December 24, 2000

If you are reading this message, you may have run into problems connecting to ShadowWorld IRC Servers. This notice is to explain the security changes that ShadowWorld has put in place on its IRC servers, and the reasons for those changes. If you received an error message telling you to visit this page, you probably have some sort of open proxy on your computer system. This is most common when using DSL connections or other computer connections to the internet which utilize SOCKS firewalls or the WinGate networking program on your computer. When improperly configured, this software allows anyone else on the internet to connect to your computer and use your internet connection information to pretend to be you. This is known as an "open proxy" which is increasingly exploited and abused, and creates considerable problems all over the internet.

The impact of open proxies on ShadowWorld is broad. The most destructive result of open proxy connections on ShadowWorld is that people who run bots and clones can then use your host to flood ShadowWorld staff and servers, and make it look like your host is the source of the attack. This is a problem common to IRC networks in general.

Due to these attacks allowed by open proxies, ShadowWorld has been forced to set up a defense system composed of open proxy checkers, which check each person who connects to a ShadowWorld server to determine if their connection is an open proxy. This defense system is set up to automatically put a temporary ban in place for any connections which are coming from an open proxy. This system greatly decreases the threat of successful open proxy attacks on ShadowWorld.

However, ShadowWorld realizes that many open proxy connections are not due to cloners or flooders, and that many persons affected by the open proxy checks are in fact innocent users. Thus, ShadowWorld has set up this page to give those persons access to resources that will help them close the security holes in their own systems that an open proxy allows. This not only protects ShadowWorld from open proxy attacks, but also protects you from being accused of performing or allowing attacks on others due to the insecure nature of your connection.

(Special Note: For those persons who run programs which scan for nukes and other attacks on their own system, please be aware that ShadowWorld's open proxy checking defense system may be mistaken by some as an attack. This is not the case. If you are in doubt about the nature of a scan on your system, please attempt to resolve the ip address the scan originated from. If this ip address matches the ip address of any ShadowWorld IRC servers, IT IS NOT AN ATTACK ON YOUR SYSTEM. If you have any concerns about the nature of any scans on your system which appear to be coming from ShadowWorld servers, please e-mail complete logs and your internet connection's address or ip number to Wingate@ShadowWorld.net

Please read over this entire page and determine which proxy/firewall software your computer is using. In many cases, this will be WinGate. Elsewhere on this page you will find a link to information on how you can alter your firewall software settings so that it is not an open proxy and will not allow others to maliciously use your connection as the source of attacks on others. This will also prevent you from being automatically banned from ShadowWorld servers, as well as servers on many other IRC networks which use similar open proxy checking defense systems.

If you have any further questions, comments, or issues with ShadowWorld's open proxy defense system, or if you feel that ShadowWorld's defense system has wrongly banned your connection and you have already taken the steps outlined in the appropriate section of this page to disallow your connection from being used as an open proxy, please feel free to send e-mail to Wingate@ShadowWorld.net. A ShadowWorld staff member will respond to you by e-mail as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience as ShadowWorld continues to take the necessary steps to protect all of its users from malicious activities by others.

Sincerely,

ShadowWorld IRC Network Administration
Wingate@ShadowWorld.Net

Please click on the proxy program you are running and review the help offered by that company.  If no help is available or you are unsuccessful, consider contacting the company via email for more information.  Here are a few links to the most popular proxy programs currently available, if the program you are running is not here, just try a search with a search engine for their URL.

• WinGate

• Sygate

• Com Socks

• MS Proxy Server

• JSentry

• WINProxy

Securing WinGate

There have been increasing amounts of publicity concerning unauthorized use of proxy/firewall's to perform illicit activities which may be attributable to a firewall user. A number of these instances have involved the use of WinGate. This page is an information page to inform you of the issues, and how to defend against abuse of your systems.  Unfortunately there are people who spend a great deal of time looking for a way to bypass security measures used by ISP's to thwart spammers (people who send large volumes of unsolicited mail to large numbers of email addresses). One way to bypass ISP security is to appear to be a valid ISP client. This can be done through proxy software, such as WinGate, if it is not securely configured. You need to ensure that your proxy server is secure from unauthorized use.

To secure your WinGate proxy, rules must be set up either allowing or disallowing what may be done using WinGate.

Please visit the Deerfield.com WinGate link above for details on how to secure your system correctly, or click here.