

So, if you would prefer that YouTube reroutes to your homepage, simply type the numerical IP address of your site, hit Tab, and then type To add another entry, simply enter a new line of text. Type the IP address that you want the site to reroute to, hit tab, and then type the domain name you want to be associated with it. This is where you’re going to enter your alternative IP address. The Nano text editor might look intimidating if you’re not used to coding on your OS, but don’t worry: it’s very simple, and very easy to do.ģ) Use your keyboard arrow keys to position your cursor beneath the text that is already there. Once you’ve entered it, hit Enter again and you will be in the Nano text editor. You’ll then be prompted for your administrator password. Select Applications from the sidebar of a Finder window, and from there select Utilities and then double-click on Terminal.Ģ) Once you have the Terminal window open, you can access the Nano text editor, which is where you will edit the hosts file. Use the Spotlight application to search for it.
#Edit host files for mac mac#
Note: You will need administrator privileges, including the password, to edit the Mac hosts file.ġ) Find the Terminal application on your system. Blocking access to time-wasting sites is a good way of keeping focused on the job at hand. Improved Productivity: Maybe you or your team are getting distracted with social media sites or video streaming. With the hosts file being localized to your Mac, this could potentially speed up your browsing by omitting the middle man. Increased Speed: As we said earlier, finding a website via the DNS is like flicking through the yellow pages for the correct address. If a link or pop-up attempts to enter the site, your OS simply re-routes it and takes you to a safer page.

Although it’s always worth investing in pop-up ad blockers, editing the hosts file prevents known malicious sites from being accessed. This will not affect other users accessing the real site.īlock Malicious Sites: Apart from the risk of viruses and malware, undetected add-ons can also find their way into your system and begin slowing things down. Network Testing: If you’re developing a network, you can reroute the real domain name to the development site to see how real users experience it. Typically if you enter a web address in your browser, it’s because you want to reach that IP address. So why would you want to change your hosts file?
#Edit host files for mac download#
Check it out - it's available for a free download here. Our personal favorite is CleanMyMac as it has a tool to uninstall browser extensions and the rest of the garbage Macs accumulate from the web, emails and message chats.
#Edit host files for mac full#
But if you're tired of half-measures and want some solid improvement, we recommend a full browser cleanup, including deletion of browser cache. Entering the web address will bounce you to a different IP address of your choosing (and therefore a different website) or to an invalid IP, which will give you an error page on your browser that says it can’t find the site you’re looking for.Įditing a hosts file is a way to speed up your browser performance. If, however, you entered an incorrect phone number in our contacts analogy, whether that’s an invalid number or one that links to someone else’s, then you have no chance of getting through to that particular cell phone.Įditing the hosts file reroutes the IP address, but only from your own Mac. If you save the contact details with the wrong name, well, it’s still going to connect to that person when you ring the contact.

Your Mac’s hosts file, however, is localized to your own device, like a list of contacts in your phone: The web address acts as your contact’s name - that’s how you find who you want to talk to - and the IP address is their cell phone number, which is your actual way of getting in touch with them.Įditing your Mac hosts file is a bit like changing the phone number in your contact book. It’s a giant directory of which name belongs to which IP address, like an online yellow pages. The Domain Name System is the database that corresponds an IP address’ “dotted quad” numerical format with a website’s alphabetized web address. What is hosts file and how does it differ from DNS?įirst of all, what is the hosts file, and how does it differ from the more commonly known DNS? But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.
