After many days of downtime caused by the fact our server just would not stay up for long periods of time with an old host, we have taken the decision to move the server to a new and stable host. Unlike many other times this server has been moved, we have looked into this host before hand and check its stability with customers who actually use the provider. We are certain that the stability of this server will better than the previous ones we’ve had when the server has been previously moved and cannot appologise enough for the number of issues Apple has had since the start of the year and possibly before.
We have already updated the DNS prior to booting the server at the new host so you should be able to connect to ‘apple.bnc4free.com’ on port 1337 and 1339 as per normal. Flash policy has not yet been installed for those who use flash chat clients but will be by the end of today. If there are any issues, please open a support ticket so that we can look into them as soon as possible.
Pear and Mango are currently offline due to a fault with a switch in the datacentre that both servers are hosted in. The team at the datacentre assure us that they are looking into the issue and are trying to resolve it as soon as possible. We apologize greatly for the inconvenience that his has caused alongside the issues with Apple at present.
This post will be updated as the situation changes so check back often!
Update: Pear and Mango are now back online and the issue is apparently resolved.
There are currently some issues with apple.bnc4free.com which are causing the server to crash. Our automatic restarter also cannot restart the server and therefore the downtime when it crashes is prolonged due to the fact it has to be manually restarted.
Currently, we are unsure of what is causing the issue and will be checking through the configuration and other contributing factors to find the problem. If this problem continues or the problem is found to be related to the hardware/software installed on our server, provisions will be made to move the server and we will update you accordingly by email and via news.
Appologies for the inconvenience these issues are causing.
Update: There is a serious fault with the server. A replacement server has been ordered and we awaiting the details.
Update (01/05/2012): The server is still unfortunately offline and the new one should be up and running by the end of tommorow!
There is currently a considerable delay in responding to support tickets and processing requests at the present time. This is mostly due to lack of staff, which were in the process of resolving and the fact that we currently have a large backlog of requests and support tickets that need to be processed already.
Please note that there are currently no session limits available for QuakeNet. We are due to delete inactive accounts this week on all servers in order to free up sessions.
Mango is currently expierencing an inbound Denial of Service Attack. Our Main IP has been nullrouted for the time being until the attacks stop. This affects all users connecting to the Bouncer and around half of the users connected to IRC Networks.
The situation is being monitored and we will keep you informed of any updates.
Update: Mango is now functioning as expected. The situation regarding the DDoS is being monitored still.
BNC4FREE is looking for new, dedicated and hard working people to take on the roll of staff. Successful applicants will be subject to a trial period of which we will establish their strong and weak points.
The current job roles are available and have positions that need to be filled:
- Marketing
- Support
- Sales (e.g processing requests, handling inactive accounts etc…)
- Development (e.g enhancing and developing new features for the bouncer and webpanels)
We are currently accepting applications from virtually anyone however anyone that matches the following criteria will not be considered:
- If you have previously worked with a Bouncer Provider you will not be considered.
- If you currently work with another Bouncer Provider you will not be considered.
- If you are banned from using our services, you will not be considered.
- If you have been banned previously from our provider or any other provider but have been unbanned since, you will not be considered.
If you would like to continue applying for a position with us, you will need to fill out this Application Form
It has been a while since we last posted any information regarding our service, how it is running and what improvements are being made therefore we feel the need to keep you updated!
In late January of this year, we set out some targets and goals that needed to be met and a list of things that needed to be changed for our service. This list included upgrading servers, synchronizing modules across our servers, designing a custom web panel, repairing some broken features and keeping a better eye on session limits and bans on our IP addresses.
The good news is, we are on track with all of these changes and have already changed the web panel themes to fit in with our website and included the latest news on the home page when you login so you can’t miss it. We are now checking session limits more closely however this is being done manually until we switch over to the new system in the Spring/Summer of this year. With regards to repairing some of our broken features and synchronizing modules, we have put a hold on this until the new web-panel is finished as our entire management system and client-side system will be much different and allow us to control more aspects of our service. We will also need to integrate some of the new system features into the bouncers so that they are compatible which also cannot be done until the new system and panel is complete.
As some users of our service have already found out, we now have a better system for detecting multiple accounts/users and abusers of our service. Our system automatically matches up certain details on the accounts and will send our staff a warning if it thinks the account belongs to the same user as another. This system has been implemented mostly so that we can keep sessions for major networks freed up for the people that need it as many people in the past have tried to have multiple bouncers to major networks and this has caused problems.
Numerous other users that have requested our bouncers, appear not to use them once they are activated. This is just a friendly reminder that if you really do not think you will use your bouncer or do not need a bouncer, please do not request in the first place as this only takes up sessions which are much needed by those who will actually use their accounts. On a slightly related note, if you no longer wish to keep your bouncer and don’t need it anymore, please open a Support Ticket asking us to cancel/terminate it for you so that again we can free up sessions for the people that need them.
In the near future, we will be testing out our new DNSBL Module. This module will prevent any IP addresses listed on few DNSBL lists from connecting and using our service. This is mainly to prevent flooders and bad users using our services and abusing them. BNC4FREE will also be operating its own DNSBL ofwhich IP’s can be looked up and removed by following the instructions on our Ban Lookup Tool
Over the next 2 months we will continuously be working to improve our service and complete the new panel and system. In order to keep up with the latest updates, news and maintenance, we highly recommend that you follow us on Twitter or become a fan of our page on Facebook and most of all, don’t forget to check our site.
Inactive or Unused accounts that have not been used or active since before the 1st of January are pending deletion and will be deleted during the course of this week. If your account is one of these, it is highly advised that you login as soon as possible to ensure that your account will not be deleted.
If you do not yet have a bouncer but plan to request one, please ensure that you are actually going to use it. For popular networks such as QuakeNet, Rizon and Freenode, we are endlessly deleting accounts that have not been used since they were accepted on our system due to them taking up session limits that could be better used by those who are actually going to use their bouncer.
Note: This post should not affect anyone that has registered after 08/08/2011 (August 8th 2011) but MAY affect anyone who registered before this date.
This is an important notice for anyone who is still using our older hostnames to connect to their bouncers. Before our servers had names, we used to name servers by country and region (e.g ca.us.bnc4free.com). These hostnames should no longer be used and will be DELETED on Sunday 12th February 2012.
What this means is, if you are using one of our old hostnames to connect, you will need to connect to the corresponding new one. Below is a list of the old hostnames that should no longer be used and which new hostname you should be using for each server.
- uk.eu.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- fr.eu.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- nl.eu.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- nl.eu.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- pa.us.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- tx.us.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- nv.us.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- de.eu.bnc4free.com –> apple.bnc4free.com
- nj.us.bnc4free.com –> pear.bnc4free.com
Note: Many of the old addresses appear to point to apple.bnc4free.com because before the name change, many of the other regional servers were merged several times meaning that most of the old users now reside on Apple.
For those that are not using the new hostnames, If you do not start connecting to the new hostnames before Sunday 12th February 2012, you will find that you will be unable to access your bouncer. You have been warned.
Over the course of the weekend and parts of last week, we have been changing some of our systems to improve reliability and efficiency. Below is a list of all the things we’ve done so far:
- Apple (apple.bnc4free.com) has been moved to a new host which appears to be more stable
- Removed unreliable IPv6 tunnels from Apple and now use native IPv6 for all users.
- Improved the way in which session limits and usage is logged. These can also be reviewed on the Session Limits page in order to find out how many sessions we have free on servers for certain networks.
- The Blacklisted Networks page is now synchronized with our database as before, the page had to manually updated and happened to be considerably out of date.
- Anyone that has been banned from using BNC4FREE and/or its services can now find out why and when by using the Ban Lookup Tool and can appeal with this information by opening a support ticket.
- The Terms of Service have been corrected after many spelling mistakes and sentences that didn’t make sense were found.
- Updates that are automatically posted to our Twitter page are now automatically added to our Facebook page where was before, this had to be done manually and often meant that not everyone knew about updates.
- Servers are now automatically restarted when a crash occurs (assuming this is possible). In the event that the server cannot be restarted, staff are notified.
The following changes are still being rolled out over the next few weeks:
- Webpanel theme’s will be changed to match the website theme.
- Modules will be syncronized across servers as it appears at present, there are some missing on certain servers.
- ALL servers will be upgraded in the near future to fix a number of issues, repair some broken features and add a couple more
- A Custom Webpanel is being designed in order to manage accounts better. Both clients and staff will be able to access this eventually.
- Some Services will be available on IRC again via the old Services Bot however these will be limited.
You can Keep up to date with the latest ongoings on Twitter and Facebook. Any Downtime, Issues and Updates are posted on these platforms first depending on the severity.
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