If you have not followed the instructions in About TOR you CANNOT CONNECT USING TOR.
  1. Press Alt+O to open the options dialog.
  2. Go to Connect -> Identd section.
  3. Your IDENT is in the "User ID" box and system is "unix" by default.
  4. Change it to something unique and write it down.
Third, you need to have a password which you will pass to the connect command. This is the cleartext password NOT the hash. The hash is the string you gave to the help staff when you were added to the TOR access list.
If you have not followed the instructions in About TOR you CANNOT CONNECT USING TOR.
Now that you've set up your client and have been added to TOR ACL you can connect using encrypted (SSL) connections (SSL is recommended). There is also a different type of address you use to connect with TOR called an .onion address and is currently anonops532vcpz6z.onion
For SSL connections you can use 
/server -m anonops532vcpz6z.onion +443 YourPasswordHere
The YourPasswordHere is the cleartext password you hashed, NOT the hash.
Most of TOR relays block IRC exit ports (6667, 6697, etc) because people abuse it for spambots/clones. You have greater success using SSL on port 443 (which is a standard HTTP SSL port) and is allowed by most TOR exit nodes.
TOR is a high latency network (slow) and can take a long time to connect so you may have many failed connection attempts before you succeed. Keep trying.

Connect to AnonOps IRC with XChat

This section will explain how to connect to IRC using XChat(Or any XChat variant). It is a good thing to note that HexChat is probably the most maintained XChat variant. It is also free.

Connect using non-SSL

SSL connections are recommended but if you must use nonSSL enter 
/server irc.anonops.com

There is no need to provide the port here, unless the IRC you are connecting to uses non-standard ports. XChat assumes 6667

Connect using SSL

With XChat there should be no extra steps needed to use SSL. The SSL libraries are installed with XChat on Windows and Linux.
To connect to our IRC using SSL do the following 
/server -ssl irc.anonops.com 6697
Note that you need to specify the port number. All our servers use 6697 for SSL connections.
You should always use an SSL connection for better security.. IRC is a plaintext protocol so it is recommended that you use SSL encryption

Connect using IPv6

IPv6 support is native in XChat. Of course, you do need an IPv6 capable network connection. 
/server ipv6.anonops.com
or for SSL use 
/server -ssl ipv6.anonops.com 6697
See? Nothing special needed. Just simply change the server name to ipv6.anonops.com.

Connect using XChat over TOR

Please follow these requirements. You must have a registered nick which has been active for 7 days on our network. We do this to limit abuse. You must understand IRC hostmasks, specifically you need to be able to identify the Ident/Username portion. If you believe you satisfy these requirements and have read About TOR then join our #help channel and request to be added to the TOR access list

We will now change some XChat variables to redirect traffic through the local TOR proxy. Copy and paste the following into your XChat client: 
/set net_proxy_host 127.0.0.1
/set net_proxy_type 3
/set net_proxy_port 9050 or 9150 for bundle version 2.3.25-4 and later.
/set net_proxy_use 0

Skip this step if you know your IDENT is already configured in your client. 
/set irc_user_name yourIDENT
This is the same IDENT you gave to the help staff when you were added to the TOR access list.
If you have not followed the instructions in About TOR you CANNOT CONNECT USING TOR.
Now add the hidden service to your network list, add a new network in the network list and name it AnonOps. Then enter the following as the server to use: 
anonops532vcpz6z.onion/443
Check Use SSL for all servers in this network and Accept invalid SSL certificate and type in the Server Password.
This is the cleartext password NOT the hash. The hash is the string you gave to the help staff when you were added to the TOR access list.
If you have not followed the instructions in About TOR you CANNOT CONNECT USING TOR.
If you choose to not save the network information in your client use the following command to connect 
/server -ssl anonops532vcpz6z.onion 443 YourPasswordHere

TOR is a high latency network (slow) and can take a long time to connect so you may have many failed connection attempts before you succeed. Keep trying.

About TOR

If you are a registered user on our network and have been active for at least 7 days you may request to be added to the TOR access list.
We do this to limit abuse. You also need to understand IRC hostmasks, specifically you need to be able to identify the Ident/Username portion.
Please do not waste our time if you have not met this requirement. There are NO EXCEPTIONS.

TOR is software which allows you to route various network enabled applications through the Onion anonymity network. It will not route all of your computer's traffic through Onion automatically just by running TOR. You will have to configure each program to use it. Luckily this is really easy.

When you install and run TOR it will create a Socks5 proxy server. This proxy server runs on localhost meaning only your computer and your computer only will be able to connect to it. Then you can set up your internet apps to use a Socks5 proxy server specifying localhost as proxy server address and port 9050 or 9150 for bundle version 2.3.25-4 and later as the proxy server port. This is the TOR default listen port. Once set, all the traffic of that internet program will go through the Onion network.

For Windows users, Tor has simplified matters. You now only need to download the tor browser bundle. This includes Vidalia and the Tor Browser. Just click here to go to the download page to get the proper bundle for your system.

Install it to the default location unless you know what you're doing. To verify TOR is working correctly, check HERE
Note that in order for Vidalia to work, the Tor Browser window must be kept open, and vice versa.

Access to the TOR server requires you to have your desired IDENT and the HASH of your password. You will give this information to the help staff.
You can generate your hashed password using either:

/raw mkpasswd sha256 YourPaswordHere
or
/quote mkpasswd sha256 YourPasswordHere
or if those don't work 
/mkpasswd sha256 YourPasswordHere

The output from this command will be in the server notice tab/window of your client. This is the hash you will give to the help staffer, along with your IDENT so you can be added to the TOR access list

If you have met the 7 day requirement and understand IRC hostmasks join the #help channel and a staff member will assist in adding you to the access list.
If you have NOT been registered for 7 days and ask for access to TOR, you will be severly ridiculed and made to wait 30 days. If you have missed seeing the requirements then you are too stupid to use TOR. Just sayin'

Other Clients

We'll be providing detailed instructions on how to connect using alternative clients in the future,
keep looking or try seeking help in #opnewblood for clients that aren't covered here.
If you're on a Mac, click here for instructions.

Version history

  • 1.8 - May 2013 - elmo - Page updates and rewrites, new client tutorial pages, lots of stuff
  • 1.7 - Jan 2013 - shitstorm - Add recommendation for hexchat, add general/different client section.
  • 1.6 - Nov 2012 - shitstorm - Change XChat tor portion to use set variables, reorder portion of tor section for XChat for better flow.
  • 1.5 - Sept 2012 - squirrel - Grammar nazi and other fixes.
  • 1.4 - June 2012 - Poke - Clarified tor settings.
  • 1.3 - June 2012 - shitstorm - Added more notes for the cancer that cant figure out IRC.
  • 1.2 - January 26th 2012 - shitstorm - XChat tutorials
  • 1.1 - November 7th, 2011 - evilworks - More indepth TOR instructions for IDENT system.
  • 1.0 - November 14th, 2011 - Poke
  • 0.8 - November 8th, 2011 - evilworks