22

I have public ip address (for example 77.77.77.222). When somebody type /who on irc channel he sees:
Linkas@77.77.77.222
How can I hide under a domain? For example Linkas@mydomain.tk

Linkas
  • 331
  • 1
  • 2
  • 6

3 Answers3

19

Depending on the network you're connecting to, there are many ways to do this.

Usermodes

Some networks have a usermode +x, which will mask your IP address. It requires you to have a registered account, on most networks. Once you've identified, you can do:

/mode YourNick +x

vhosts/Cloaks

Some networks have the option to enable vhosts or cloaks. Enabling vhost will turn Linkas@77.77.77.222 into Linkas@some.vhost.here

Basically a Vhost a string of letters and numbers, with periods instead of spaces. Many networks have HostServ services, and enabling your vhost is really easy. Once you've identified, you can request a vhost:

/msg hostserv request vhost.goes.here

Some networks like freenode provide users with cloaks. It's used to show affiliation (or lack thereof) to a particular group or project, but it also masks your IP as a side-effect. To get a cloak, you can join the #help channel for that network, and request a cloak there.

Tor

Some networks allow access via Tor. The instructions for setting up Tor on freenode network can be found in the links given below:

I hope this helps :)

Community
  • 1
Amal Murali
  • 806
  • 1
  • 9
  • 23
  • 2
    Does freenode allow the `/mode YourNick +x` mode? When I tried this, I got the message `***Unknown MODE flag` – modulitos Feb 07 '15 at 13:50
  • 5
    No, it doesn't. Instead, you can ask for an unaffiliated cloak in #freenode channel. Note that it's not foolproof - if you want to truly hide the IP you're connecting from, use Tor. – Amal Murali Feb 10 '15 at 13:26
  • 1
    @AmalMurali what do you mean it's not foolproof? how can one get the ip of an unaffiliated person? – yukashima huksay Jul 30 '18 at 10:18
  • @yukashimahuksay: For example, if you accept DCC connections from someone, it discloses your IP to them (since DCC is client-to-client). I can think of at least 3 other ways to get the IP. In the end, unaffiliated cloaks aren't a fool-proof way to hide your IP. – Amal Murali Jul 31 '18 at 03:24
  • @AmalMurali Where can I learn about those other three methods and ways to prevent them? – yukashima huksay Jul 31 '18 at 09:38
  • @yukashimahuksay: I can't stress this enough - **Hostname cloaks do *not* hide your IP address.** Their purpose, on freenode, is to show the affiliation towards a project (or lack thereof), not to hide your IP address. You should use Tor (or a different proxy mechanism) with SASL if you're paranoid about other people discovering where you're connecting from. Refer https://freenode.net/kb/answer/chat#accessing-freenode-via-tor and https://freenode.net/kb/answer/sasl for more information. – Amal Murali Aug 01 '18 at 17:55
5

The easiest way would be using bouncer/BNC. In short, the bouncer connects to the server for you. There are many advantages beside hiding the IP. Please read instructions in bouncer as the usage may vary.

Here is a list of bouncers.

Scott - Слава Україні
  • 21,399
  • 46
  • 64
  • 121
neo
  • 720
  • 7
  • 16
  • 1
    ok but I guess like web proxies, it's one thing having the software to run the proxy, but it's another to have it on a computer with a different ip. in one case you run the server yourself(if you have a computer with another ip to use), in another case you use somebody else's BNC. Do you have any info on who offers BNCs free for use? – barlop May 23 '13 at 08:39
  • @neo link is broken – yukashima huksay Jul 30 '18 at 10:19
  • @yukashimahuksay: Try this one: https://github.com/davisonio/awesome-irc#bouncers - If you want my recommendation, go with ZNC. It's the most popular one. It is being actively maintained as well. – Amal Murali Jul 31 '18 at 03:36
0

Just to give an update for how things are as of 2023.

Everything in Amal Murai's answer still stands.

One point to add is that using vhosts and cloaks hides you from regular users. Admins can still see your IP address. Though cloaks and vhosts are free and you can automate them on almost all clients so you should always get those if you can.
Some networks allow Tor connections. Some might require you to connect to a specific server or have you register with nickserv before using a Tor connection. Whether this works for you is a personal decision.
Some very small number of smaller networks also provide a server available on I2P.

You can host your own bouncer or just use what is already available.
ZNC keeps a list of publicly available bouncers here. Certain networks provide their own bouncers which you can use to only connect to their own networks.

You can also host a web IRC client like thelounge from a VPS.

Some clients like weechat let you define a proxy per network.
As a final note, you can always use something like proxychains-ng(which is as of right now, the recommended method for irssi) to pass things through a proxy as well.
You can even add a bouncer on top of that if you want to go that far.

As already mentioned in the comments, this awesome-irc list is a very handy resource.

Farzad Sadeghi
  • 1
  • 1