[bugsquasher]

It has been suggested to me that I consider the use of a special HOSTS file such as: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Anyone have any special advice, tips, or experiences to share?

This seems like it should:

1. Help prevent phishing and pop up advertising.
2. Speed up the system by preventing the downloading of ad graphics, etc.

A advanced discussion of the full implications are welcomed.

Thanks for everyone's participation!

[bugsquasher]

Ok, I'll get this started: I'd be sure to check that "services.msc" (from Run menu) has DNS Client set to MANUAL and is not running (active) in windows xp. That way, you can be sure the hosts file is, in fact, read and used (not ignored) by the OS. I had to do this myself by running "services.msc" via Windows RUN. I also deleted other generic hosts files found anywhere else on the pc to be sure there is one (and only one) hosts file present.