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<span>File content</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-File_content-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Location_in_the_file_system" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Location_in_the_file_system"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Location in the file system</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Location_in_the_file_system-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Extended_applications" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Extended_applications"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Extended applications</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Extended_applications-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Security_issues" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Security_issues"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Security issues</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Security_issues-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" 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Available in 22 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-22" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">22 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81_%D9%85%D8%B6%D9%8A%D9%81" title="ملف مضيف – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="ملف مضيف" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitxer_de_hosts" title="Fitxer de hosts – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Fitxer de hosts" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(Datei)" title="Hosts (Datei) – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Hosts (Datei)" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BF)" title="Hosts (αρχείο) – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Hosts (αρχείο)" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo_hosts" title="Archivo hosts – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Archivo hosts" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A5_hosts" title="קובץ hosts – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="קובץ hosts" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lmo mw-list-item"><a href="https://lmo.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_hosts" title="File hosts – Lombard" lang="lmo" hreflang="lmo" data-title="File hosts" data-language-autonym="Lombard" data-language-local-name="Lombard" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lombard</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_f%C3%A1jl" title="Hosts fájl – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Hosts fájl" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(arquivo)" title="Hosts (arquivo) – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Hosts (arquivo)" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%B9%E0%AF%8A%E0%AE%B8%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%81" title="ஹொஸ்ட் கோப்பு – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="ஹொஸ்ட் கோப்பு" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunucu_dosyas%C4%B1" title="Sunucu dosyası – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Sunucu dosyası" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts" title="Hosts – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Hosts" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9F%9F%E5%90%8D%E8%A7%A3%E6%9E%90%E6%96%87%E4%BB%B6" title="域名解析文件 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="域名解析文件" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>吴语</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts%E6%96%87%E4%BB%B6" title="Hosts文件 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="Hosts文件" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1149007#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit 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by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Computer configuration file to map hostnames to IP addresses</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Host_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Host (disambiguation)">Host (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Computer_file" title="Computer file">computer file</a> <b>hosts</b> is an operating system file that maps <a href="/wiki/Hostname" title="Hostname">hostnames</a> to <a href="/wiki/IP_address" title="IP address">IP addresses</a>. It is a <a href="/wiki/Plain_text" title="Plain text">plain text</a> file. Originally a file named HOSTS.TXT was manually maintained and made available via file sharing by <a href="/wiki/Stanford_Research_Institute" class="mw-redirect" title="Stanford Research Institute">Stanford Research Institute</a> for the <a href="/wiki/ARPANET" title="ARPANET">ARPANET</a> membership, containing the hostnames and address of hosts as contributed for inclusion by member organizations. The <a href="/wiki/Domain_Name_System" title="Domain Name System">Domain Name System</a>, first described in 1983 and implemented in 1984,<sup id="cite_ref-BIND_Home_Page_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BIND_Home_Page-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> automated the publication process and provided instantaneous and dynamic hostname resolution in the rapidly growing network. In modern operating systems, the hosts file remains an alternative <a href="/wiki/Name_resolution_(computer_systems)" title="Name resolution (computer systems)">name resolution</a> mechanism, configurable often as part of facilities such as the <a href="/wiki/Name_Service_Switch" title="Name Service Switch">Name Service Switch</a> as either the primary method or as a fallback method. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Purpose">Purpose</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Purpose"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The hosts file is one of several system facilities that assists in addressing network nodes in a computer network. It is a common part of an operating system's <a href="/wiki/Internet_Protocol" title="Internet Protocol">Internet Protocol</a> (IP) implementation, and serves the function of translating human-friendly hostnames into numeric protocol addresses, called <a href="/wiki/IP_address" title="IP address">IP addresses</a>, that identify and locate a host in an IP network. </p><p>In some operating systems, the contents of the hosts file is used preferentially to other name resolution methods, such as the <a href="/wiki/Domain_Name_System" title="Domain Name System">Domain Name System</a> (DNS), but many systems implement <a href="/wiki/Name_service" class="mw-redirect" title="Name service">name service</a> switches, e.g., <a href="/wiki/Nsswitch.conf" class="mw-redirect" title="Nsswitch.conf">nsswitch.conf</a> for <a href="/wiki/Linux" title="Linux">Linux</a> and <a href="/wiki/Unix" title="Unix">Unix</a>, to provide customization. Unlike remote DNS resolvers, the hosts file is under the direct control of the local computer's administrator.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="File_content">File content</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: File content"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Hosts_(file)" title="Special:EditPage/Hosts (file)">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">April 2017</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The hosts file contains lines of text consisting of an <a href="/wiki/IP_address" title="IP address">IP address</a> in the first text field followed by one or more host names.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The host names map to the IPs, not vice versa. Each field is separated by white space – tabs are often preferred for historical reasons, but spaces are also used. Comment lines may be included; they are indicated by an <a href="/wiki/Octothorpe" class="mw-redirect" title="Octothorpe">octothorpe</a> (#) in the first position of such lines. Entirely blank lines in the file are ignored.<sup id="cite_ref-man-5-hosts_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-man-5-hosts-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, a typical hosts file may contain the following: </p> <pre>127.0.0.1 localhost loopback ::1 localhost </pre> <p>This example only contains entries for the loopback addresses of the system and their host names, a typical default content of the hosts file. The example illustrates that an IP address may have multiple host names (<i><a href="/wiki/Localhost" title="Localhost">localhost</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Loopback" title="Loopback">loopback</a></i>), and that a host name may be mapped to both <a href="/wiki/IPv4" title="IPv4">IPv4</a> and <a href="/wiki/IPv6" title="IPv6">IPv6</a> IP addresses, as shown on the first and second lines respectively. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Location_in_the_file_system">Location in the file system</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Location in the file system"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The location of the hosts file in the <a href="/wiki/File_system" title="File system">file system</a> hierarchy varies by operating system. It is usually named <i>hosts</i>, without an extension. </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Operating System </th> <th>Version(s) </th> <th>Location </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Unix" title="Unix">Unix</a>, <a href="/wiki/Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like</a>, <a href="/wiki/POSIX" title="POSIX">POSIX</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>/etc/hosts<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="3">Microsoft Windows </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Windows_3.1x" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows 3.1x">3.1</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Environment_variable#Windows" title="Environment variable">%WinDir%</a>\HOSTS </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Windows_95" title="Windows 95">95</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_98" title="Windows 98">98</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_Me" title="Windows Me">ME</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Environment_variable#Windows" title="Environment variable">%WinDir%</a>\hosts<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Windows_NT" title="Windows NT">NT</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_2000" title="Windows 2000">2000</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_XP" title="Windows XP">XP</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Windows_Server_2003" title="Windows Server 2003">2003</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_Vista" title="Windows Vista">Vista</a>,<br /><a href="/wiki/Windows_Server_2008" title="Windows Server 2008">2008</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_7" title="Windows 7">7</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_Server_2012" title="Windows Server 2012">2012</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_8" title="Windows 8">8</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_10" title="Windows 10">10</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_11" title="Windows 11">11</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Environment_variable#Windows" title="Environment variable">%SystemRoot%</a>\System32\drivers\etc\hosts<sup id="cite_ref-hostReset_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hostReset-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Windows_Mobile" title="Windows Mobile">Windows Mobile</a>, <a href="/wiki/Windows_Phone" title="Windows Phone">Windows Phone</a> </td> <td> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Windows_Registry" title="Windows Registry">Registry</a> key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\Tcpip\Hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="3">Apple <a href="/wiki/Macintosh" class="mw-redirect" title="Macintosh">Macintosh</a> </td> <td>9 and earlier </td> <td>Preferences or System folder </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/MacOS" title="MacOS">Mac OS X</a> 10.0–10.1.5<sup id="cite_ref-macosx_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-macosx-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>(Added through NetInfo or niload) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/MacOS" title="MacOS">Mac OS X</a> 10.2 and newer </td> <td>/etc/hosts (a <a href="/wiki/Symbolic_link" title="Symbolic link">symbolic link</a> to <i>/private/etc/hosts</i>)<sup id="cite_ref-macosx_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-macosx-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/NetWare" title="NetWare">Novell NetWare</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>SYS:etc\hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/OS/2" title="OS/2">OS/2</a>, <a href="/wiki/EComStation" title="EComStation">eComStation</a>, <a href="/wiki/ArcaOS" title="ArcaOS">ArcaOS</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>"bootdrive":\mptn\etc\ </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/Symbian" title="Symbian">Symbian</a> </td> <td>Symbian OS 6.1–9.0 </td> <td>C:\system\data\hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td>Symbian OS <a href="/wiki/Symbian#Symbian_OS_9.1" title="Symbian">9.1+</a> </td> <td>C:\private\10000882\hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/MorphOS" title="MorphOS">MorphOS</a> </td> <td>NetStack </td> <td>ENVARC:sys/net/hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/AmigaOS" title="AmigaOS">AmigaOS</a> </td> <td>< 4 </td> <td>AmiTCP:db/hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td>4 </td> <td>DEVS:Internet/hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/AROS" class="mw-redirect" title="AROS">AROS</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>ENVARC:AROSTCP/db/hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Android_(operating_system)" title="Android (operating system)">Android</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>/etc/hosts (a <a href="/wiki/Symbolic_link" title="Symbolic link">symbolic link</a> to <i>/system/etc/hosts</i>) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/IOS" title="IOS">iOS</a> </td> <td>iOS 2.0 and newer </td> <td>/etc/hosts (a <a href="/wiki/Symbolic_link" title="Symbolic link">symbolic link</a> to <i>/private/etc/hosts</i>) </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/TOPS-20" title="TOPS-20">TOPS-20</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>SYSTEM:HOSTS.TXT </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs" title="Plan 9 from Bell Labs">Plan 9</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>/lib/ndb/hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/BeOS" title="BeOS">BeOS</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>/boot/beos/etc/hosts<sup id="cite_ref-beos_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-beos-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Haiku_(operating_system)" title="Haiku (operating system)">Haiku</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>/system/settings/network/hosts<sup id="cite_ref-haiku_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-haiku-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/OpenVMS" title="OpenVMS">OpenVMS</a> </td> <td>UCX </td> <td>UCX$HOST </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/TCPware" title="TCPware">TCPware</a> </td> <td>TCPIP$HOST </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="/wiki/RISC_OS" title="RISC OS">RISC OS</a> </td> <td>3.7, 5 </td> <td>!Boot.Resources.!Internet.files.Hosts </td></tr> <tr> <td>later boot sequence </td> <td>!Boot.Choices.Hardware.Disabled.Internet.Files.Hosts<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/ARPANET" title="ARPANET">ARPANET</a>, the predecessor of the <a href="/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a>, had no distributed host name database. Each network node maintained its own map of the network nodes as needed and assigned them names that were memorable to the users of the system. There was no method for ensuring that all references to a given node in a network were using the same name, nor was there a way to read the hosts file of another computer to automatically obtain a copy. </p><p>The small size of the ARPANET kept the administrative overhead small to maintain an accurate hosts file. Network nodes typically had one address and could have many names. As local area <a href="/wiki/TCP/IP" class="mw-redirect" title="TCP/IP">TCP/IP</a> computer networks gained popularity, however, the maintenance of hosts files became a larger burden on system administrators as networks and network nodes were being added to the system with increasing frequency. </p><p>Standardization efforts, such as the format specification of the file <i>HOSTS.TXT</i> in RFC 952, and distribution protocols, e.g., the hostname server described in RFC 953, helped with these problems, but the centralized and monolithic nature of hosts files eventually necessitated the creation of the distributed <a href="/wiki/Domain_Name_System" title="Domain Name System">Domain Name System</a> (DNS). </p><p>On some old systems a file named networks is present that is similar to a hosts file, containing names of networks.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Extended_applications">Extended applications</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Extended applications"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In its function of resolving host names, the hosts file may be used to define any <a href="/wiki/Hostname" title="Hostname">hostname</a> or <a href="/wiki/Domain_name" title="Domain name">domain name</a> for use in the local system. </p> <dl><dt>Redirecting local domains</dt> <dd>Some web service and <a href="/wiki/Intranet" title="Intranet">intranet</a> developers and administrators define locally defined domains in a <a href="/wiki/LAN" class="mw-redirect" title="LAN">LAN</a> for various purposes, such as accessing the company's internal resources or to test local websites in development.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <dl><dt><span class="anchor" id="Blocking"></span>Internet resource blocking</dt> <dd>Entries in the hosts file may be used to block <a href="/wiki/Online_advertising" title="Online advertising">online advertising</a>, or the domains of known malicious resources and servers that contain <a href="/wiki/Spyware" title="Spyware">spyware</a>, <a href="/wiki/Adware" title="Adware">adware</a>, and other <a href="/wiki/Malware" title="Malware">malware</a>. This may be achieved by adding entries for those sites to redirect requests to another address that does not exist or to a harmless destination such as the <a href="/wiki/Localhost" title="Localhost">local machine</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Commercial software applications may be used to populate the hosts file with entries of known undesirable Internet resources automatically. In addition, user-created hosts files which block nuisance servers are publicly available.<sup id="cite_ref-ConstanGit_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ConstanGit-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FraviaAntiAdvert_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FraviaAntiAdvert-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <dl><dd><a href="/wiki/Fravia" title="Fravia">Fravia</a> described these files variously as "scrolls", "precious", and "powerful" in his anti-advertisement pages, where this usage of hosts was first published.<sup id="cite_ref-FraviaAntiAdvert_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FraviaAntiAdvert-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <dl><dt>Software piracy</dt> <dd>Some <a href="/wiki/Software_piracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Software piracy">pirated versions of software</a> rely on a modified hosts file to prevent software from <a href="/wiki/Product_activation" title="Product activation">contacting the activation servers of the publisher</a>, although activation servers sometimes appear in general purpose hosts files.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Security_issues">Security issues</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Security issues"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The hosts file may present an attack vector for malicious software. The file may be modified, for example, by <a href="/wiki/Adware" title="Adware">adware</a>, <a href="/wiki/Computer_virus" title="Computer virus">computer viruses</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing)" title="Trojan horse (computing)">trojan horse</a> software to redirect traffic from the intended destination to sites hosting malicious or unwanted content.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The widespread <a href="/wiki/Computer_worm" title="Computer worm">computer worm</a> <a href="/wiki/Mydoom.B" class="mw-redirect" title="Mydoom.B">Mydoom.B</a> blocked users from visiting sites about <a href="/wiki/Computer_security" title="Computer security">computer security</a> and <a href="/wiki/Antivirus_software" title="Antivirus software">antivirus software</a> and also affected access from the compromised computer to the Microsoft <a href="/wiki/Windows_Update" title="Windows Update">Windows Update</a> website. </p><p>In some cases, malware has modified the library responsible for loading the hosts file in order to redirect it to a file it is able to control freely.<sup id="cite_ref-MWBHosts_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-MWBHosts-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/DNSBL" class="mw-redirect" title="DNSBL">DNSBL</a>, a DNS-based blackhole list</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Content-control_software" class="mw-redirect" title="Content-control software">Content-control software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ad_filtering" class="mw-redirect" title="Ad filtering">Ad filtering</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-BIND_Home_Page-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-BIND_Home_Page_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFInternet_Systems_Consortium" class="citation web cs1">Internet Systems Consortium. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.isc.org/downloads/bind/">"The Most Widely Used Name Server 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Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2003-100116-5901-99&tabid=1">the original</a> on October 21, 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 16,</span> 2010</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Symantec&rft.atitle=Remove+Trojan.Qhosts&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.symantec.com%2Fsecurity_response%2Fwriteup.jsp%3Fdocid%3D2003-100116-5901-99%26tabid%3D1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHosts+%28file%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-MWBHosts-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-MWBHosts_20-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFArntz2016" class="citation web cs1">Arntz, Pieter (21 September 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2016/09/hosts-file-hijacks/">"Hosts file hijacks"</a>. <i>Malwarebytes Labs</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">5 August</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Malwarebytes+Labs&rft.atitle=Hosts+file+hijacks&rft.date=2016-09-21&rft.aulast=Arntz&rft.aufirst=Pieter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.malwarebytes.com%2Fcybercrime%2F2016%2F09%2Fhosts-file-hijacks%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHosts+%28file%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Windows <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.howtogeek.com/784196/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-on-windows-10-or-11/">Beginners Guide on Editing Hosts File</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172218">Microsoft TCP/IP Host Name Resolution Order</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.angelfire.com/comics2/fatboy9175/MShosts.txt">List of Microsoft domains that Windows won't redirect with a host file</a></li></ul></li> <li>Mac <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://pointhope.de/tips&tricks/no_place_like_localhost.html">How to block unwanted domains with a HOSTS file on Mac OS X 10.2 or later</a></li></ul></li> <li>Linux <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.putorius.net/block-unwanted-advertisements-on.html">How to block unwanted advertisements with /etc/hosts file on Linux</a></li></ul></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&oldid=1278412643">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hosts_(file)&oldid=1278412643</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Domain_Name_System" title="Category:Domain Name System">Domain Name System</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Configuration_files" title="Category:Configuration files">Configuration files</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_April_2017" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from April 2017">Articles needing additional references from April 2017</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 2 March 2025, at 09:08<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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