FreeThinker IRC Network

Well.. lets see where to start.
Why did i start  this irc network and what is it for ?

There are more than a few reasons why i started this network in 15 June 2006. In general  i got tired of having big brother around and violation of rights on most of other IM chat clients and networks as well as seeing  that those programs allow more to be done in the user's computer than what the user knows and allows.

But lets start by the begining. My first online chat experience was on irc, most of the people  that  i meet online was on irc, and it was on irc that i have learned a lot  about computers, windows & linux, security, networking and much more related to the IT field.

If i am online, i am on irc. currently i am mostly on irc networks that have #chatrooms that provide support for many software applications that i use (opensource).

Irc is also one the oldest chat protocols out there; if not the oldest. It is also the most stable and it can be the most secure.( simple ie: tor your irc client, login by ssl, and blowfish your chats - this will give  you 3 kinds of different encryption at the same time - trying to spy on you like this is unbelievable insane if even possible for 99% of the people out there and the %1 will take years to decrypt you)

It allows basicly everyting that all other IM chat programs do and with less computer resources, more security, simplicity and offers a wider range of options for the user and the service.
It can have yahoo, msn, icq services running on it as well as many other web services running by irc bots

When i decided to start  this network i was also running a server box and .. since  i had some free time, i though; why not also add an irc server here since i am tired of MSN and others like that and be ' my own boss' .

At the same time  i was also getting myself into computer security and learned enought to understand how easy and simple anyone can spy on us . in fact... most of the more well known IM chat programs allow it by default. Well.. to be honest  most of the internet allows it by default.

One of the major advantages of irc is that many other chat systems are unable to do direct client to client chat because everything must be sent through the main server. By allowing this, anyone controling those servers is able to read, listen and see everything that  you do because all the traffic that you send goes to the server first and then to the other person.
Or even anyone  that is spying on those servers. (it can be your stalker)

And i know what you are going to say. (i have nothing to hide). Well ... thats great, but let me ask you this:
Would  you feel confortable having your neighbour with is hears glued on your bedroom door even if you were just reading the bibble 24/7 ?

I am sure that at some point most of us  have sent some personal information to someone else on the other side using many IM chat programs. This could be bank account records, phone numbers, ID infos, etc etc .
And someone out there may be reading it. In some IM chat networks they do it with filters that capture things by keywords.

So being tired of this kind of tirany i dediced to open my own network for me a coulple friends and family.
This network was and still is for personal use. it is not public, but anyone is welcome to use it as long as it respects the rules.
For me its a replacement for yahoo, msn & icq, and it was created for a me, a few freinds and some family having privacy as it's main goal.

Unlike most popular IM chat programs, irc allows a variety of encryption forms. This network allows  and supports them .
Here you have the recommended choice of connecting to the network using an SSL connection.( you are encoraged to do so)
This will protect your conversation from the outside. Once inside you are also encoraged to encrypt your own channel and private chats with your own encryption keys. For that you can use the blowfish plugin or the mircryptation blowfish addon.
This will ensure that you are even protected from the network adminstrators if you dont trust them.

Depending on your irc client you can use and encrypt simple chat querys, dcc chats, file sharing and audio and video conference if your client allows it.

Irc programs are also lighter, simpler, and use less computer resources than most of other well known chat programs.
But the most important for me is  the fact  that i can secure my conversations and not all chat networks out there allow it.
And even on some irc networks users are spied on, and banned if they like to talk to much about things that the administrators may not like.

On FreeThinker, like the same says... one must be free.

Are there any other IM chat networks/software  that allows secure/ssl connections ?
Of course  there are a few more. ie: jabber, silc are 2 good options and for am IM chat client; GAIM connects to a varity of network protocols like yahoo, msn, jabber, silc, irc , etc  and the program itself allows to use an encryption plugin to secure  your conversation even on non-irc networks.( it works in a different way with some conditions) .

There are other options out there and if irc is not your thing, then give it a try to another secure kind of network.

Read more here related to your privacy