Setting the time with ntpdate works here. ntpdate package version: 1:4.2.4p6+dfsg-1 # uname -a GNU/kFreeBSD rackhir.ct.lan 7.1-1-amd64 #0 Tue Apr 14 01:03:37 CEST 2009 x86_64 amd64 Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz GNU/kFreeBSD