Caution

Remember, if you do venture out onto IRC, the real time interaction may dazzle you for awhile but ultimately you are STILL DEALING WITH STRANGERS OVER THE WEB. Here are some tips and pointers to take note of.

UtoNet Culture

UtoNet culture is

Net Safety

Don't accept unsolicited files

On a Mac, IRCing is a safe and enjoyable experience as there are no current exploitable ways of attacking a Macintosh remotely via IRC, or through the the network connection itself. That being said, with the increasing popularity of the Mac it is sensible to take care and exercise common sense when using IRC, even on a Mac.

Don't accept unsolicited files The most important rule is not to accept file transfers from people you don't know unless you have requested the file.

Avoid clicking on web page links posted by strangers

It is rare that you will be pasted websites meant to infect machines with viruses and spyware on UtoNet due to the small size of the community. Once in a blue moon, spammers or spambots may appear and post links in public channels, DO NOT CLICK ON THESE LINKS.

Normally, on UtoNet itself you may find yourself a victim of a Rickroll, or get linked to a NSFW (Not Safe For Work) website such as 2Girls1Cup, Lemonparty, TubGirl and the likes. Don't click it if you don't want to see it, or unless you trust the link/person.

 Alternatively, you can use sites such as http://www.submitshop.com/tools/linkchecker.html to check what a link leads to. 

Be careful about giving out personal information

The people you talk to on IRC are strangers and you will only gradually get to know them through their messages. Even so, appearances can be deceiving and you are cautioned against giving out personal information without care.

The vast majority of IRC users are decent, honest people and many, many people have first met on IRC, and later in real life, outside of IRC to become real friends. Still, use caution and common sense. If someone seems too friendly, and too interested in personal details, just disengage or put the person on ignore.

Keep your operating system up to date

Apple frequently releases updates to the operating system to close potential security holes. As I mentioned earlier there are no current exploitable ways of attacking a Mac remotely but it is reasonable to expect that one will be found in the future.

When you are on IRC you are interacting with others and their computers. The security updates will prevent potential future remote attacks against your computer.

To check for updates to the operating system, go to the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the screen, and select "Software Update"