hosts equiv (G) If this global parameter is a non-null string, it specifies the name of a file to read for the names of hosts and users who will be allowed access without specifying a password. This is not be confused with hosts allow which is about hosts access to services and is more useful for guest services. hosts equiv may be useful for NT clients which will not supply passwords to Samba. NOTE : The use of hosts equiv can be a major security hole. This is because you are trusting the PC to supply the correct username. It is very easy to get a PC to supply a false username. I recommend that the hosts equiv option be only used if you really know what you are doing, or perhaps on a home network where you trust your spouse and kids. And only if you really trust them :-). Default: no host equivalences Example: hosts equiv = /etc/hosts.equiv