What is the HOSTS file?

[Jan Il]

Hi all - WinME

I'm not sure this is something that might fit into the scope of this group,
and if it should not be posted here please let me know and I'll be happy to
do so elsewhere.

I just have a question for clarification if I may. I apologize for being so
dense, but it has been suggested to me that I should perhaps have a HOSTS
file. I have read up on this, and while some of it is clear, I am still
somewhat confused as to exactly what it does, and what is it for. It's
purpose, and under what circumstances would one really need such a file.

I have found that, while their intentions are well meant, some suggestions
are not a good thing for my system, something that I really need, or
ultimately creates problems. I hesitate to take any action until I am sure
it is right for me. Thus, I would appreciate any information or input on
HOSTS files.

Best regards,
Jan

 

[Frederic Bonroy]

I'm not sure this is something that might fit into the scope of this group,
and if it should not be posted here please let me know and I'll be happy to
do so elsewhere.

I just have a question for clarification if I may. I apologize for being so
dense, but it has been suggested to me that I should perhaps have a HOSTS
file. I have read up on this, and while some of it is clear, I am still
somewhat confused as to exactly what it does, and what is it for. It's
purpose, and under what circumstances would one really need such a file.

I have found that, while their intentions are well meant, some suggestions
are not a good thing for my system, something that I really need, or
ultimately creates problems. I hesitate to take any action until I am sure
it is right for me. Thus, I would appreciate any information or input on
HOSTS files.

The hosts file, which must be located in your Windows directory, allows
you to assign an IP address to a server name. This can be useful to get
rid of ads loaded from ad servers for example.

For more information take a look at this:
http://www.cdhk.de/buck/nohttpd/nohttpd.php

 

[GrimReaper]

This link is also very helpful

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm


GrimReaper

 

[Bart Bailey]

Jan Il wrote:

I have read up on this, and while some of it is clear, I am still
somewhat confused as to exactly what it does, and what is it for. It's
purpose, and under what circumstances would one really need such a file.

http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html

 

[YoKenny]

Hi all - WinME

I'm not sure this is something that might fit into the scope of this
group, and if it should not be posted here please let me know and
I'll be happy to do so elsewhere.

I just have a question for clarification if I may. I apologize for
being so dense, but it has been suggested to me that I should perhaps
have a HOSTS file. I have read up on this, and while some of it is
clear, I am still somewhat confused as to exactly what it does, and
what is it for. It's purpose, and under what circumstances would one
really need such a file.

I have found that, while their intentions are well meant, some
suggestions are not a good thing for my system, something that I
really need, or ultimately creates problems. I hesitate to take any
action until I am sure it is right for me. Thus, I would appreciate
any information or input on HOSTS files.

Best regards,
Jan

In addition to the other answers there is a HOSTS file that is updated
regularly and the entries are validated as well. I run it on my old WinME
200MHZ laptop with no performance hit. It actually speeds up the Internet
connection because the extra junk does not have to be downloaded. I also
use an application called eDexter that subtitutes the "not found" message
with a small blank graphic.

http://webpages.charter.net/hpguru/hosts/hosts.html
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/eDexter.html

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Yokenny!

In addition to the other answers there is a HOSTS file that is updated
regularly and the entries are validated as well. I run it on my old WinME
200MHZ laptop with no performance hit. It actually speeds up the Internet
connection because the extra junk does not have to be downloaded. I also
use an application called eDexter that subtitutes the "not found" message
with a small blank graphic.

http://webpages.charter.net/hpguru/hosts/hosts.html
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/eDexter.html

Thank you very much for the additional information, and the program link.
I'll look into the eDexter too. I really appreciate your time and help.

Jan

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Bart,

Jan Il wrote:



http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html

Thank you for the link. The infomation is very helpful. I do appreciate your
time to help.

Jan

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Grim! ;-)

This link is also very helpful

http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

I didn't know that the HOSTS was actually part of the Windows files. ??
This is really good to know, as it means I don't need another program.

Thank you for your time and information. I appreciate it very much.

Jan

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Frederic,

The hosts file, which must be located in your Windows directory, allows
you to assign an IP address to a server name. This can be useful to get
rid of ads loaded from ad servers for example.

For more information take a look at this:
http://www.cdhk.de/buck/nohttpd/nohttpd.php

Thank you for the link, I really appreciate your time and information.

Jan

 

[David W. Hodgins]

In addition to the other answers there is a HOSTS file that is updated
regularly and the entries are validated as well. I run it on my old WinME
200MHZ laptop with no performance hit. It actually speeds up the Internet
connection because the extra junk does not have to be downloaded. I also
use an application called eDexter that subtitutes the "not found" message
with a small blank graphic.

I'm curious how many entries you have in your hosts file. I vaugely remember
there being a major performance hit, if the number of entries exceeded some
value, but don't remember what that value was.

Regards, Dave Hodgins

 

[ss_spa]

Jan Il wrote:



http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html

A good link for Jan to start with. And if she wants something to turn
the hosts file on and off at her discretion
http://accs-net.com/hosts/HostsToggle/

tim

 

[ss_spa]

I'm curious how many entries you have in your hosts file. I vaugely remember
there being a major performance hit, if the number of entries exceeded some
value, but don't remember what that value was.

I'm using the latest hosts file from http://accs-net.com/hosts
The host file is 537 KB, and I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 12 to
15 thousand entries. (I tried a quick manual count based on 40 entries
per page and lost track after 200 pages)
I'm running an AMD XP1600 with 256 RAM with no apparent slowdown.

tim

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Tim!

A good link for Jan to start with. And if she wants something to turn
the hosts file on and off at her discretion
http://accs-net.com/hosts/HostsToggle/

Thank you very much for the link and suggestion. This might very well come
in handy. I really appreciate the additional information.

Jan

 

[Duane Arnold]

Hi Tim!



Thank you very much for the link and suggestion. This might very well
come in handy. I really appreciate the additional information.

Jan

The list is short more like on the minus side. But today, I have actually
learned something from this NG. <g>

Thanks Jan for making this inquiry! <g>

Duane

 

[YoKenny]

I'm curious how many entries you have in your hosts file. I vaugely
remember there being a major performance hit, if the number of
entries exceeded some value, but don't remember what that value was.

Regards, Dave Hodgins

This HOSTS file has a bit over 21,000 validated entries. The only major
performance hit is if you run Win2K/XP with its DNS service enabled. The
DNS Service needs to cache the HOSTS entries and will stall for a while
doing this. The DNS Service is not needed and can be set to Manual by the
Services Manager.

 

[BoB]

I'm not sure this is something that might fit into the scope of this
group, and if it should not be posted here please let me know and
I'll be happy to do so elsewhere.

Update notifications and discussions on the HOSTS file are most
common in alt.privacy.spyware.

I just have a question for clarification if I may. I apologize for being
so dense, but it has been suggested to me that I should perhaps have a
HOSTS file. I have read up on this, and while some of it is clear, I
somewhat confused as to exactly what it does, and what is it for. It's
purpose, and under what circumstances would one really need such a file.

To prevent ads from consuming download time on some internet sites
but more importantly to block parasites, hijackers, etc.

I have found that, while their intentions are well meant, some suggestions
are not a good thing for my system, something that I really need, or
ultimately creates problems. I hesitate to take any action until I am
sure it is right for me. Thus, I would appreciate any information or input
on HOSTS files.

Many users find the HOSTS file quite invaluable. It does not
create files but needs updating to maintain its effectiveness.

I tried three different HOSTS files ranging from 150k to >500k.
Coolwebsearch has over 10,000 sites\servers but it's unnecessary
to block 'each' of them in a HOSTS file. This is also true of
many other multi-site ad servers. Some HOSTS files appear to take
a more conservative approach than others. Since each of the three
HOSTS files were equally effective and none caused a noticeable
system slowdown, I have been using the smallest for the past year.
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

I also found some tiny batch files that are handy for working with
the HOSTS file. If you think your HOSTS file 'might' be interfering
with access to a web site, you can use Renhosts to toggle the HOSTS
file on and off. Also, since the HOSTS file should be read-only,
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/RenHosts.bat

Unlockhost.bat and Lockhost.bat can be used to toggle the HOSTS file
attributes on and off for easy updating. There are 'programs' and
more complicated methods to do this, which is true of most functions.
The choice is yours.
(for Win98\ME)
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/LockHostsME.bat
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/UnlockHostME.bat
full instructions, here:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Many users also believe there is merit in using a reasonably small
restricted sites list for IE security. The restricted sites list
I chose to use is developed from data within the HOSTS file above.
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/restricted.htm

Although OT for your question, I also recommend Spyware Blaster.
It is for spyware prevention, not a clean-up program like Adaware
and SpybotSD. It protects without consuming 'any' resources and has
an auto update function.
http://www.wilderssecurity.com

And if you haven't been there yet, don't forget the most important
site of all.
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

HTH,

BoB
For the duration of Swen, an operative email address
will be provided on request, within this thread.

 

[null]

Many users find the HOSTS file quite invaluable.

Better to abandon IE and avoid having to deal with and bother with all
kinds of stuff along these lines.


Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg

 

[David W. Hodgins]

This HOSTS file has a bit over 21,000 validated entries. The only major
performance hit is if you run Win2K/XP with its DNS service enabled. The
DNS Service needs to cache the HOSTS entries and will stall for a while
doing this. The DNS Service is not needed and can be set to Manual by the
Services Manager.

Thanks for the info.

Regards, Dave Hodgins

 

[ss_spa]

Better to abandon IE and avoid having to deal with and bother with all
kinds of stuff along these lines.

Hosts file entries are useful even if you don't use IExploder.


tim

 

[Duane Arnold]

This HOSTS file has a bit over 21,000 validated entries. The only
major performance hit is if you run Win2K/XP with its DNS service
enabled. The DNS Service needs to cache the HOSTS entries and will
stall for a while doing this. The DNS Service is not needed and can
be set to Manual by the Services Manager.

I am using the DNS service and the Host file and I don't see this
performance hit on the Win 2K and XP pro machines.

TCP/IP based services use IP addresses to identify each other, but users
and applications frequently require computer names for host
identification. A name resolution mechanism must be available on a TCP/IP
network to resolve names to IP address.

DNS is needed under the following circumstances:

1) The client is a member of an Active Directory domain, Active Directory
uses DNS as its locator service and is tightly integrated with it. A
locator service assists clients in finding other host and services, using
only the domain names.

2) The client accesses the Internet

3) The client is on a network that uses DNS to resolve host names.

Yes, you can use IP Host and NetBIOS name resolution, accomplished
through Host files and Lmhost files respectively. These provide host and
NetBIOS name-to-IP name resolution through manually maintained local
files.

I don't think it's a good practice to disable the DNS service on the NT
based O/S for the purposes that this thread is discussing.

Duane