How-To: Edit your HOSTS file in XP

[jaydeee]

this is old and effective guide

I like the idea of controlling things on my side rather than expensive other setup.
thanks

[Kenny94]

You can replace the hosts file.

Copy the entire contents of the quote box to notepad. Save it as "All files", file name "Hosts" no quote marks no file extention. Now open Windows Explorer. Go to Tools, Folder Options and click on the View tab. Make sure that "Show hidden files and folders" is checked. Also uncheck "Hide protected operating system files". Now click "Apply to all folders" Click "Apply" then "OK". Navigate to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc folder. Rename the existing file hosts.old and move the new file to that location.
NOTE: the original file may be marked as read only so you may need to right click on it and uncheck that box.

# Copyright © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a "#" symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
#
127.0.0.1 localhost

To edit the HOSTS file you'll need to go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc and right click on hosts, select "Open With..." to open it in Notepad. Depending on the version of Windows you're using you might not be able to save it again after changing the file. You would then have to open Notepad first by right clicking on the icon in Start > Programs > Accessories and selecting "Run as Administrator", browse to and open the file by using File > Open.
EDIT*
You might not see it listed there until you change "File Type" from ".txt Text Files" to "*.* All Files"

[Phantom010]

Originally Posted by PeteF

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---

SpywareBlaster has 13471 items in database!

I've always been quite satisfied with it. It won't affect browsing speed like the MVPS HOSTS file can.

Rich-M,

I've just started running Ad Muncher's free trial. So far, this thing is great! I was getting really fed up with Flash content used by many websites just to display ads! This was slowing down my Web browsing for nothing. I was used to disabling Flash in the IE Add-ons. When I had to use Youtube or other websites needing the Adobe Flash Player, I had to re-enable Flash. It was getting really annoying. Browsing is now much faster without having to disable Flash.

Thanks Rich!

[dex23]

Thanks to all for the information on editing the host file. I needed this.