Open Proxy Information
There are several reasons why you may be looking at this page, including as a result of being banned from the network and being directed to this page.

I've been K:lined (banned) from your servers and told to come here. Why?

You are using what is known as an open proxy. There are several different types of open proxy, but they all take the form of a piece of software that allows other computers to "bounce" through it to access the Internet. This can be legitimately useful in many situations, but the one you are using is configured incorrectly and allows anyone to use it. Open proxies are not permitted, and hosts using open proxies will be banned immediately. 

When you connect to the network, a number of tests are made by the server. If the server finds you are connecting through an open proxy, or your address is listed in a blacklist of open proxies, you will be banned automatically and directed to this page.

Why aren't they allowed?

You might have seen an attack using open proxies during your time on IRC particularly if you have used IRC for some time. Hundreds of clients will enter a channel, often with random nick names, and start sending large amounts of  text to channels and users. They will often leave and join the channel rapidly in order to cause more disruption.

There is no effective way to stop the flood beyond locking the channel out. However, even locking the channel  will not stop,floods of text being sent to individual users. Such floods are often sufficient to disconnect them from IRC.

Most of these types of attacks use open proxies because open proxies are relatively easy to come by with lists of them readily available over the Internet. 

For this reason we not permit such hosts to have any access to the network. If you have to use a proxy for a legitimate reason, it should be configured correctly and you will be able to connect.

How do I fix the proxy?

You should  visit the website of the proxy software supplier since they will often have detailed instructions for securing a the proxy. We will not help you configure your proxy software but can offer some general guidelines. 

If you administer your own network then the following may be of assistance to you. If not, you will have to contact the administrator of the network and tell them that they need to correctly configure their proxy and to visit this page. 

There are several types of proxies that are checked for when you join the network. You first need to find out what sort of proxy has been detected on your host then follow the relevant instructions below. It is usually a simple matter of changing the configuration to limit the proxy to particular IP addresses. .
  • HTTP Connect
    A misconfigured HTTP proxy designed to allow SSL access via the CONNECT command can be used to make TCP connections to any host. In some cases the default configuration might allow this type of access. For more information see CERT note.
  • HTTP Post
    These types of proxy do not allow full TCP connections like the HTTP Connect type but they are more widespread (some well known ISPs even run open proxies of this type). Many HTTP proxies or web caches can be abused in this way if they do not have the correct permissions (or ACLs) in place. 
  • WinGate
    This is a specifc package that is designed to allow telnet access via a gateway, it is just a case of setting the access controls correctly to only allow access to the people who need to use the service. 
  • SOCKS
    SOCKS allows access behind firewalls from IP addresses which are not accessible on the public internet, again this is a case of limiting its usage to only the IP addresses which require access to the service. 
  • Cisco
    These are cisco routers with an insecure default password which allows telnet access to be gained through the router. You will need to change the password on the router to something more secure. 

If the ban message you saw when you were disconnected from the network says that your host is  listed in opm.blitzed.org, then you will need to visit  http://opm.blitzed.org/ and ask for the listing to be removed. Even if we remove the ban on our network, if your address is still listed on their database, you will be banned again when you try to rejoin IRC.

After you have fixed your proxy and got your address removed from the database above if necessary, you need to contact us at kline@ctcp.net in order to have the ban lifted.