diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 871b893c..3fa487d1 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -565,6 +565,9 @@ LIBZNCDIR
 LIBZNC
 MODFLAGS
 PERL
+c_ares_LIBS
+c_ares_CFLAGS
+PKG_CONFIG
 host_os
 host_vendor
 host_cpu
@@ -646,7 +649,10 @@ CXXFLAGS
 LDFLAGS
 LIBS
 CPPFLAGS
-CCC'
+CCC
+PKG_CONFIG
+c_ares_CFLAGS
+c_ares_LIBS'
 
 
 # Initialize some variables set by options.
@@ -1292,6 +1298,10 @@ Some influential environment variables:
   LIBS        libraries to pass to the linker, e.g. -l<library>
   CPPFLAGS    C/C++/Objective C preprocessor flags, e.g. -I<include dir> if
               you have headers in a nonstandard directory <include dir>
+  PKG_CONFIG  path to pkg-config utility
+  c_ares_CFLAGS
+              C compiler flags for c_ares, overriding pkg-config
+  c_ares_LIBS linker flags for c_ares, overriding pkg-config
 
 Use these variables to override the choices made by `configure' or to help
 it to find libraries and programs with nonstandard names/locations.
@@ -2850,12 +2860,197 @@ fi
 
 if test "x$ARES" != "xno"; then
 	old_ARES=$ARES
-	PKG_PROG_PKG_CONFIG()
+
+
+if test "x$ac_cv_env_PKG_CONFIG_set" != "xset"; then
+	if test -n "$ac_tool_prefix"; then
+  # Extract the first word of "${ac_tool_prefix}pkg-config", so it can be a program name with args.
+set dummy ${ac_tool_prefix}pkg-config; ac_word=$2
+{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for $ac_word" >&5
+$as_echo_n "checking for $ac_word... " >&6; }
+if test "${ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG+set}" = set; then :
+  $as_echo_n "(cached) " >&6
+else
+  case $PKG_CONFIG in
+  [\\/]* | ?:[\\/]*)
+  ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG="$PKG_CONFIG" # Let the user override the test with a path.
+  ;;
+  *)
+  as_save_IFS=$IFS; IFS=$PATH_SEPARATOR
+for as_dir in $PATH
+do
+  IFS=$as_save_IFS
+  test -z "$as_dir" && as_dir=.
+    for ac_exec_ext in '' $ac_executable_extensions; do
+  if { test -f "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" && $as_test_x "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"; }; then
+    ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG="$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"
+    $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: found $as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" >&5
+    break 2
+  fi
+done
+  done
+IFS=$as_save_IFS
+
+  ;;
+esac
+fi
+PKG_CONFIG=$ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG
+if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG"; then
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $PKG_CONFIG" >&5
+$as_echo "$PKG_CONFIG" >&6; }
+else
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: no" >&5
+$as_echo "no" >&6; }
+fi
+
+
+fi
+if test -z "$ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG"; then
+  ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG=$PKG_CONFIG
+  # Extract the first word of "pkg-config", so it can be a program name with args.
+set dummy pkg-config; ac_word=$2
+{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for $ac_word" >&5
+$as_echo_n "checking for $ac_word... " >&6; }
+if test "${ac_cv_path_ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG+set}" = set; then :
+  $as_echo_n "(cached) " >&6
+else
+  case $ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG in
+  [\\/]* | ?:[\\/]*)
+  ac_cv_path_ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG="$ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG" # Let the user override the test with a path.
+  ;;
+  *)
+  as_save_IFS=$IFS; IFS=$PATH_SEPARATOR
+for as_dir in $PATH
+do
+  IFS=$as_save_IFS
+  test -z "$as_dir" && as_dir=.
+    for ac_exec_ext in '' $ac_executable_extensions; do
+  if { test -f "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" && $as_test_x "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"; }; then
+    ac_cv_path_ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG="$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"
+    $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: found $as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" >&5
+    break 2
+  fi
+done
+  done
+IFS=$as_save_IFS
+
+  ;;
+esac
+fi
+ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG=$ac_cv_path_ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG
+if test -n "$ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG"; then
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG" >&5
+$as_echo "$ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG" >&6; }
+else
+  { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: no" >&5
+$as_echo "no" >&6; }
+fi
+
+  if test "x$ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG" = x; then
+    PKG_CONFIG=""
+  else
+    case $cross_compiling:$ac_tool_warned in
+yes:)
+{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: WARNING: using cross tools not prefixed with host triplet" >&5
+$as_echo "$as_me: WARNING: using cross tools not prefixed with host triplet" >&2;}
+ac_tool_warned=yes ;;
+esac
+    PKG_CONFIG=$ac_pt_PKG_CONFIG
+  fi
+else
+  PKG_CONFIG="$ac_cv_path_PKG_CONFIG"
+fi
+
+fi
+if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG"; then
+	_pkg_min_version=0.9.0
+	{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking pkg-config is at least version $_pkg_min_version" >&5
+$as_echo_n "checking pkg-config is at least version $_pkg_min_version... " >&6; }
+	if $PKG_CONFIG --atleast-pkgconfig-version $_pkg_min_version; then
+		{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: yes" >&5
+$as_echo "yes" >&6; }
+	else
+		{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: no" >&5
+$as_echo "no" >&6; }
+		PKG_CONFIG=""
+	fi
+
+fi
 	if test -z "$PKG_CONFIG"
 	then
 		ARES=no
 	else
-		PKG_CHECK_MODULES(c_ares, libcares,, ARES=no)
+
+pkg_failed=no
+{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking for c_ares" >&5
+$as_echo_n "checking for c_ares... " >&6; }
+
+if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG"; then
+    if test -n "$c_ares_CFLAGS"; then
+        pkg_cv_c_ares_CFLAGS="$c_ares_CFLAGS"
+    else
+        if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG" && \
+    { { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: \$PKG_CONFIG --exists --print-errors \"libcares\""; } >&5
+  ($PKG_CONFIG --exists --print-errors "libcares") 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  test $ac_status = 0; }; then
+  pkg_cv_c_ares_CFLAGS=`$PKG_CONFIG --cflags "libcares" 2>/dev/null`
+else
+  pkg_failed=yes
+fi
+    fi
+else
+	pkg_failed=untried
+fi
+if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG"; then
+    if test -n "$c_ares_LIBS"; then
+        pkg_cv_c_ares_LIBS="$c_ares_LIBS"
+    else
+        if test -n "$PKG_CONFIG" && \
+    { { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: \$PKG_CONFIG --exists --print-errors \"libcares\""; } >&5
+  ($PKG_CONFIG --exists --print-errors "libcares") 2>&5
+  ac_status=$?
+  $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: \$? = $ac_status" >&5
+  test $ac_status = 0; }; then
+  pkg_cv_c_ares_LIBS=`$PKG_CONFIG --libs "libcares" 2>/dev/null`
+else
+  pkg_failed=yes
+fi
+    fi
+else
+	pkg_failed=untried
+fi
+
+
+
+if test $pkg_failed = yes; then
+
+if $PKG_CONFIG --atleast-pkgconfig-version 0.20; then
+        _pkg_short_errors_supported=yes
+else
+        _pkg_short_errors_supported=no
+fi
+        if test $_pkg_short_errors_supported = yes; then
+	        c_ares_PKG_ERRORS=`$PKG_CONFIG --short-errors --errors-to-stdout --print-errors "libcares"`
+        else
+	        c_ares_PKG_ERRORS=`$PKG_CONFIG --errors-to-stdout --print-errors "libcares"`
+        fi
+	# Put the nasty error message in config.log where it belongs
+	echo "$c_ares_PKG_ERRORS" >&5
+
+	{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: no" >&5
+$as_echo "no" >&6; }
+                ARES=no
+elif test $pkg_failed = untried; then
+	ARES=no
+else
+	c_ares_CFLAGS=$pkg_cv_c_ares_CFLAGS
+	c_ares_LIBS=$pkg_cv_c_ares_LIBS
+        { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: yes" >&5
+$as_echo "yes" >&6; }
+	:
+fi
 	fi
 
 	if test "x$ARES" = "xno" ; then