January 15, 2001
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Another solution to a problem you didn’t know you had. Mapping IP addresses to domain names using a local hosts file that sits on your computer is a very good thing. At street level, it can speed up browsing of the web by eliminating the need to perform DNS lookups on frequently accessed sites. Most people have never touched their hosts file mainly because they probably didn’t know it existed, and if they did, editing it was a chore. Apple mentions the hosts file deep within the bowels of a technote on Open Transport TCP/IP Configuration, but who the heck is going to read through all of that acronymonic soup unless something is really busted. In fact, Apple pretty much writes off the use of the hosts file altogether:
“In general, use of the Hosts file is discouraged, as it often simply wastes memory by permanently configuring data that may only rarely be accessed. It is also highly susceptible to misuse by users who try to configure far too much information internally in order to avoid accessing DNS servers. Besides tying up memory, this practice is exactly the reason that the Domain Name System was developed in the first place — to eliminate the performance degradation caused by use of enormous hosts files.”
Well, that’s a bit overblown if you ask me. Is it any wonder that people have been scared off from using this technique. No more excuses. Enter Hostal, a super simple host file editing tool for the Mac, and the whole point of mentioning this stuff in the first place. And yes, there just happens to be a version for all you wacky Windows folk too. Via dangerousmeta
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