Hello,
Explorer: Windows Host File
Your host file is used to perform Domain Name to IP
Address translation (Host file Redirection) for sites. For
example: Assume the following entry is in the hosts file:
192.168.0.12
www.microsoft.com. If you enter
www.microsoft.com in the Internet Explorer address bar,
Windows uses the hosts file to resolve the entry to IP
address 192.168.0.12. The browser is directed to that
address. However, the Web site may not be the one you
expected, some spyware applications attempt to change your
hosts file to redirect your browser to a different Web
site. If spyware added an entry like: 192.168.0.12
www.woodgrovebank.com to the hosts file (and 192.168.0.12
is not the correct IP address for Woodgrove Bank) and you
type
www.woodgrovebank.com in the address bar, you would
be redirected to 192.168.0.12 and not to
www.woodgrovebank.com. In most circumstances, especially
outside of some enterprise deployments, the host file
should not be modified.
What does this Explorer Display?
This Explorer shows you the current listings in your
Windows Host File. You can disable a current host entry or
completely remove it.
What is a host file hijack?
Some redirectors have used this technique to redirect
popular sites to their own Web site. For example it is
possible to redirect all popular search engines to a Web
site of your choice. This kind of attack can be difficult
to fix, and will probably require special software or
detailed instructions from a customer support
representative. Another practice involves changing
auto.search.msn.com to redirect the browser to their Web
site, so whenever you enter an incorrect URL you will be
redirect to auto.search.msn.com then resolved to a
different IP address of the redirectors choice. Resetting
Web settings will not fix this issue because this method
sets your search page back to auto.search.msn.com, and
leaves the hosts file unaltered.
Engel
