[snip] 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost your_IP vandelay.home.lan vandelay [/snip] This is the way, where you should dyndns, as your_IP changes periodically. So, this would mean, after each IP-change you should change the your_IP entry in your /etc/hosts file. so, strangerwise, i choosed my hosts-file and changed the 127.0.0.1-entry. to the following 127.0.0.1 my_hostname my_hostname.my_domain.tld localhost ...and this works fine. but at least the alias localhost is important enough to leave as it is, as some apps using localhost otherwise do not know, which host (loopback interface) to use. my_hostname.my_domain.tld ist the form how i entered the host @ dyndns.org. But AFAIK (and i could be wrong) the dyndns-entry you only need, if you want your machine as a SERVER - reachable from the outside (mail, web, etc.). If your machine is just a client and you get your mail from an ISP, a dyndns-entry is not necessary. And still: do not forget to indicate the my_hostname.my_domain.tld to your applications. As long as your name-resolution my_hostname.my_domain.tld is on localhost, all other will see your external hostname. HTH Roger
