So, your channel/nickname got “hacked”?

smiley_sad.png Actually, it didn’t. I’ll tell you why.

If one is to /whois any of DALnet’s normal-user services, the results will indicate that the service is using services.dal.net, which isn’t a real server. Services runs on what is called a pseudo-server and the services.dal.net host cannot be used to access the services database because it resolves to 127.0.0.1.

So, with that possibility ruled out, how did you lose your nickname and/or channel? Lets look at some possibilities:

  • It is possible that someone simply guessed the password. Many DALnet users are, well, very unimaginative when it comes to choosing a password. I have seen instances where the channel’s password and the channel’s description were the same. Not really Mensa material. Really.
  • It is possible that you typed your password in a channel or query window. Thanks to mIRC’s awesomely gay window handling, you don’t even have to be extra dumb to achieve this. All it takes is a laggy reconnect with lots of open windows or perhaps being kicked from a channel to put /nickserv identify in one window and your password in another.
  • It is possible that you loaded a malicious script that stole your passwords. I hear there are ActiveX controls that can drop naughty scripts in your mIRC directory, too.
  • It is possible that you trusted an untrustworthy asshole with your precious little password. Serves you right, then.
  • NickServ is NickServ. DALnet will not use anything else. If you got a notice from something that only looks official, like ‘nick-svcs’ or ‘nicksrve,’ don’t do anything. Report it to an oper if you want to, but that’s about it.
  • “Free” BNCs and shells. Don’t be a cheapskate. Pay for your shit.
  • Keyloggers, keyloggers, keyloggers.

So, that’s the list for now. Pick one.