IRC
What is Port 194?
Port 194 is the officially assigned port for Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a real-time text messaging protocol created by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988 and defined in RFC 2812. IRC provides multi-user chat rooms (channels), private messaging, and file transfers. While port 194 is the IANA-assigned port, most IRC networks actually use ports 6667 (unencrypted) and 6697 (TLS) due to the fact that port 194 requires root/administrator privileges to bind on Unix systems. IRC was the dominant real-time communication platform of the 1990s and early 2000s and remains popular among open-source development communities, security researchers, and technical users. Major open-source projects still use IRC on Libera.Chat and OFTC networks for developer coordination.
Common Uses
- Real-time group chat and discussion channels
- Open-source project developer communication
- IRC bot automation and notification systems
- Security community information sharing
Technical Details
Copy-paste commands to check port 194 (IRC) from your terminal
Test connectivity
nc -zv example.com 194
curl -v --max-time 5 http://example.com:194/
telnet example.com 194
nmap -p 194 -sV example.com
(echo > /dev/tcp/example.com/194) 2>/dev/null && echo "open" || echo "closed"
Open port in firewall
sudo ufw allow 194/tcp
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 194 -j ACCEPT
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=194/tcp && sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Security Considerations
IRC is inherently insecure on unencrypted ports — messages, nicknames, and channel activity are visible to anyone on the network path. Use IRC with TLS (port 6697) for encrypted connections. IRC has been used as a command-and-control channel for botnets. DCC file transfers can expose IP addresses and transfer malware. Use SASL authentication and register nicknames.
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