What is the Mac hosts file

The Mac hosts file is a plain text file that resides on most operating systems, including Windows and Mac. It’s primary job is to map hostnames to IP addresses. To edit mac host file is to block, redirect or loop back various applications to a specific IP address of your choice.

Edit Mac Hosts File

In this post I provide instructions on how to edit mac host file. Editing the Mac hosts file is easy and only takes a few minutes. To make changes to your Hosts file make sure you have the Administrator’s password handy. Alternately, the video link above, visually show you how to edit Mac host file.

Block Malicious Sites

The hosts file has the ability to prevent known malicious sites from being accessed. This is just one way employers prevent their employees from wasting time on social media or streaming websites. Thanks to the hosts file, If a link or pop-up attempts to enter the site, your DNS system simply re-routes it and takes you to a safer page.

Increased Speed

Finding a website via the DNS system is like flicking through the yellow pages for the correct address. The hosts file is located on your Mac or Windows computer, if setup correctly, could potentially speed up your browsing by omitting the middle man.

Improve Productivity

For employers, productivity is their number one priority. If you edit Mac hosts file correctly, you can give or take away control over which websites your employees are allowed to visit. If you are unable to monitor their activity, simply block them from visiting social media or streaming sites all together. Blocking access to time-wasting sites is a good way of keeping them focused on the job at hand.

Related tutorials and resources: Prevent Finder From Opening At Startup.

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