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Special Forums IP Networking Can I change my hostname without messing things up? Post 302958230 by vincent72 on Tuesday 20th of October 2015 10:53:32 AM
Old 10-20-2015
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrix
I noticed my hostname is <my-full-name>s-macbook.local. I'm not sure exactly what information leaves the local network, and whether the hostname is included, but if it is, this would mean people on the Internet can look at my hostname and see who I am. Before anyone says that's not possible, there was a time when someone addressed me by my full name on YouTube, and that was when I was on an account that I had created through a GMail account that didn't have my real name on it, so they must have gotten my real name by looking at my hostname, or at least something similar to that.

So I would like to change my hostname, but I'm not sure if I can do this without messing things up on my local host. I'm afraid if I change things like my IP address or my hostname, I won't be able to use the Internet anymore. Can anyone explain to me how this works? I guess I basically have three questions: 1) Will changing my hostname affect my ability to log onto a network. 2) If so, why? 3) If so, what other information do I need to reconfigure so I can log onto a network again?

Additional information that may be relevant: I have no home network. I always use public WiFi networks.
It won't affect your being able to connect to the internet. It'll just change the name of your machine.

You may want to read this (old) article : Changing your Mac’s Computer Name | OSXDaily or Set the HostName, Computer Name, and Bonjour Name Separately in OS X | OSXDaily

Last edited by vincent72; 10-20-2015 at 12:18 PM..
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rhosts(5)							File Formats Manual							 rhosts(5)

Name
       rhosts - list of hosts that are logically equivalent to the local host

Syntax
       /$HOME/.rhosts

Description
       The  file  allows  a  user  who has an account on the local host to log in from a remote host without supplying a password.  It also allows
       remote copies to the local host.

       If the file exists, it is located in a user's home directory.  It is not a mandatory file, however.

       The format of a file entry is:
       hostname [username]
       The hostname is the name of the remote host from which the user wants to log into the local host.  The username is the user's login name on
       the remote host.  If you do not specify a user name, the user must have the same login name on both the remote and local hosts.

       The  host  names  listed in the file may optionally contain the local BIND domain name.	For more information on BIND, see the Guide to the
       BIND/Hesiod Service.

       If a user is logged in to and wants to log in to a host called without supplying a password, she must:

       o    Have an account on

       o    Create a file in her home directory on

       o    Specify host1 ginger as an entry in the file.
	    If has the same login on both and she can simply specify host1 in her entry.  You can allow the superuser of a remote system to log in
	    to your system without password protection or perform a remote copy by having a file in the root ( / ) directory, but it is not recom-
	    mended.
	    In addition to having a file, the superuser needs a terminal entry in the file for each pseudoterminal configured in the system.   The
	    secure entry looks similar to the following:
	    ttyp3      none    network	       secure
	    See the reference page for more information.

Examples
       The  following is a sample file for the user It is located in her home directory on She also has accounts on the hosts called and Her login
       name on and is the same as on but her login on is

       To enable to log in to from and without supplying a password, her on should contain the following entries:
       machine1
       system1	gordon
       host3

See Also
       hosts.equiv(5), ttys(5)
       Introduction to Networking and Distributed System Services

																	 rhosts(5)
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