diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f8ec04c..d48e085 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 *.conf
 *.txt
-log/
\ No newline at end of file
+log/
+*.bak
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/discorss.py b/discorss.py
index bd1f182..b869e7c 100755
--- a/discorss.py
+++ b/discorss.py
@@ -59,7 +59,10 @@ def main():
     with open(config_file_path, "r") as config_file:
         app_config = json.load(config_file)
     now = time.mktime(time.localtime())
-    last_check = app_config["lastupdate"]
+    try:
+        last_check = app_config["lastupdate"]
+    except KeyError:
+        last_check = now - 21600  # first run, no lastupdate, check up to 6 hours ago
     for i, hook in enumerate(app_config["feeds"]):
         # Get the feed
         feed = feedparser.parse(hook["url"])