Changing Dtella (Purdue) Hostmask to Evade Bans

Every user in an IRC channel has a unique hostmask that is used for identification and channel administrative purposes. Feel free to learn more about what all goes into your hostmask, but for the purposes of this article all you need to know is that part of your hostmask is your IP address and/or host name from your ISP (Resnet). When you are banned from Dtella, the ban is generally on your hostmask. Therefore to evade bans, all that is needed is to change your hostmask.

For this tutorial, I am going to assume you are using a router that has DD-WRT (v24-sp2) installed on it, although the general idea should work with any router that allows you to change/clone its MAC address. The end goal is to get a new IP address from Resnet, resulting in a new hostmask on Dtella.

 

DD-WRT (v24-sp2) Router

  1. Go to the router's webpage (typically http://192.168.0.1/ or http://192.168.1.1/) and login
  2. Click on the Setup tab, then on the MAC Address Clone sub-tab
  3. If MAC Clone is disabled, enable it now
  4. Change the WAN MAC address. This change does not have to be significant, as long as it is a valid MAC address and is not already associated with the DHCP server
  5. Once the WAN MAC address has been altered, click the Save button
  6. Click on the Status tab and then on the WAN sub-tab
  7. Click on DHCP Release and reboot the router (Administration => Reboot Router)
  8. After the router reboots, go back to Status => WAN and click DHCP Renew
  9. At this point, open up a new browser and navigate to any webpage. Once presented with the Resnet Acceptable Use Policy Agreement, accept it.
  10. Reboot your router and enjoy your new IP address.

 

General Idea for Other Routers

  1. Change WAN MAC Address clone
  2. Tell the DHCP server to release your IP address
  3. Reboot router
  4. Ask the DHCP serve to renew your (new) IP address
  5. Reaccept the Resnet Agreement and reboot router

 

Connections Without a Router (Windows)

  1. Search online for how to spoof your NIC card's MAC Address (link)
  2. The "ipconfig /release" command and "ipconfig /renew" will be useful
  3. Rebooting your computer is probably still required

 

Other Thoughts

  1. If you do not change your IRC nick, the ban evasion will quickly be noticed by the douchebag op's and will likely result in your new hostmask being banned as well.
  2. A good time to reconfigure your DC/IRC client with a new nick is between changing your MAC address and requesting a new IP from Resnet
  3. If you ask for a new IP address too often, the DHCP servers may stop giving you new/any IP addresses.

 

Useful Links

Purdue University
Dtella
Purdue Resnet
IRC Hostmasks
DD-WRT firmware

 

Legal

This information is for educational purposes only. You are responsible for following all Dtella/IRC channel rules, ISP policies, and copyright laws.