---
author: christel
date: 2005-12-17 12:18:55+00:00
slug: good-afternoon-everyone
title: [Announcement] Temporary DNS Change
imported: yes
robots: noindex
---
  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!
