muh(1)
NAME
muh - a versatile irc-bouncer
SYNOPSIS
muh [-f] [-c] [-d directory]
DESCRIPTION
What is an irc-bouncer?
- A bouncer doesn't do anything else than diverting a net
- work-connection.
- In case of an irc-bouncer, connections from your irc-pro
- gram (client) are diverted by the bouncer to a irc-server.
- "What is this good for?", you might ask.
- Well, let's assume you've got a dialup-connection. If
- somebody performs a /whois on you it shows something like "your
- nick is yournick!yourident@dialup66-r-v.isp.at". If you are vain
- you don't want people to see this stupid hostname. So you get a
- account on a machine with a cool hostname (from now on refered as
- middleman), get muh running there and a /whois on you will show
- middleman's hostname, since the connection to the irc-server is
- actually originating from middleman.
- Another advantage is that network-attacks aren't really
- destinating to YOUR computer but to middleman, which is in theory
- a machine that can't be brought down.
- What makes muh special over other bouncers?
- Muh is very straight and simple to set up and the probably
- most important and interesting feature is that muh keeps the mid
- dleman-->irc-server connection up even after you disconnect with
- your client.
- This means muh prevents people from using your nick (this
- is especially handy on nets like ircnet, since there are no ser
- vices like on dalnet etc) and tells people who message you that
- you're not there and logs what these people said.
- Upon your next connect to muh, it will let the channels
- you've been in in your last session pop up, which means that
- you'll keep your status in these channels!
- Besides that muh's got a very enhanced flood-protection
- making it (almost) impossible to disconnect muh.
OPTIONS
-f Stay in foreground (don't fork)
- -d directory
- Specifies a different directory than the default
- for muhrc, messages and log
- -c You will be prompted for a word to crypt. The out
- put can be used as "password" in muhrc if you don't wanna have
- the password stored in cleartext. Note that you'll still have to
- authorize with the unencrypted password.
COMMANDS
- Muh accepts following commands to be issued by the client
- via /muh <command>.
- Note that some irc-clients require a prefix such as /quote
- or /raw to send commands they don't know about.
- HELP Display supported commands
- READ Read received messages
- DEL Delete all messages
- PRINT Prints muh's server-list. Servers prefixed with '+'
- work, those with '-' don't.
- JUMP [servernumber]
- Jump to next server in serverlist. if [servernum
- ber] (see PRINT) is specified, muh will jump to this server (even
- if marked as non-working).
- REHASH Reread config-file. Note that this can also be per
- formed by sending a SIGHUP to muh (see kill(1)). If "realname" or
- "username" have been changed muh will reconnect to it's current
- server.
- DIE Terminate muh.
INSTALLATION
- If muh came as a package all you'll have to do is to cre
- ate a .muh/-directory in your homedir and copy muhrc there (it
- will propably reside in /usr/share/muh, depending on your os/dis
- tribution). Edit this file (see CONFIGURATION), MAKE SURE NOONE
- EXCEPT YOU HAS READ-ACCESS (see chmod(1)) and launch muh. To
- make sure muh's running all day there is also a file called
- check-muh that came with muh. Edit it as well and make crontab(5)
- call it periodically.
- If you got muh as a .tar.gz-ball from the net you'll have
- to untar it with tar(1) and read 'INSTALL'.
CONFIGURATION
- The configuration is self-explaining; just go through
- muhrc to set muh up.
AUTHOR
- Muh is Copyright (c) Sebastian Kienzl <zap@riot.org> 1998,
- 2000.
- Muh is licensed under the GPL (GNU General Public Li
- cense). See file ´COPYING´ for the exact terms.
- Internet-References:
- http://mind.riot.org/muh
- muh-page
- muh-request@mind.riot.org
- announcement-mailinglist. the subject 'subscribe'
- will get you on the list.
- http://mind.riot.org
- the authors' homepage
- http://www.riot.org
- riot, a democrew
NOTE
- I won't provide irc/unix-newbie support since my time is
- *very* limited - so don't feel insulted when I don't reply emails
- questioning things like "What are these .tar.gz-files?", "Muh
- doesn't log messages even though I have '#logging 1' in my
- muhrc!" or "Does muh work under W*ndows?". Bugreports are highly
- appreciated but please make them as detailed as possible - tell
- me the exact circumstances that lead to the misbehaviour and the
- platform/os you use. Bugreports like "muh doesn't respond" or
- "muh segfaults" are really useless.
- Also have a look at the muh-site before mailing me - your
- question might already be answered there.
TERMINOLOGY
- For those who didn't get it yet: "MUH!!"'s the noise that
- austrian/german cows make. I have no idea how cows from somewhere
- else sound but I'm almost certain they sound the same.