[irc/freenode/web-7.0.git] / content / news / 2005-12-17-good-afternoon-everyone.md

---
author: christel
date: 2005-12-17 12:18:55+00:00
slug: good-afternoon-everyone
title: [Announcement] Temporary DNS Change
imported: yes
---
  For the last 18 hours, freenode experienced   a large-scale nuisancebot infestation. We temporarily removed the      [irc.freenode.net](irc://irc.freenode.net) rotation      and replaced it with      [chat.freenode.net](irc://chat.freenode.net/),      in order to try to stem the tide of spambots hitting the network. In the   process of doing so, we discovered a new methodology for analyzing the   spambot net and produced a patched server version to mitigate the effects   of the infestation.  As of a few minutes ago, all freenode servers have   been upgraded to this new code.

We're not certain how long the patch will work. Botnets are modified over   time by their creators and this one will likely be no exception. We hope   we can utilize the new methodology to handle subsequent generations of   botnets, but there's no guarantee our efforts will be successful. We   believe that it will be helpful to make a gradual, permanent cutover of   the main rotation hostname from _irc.*_ to _chat.*_ to make it   somewhat less likely we'll experience future problems.

If you're a client developer   or you run an IRC network list site, please do not list      [chat.freenode.net](irc://chat.freenode.net/),    in your client or site without first emailing **staff at freenode dot   net** to make sure it's okay to do so.

Finally, we want to thank you all for your patience and understanding.   You've helped us stay on track and resolve the current difficulties, and   we appreciate it. Apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you for using   freenode!
Commit	Line	Data
c5293e15	1	---
849bdd6f SB	2	author: christel
	3	date: 2005-12-17 12:18:55+00:00
	4	slug: good-afternoon-everyone
eeb00e73	5	title: [Announcement] Temporary DNS Change
df8e5765	6	imported: yes
849bdd6f	7	---
849bdd6f	8	For the last 18 hours, freenode experienced a large-scale nuisancebot infestation. We temporarily removed the [irc.freenode.net](irc://irc.freenode.net) rotation and replaced it with [chat.freenode.net](irc://chat.freenode.net/), in order to try to stem the tide of spambots hitting the network. In the process of doing so, we discovered a new methodology for analyzing the spambot net and produced a patched server version to mitigate the effects of the infestation. As of a few minutes ago, all freenode servers have been upgraded to this new code.
34876803	9
849bdd6f	10	We're not certain how long the patch will work. Botnets are modified over time by their creators and this one will likely be no exception. We hope we can utilize the new methodology to handle subsequent generations of botnets, but there's no guarantee our efforts will be successful. We believe that it will be helpful to make a gradual, permanent cutover of the main rotation hostname from _irc._ to _chat._ to make it somewhat less likely we'll experience future problems.
34876803	11
849bdd6f	12	If you're a client developer or you run an IRC network list site, please do not list [chat.freenode.net](irc://chat.freenode.net/), in your client or site without first emailing staff at freenode dot net to make sure it's okay to do so.
34876803	13
849bdd6f	14	Finally, we want to thank you all for your patience and understanding. You've helped us stay on track and resolve the current difficulties, and we appreciate it. Apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you for using freenode!