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Frequently Asked Questions


What is a Shell?
What is an IRCD?
What is a psybnc?

What is a Shell account?

    To run an Eggdrop trivia/protection bot, psybnc, bnc,  you need a 'shell account'. A shell account is basically a personal account on a server that's connected to the Internet via a dedicated, high-speed connection. Shell accounts run the Unix operating system. You access the shell via telnet and FTP. The account provides you with space (usually around 5 MB to 30 MB for basic accounts) for storing files and running programs on the Unix machine. The most popular flavours of Unix you'll encounter with shell accounts are the Linux and FreeBSD operating systems. Unfortunately, unlike Eggdrop, shell accounts generally aren't free. But since they're always connected to the Internet, shell accounts are the most popular and cost effective platform for hosting IRC bots. Shell accounts can also be used for other things, IRC-related and otherwise, such as running a bouncer, running your own IRC server, downloading files at high speed for temporary storage (until you're ready to download them to your machine), sending/receiving e-mail, and maintaining a web site. You don't have to be experienced with Unix in order to set up and maintain a bot on a shell account, but you will need to learn a few basic commands.

What is an IRCD?

IRCD stands for "Internet Relay Chat Daemon". It was originally written by Jarkko Oikarinen (jto@tolsun.oulu.fi) in 1988. Since starting in Finland, it has been used in over 60 countries around the world. It was designed as a replacement for the "talk" program but has become much much more than that. IRC is a multi-user chat system, where people convene on "channels" (a virtual place, usually with a topic of conversation) to talk in groups, or privately. The 'D' (daemon) part of the IRC simply means the actual server(source-code) that's ran for people to connect.

IRC gained international fame during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where updates from around the world came accross the wire, and most irc users who were online at the time gathered on a single channel to hear these reports. IRC had similar uses during the coup against Boris Yeltsin in September 1993, where IRC users from Moscow were giving live reports about the unstable situation there.

Around then, many college students from schools all over the world started hosting these ircd servers on local unix machines which were connected to what was then known as the IntraNet. Soon after, the IntraNet developed into what today we know as the InterNet which allowed more people to experience the wonderful communication threw a web of servers known as the Ircd

What is a PSYBNC?

If you know nothing about bncs, a bnc is short for a 'bouncer.' A bnc acts as a proxy for irc, allowing you to hide your real IP address and use a vhost (vanity host - something like SoftICE.is.so-cute.com'). What are the advantages of this? Well, mainly there's just one important one: It'll stop stupid packet kiddies from trying to knock you off the network. Everyone hates getting disconnected, and with a bnc on a decent shell, you should be pretty immune. Remember though: the kiddies can still nuke you, but it is assumed that the shell provider has a high-bandwidth line that allows it to withstand the numerous packets. If your shell is on a 56.6, you'll still be screwed.

So... why psybnc? There are a variety of other open source bnc's available for you to download, most notably EZBounce and plain-ol BNC. Both of these do the exact same basic thing as psybnc: hide your real host. But that's about where the similarity ends. I've been using psy for a long time now, and I love with all the features that it offers. To name a few:


· You'll always be connected to irc. Even when you close your irc client, psy will maintain your connection. When you connect later, you'll instantly be back on the channels you left. This also lets you hold your nick (if you need that feature), or hold ops on a channel.
· psy hides your IP even in DCC sessions. In other bncs, a direct client-client session is opened, thus revealing your IP. In psy, the connection is bounced through the shell, and your IP remains your dirty little secret ;)
· You can link multiple psy's together. This allows you to share vhosts, and also create a small ircd, termed the 'internal' network on the bncs.
· psyBNC now supports SSL

 


 

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