strange hostname being assigned

3/26/15 8:02:52.128 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 8:02:52.295 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "..-MacBook-Pro.local"

3/26/15 8:02:53.429 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 8:28:03.829 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "...-MacBook-Pro.local"

3/26/15 8:28:04.272 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 8:59:58.663 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "...-MacBook-Pro.local"

3/26/15 8:59:58.807 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 9:14:42.646 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "...-MacBook-Pro.local"

3/26/15 9:14:42.894 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 11:29:54.698 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "...-MacBook-Pro.local"

3/26/15 11:29:54.793 AM configd[25] setting hostname to "internalcheck.apple.com"

3/26/15 1:54:30.096 PM configd[25] setting hostname to "...-MacBook-Pro.local"

The ... are just where the name goes. Rebooting modem/router stops this and it stays ... MacBook-Pro.local for a week or two, then does this again.

I thank you for your responses. Are you each providing stand alone resolutions, or should I try all the above. I think it must be something between that machine, the MB Pro with Yosemite and the modem/ISP DNS, as my Mini (still with 10.6.8... it's old), which was used during the same period of time as the log sampling I posted, only shows a configd message setting hostname to the name I would expect... nothing about internalcheck.apple .com. Why that URL? Would the Mail program being open on the MB Pro cause it? I can find very little about this URL using Google, only that it has a bunch of Apple mail servers and sometimes causes others worry with Little Snitch, or even shows up as a shared drive or server for some. I haven't seen anything like that. In fact, when I first saw this, I disabled any reports regarding crashes and such from being sent to Apple, as I thought perhaps that's the URL the info goes out to, just to see if doing so would stop this. The Mini, on which I don't use the mail program, uses the same Actiontec modem/router wirelessly, like the Pro, and uses the same auto DNS servers with the ISP, but none of this hostname nonsense is showing up in the Mini's console log. I'd never have looked at the console myself, as I find looking at the console logs mostly useless, if I hadn't seen the headers showing internalcheck.apple.com as the name given for the email coming from Apple Mail on the Pro.. Anyway, I will do as Linc says first off, but I'll be heading off to bed after and won't be posting again until tomorrow. Thanks again, we'll see how these suggestions, starting with Link's instructions with the Sharing pane, work out. Good night.

The box for using dynamic global hostname was already unchecked in the sharing pref pane.

I understand, and again thank all who have contributed to helping me understand/resolve this. I suppose the most important question I could ask is, if all things seem to be working and I'm not noticing connection problems, does this even matter? I decided to blow off the usual "it just works" attitude in this case because I thought it was strange that the configd was setting the hostname as a .com (even if it looks like an apple.com) rather than a .local, and doing this just after it had already set the hostname correctly, making the change from one to the other in less than a second.

It's made me wonder if it could be a security issue or something malicious.

The Mini, running 10.6.8, and with a different modem assigned LAN IP, doesn't get these hostname flips, or, at least, nothing is logged suggesting it is. It must be a relationship between the Pro, or Yosemite, or the Pro's local IP, and the Actiontek and/or ISP, which is CenturyLink/Qwest. There are three other differences I know of between the Mini and the Pro. The Mini only connects wifi, while the Pro occasionally connects via Ethernet (different MAC and different assigned local IP from airport). The Mini never connects to any other network. The Pro connects to our home network and to my wife's school network, depending on where she is. The Mini has all native software. The Pro has Office Libre and MacFreedom added.

I did put a check the dynamic global box last night, filled in the info asked for, went to a few webpages to see if I'd killed anything, and then unchecked it, but can't recall if I'd closed system prefs in the meantime.

The wife has the computer at school today, so I don't have physical access again until after work this evening and can't try other suggestions right away. The console log has always, regardless of machine or modem/router, logged issues with DNS through CenturyLink/Qwest and/or the modem/router they send us, but I've always ignored them as we never have had noticeable issues. Things work. I can tinker with the local modem assigned IPs by removing the Pro from the Actiontec, connecting with an old Pro that has real issues, so that the older pro then becomes the ....2 IP, and then connect with the new Pro, which would be assigned a different local IP and see if the problem is related to the specific local IP. We don't use the old Pro anymore, but it just occurred to me that it may have had the same name as the new one, and we have used it on this Actiontec... of course it has a different airport MAC, but it used to have the same local IP that the new Pro has now. Hmmm. Maybe relevant, but still, why internalcheck.apple.com?

The Pro's security options are locked down except for location services, the firewall is on, but not the higher "allow only" option, and not stealth. No sharing is on or used in the system prefs, iTunes, nothing that I know of. No iCloud account. iMessage is used, as we are still have old flip phones and rarely text. That's all I can think of for now that may or may not be useful. I can try the alternate DNS addresses with Open or Google, and have wanted to for a while, but wonder if CenturyLink even allows it. Wouldn't I have to change the numbers in the Actiontec too?

Again, the main question is... does this config hostname flip from the proper .local to internalcheck.apple.com matter if things are otherwise working normally from the user perspective? I've not heard of a hostname being flipped from the .local to a .com. All I could find were instances of sequential numbers being added to the hostname when searching the forum. My only real concern is could this be a security/privacy issue? Would you log into your bank account if you saw this happening on your machine? Or, is it just a DNS anomaly or a modem that needs replacing, or something that does not likely mean the Pro is vulnerable or already screwed. Also, again, could it be related in some way to the Apple Mail program being always open, as that URL is reported to be related to many apple mail servers, and the URL shows up in the email headers sent from Apple Mail on the Pro when this is happening. I've probably given too much info to digest in one reading. Sorry.

John Galt and Link Davis have both pointed to the Actiontec's DNS settings. I don't know how to change them... as far as I know, it comes automatically from the ISP (I didn't set it ) and then goes automatically to the device. I can call them. It seems weird that the issue is seemingly fixed, at least concerning this particular Console messaging, with a modem power reboot, but then a week or two later, the messages start again. I should check the network prefs on the Pro and the DNS addresses in the Actiontec the next time this happens to see if they are changing, or would this configuration problem have nothing to do with the numbers, but something more "under the hood" in the advanced set up? I wish the free market would be true to its promise and create more choice rather than less choice concerning service providers... alternatives get gobbled up by the biggies, and here, which is a city with two nearby major universities and lots of Tech companies, the fastest speed I can buy from CL is 5m, and I actually get around 3.5m, and when it rains or snows the connection for both internet and phone are terrible. The alternative is Comcast.

Sorry Link, I posted my mammoth message before seeing your latest contribution to this discussion. Still, I would appreciate it if you would read through it and answer, if you're able, a couple of the main questions I pose there, mainly the one concerning security, and there may be a bit of important info in there I hadn't previously thought of.

Thanks again to all involved with their ideas on what is going on and how to stop it, if it needs to be stopped. I'm not sure how to proceed with changing the DNS settings on this ActionTec PK5000, as so much of it is CL specific and automatically set up by them. I've done simple things like changing the admin info, wifi security password, etc... but not anything more involved or risky if I could screw it up.

J