Scot, I believe the hosts file simply has... 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost since it is configured with dhcp. I will have to check the nsswitch.conf tomorrow but I assume it will be okay if it is... hosts: files dns However when I open a terminal, the prompt always shows the hostname as a dhcp domainname (changing according to what I am given by dhcp). Are you suggesting that I don't want to see that but want the hostname to be localhost if I am using dhcp in order to prevent vpn from confusing gnome? Jack