IRC Client

An IRC Client is how you can enter the magical world of IRC. There are quite a few options to consider when choosing an IRC client. Here are a few examples.

mIRC (Windows)

mIRC is one of the most popular IRC clients out there, but noone really knows why.

Pros

Very widely used.
Sets the standard for IRC clients: logging, scripting, etc.
Window arrangement. (able to see multiple channels windows at a time)

Cons

Jeware.
General piece of shit.
Written by some Arab.
Biggest target for 0-day.
Scripting language is unusable in other clients, meaning that scripts are not portable without re-writing it in a different language.

http://www.mirc.com/

http://distro.ws/index.php?dir=&search=mIRC.v6.35&search_mode=f

ChatZilla (Cross-platform, firefox extension)

An OK client in the form of a Firefox extension. It's got the basic stuff an IRC client should have, like logging.

Pros

Easy to use.
Can be run in its own Firefox tab; just type "chrome://chatzilla/content/chatzilla.xul" in the address bar.

Cons

Easily acquirable, even by newfags.
When logging, it creates a new file for every day. Not good if you're a nostalgiafag who likes to go back to look at old times.
Using ChatZilla instantly turns you from super 1337 to a total n00b with a single click. Expect to be ridiculed if you are connecting to any servers where hard chatting is serious business.

*zaiger sets mode: +b *!chatzilla@*

HydraIRC (Windows)

Another okay client for Windows.

Pros:

Channel Monitor window allows you to view messages from all channels.

Cons:

Still in beta, and hasn't been worked on in ages.
Advertises itself in /quit messages.

http://www.hydrairc.com/

Nettalk (Windows)

Despite its (somewhat) epicness, noone has a clue that this client even exists.

Pros:

So simple every newfag can use it.
Actually free
Pretty much the only client with a proper file transfer overview.
Won't lock up, no matter what kind of flood you throw at it.
Runs in Linux through WINE.

Cons:

Needs plugin for SSL support.
Uses BASIC for scripting. You know, that language that everyone hates.
Doesn't log joins/parts/modes, only messages.

KVIrc (Windows & Linux)

This client is best known for its customizability; nearly every aspect of its theme can be changed.

Pros:

Themes can be customized and changed if you're into that sort of thing.
Activity Monitor option displays a neat little colored icon besides each nickname, showing how active they are. Helpful if you're an op and want to clean out spais/lurkers.
Scriptable.

Cons:

As with mIRC, scripts made for KVIrc can't be used in other clients. Not like there are many scripts out there for it anyhow.
Tends to get rather slow on older computers.
Like ChatZilla, logs are split into days, making them harder to search through.

http://www.kvirc.net/

irssi (Cross platform)

Console-based IRC client. Despite that, it's one of the best clients out there, if you know what you're doing.

Pros:

Uses Perl as its scripting language. No need to learn a language you're only going to use for one purpose!
Because it's console-based, you can put irssi on a shell and run it from any computer with an SSH client.
Very fast, so it's great for old computers.
Has lots of scripts you can use to get banned from channels See: irssi/scripts

Cons:

May be hard to use if you're used to GUI-based clients, or if you're a retard. Using a program in Cygwin called "screen" helps.
Can't do much without scripts.
~~May lead to suicide when setting up.~~ Run it in Cygwin. Running it in DOS would be stupid.

http://irssi.org/

Reduce your risk of being dox'd

If you are using IRSSI, you can reduce the risk of being doxed by changing your real_name and user_name, near the end of ~/.irssi/config

settings = {
  core = {
    # setting = "new_value"; # "old_value";
    real_name = "nobody"; # "John Smith";
    user_name = "nobody"; # "jsmith";
    nick = "Sexyman6969";
  };
  "fe-text" = { actlist_sort = "refnum"; };
};

Running Cygwin on a remote server also helps, especially if you want to use IRC on a mobile phone where the phone provider does not allow IRC to be used over their network. On a mobile phone, you can use ConnectBot for Android. iPhone users are too retarded to use IRC, so an SSH client has never been made for iOS.

XChat (Windows, Linux, OS X [as XChat Aqua])

Nice, clean client with a good amount of features.

Pros:

Able to use Perl, Python, and a few other languages.
Some popup menus are customizable, as are a group of buttons under the userlist.
No longer outputs all IRCop blabber to your active window. It puts it all nicely in the 'status' window of the server you are connected to.
Easy to spoof CTCP replies with to be a leet hacker
Some faggot ported fuckyou.pl, a flooding script, and a furfag chat simulator to Xchat to make oper abuse easier.

Cons:

DCC is extremely picky and sometimes doesn't want to work at all.
Lags during extreme flooding when a transparent window background is used.

Linux:

Should be in your linux repos already.

Windows:

Hexchat - A better and free open sores version, also available in 64-bit.

Colloquy (OS X)

Decent client, more than enough for most irc use. However, it locks up hard when any open channel or query gets flooded.

http://colloquy.info/

Linkinus (OS X)

A pretty good client. Doesn't lock up like Colloquy, but has it's downfalls. It is a new application, so it is not as advanced as the others. But very stable.

http://conceitedsoftware.com/products/linkinus NOT CRACKED

Snak (OS X)

Probably the best GUI client for OS X. But it's fucking jewware.

http://www.snak.com/ NOT CRACKED

jmIrc (J2ME-enabled devices, such most cell phones)

An IRC client for...your cell phone? Yeah, a lot of apps like this one exist, but this seems like the best free one out there.

Pros:

Well, with this, you can IRC IRL.
A "Favorites" list allows you to keep a list of frequently-used commands.

Cons:

It's made for a cell phone, so you're not gonna see a lot of features.
On some phones, it may freeze up when trying to send a message.

http://jmirc.sourceforge.net/

Limechat

Probably the best client for OS X, besides irssi. Doesn't have any interesting scripts for it yet. The scripts are written in javascript. Also has a decent client for the Apple iPhone, probably one of the better mobile clients on the market.

ANDchat

Android IRC client available free on the Google Play store

Web-based

Mibbit showing its dedication to advanced security while connected to a network with SSL.

Mibbit is a god-awful web client that should never be used, ever. It has also been pwned by HTP, one further reason why mibbit is absolute shit. Any competent network will allow noobs to access through the qwebirc client.