What's this?

[George Hester]

Put this is in your hosts file:

127.0.0.1 www.microsoft.com

Now go to Windows Explorer NOT Internet Explorer and type in the address bar:

http://www.microsoft.com Hit <ENTER>

What's up with that? hosts doesn't work.

 

[Bob I]

Dunno, it "works" in XP. Try a restart?

 

[George Hester]

Thanks Bob. It didn't work in a different machine but not really as I asked to do the experiment. The issue was scripting in a mpg file. I put the site it was sending Windows Explorer to in hosts. I closed all my browser and Windows Explorer but the test (Running the mpg) still put Windows Explorer at the site.

I had to find how to turn off scripting in mpgs.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320944

DRM can be used as a vector to introduce virus into Windows in this manner.

 

[Bob I]

Humm, I think that if you rely on HOSTS to prevent this, the "script"
could just as easily "edit" the HOSTS file and bypass your redirection .

 

[George Hester]

That could happen but is not what it did. In any case the hosts still seemed to be ignored ny the mpg. Also the mpg really wasn't a media file. It was strictly all HTML. When the browser open that was subverted by the entry in the hosts but not as it open Windows Explorer to the site also.