Tutorial:Hide Multiplayer Server IP
In this tutorial, you edit your hosts file to add a hostname to an IP address. This allows you to record a video with no IP address showing and no one is able to look it up, unless they have your hosts file.
hosts file
The location of the hosts file will differ depending on the operating system you are using:
- Windows:
%systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts - Linux, BSD, etc:
/etc/hosts - MacOS:
/etc/hostsor/private/etc/hosts
You will need to use a privileged editor to edit the hosts file. On Windows, for example, you would run Notepad as an administrator.
Content
On a new line, add the IP address of the server, followed by a horizontal tabulation and the hostname you want to use. For example:
127.0.0.2 c00l-server
In most cases, you can type a horizontal tabulation simply by pressing the "Tab" key on your keyboard. If not, just copy it from the example above (it's the blank space).
Replace 127.0.0.2 with the IP address of your server, and c00l-server with the hostname you want to use. The hostname cannot include any spaces or symbols, except the hyphen (-) and period (.).
Saving
Once you are finished, save the file and close your privileged editor. It is dangerous to keep this open, since it can be used to edit any file on your system.
Connecting
You can now use the hostname you set in the hosts file, to connect to your server. You will still need to include the port number, if it differs from the default of 25565.
Example
A Minecraft server is located at 127.0.0.2 and the port is set to 12783.
Hosts file:
127.0.0.2 a-minecraft-server
You can now use a-minecraft-server:12783 to connect to this server, instead of using its IP address.
