How to Edit Your Hosts File on Windows, Mac, or Linux

Wed-Feb-2023
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Editing your hosts file on Windows, Mac, or Linux can be useful for a variety of reasons, such as blocking access to certain websites or redirecting domain names to a specific IP address. Here are the steps to edit the hosts file on different operating systems:

On Windows:

  1. Open Notepad: Press the Windows key, type “Notepad”, and press Enter to open Notepad.
  2. Open the hosts file: In Notepad, click on “File” in the menu bar and select “Open”. In the “File name” field, type “C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts” (without the quotes) and click “Open”.
  3. Make changes to the file: Add, edit, or remove entries in the hosts file as needed. Each line should contain an IP address and one or more domain names separated by spaces.
  4. Save the file: Click on “File” in the menu bar and select “Save” to save the changes to the hosts file.

On Mac:

  1. Open Terminal: Press Command + Space to open Spotlight, type “Terminal”, and press Enter to open Terminal.
  2. Open the hosts file: In Terminal, type “sudo nano /etc/hosts” (without the quotes) and press Enter. Enter your user password if prompted.
  3. Make changes to the file: Add, edit, or remove entries in the hosts file as needed. Each line should contain an IP address and one or more domain names separated by spaces.
  4. Save the file: Press Control + X, then Y, then Enter to save the changes to the hosts file.

On Linux:

  1. Open Terminal: Open Terminal on your Linux distribution.
  2. Open the hosts file: In Terminal, type “sudo nano /etc/hosts” (without the quotes) and press Enter. Enter your user password if prompted.
  3. Make changes to the file: Add, edit, or remove entries in the hosts file as needed. Each line should contain an IP address and one or more domain names separated by spaces.
  4. Save the file: Press Control + X, then Y, then Enter to save the changes to the hosts file.

By following these steps, you should be able to edit the hosts file on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. It’s important to be careful when editing the hosts file, as incorrect entries can cause issues with your internet connection or other programs.