title: Mac OSX changing /etc/hosts has no effect even after killing mDNSResolver
body: <p>I have not had a similar issue in Windows (10) and nothing I've searched on docs seems to indicate why, if this does not work, that that is the case</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>I open up terminal and edit /etc/hosts (which I've done many times on a PC and a few years back on an OSX too)</li>
  <li>Just for grins if that doesn't work I type in <code>sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder</code></li>
  <li>Then for more grins I reboot</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>This has absolutely no effect.  Can anyone point me to why? Thanks.</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: The embarrassing fact of the matter is that the lines I entered in <code>/etc/hosts</code> were in reverse, i.e. domain first, as:</p>
  
  <pre><code>mydomain.com  192.168.33.10    #wrong
  192.168.33.10    mydomain.com  #what it should have been
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The accepted answer, however, is well-written and appreciated.  </p>