[cyberoidx]

The windows hosts file contains address of websites and ip address that need to be mapped on your network. If you map an internet address to 127.0.0.1 (your own computer) then you will never be able to reach a website.

Therefore if you put the address of internet adservers in your hosts file, webpages and programs will never be able to contact a certain website, and you wont get ads, making surfing faster.
********************************
How to do this?
Copy the text from here:

http://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/server...ate%5Byear%5D=

or select hosts file format on this page:
http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/


and paste it in this file (open in notepad)
Windows XP = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\hosts
Windows 2K = C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\hosts
Win 98/ME = C:\WINDOWS\hosts
Linux: /etc/hosts

after this, clear your cache, and reboot.
************************************
Notice the difference.

Note: You should update the file regularly if you use it.

Want to Read more?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_file
http://elouai.com/hosts-file.php

[coachdan32]

Does this really work?

[knight_47]

Um, good question. I've used this before, many times, and it does work. But I've never done it the way cyber has explained it. What I do is first get the IP of the site. You can do this by clicking start > run > and type in cmd > then type in ping www.website.com. Once you have your IP, go into your hosts file, you should see something like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost

paste the IP where the ip goes, and type in the full url under local host. So it should look like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost
111.11.111.111 www.website.com

*Note that if the IP of the site changes, (if they change servers, etc) then the IP also changes, and it needs to be changed in your hosts, or removed completely.

Also, if you have MS antispyware, or anything similar, it might warn you that your hosts is being changed, just allow it.

Now to block and add, type in 127.0.0.1 right before the url so it should look like this.

127.0.0.1 localhost
111.11.111.111 http://www.website.com
127.0.0.1 http://www.ads.com

But first you need the URL of the ad, to do that, you can either right click on it with firefox, and go to properties. With IE, do the same.

You can even block whole websites with this. All you do is just put in a false IP, or an IP that doesn't exist, (random numbers that resemble an IP address) and then put in the URL of the site, but make sure you put in the HTTP://, and then another line without HTTP://

Every enter, whether your blocking an ad, a site, or making a site load faster, needs a new enter. Like this:


127.0.0.1 localhost
111.11.111.111 http://www.website.com
127.0.0.1 http://www.ads.com
ip site
ip2 site.com
ip3 www.site.com

etc..

[coachdan32]

Not sure I followed, has anybody tried the file that was posted as it is? Or have any other comments on this method?

[-MaDcOw-]

This explains the host file http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/.../30/hosts.html

[StumpedTechy]

Yeah it works fine I have a hosts file that is now over 1 meg in size due to all the entries you can use either 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1 as viable blocks for the I.E. not to point to where its trying to.

All the hosts file is doing is trying to resolve an IP from a DNS first before the DNS service gets used. Essentially your just "breaking" your browser for that specified URL.

[JohnWill]

I don't know if this still applies, but it used to be that 0.0.0.0 was a better address, since it didn't even try to connect. 127.0.0.1 will sometimes waste some time trying to connect. I haven't tried either lately, something to experiment with.

[-MaDcOw-]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

I don't know if this still applies, but it used to be that 0.0.0.0 was a better address, since it didn't even try to connect. 127.0.0.1 will sometimes waste some time trying to connect. I haven't tried either lately, something to experiment with.

Let us know if you do experiment and how it went.

[hewee]

Yea let use know if 0.0.0.0 is better.
My hosts file right now is 1.33 MB

[JohnWill]

I don't use a HOSTS file for this purpose, so you'll have to do your own experiments.

[hewee]

What are own experiments?

Now to find a easy way to change all the 127.0.0.1 over to 0.0.0.0.
Don't use a hosts manager because most will not see all of the host file because it is too big.
I know some will change things from 127.0.0.1 over to 0.0.0.0 so guess I could break my hosts file down smaller and then covert each smaller one over and then put them all back together.
Got about 45,000 sites I am blocking.

[JohnWill]

Well, a simple text editor will change them all in one shot.

[hewee]

I got Hostsman and it will do it too.

[JohnWill]

You were the one that asked for an easy way, not me.

[-MaDcOw-]

I guess it would take the size of the hosts file down, less characters and all.