Welcome to the Bleeping Computer IRC chat room. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a way for people from all over the world to communicate with each other in real time. You can learn more about IRC at www.irchelp.org where they have extensive tutorials and information on using this service. Below you will find links pertaining to this service and how to use it.

Continue reading to learn more about how to connect and use this service. At the end of the document you will find links to tutorials on how to use IRC. If you would like to skip the rest and start immediately chatting, then click the following link:

Start Chatting

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How to Connect

You are able to connect to our Chat Room via a dedicated IRC Client such as MIRC or by using a web based Chat applet. Information on how to connect to the Chat room using both methods is described below.

IRC Client

It is possible to connect to our chat room using a standard IRC client that you may have installed on your computer. For windows a very popular client is Mirc and for the Macintosh a popular client is Ircle.

To connect to our chat room you will need to configure your client with the following information:

IRC Server:	irc.geekshed.net
IRC Port:	6667
IRC Channel:	#BleepingComputer
IRC Link:	Connect to #BleepingComputer with desktop client

(Note this above link may not be compatible with all desktop clients)

Web Based Client

If you do not have a IRC client or prefer to not use one to connect to our chat rooms you can use our web based java client that will run from your browser window. This client will run from a separate window that will popup when you click on the link below unless you have disabled Javascript in which case it will open in a normal sized window.

When you click on the link to launch the chat program it will be necessary to download some components of the software to your computer. This will cause a window to appear asking if you would like to allow these components to download and run on your machine and that the software is from Metrasoft and named WebChat. You must specify that you want to allow these files to download and run before the software will work. These files are completely harmless and you have nothing to worry about. If this still bothers you, then you should use one of the above IRC clients instead.

To start chatting click the link below.

Start Web Based Chat Program

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Bleeping Computer Chat Room Privacy Notice

The Bleeping Computer chat rooms are Public chat rooms. That means that the data that the messages sent through this chat room will be seen by everyone else in that chat room. Please be aware that all conversations in this chat room are logged, so do not reveal any confidential or private information here that you would not like other people to know. If you would like to send a private message to another user, that only that user can see and respond to, then you can double click on their nickname in both the web based client and a desktop client and a private message window will appear. All messages that sent via this private message window will be private between the both of you.

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Bleeping Computer Chat Room Rules

When using these chat rooms we ask everyone that they abide by the following rules. Not following these rules can lead to you being permanently banned from the chat rooms and possibly even the website itself.

These rules are superseded by and are a compliment to the Rules established by GeekShed.net that hosts our Chat Room.

1. Most important rule of all: Have fun. It is not all business in the chat rooms so feel free to talk about whatever is on your mind.


2. Much of the time we discuss general topics in the chat room but when someone comes in and asks for help we will focus on helping that person. Please do not interrupt or otherwise interfere with that help unless you have something to add to the discussion.


3. Use of your Bleeping Computer Member name is recommended so you will be recognized. Multiple nicknames are not allowed and will not be tolerated.


4. Questions about removing Malware should be directed to a channel operator. Channel operators are designated by the @ before their names. These people, are for the most part, trained in the removal of Malware and have proven themselves to be experts at diagnosing and removing Malware. Due to this, they can better assist you with your problem.


5. Questions on how to hack, crack, or use/get pirated software, and other illegal activities are not tolerated.


6. Do not harass the other members of the chat room. This includes racial, ethnic, sexual, or just being outright rude.


7. Keep your nicknames clean. Please no offensive nicknames.


8. Keep the language clean. Though the chat rooms are not G-rated we still do not condone profanity or other vulgar language.


9. Respect your fellow chatters.


10. DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS :) Believe me you will not get help when you do so.


11. Promotion of any types of commercial services or products is not allowed. Doing so is ground for immediate banishment.


12. When pasting information to the chat room, please keep the length of the paste small. If you need to paste a lot of information, paste it into the forums. If you would like to post a long link in the chat, you must use the TinyUrl service which will shorten the length of a link.


13. If you have any questions or need help with the chat room then private message an OP, a channel administrator or operator, by double-clicking on their nickname. An OP is designated by @ in front of their name.


14. Do not private message other users on IRC without first publicly asking for permission. This is considered rude and bad etiquette on IRC.


15. Do not impersonate other users. If you do we will notice and kick you out of the chat rooms.