How-To: Edit your HOSTS file in XP

[dale@fcg]

I have a host and a host.tmp file. Which one do I want to append?

Also, what sites can I visit to test that ads and popups are blocked?

Lastly, how do I determine the address of an add within a window, such as the lousy Circuit City add I was fighting last
Wed in Paltalk?

[dbarrow]

Since the advent of popup blocking in IE and Firefox, HOSTS file is largely irrelevant.
It can come in handy for non-browser or mini-browser programs like Pal Talk, AIM, MSN IM that spawn popups when you are not actually in a browser.

AdMuncher is, by far, the best ad blocker going, especially to kill annoying flash ads that otherwise would require you to turn off the flash player in your browser. It stays current with the latest ad address lists and is well worth the price.

ADBLOCK plugin for Firefox is almost as good but requires continual tuning and manual update.

[rVidia]

Originally Posted by dale@fcg

I have a host and a host.tmp file. Which one do I want to append?

A .tmp file is a temporary file. They're generally created when you're working on a file and are usually deleted after you close out of that file, but sometimes they're not removed. In this case, remember .tmp files are "temporary" and can usually be deleted without doing any harm to your system. Some people make a hosts.tmp file for different reasons, say, hosts for home, hosts.tmp for work. I don't have a hosts.tmp file and only use "hosts" -- you'll probably want to append entries to the "hosts" file also (it has no extension).

Also, what sites can I visit to test that ads and popups are blocked?

You can test any site you'd like. Try adding the entry

127.0.0.1 www.paltalk.com

to your HOSTS file and then open up your browser and try to go to paltalk.com; if it's working, nothing should happen and you shouldn't be able to view the website. You can then remove that entry from your HOSTS file if you want to be able to access paltalk.com

Lastly, how do I determine the address of an add within a window, such as the lousy Circuit City add I was fighting last
Wed in Paltalk?

The problem is, several pop-up ads are written by scripts running in the original window, so you may not be able to find a specific URL for it. In that case, you would have to add the website the pop-up is coming from (the homepage of the website) to your HOSTS file and, in turn, would not be able to view the website at all. Many times, however, the URL is the title of the pop-up window.

You could try viewing the source code of the pop-up. In IE, right-click and select "View Source" and in Firefox, press Ctrl-U. The only other problem here is the fact that HOSTS files only block *whole* websites, meaning you can only use the domain portion of the ad's URL (I updated the attachment with this information on p.2). If you don't like the sounds of that, then AdMuncher would be a better solution as some others suggested.

Hopefully this will help you out, dale

[Tortanick]

Originally Posted by mylanta

It's a question of how much you value your time. I would much rather spend $25 once in my lifetime to never have the problem,

I installed the MVPS hosts file, and I got privoxy bundled with Tor (not sure if it did anything to help fitler ads)

Thats 99% of them gone, hardly expensive in terms of time,

[dale@fcg]

So far, on my laptop, the host file is blocking everything just fine! Took me less than 5 minutes to open host file, copy and paste entries, save file. Let's put that in terms of money: $25 for 5 minutes x 12 = $300 an hour. Man, I'm gonna be rich!
Maybe I'll even be Rich M!

Seriously, Rich, it's not a bad deal for the little bit I have to use IE.

Also, I'm lovin Admuncher. I even went onto Paltalk and did handstands and downright lauged out loud when that blasted add below the text box was munched.

[PeteF]

Did you know that Spybot has the ability to load the HOSTS file?
Yes, Spybot currently loads over 2,000 entires to the HOSTS file.

Here's how....

1.) Start Spybot and set mode to advanced mode.

2.) Click..Tools then double click.. the text of Hosts File
Note: Click the text; don't click the check box;
Check box for Hosts File is normally unchecked

3.) Click.. + Add Spybot-S&D hosts list
You will now see the host file loaded.

4.) Exit Spybot.

Be aware that having the Hosts file loaded will result in you being
blocked from many websites no matter which web browser you use.
On my computer I tried going to www.regnow.com (an entery in
HOSTS file) and IE takes me to http:/sea.search.msn.com with
an error message indicating We can't find www.regnow.com"
Firefox displays the "Unable to connect" page.

---pete---

[fleamailman]

I really enjoyed this read, nice work, great effort

questions
- if I uninstalled spybot, would my host file lose the list
- if yes, should I copy store repaste after the uninstalling of spybot
- could I just copy the contents of the host file from someone who has spybot installed
- is there a site where I keep periodically download an updated list

[rVidia]

Originally Posted by fleamailman

I really enjoyed this read, nice work, great effort

Thanks for your kind words, FM and thanks, Pete, for the additional info.

- if I uninstalled spybot, would my host file lose the list

No, you would not lose the list. When you load Spybot entries to your HOSTS file, they are saved to your HOSTS file, not to Spybot; Spybot adds its HOSTS list to your HOSTS file.

- could I just copy the contents of the host file from someone who has spybot installed

You can copy the contents of any HOSTS file by opening the HOSTS file (Start > Run > %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) and then copying its contents. And to use the copied HOSTS file, simply paste it over your HOSTS file.

- is there a site where I keep periodically download an updated list

I would recommend the MVPS HOSTS file, as it's very comprehensive. The contents of the MVPS HOSTS file are available here; I would suggest going to that URL every month or so to check for updates, then simply copy the contents of the above URL and paste it over your HOSTS file.

[fleamailman]

sorry, another question
runcommand: inetcpl.cpl @0,2
settings
this block's a sites cookies
is there a case where this is ever needed as an option, seems pointless

[PeteF]

Originally Posted by rVidia

I would recommend the MVPS HOSTS file, as it's very comprehensive. The contents of the MVPS HOSTS file are available here; I would suggest going to that URL every month or so to check for updates, then simply copy the contents of the above URL and paste it over your HOSTS file.

Wow! The MVPS HOSTS list has over 12,000 entries
compared to Spybot's 2,000+ entries.

I wonder if having such a large Hosts file slows down the web browser
since each URL you visit has to be looked up in the Hosts file first.

---pete---