Edit host file - this is how it is possible

To open and edit the host file on your Windows PC without displaying an error message, you need administrator rights. How to edit the host file using the editor and opening it as an administrator beforehand is explained in this article.

How to open the host file as an administrator

Even though the host file is easy to find on the Windows PC by navigating to "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc", editing it is not that easy. Instead, you need administrator rights to open the host file and make changes.

1. To get administrator rights, first open the Start menu on your computer by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard or clicking the Windows icon in the taskbar.
2. Then enter the term "Editor" in the search box and right-click the entry that appears.
3. Thereupon the context menu opens, in which you please select the option "Run as administrator" to start the editor.

Host file: This is how editing works

Once you have opened the editor as an administrator, you can start making changes. To do so, press the key combination of "Ctrl" + "O" on your keyboard and navigate to "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc" in the window that opens. Here, make sure that the "All files (*.*)" option is selected so that the host file is actually displayed to you. To add a new entry, write the IP address at the beginning of the line, add a space, and specify the host name. You can add notes and comments by typing the # symbol at the beginning of the line. Once you have made all the changes, save them with the following key combination: "Ctrl" + "S".