Junk Spy TCP/IP Wizard: How to define a hostname

Overview

TCP/IP uses easy to remember names to refer to computers. It also can translate those names into IP addresses that computers can use. Junk Spy uses hostnames to refer to your computer and your mail server.

Choosing a hostname is an important step. If your computer is part of a network, it is likely that a hostname has been assigned to you. Using a name other than what was assigned may cause problems. On the other hand, if you're not on a network, or it's your own private network, you have some freedom to choose a name. But, when you connect to the internet you're part of the "global" network, so there are some guidelines for choosing a name.

If you are picking a name, a safe choice is always "localhost". By convention, this name is always used to refer to the current computer. It is frequently used in conjunction with the loopback interface. For Junk Spy, that's all you need.

If you are going to create your own name, it should begin with a letter, only include letters and numbers (no spaces or punctuation), and should probably be less than 32 characters long.

Making the changes

Begin by opening the TCP/IP Configuration notebook located in the System Setup Folder. Click on the Hostnames page of the notebook. In the This machine's hostname field, enter the name you will be assigning to this computer.

That's all there is to it. Close the notebook by double clicking on the upper left corner of the window. When prompted, chose to save your changes. If you are prompted about starting Sendmail so that you can use Ultimail, you will probably want to answer no.


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