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Help

New FAQ (Frequently Asked/Answered Questions) in the making. Feel free to submit other questions to the address at the bottom of the page.

General

Q: My machine is infected with X virus. How do I get rid of it?
A: Visit our Anti-Virus section.
Q: I am not able to connect to ZAnet, I keep getting a message "You are not authorized to use this server".
A: In short, this means that the DNS (Domain Name Service) entry of the network connection you are using is broken. To be able to connect to ZAnet, you need a full DNS entry, ie. a DNS entry mapping your IP address to some hostname and a matching DNS entry mapping this hostname back to the same IP address. If you don't have a full DNS entry, you need to complain to your ISP or your network admin, since they're the only people that can fix this. In this day and age, there are no valid reasons for not having full DNS entries, so don't accept the excuse that it's a security risk, since it isn't. Adding a DNS entry takes less than 5 minutes, so keep badgering them until they add it, or switch to another ISP. To aid them in fixing this, look in your status window for the IP and include that when you complain, otherwise they have no idea what must be fixed.
Q: Where do I find the list of rules for this network?
A: On the Rules page.
Q: I run a network at home/office and want more people to be able to access ZAnet from there.
A: This is only possible if you have a static IP address and this static IP has a full DNS entry. Given that you get a new IP every time you dial-up, it's impossible to grant you a higher limit on a dial-up, so you can't ever have more than 3 simultaneous connections from a dial-up. If you're sure you have a static IP and a good reason for having more than 3 simultaneous connections, send e-mail to the address below, remembering to state your hostname and contact details, as well as a statement that you have read all the ZAnet rules and understand them. Should you abuse the privilege of an increased limit, your host will be permanently banned from ZAnet.
Q: I get nuked/disconnected all the time.
A: Read the IRCHELP Security FAQ and patch your system. Reports of nuking must be sent to the ISP that the nuking originated from, not to ZAnet, since we can't do anything about it. Only the ISP can warn the user or suspend their account, so report it to them. Most ISP's have an abuse address, so send your complaint to abuse@ISP, eg. abuse@mweb.co.za if the nuking originated from an mweb.co.za address.
Q: I run a server and want to link to ZAnet.
A: We do not accept links from other servers. ZAnet alone decide where new connections will be made to.
Q: I want to be an IRCop on ZAnet.
A: Not much of a chance of that. ZAnet alone decide who will be made IRCops (IRC Operators). Besides, why would we give complete strangers the powers to disrupt the entire network?

Proxies

Q: What are these connections from proxycheck.zanet.org.za?
A: ZAnet is now checking all clients that connect to us for insecure proxy servers. This check takes the form of five probes, to ports 23, 80, 1080, 3128 and 8080. These connections are NOT a hack or nuke attempt, and by connecting to ZAnet you consent to us performing these checks. This is in line with policy on the bigger international networks.
Q: What is an insecure proxy?
A: An insecure proxy is a socks or web proxy server that allows users from the internet to connect through it to another site on the internet, without performing authentication to validate that these users are in fact allowed to use this proxy.
Q: Whats wrong with insecure proxies?
A: The major problem with these misconfigured proxies is the fact that people on the net can use them to hide their real IP addresses from services they use or abuse the connection in reality appears to be coming from the proxy itself. ZAnet does not allow insecure proxies to connect, to protect ourselves from untraceable flooding and abuse, and to protect you, the person running the proxy, from being blamed for these attacks.
Q: How do I secure my proxy?
A: It depends on the proxy that you're using. Essentially, it should not allow incoming connections from the internet. Please refer to your proxy documentation for more details.

VWorld

Q: What's VWorld?
A: Virtual world is an addition to the IRC servers that hides your IP address from other users.
Q: Why would I want to hide my IP?
A: Well, if people don't know your IP address, they can't nuke you or hack you.
Q: What if I have a really k3wl h0st that I want to use?
A: If you want your real address to be visible, simply /mode yournick -v
If you decide that you prefer to be hidden again, just +v again.
Q: Is this guaranteed to stop people trying to hack me?
A: No, it's not, but it goes a long way. There are other ways of getting your IP address, the most common of which is DCC. DCC stands for "Direct Client-to-client Connection". As such, it's impossible for DCC to work without there being some form of IP address exchange happening with each other. Bottom line - DON'T accept any DCCs from people you don't trust. Don't INITIATE DCCs with people you don't trust.
Q: What effect does this have on bans, etc?
A: No effect - you ban the virtual host, and the person is banned, just as if it was their real IP you banned. Everything should work as normal. Of course, if you find any problems, please feel free to report them in #ZAnet or the e-mail address at the bottom of this page.
Q: What effect does this have on NickServ access lists?
A: No effect - these VWorld addresses are temporary and will change over time, so they are not used by NickServ to check if you can use your nick without entering a password. You will waste your time entering them in access lists, since they will never match any of your connections. Only the real hosts are used for access list matching.

NickServ

Q: Someone else has registered my nick. What do I do?
A: Registrations are first-come-first-serve, unless you can prove that you used the nickname for several months before and the registration by another party was done to cause havoc.
Q: How many nicks can I register?
A: Do not register nicknames that you never use. The maximum number of nick registrations per person is 5. Offenders of this rule will have all their nicknames dropped from the database.
Q: Someone has changed my password. How can I get my nick back?
A: Follow the same procedure as in the next question. It's normally best not to share your password with anyone else, just like you would with your PIN numbers. We've had several cases where ex-SO's took revenge by changing their ex-SO's passwords. Anyone found changing another person's password, will lose their nicks too.
Q: I've forgotten my NickServ password.
A: You need to prove that you own the nick. You can do this by e-mail'ing at least 3 of your previous passwords to nickserv@zanet.org.za. Remember to include your nick too! If you don't have previous passwords or can't remember them, you're out of luck. You'll have to wait until the nick expires and register it from scratch. You should also link your e-mail address to your nick via the SET EMAIL command, which will also be used to verify your ownership of the nick.
Q: How do I change my NickServ password?
A: Use the SET PASSWD command. You will need your previous password to IDENTIFY first.

MemoServ

Q: Someone flooded me with a bunch of memos. How do I get rid of them?
A: First find the range of memo numbers by using the LIST command. Then simply delete the entire range using the DEL command. Also feel free to report any such activity to the address below, since we don't take kindly to flooders of any nature.

BabyServ

Q: How do I register a channel?
A: The process for registering a channel is different to other networks. Please read the BabyServ page for more information.
Q: How do I get access to BabyServ?
A: Read and follow the instructions on the BabyServ page.