The Hosts file is an archaic part of networking setups that was originally meant to be used on a LAN; it tells a PC the fixed numeric address of the internal server(s)--the LAN Host(s)--so the PC doesn't have to go looking for them through all possible addresses. It can save time when "discovering" a LAN.
But the Hosts file can be used for other purposes, too. For example, some less-than-stellar Internet speed-up software tries to shave a few fractions of a second off an Internet connection by placing the numeric address of external Web sites in the Hosts file so a Web browser won't have to look up the addresses externally. This works--as long as the site's numeric IP address never changes.
But IP addresses do change--and they're supposed to be able to. The Web operates via "dynamic" naming, where a human-friendly name (e.g., "informationweek.com") is actually an alias for the real address, which is numeric (in this example, 66.77.24.10). The numeric address can and will change from time to time as a site or server is moved or reconfigured.
People with out-of-date addresses hardwired into their hosts file will no longer be able to connect to any site whose numeric address has changed--the hosts entry will permanently point them to a dead location!
In fact, the hosts file is sometimes abused this way by hijacking software that writes a new, fake hosts file onto a system, substituting a bad numeric address (such as a porn site) for common locations such as Microsoft.com, Yahoo.com, Google.com, and so on: When a user tries to access any of the sites in the fake host file, they're redirected to the new site, such as the porn page.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
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