Hi Arpan - The domains.reg file goes to the Restricted Sites Registry entries also, BTW. Listing in the Restricted Zone doesn't prevent you from visiting the sites; it jusst limits what such a site is allowed to do. The following is from Eric Howes' site concerning SPYAD. Perhaps it will help you to understand its function better:
"Please note that IE-SPYAD is not an ad blocker. It will not block standard banner ads in Internet Explorer. What this Restricted sites list of known advertisers and crapware pushers will do, however, is:
a.. stop unwanted crapware from being installed behind your
back via "drive-by-downloads";
b.. prevent the hijacking of your home page and other key
Internet Explorer settings;
c.. shut down ActiveX, Java, and scripting, all of which can
be employed to push obnoxious advertising on you and
compromise your privacy and security;
d.. block cookies, which can be used to monitor and track your
travels around the Internet;
e.. combat obnoxious script-based popups that clutter your
screen and force unwanted advertising on you."
You're correct in that the HOSTS file can be used to limit access and can thus be used to block ads based on their originating addresses on pages you visit and/or to block access to listed sites altogether. (BTW, it can also be used to provide local DNS lookup to speedup browsing, which was its original purpose.
)
--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
Thanks, Jim, for your help. I have downloaded IESpyAd as per your suggestion & after installing it, I find a lot of sites getting listed under the "Restricted Sites" zone under Internet Options-->Security. I was under the impression that those sites which are listed as restricted, a user will not be allowed to access that site but I find that I can still access the site! For e.g. if one of the sites listed as restricted is
www.abcd.com, I find that I am still being allowed to enter
www.abcd.com! Am I wrong? If so, then what are the "Restricted Sites" suppose to do (in fact, it is the HOSTS file that restricts entry to those websites which are listed in the HOSTS file!)?
Thanks once again,
Regards,
Arpan
Hi Arpan -
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm Then see IESpyAd here:
http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~ehowes/resource.htm#IESPYAD (better IMO than the domain.reg file).
--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP
From where can I download the HOSTS file (which blocks potentially malicious sites) & the file named domain.reg? Also could someone give me the Google URL where all the NewsGroups posts are archived?
Thanks,
Arpan
