content/kb/general/cloaks.md

   1 Title: User and project cloaks
   2 ---
   3 There are two types of "cloak" which can be set on accounts on freenode; both
   4 replace the hostname/IP displayed when you are connected (but only when you're
   5 identified to NickServ - see below).
   6
   7 There are also gateway cloaks, which are automatically applied if you're
   8 connecting from certain providers, gateways or web IRC clients, whether or not
   9 you are identified to NickServ, and which override unaffiliated cloaks..
  10
  11 Project cloaks
  12 ==============
  13 Project cloaks typically take the form `project/role/user`, for instance
  14 `freenode/staff/bigpresh` (however, some take othe forms).  They are designed to
  15 demonstrate that the user is connected to the project in some way.  Different
  16 projects use cloaks for various roles - some only use them for their "core"
  17 team, some will assign "user" cloaks as well.
  18
  19 Project cloaks can only be requested by a registered group contact of an
  20 already [registered group](pages/groupreg) - they should contact a member of
  21 freenode staff to request that a user be given a project cloak.
  22
  23
  24 Unaffiliated cloaks
  25 ===================
  26 Unaffiliated cloaks take the form `unaffiliated/accountname`.  They indicate that
  27 you are not affiliated with any specific project on freenode.  They can also
  28 help obscure your IP from casual observers, to a certain degree - but see the
  29 weaknesses section below.
  30
  31
  32 Gateway cloaks
  33 ==============
  34 If you are connected via a gateway which sets a gateway cloak (for instance, our
  35 webchat, or KiwiIRC, or some bouncer/shell providers) then you will receive an
  36 automatic gateway cloak - for instance `gateway/web/freenode/ip.1.2.3.4` - these
  37 gateway cloaks override unaffiliated cloaks, but do not override project cloaks.
  38
  39 There are also gateway cloaks which may denote that the host the user is coming
  40 from is recognised as a large-scale NAT gateway (where the public IP is being
  41 shared by many individual customers behind it) or conferences, where many users
  42 are at one location temporarily.
  43
  44
  45 Cloaks do not effectively hide your IP
  46 ======================================
  47 Cloaks can help obscure your IP address/hostname from casual observers, but
  48 should *not* be relied upon for that purpose, as they are not reliable:
  49
  50 - Connecting before identifying to NickServ (or whilst services are unavailable
  51   due to a netsplit or maintenance) will show your uncloaked IP/hostname
  52   connecting via SASL can help a little here, as authentication is done much
  53   earlier in the connection)
  54 - Connecting via a gateway (for instance, the webchat) will override
  55   unaffiliated cloaks (see the "gateway cloaks" section above)
  56 - Due to the nature of IRC services, there are some tricks which can cause
  57   services to reveal a cloaked user's IP/hostname.
  58 - Accepting a DCC chat/file transfer session, or clicking a link someone sends
  59   you could reveal your IP to them
  60
  61 For these reasons, we advise you to consider cloaks very basic protection from
  62 casual observers, and a way to stop your IP/hostname being passively logged in
  63 most cases, but caution that they cannot be relied upon to hide your IP/hostname
  64 robustly - if you want that, you should consider an IRC bouncer, VPN or Tor.
  65
  66 Do consider, however, just how much you need to hide your IP address; it's
  67 disclosed routinely during normal Internet usage - for instance, every website
  68 you visit will necessarily see your IP address, unless you are using a VPN or
  69 Tor.  Many, many users happily use IRC for decades, never hiding their IP
  70 address, and do not have any problems.
  71
  72 To re-iterate, the primary purpose of cloaks is to show your project affiliation,
  73 or lack thereof.  "Hiding your IP" is not their primary purpose, and they cannot
  74 be fully relied upon to do that.
  75
  76 Requesting a cloak
  77 ==================
  78 Once you've read and understood the above, if you would like an unaffiliated
  79 cloak, please drop in to #freenode or speak to a member of the staff team and
  80 we'll be happy to set one up for you.
  81
  82 For project cloaks, a registered GC for the project needs to contact staff to
  83 request the cloak be added to the desired user.
  84