Ok I'm convinced. Now using HostsMan + HostsOptimizer with the updated hpHosts (monthly and daily). DNS Client disabled. So far, so good.
Bad experience. Not using it anymore. Had to manually edit the HOSTS using HostsMan, in search of some valid domains that were being blocked. Had to report these domains to the hpHosts makers as well. After repeating this for the third time (third valid domain), I gave up.
I want to block ads using host file but don't want false positives while browsing for shopping online. Which one is better for this?
I don't think anyone could really give you an answer. You'd have to try the available ones, and do your normal browsing and see which one is best for your needs. But, if you'd like to allow certain domains that are being blocked, and you know which ones, you can add those entries in a text file (one entry per line) and import them to HostsMan.
I don't use hpHosts because it blocks too many safe sites and they never remove these sites until a lot of people keep complaining. Like when a site has ads, bad context, malware, etc. hpHosts will block that complete domain instead of just blocking the bad context. MVPS host file is much better, only blocks the bad context and you still can go to your favorite sites. On HostsMan HostServer control panel Preferences- Make sure that you have "Start HostServer automatically", "Show icon in notification area", "On site blocked, display: message" You never close the HostServer control panel, just minimize it. Make sure it is running before you launch your browser. HostServer is not enable by default on HostsMan, but should be since it speeds up browsing using a large host file. If a site that you want to access gets blocked, then it will display a message "Blocked by Host file, example: goggle.com" then you can easily copy the name of the website and add it to HostsMan exclusion list and relaunch your browser and access that site.
Haha, exactly. I didn't know how to directly address that they seemed to be implying that altering a HOSTS file yourself would somehow lead to malware hijacking it. It's a head scratcher. The other criticism that the HOSTS file isn't used it at all is demonstrably false considering the HOSTS file hijackings I've seen.
Decided not to use host file. Now I am trying dyndns internet guide which has ad blocking. No problems so far
Not using HOSTS file. Noticed just a little browsing slowdowns and some good pages blocked. ( MVP hosts, - Windows XP Pro)
Can anyone using HostsMan do a test. Edit the hosts file and place gibberish like this "sometext in it after 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1. Then go to Hosts > Scan Hosts file HostsMan reports no errors. I was experimenting some stuff, and came across this behavior with HostsMan. Do you also experience the same behavior?
Now using HostsMan + HostsOptimizer with the updated MVPS HOSTS (monthly). DNS Client disabled. Let's see how long it lasts.
Back in the day when using hosts files were small, things was reasonable. Now with ever-growing hosts files, and to use them we must disable Windows DNS Client (for some might know it as DNSCACHE) to avoid system slowdowns, ... might be acceptable to those who don’t surf much, but for someone like myself, I can’t injure the slowness of browsing to pages when having the DNS Client disabled. When I come on here at Wilders for instance, and then leave or refresh should my browser need to re-DNS and putting strain on my ISP DNS servers, and I have to wait when the information would normally be cached and instant with DNS Client enabled. ... so no I don’t use a HOSTs file, but If I had to pick one, it would be MVPS HOSTs, when I’ve used MVPS HOSTs file back in the day, I’ve never had any problems with legitimate sites being blocked, they are (or?) fair and thorough.
Very nice response Actually alternative browsers, and correct me if I’m wrong ..., would offer that support. But for Internet Explorer 9 even, it relies on the Windows DNS Client, which Internet Explorer 9 is what I use.
Ah, interesting. I guess it makes sense that IE9 relies on the Windows DNS Client. However, for Chrome, Firefox, and Operausers all DNS lookups are prefetched and cached, thankfully. So there should not be any noticeable issues if your DNS cache is empty. I personally use a host file on my router so Windows DNS Client Service is left running to do its job.
You could try and use something like HostsMan HostsServer, where you can either make it display a message or an image created by you (be creative... design some skull in Gimp/Photoshop lol)... I tried it, but it wouldn't display any message? Maybe some "issue" with my security restrictions.
I generally don't bother with an active Host file ... just the inherent Windows one, and other than checking when I do my weekend "housecleaning" that it's still got just the single default localhost entry, I don't touch it. I do use the Hosts File Reader (forget who it's from) which can search for any "secondary" host files, but it hasn't found any yet. The one and only time I ever did use it was back when the forums here were moved to a new server, and Paul W. recommended that we add an entry to the host file with the new IP, to keep us going until DNS databases got properly updated.
Hello, Disable the Windows DNS Client Service [don't set it to Manual] hpHosts Hosts File http://www.hosts-file.net/?s=Download MVPS.org Hosts File http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm HostsXpert [Append Hosts Files] http://www.funkytoad.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=31 Spybot - Search & Destroy [Immunize] http://www.safer-networking.org/ Go back into HostsXpert to automatically sort the entries, remove duplicates, and remove comments. Homer [Sets up any image to replace the browser error message when visiting blocked sites] http://www.funkytoad.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=32 Regards, Nathan