Here are some simple instructions on changing your computer’s local hostname in Windows XP and Mac OSX.

How to change hostname for Windows XP

• First, click Start, and then right-click on “My Computer”, then choose “properties”.
• This will bring up a System Properties window.
• Click on the “Computer Name” tab.
• Then where it says “To rename this computer or workgroup, click Change”, click the “Change…” button next to it.
• This should bring up a Computer Name Changes dialogue box.
• Under the Computer Name section, erase the old name and type in whatever you would like and after you are finished press “OK”.
• A dialogue box will come up that says “You must restart this computer for the changes to take effect.”, after reviewing click “OK”. Click “OK” again in the Computer Name dialogue box.
• It will then ask you if you’d like to reboot. Select yes, as this will finish the changes you have just made. After it has finished rebooting, your local hostname should have successfully changed!

How to for change hostname MAC OSX

• First, open up your System Preferences (Command+N -> Applications -> System Preferences)
• Underneath the Internet & Network Section, choose Sharing
• You will now see a section labeled “Computer Name”. Simply type in a new name there are you should be good to go!

Generally speaking, hostnames are just used to help identify the machines on any given network. It’s quite similar to how each machine’s MAC (Media access control) address is specific to the particular machine.

What is a MAC address?

Also known as an adapter address, hardware address, or physical address, a MAC address is a unique serial number on network adapters used to identify the device or computer. This is intended to be a permanent piece of information, however it may be changed via software such as the Technitium Mac Address Changer. The reason some people may want to change their MAC address is as follows: Sometimes when a website needs to ban a user from accessing it, they will choose to ban the IP address. However, it’s quite easy to change your IP address via a web proxy or other similar trick, such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The next step they may take is to simply ban the accessing machine’s MAC address, which is supposed to be unchangeable. However, it is able to be changed, and is also known as MAC spoofing. MAC spoofing may also be used to impersonate other computers on the network, or be used to hide from the network all together.

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