Category: Security

Defensive security articles about real threats and real risks. Explains how attacks work, how to detect them, and how to reduce exposure. No hype. No fear. Just awareness and prevention.

Run IRC As A Tor Hidden Service (Inspircd + Anope)

~ Tom's IT Cafe ~ Leave a comment

IRC with InspIRCd and Anope works well as an internet-facing service.
Your domain name, the TLS certificates and SASL authentication make it secure.
Cloaking hides your address from other users.

But what about IRC Operators and Network Admins?
They can see the addresses/hosts the clients connect from.

As an IRC Operator you can increase the trust in your services.

You will learn now how to run InspIRCd as a Tor-only hidden service.

Continue reading “Run IRC As A Tor Hidden Service (Inspircd + Anope)” →

GPG Basics: Simple, Safe Encryption for Everyday IT Work

~ Tom's IT Cafe ~ Leave a comment

When you hear the word encryption, it often sounds like something only security researchers and intelligence agencies deal with. But in reality, every IT professional – even small teams, freelancers, or home users – should understand the basics of protecting sensitive files.

GnuPG (or GPG) is one of the most trusted tools for this. It’s free, open-source, built into every Linux distribution, and works perfectly for encrypting files, verifying downloads, or signing work-related documents.

This guide walks you through a clean, beginner-friendly setup – no advanced OPSEC, no air-gapped machines, no master-key rituals. Just the essentials that anyone at home or at work can start using today.

Continue reading “GPG Basics: Simple, Safe Encryption for Everyday IT Work” →