MIRC - How safe - any risks

[ChrisP]

Hi. I just installed MIRC and wanted to know if there are any major security issues with this.

[dog]

Hi Chris, ;)

I think the only major security issue with mIRC is that there are worms that are hardcoded to look for C:/mIRC - you can simply negate this by installing it in another directory ie. C:/Program Files/mIRC or create a new folder on the C drive all together "My DLs" - C:/My DLs/mIRC.

Remember to scan everything you DL before opening it, mIRC doesn't have issues like KaZaa et al. with bad DLs, but always be safe rather than sorry.

HTH, ;)

dog - *puppy*

I haven't had really any bad experiences using mIRC at all. :lurking: ~ dog is heading back to the dog house ~ :lurking: Yup I use it guys & gals ... and now you all know ...

[Paranoid2000]

While not totally mIRC specific, the IRC Security (http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/security/) site has many useful tips. The biggest problem is downloading files - any "anonymous" source like IRC, Usenet or file-sharing networks tends to be a prime source of trojans so if you do decide to download files from IRC, invest in an anti-trojan scanner.

[iceni60]

i might try it before i do my reinstall. ive never used any of those sort of things - a total newbie ??? ::) so i probably cant help, but can i ask about how they work? i always thought the biggest danger was the fact that you had to show your IP address, so if you had an argument with someone who knows what they are doing, they will have your IP address and will by able to attack you, or be able to try and crack you. can anyone tell me if that's right? i have asked before, but no-one has ever replied :'(

[halcyon]

25.5.2005 from secunia.com:

-{ Quote: "
"The Secunia database currently contains 0 Secunia advisories marked as "Unpatched", which affects mIRC 6.x."
" }-

This of course does not guarantee that there are no holes in mIrc. Just that there are no publicly known holes for which readily available exploits are available.

[tkc]

the worst u'll ever encounter is prolly just ppl/bots sending files that u shouldn't open as they're trojans. that being said, make sure u sign on in invisible mode to lessen the possibility of this happening. also, make sure u do not have auto accept files on as this is just asking for trouble.

however, in mirc 6.x, there is a piece of code that will simply disconnect you from irc servers when it is sent to your client. it doesn't harm the computer in anyway, just that it is irritating. if you're using the latest client, it will not affect you.