I read the site..
It seems to me someone was going to a hell of a lot of trouble to attck this guy..
Personally I can tell you that most big comapanies are attacked on daily basis.
99.99% of attckas fail. even those that do "hack" in usually break the first line of defence. where as in really importnant data is secured in offline systems and Private networks.
Another thing to remeber is that most users don't know anything about security and the use of bots. they have port 139 open as well as many other ports - you don't need to be a genius to get in - so its not chanllange - no risk <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">
those who are in danger are those who know some about security - they setup "personall firewalls" which are pretty good but not complete. The only was to really protect yourself in a company is to have a security advisor from a company that dela with this stuff everyday. you can have the best firewalls and filters possible but still not know how to configure them right.
as for IRC clients - anyone who's runnig an IRC connection is connected to a server at port 6667 (it's the IRC port) any computer listens on many ports (DNS, DHCP, HTTP etc..)
you cannot block or stealth all ports or you will not have any internet acceess. a smart security scheme is one that reduce security risks while not limiting you.
all the DoS attacks are nothing new and probably won't end anytime soon - you cannot expect any user to set a "bullet proff" firewal.
Those "script kiddies" (very inappropriate name) are pretty good at what they do - they learn a lot about protocols and how computers really work - some of them are masters in assaembly and they usually make short work of those who mock them. The only problem is they misuse their knowledge.
Luckely most of them grow up and switch sides to protect companies.