Windows Defender - Hosts File

G

Guest

I purposely edited my "hosts" file to add a site (I pointed it to 127.0.0.1
to block it) and the Window Defender (Beta 2) now complains when it does a
scan about a "possible hijack" of my hosts file.

The options in Windows Defender don't seem to allow me to "accept" the
change (I can ignore it once, have it ignore all changes to that file
forever, back my changes out, remove the file, or quarantine the file).

Obviously, none of those choices work.

How can I make my changes--and get Windows Defender to "accept" them as
authorized changes so it quits warning me about a possible host file
hijacking?
 
J

JRosenfeld

Rob-S said:
I purposely edited my "hosts" file to add a site (I pointed it to
127.0.0.1 to block it) and the Window Defender (Beta 2) now complains
when it does a scan about a "possible hijack" of my hosts file.

The options in Windows Defender don't seem to allow me to "accept" the
change (I can ignore it once, have it ignore all changes to that file
forever, back my changes out, remove the file, or quarantine the
file).

Obviously, none of those choices work.

How can I make my changes--and get Windows Defender to "accept" them
as authorized changes so it quits warning me about a possible host
file hijacking?

Do you have real time protection on (tools, options)? With that on, when I
edit my HOSTS file, WD immediately gives an alert that the HOSTS file has
been changed; I can just allow that, and if I subsequently scan it does not
complain. During a scan, I think it would only complain if for some reason
the change you've made blocks a site that it knows malware is prone to block
(some malware adds legitimate antivirus and antispyware sites to the HOSTS
file to make it a bit more difficult for you to access those).
 
G

Guest

I have "Use real-time protection" checked, "Automatically scan my computer"
checked (Daily, Quick Scan), "Check for updated definitions before scanning"
checked, and I do NOT have "Apply default actions" checked.
 

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