FileRisk: Caution
networks C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\networks
Unix-inherited text file mapping names to IP network addresses; rarely used and typically holds only comments or samples.
What it’s for
networks maps a name to an IP network address, where hosts maps a name to a host. The file comes from Unix and Windows barely uses it: you will almost never touch it.
What it contains
- Lines of the form
name network-address [alias], for exampleloopback 127. - Usually just the comment header, and at best a sample entry.
Risks and best practices
- Editing this file changes nothing useful for Windows networking, and it needs administrator rights.
- Entries you did not add are abnormal. Check them as you would those in
hosts.
Useful commands
# Active entries, without commentsGet-Content "$env:windir\System32\drivers\etc\networks" | Where-Object { $_ -notmatch '^\s*#' -and $_.Trim() }