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ChatScan Search Engine
WD_40 writes: "A new product called ChatScan (housed at eNow.com) allows you to browse chatrooms on IRC for specific content. The idea is to make it easier to find relevant conversations by logging thousands of chatrooms over many different networks. I suppose it should also be easy for the FBI, for example, to peruse chat channels to find out who's talking about building bombs (or Metallica to find those evil MP3 traders). Is this a handy tool, or possibly an invasion of privacy?" Um, maybe if you're interested in privacy you shouldn't be on IRC?
From news group alt.irc, thread "eNow scanbots", messageID slrn8ncst0.q9r.remmy@remmy.cistron.nl:
We have received numerous questions and comments from members of various IRC communities. Many of the issues raised by the communities are the same ones that we discuss internally on a regular basis. We take these issues seriously and are very interested in initiating a dialogue with you and your community. As a starting point, we would like to clarify many of the misconceptions about ChatScan by addressing the most frequently raised issues surrounding ChatScan. The following are answers to the concerns that have been raised:What Is ChatScan All About?
ChatScan enables users to search ongoing public chat-conversations for real-time dialogue about subjects of interest to them. By using the ChatScan Services, users may search chats for their favorite topic or browse a real time chat directory. The ChatScan's search functionality enables users to search in real time for a specific topic being discussed in public chat channels, across a multitude of networks. The users can then instantaneously join on-going conversations discussing their favorite topics, by using either mIRC or the ChatScan client. ChatScan's Live Directory is a real time directory of chat channels, organized by categories. The Live Directory includes a preview of on-going conversations and enables users to easily find chats of interest. The ChatScan service is a free service and does not require any registration by the user.
See www.chatscan.com for more information and a beta version of these services.
What Is Unique About eNow's Search Functionality?
eNow allows users to search across multiple networks. Its also prioritizes rooms that are currently active over room that no one is talking in at the moment. But most important - eNow allows users to search the content of the conversations in chat channels, not simply the names of the channels.
What Do eNow's Bots Do?
Making chats searchable in real time is achieved through advanced search technology and the use of friendly bots. The bots perform the following two functions: (1) "Transient" bots gauge the activity in public channels to ensure that users find "hot" rooms with on-going conversations. Therefore, transient bots will enter public channels for less than a minute approximately once an hour. (2) "Persistent" bots attend selected public channels in order to index on-going conversations. The index contains the main words that were mentioned in the last 5 minutes of each conversation. The actual messages of the channels and any data older than 5 minutes are discarded.
What eNow's Bots Do Not Do?
Will eNow's Bots Be Identifiable?
eNow is working on making its bots and clients reply to VERSION and PING CTCP messages. eNow intends to define a naming convention for its bots together with IRC networks.
What Is The Effect Of ChatScan's Bots On IRC Networks' Resources?
At any given time the amount of bandwidth that eNow's bots use is minute. Currently, ChatScan does not use more than 100 concurrent connections across all IRC networks. eNow is also in the process of implementing a restriction of two connections per server and 20 per network. The bandwidth used by ChatScan from even the largest networks never exceeds an aggregate of 5KB across all servers of the network. Considering the size and the traffic of large IRC networks these resources are negligible. Moreover, in the near future, eNow will be providing servers hosted by eNow to qualified IRC networks that have legitimate concerns with ChatScan's consumption of their resources. eNow will ensure that all ChatScan connections will be directed to those servers.
Does eNow Make Money From The IRC Communities?
eNow does not derive any revenues from the IRC communities and currently does not advertise on the ChatScan client or Web site. eNow is developing IRC related services that will be free to the IRC networks. In the future, eNow plans to generate revenue by charging for similar services provided to commercial communities based on eNow's proprietary technology.
How Can ChatScan Benefit IRC Communities?
If we work together, we are confident that you will find that ChatScan is an exciting new tool that can greatly enhance your IRC community and improve your chatters' user-experience. Among the myriad of possibilities, ChatScan's search capabilities and ChatScan's Live Directory, can be personalized by making the services "Network-Specific", and incorporated into your community's web pages. In addition, eNow is willing to provide you with the applications and support necessary to turn your community Web pages into your "community portal."
As I mentioned above, we are very interested in initiating a dialogue with you that will result in a win-win relationship. Please continue to provide us with your feedback, as we consider your input invaluable. If you have additional thoughts, questions etc. regarding ChatScan please contact me at contact@enow.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose that you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Give a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Several comments discuss the "reasonable expectation of privacy" angle of such a tool. Also, several comments discuss the problems with flyby (/join,/part) and annoyance issues of the petty snoop.
There are four basic kinds of communication on the typical IRC system,
unsecured channel 1-to-N, or "say"
You say something in #JoesTavern, all those in #JoesTavern hear you. Anyone can join or part at any time. Laughable to suggest you have reasonable expectation of privacy here, though most would assume they can see a definitive list of who else are in the same channel.
secured channel 1-to-N, or "say"
An op has set #JoesBackRoom as mode +s (unlisted), +i (invite), +k (passkey entry), all those in #JoesTavern hear you. If you don't know how to get in, you can't get in. Still, it's a personal-trust-web fanning out from the ops and participants. They may copy or log what's said inside, and who KNOWS who gets that.
Any chatter can talk directly to any other chatter on the same network, without forming a separate channel to do so. The messages still go through one or more servers to get routed from Betty to Frank. This has a very weak but plausible expectation of privacy, since there are no 'broadcasts' done to a channel, and the assumption is that only one target may get it. If two people were to coordinate a
After a handshake through the network, the TCP/IP addresses of Betty and Frank can establish a direct computer connection (dcc), and a "genuinely private" 1-to-1 chat channel is formed. Many IRC clients support this handshake, and many users use them to escape the intermediary latencies of the network's servers. Again, it's a trust situation: if Betty doesn't know Frank well, then giving him her network address or any other secrets may be rash on her part.
You can only have a reasonable expectation of privacy if no intermediary servers, or explicit destinations, are compromised with listening agents.
If you alter the IRC server code, you could listen to any of the first three forms of communication, and you can log the TCP/IP addresses of those who try to establish the fourth. Some IRC servers already have completely hint-free snoops like this in place.
If a compromised server then attaches itself as a member of a larger network, by force or by guile, then you have Echelon/Carnivore proportion snooping possible, without one shred of "annoying flyby" behavior detected by the visitors to the network, or even to the other servers on the network.
In short, you HAVE no reasonable expectation of privacy if you use IRC.
[
It is not reasonable to expect privacy when engaging in a public conversation. If someone is sufficiently stupid to discuss illegal acts in a public forum, well...
If you want privacy, conduct your discussions privately.
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
-- Pablo Picasso
As being an admin on one of those IRC networks it searches - to be exact - they are a pain in the ass. The come in with different IPs, different nicks. However ChatScan is starting to cooperate with the (pissed off) irc networks - so that they will be easier to reconize. They do not register any conversation, just makes a analysis of the talk - and categorizes them by some kind of AI. So you cannot see what mafiaboy wrote yesterday on #l33thax0rs. May be good, but they should be a selectable thing and they should have talked with the networks they search first.
-Stskeeps, http://unrealircd.com
For those who haven't had the pleasure of having their favorite server attacked by chatscan, let me explain how this works.
Since most IRC servers only allow a single person to be in so many channels at one time (normally between 6 and 10), the chatscan bot has to continously enter and leave the channels on a server in order to "scan" all the channels. Unfortunatly, the wait for the chatscan bot is about 15 seconds. So all you see is:
* AnnoyBot enters the channel. *
some_friendly_person: hi AnnoyBot
* AnnoyBot leaves the channel. *
* AnnoyBot2 enters the channel. *
same_friendly_person: hi AnnoyBot2
* AnnoyBot2 leaves the channel. *
* AnnoyBot3 enters the channel. *
* AnnoyBot3 leaves the channel. *
* AnnoyBot4 enters the channel. *
* AnnoyBot4 leaves the channel. *
Now, depending on the size and number of channels on your server, this will happen about 7-15 times an hour. It gets annoying *real* fast. If you try to ban them, which is actually pretty hard, the bot calls one of its other buddies to come in and scan the channel for it. It also uses a different, unusual name each time it enters and won't admit to being a bot.
They also don't ask permission of the server owners who sometimes like to ban bots, or only allow certain useful bots onto the server.
Overall, it might be a decent idea, but their way of implementing is *sucks*. I post a list of the bans I use, but am not certain which ones are chatscan bans and which are actual bans.
Sorry about the rant,
the long-winded AC
apparently the plan from chatscan is to make a global directory of channels, which will be available for any users to search through. In theory, the idea is great, but in practice, they've botched everything up. these bots are an annoyance, and users ban them from their channels.
We have also found a secret IRC network that they were planning to debut or something, we found it rather interesting, because there were bots in many many channels just spewing out random conversation, probably from the spybots themselves.
if anyone wants any information on these bots, or any logs of the discussion with the chatscan people, you can mail me at hurt@etheria.cx
Why does every article now have to look like some sort of conspiracy? Is Google the end of privacy on the web?!