The AM Forum

Has anyone tried downloading and installing a custom HOSTS file?

If you are not familiar with this,  here is a brief explanation:

A custom HOSTS file is a crucial defence against spyware and hijacking.
When a malicious program on your computer, such as spyware, attempts to contact a computer on the Internet, it makes its request through the
browser, like Internet Explorer or Firefox.

In attempting to fulfill that request, it goes first to the HOSTS file
to try to find the IP number--the actual Web address. If it doesn't
find it there, it checks domain name servers on the Internet.

So, the spyware can be thwarted in the HOSTS file.

The HOSTS file is downloaded from a trusted source and has thousands of entries. Some are really malicious sites. Others are just advertising sites. And some may be sites you want to open, so you may have to do some editing.

The file blocks access to spyware as follows.  For example, the spyware is trying to contact website <www.bullshit.com>. The HOSTS file, if up to date,  will contain a listing that looks like this:

127.0.0.1     <www.bullshit.com>

That IP number is your machine's address. When your browser tries to go to <www.bullshit.com>, you will actually be redirected to your own
computer, and the bogus request simply dies.

Has anyone tried this?  I have heard that it may slow your browser down.  Others say it makes it run faster.  Sounds like a good idea, but I'd like to hear from someone who has some experience with it before installing it in my machine.

Again, the source of the file must be trustworthy.  A bogus file could end up blocking legitimate sites.

Hi Don,

Yes, I do it here and have for a long time. It makes surfing and using the net a lot more pleasant! To answer your question: It does seem to make the machine go faster, not slower, because you simply bypass the URL's that used to slow you down. Watching the lower left part of the browser, you see the unwanted URLs just fly by, so fast that you can hardly read them. I've noticed it especially effective on Ebay.

Don, also I use DNS caching, which works hand in hand with the host file. I would say that the caching is not only dramatic but it makes the host file mod even better. I am actually finding that 85% of my DNS lookup are from cache. That is at full machine speed instead of waiting on the internet.

Rather than go into detail about the "how to's", let me point you to the best information and the location of the download itself. I highly recommend it.

 Host file information (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm)

--Larry W8ER

Yep. Been use a custom Hosts file since 1997. It is most effective at killing unwanted advertisements and such. If you go with a hosts file, be sure to regularly update it. The sneaky advertisers change URLS often.

I suppose is can help with spyware too, but I would still have a spyware scanner or two regularly running.

Also try the Firefox Web browser with the Adblock function turned on. Some manual interaction is required, but once enough ads are identified, many pages load very fast, even on a dial-up connection. Try it once on QRZ.com.

Steve .. Firefox is really good stuff and a big help with spyware/malware. Microsoft is on the edge of releasing IE 7.0 which may address the problems but they will still be "the" target for those designing spyware

I don't know if you have tried the MS beta spyware program but it's pretty good. I use it along with Adaware and Spybot. My machine stays clean!

I still like AVG virus protection because it has less of a performance impact but I am not convinced that it's invincible. I've seen it catch things but I have also seen it miss.

What are you using?

--Larry

Larry And All,

    Where dose this information usually get stored? I assume it is resident on my machine? Maybe the cookie and history files? Can this same information be cleared manually? It seems you will have to be a BA in computer science to fix what might happen when you use this Hosts file or even set up and maintain it.

    I used to use a small program called Cookie Crusher. The full version did a similar job of blocking this sort of thing but did nothing in regards to "click-thru tracking" or Data Miners and it did nothing regarding hijacking by a parasite from an evil script or downloads contained on the web sites.

    What it did do was make things really troublesome on my banking website or others when I purchased things. I also found some sites simply wouldn't cooperate unless you accepted cookies.

    Apples And Oranges? I think so but if the Hosts file interferes with every day life on the web I think I would get tired of it in a hurry. Thoughts Please. Thanks!

Mike

Mike,

Unfortunately these things require an understanding to use. The good news is that none of it is complicated. Once you understand what the browser does and how the internet responds, it becomes simple.

Most of this stuff resides on your machine. Your browser checks to see if it's there and if not, goes to the internet to find a generic version. Cookies are probably the most misunderstood of all of the items and there's probably more information available about them than anything else. They can block your access to banking and many other sites that you normally use.

Not all cookies are bad however! Take this BB system the "AM Forum" for instance, it uses cookies but in a way for which they were designed. They hold logon information and other "good" stuff. There is one guy in particular that is so misinformed about cookies that he has made a BIG stink about it. Unfortunate for him! Makes him look real stupid! :lol:

If there is any interest in any of this, I would be happy to start a thread and describe how it works and field questions.

--Larry ER