Do you use HOSTS file?

Discussion in 'polls' started by Zimzi, Dec 20, 2008.

?

Which HOSTS file do you use?

  1. MVP

    60 vote(s)
    27.9%
  2. HP

    6 vote(s)
    2.8%
  3. Mike's Ad Blocking

    3 vote(s)
    1.4%
  4. Dan Pollock's

    2 vote(s)
    0.9%
  5. Other (Which?)

    17 vote(s)
    7.9%
  6. I do not use HOSTS file (Why?)

    127 vote(s)
    59.1%
  1. guest

    guest Guest

    Ok I'm convinced.

    Now using HostsMan + HostsOptimizer with the updated hpHosts (monthly and daily).

    DNS Client disabled.

    So far, so good.
     
  2. guest

    guest Guest

    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.
     
  3. sm1

    sm1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    570
    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?
     
  4. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2009
    Posts:
    6,623
    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.
     
  5. littlebits

    littlebits Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2006
    Posts:
    262
    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.
     
  6. RJK3

    RJK3 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Posts:
    862
    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.
     
  7. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2007
    Posts:
    6,941
    Location:
    USA
    Did you turn your DNS Client service back on? ;)
     
  8. sm1

    sm1 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Posts:
    570
    Decided not to use host file. Now I am trying dyndns internet guide which has ad blocking. No problems so far:)
     
  9. Athletic

    Athletic Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2009
    Posts:
    93
    Not using HOSTS file. Noticed just a little browsing slowdowns and some good pages blocked. ( MVP hosts, - Windows XP Pro)
     
  10. nisby79

    nisby79 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2005
    Posts:
    42
    I used to, but not anymore.
     
  11. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2009
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    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. o_O

    I was experimenting some stuff, and came across this behavior with HostsMan.

    Do you also experience the same behavior? :ouch:
     
  12. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2007
    Posts:
    6,941
    Location:
    USA
    HostMan no errors found.jpg
     
  13. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2009
    Posts:
    6,623
    Apparently, it also fails to clean other crap entries such as <something>
     
  14. guest

    guest Guest

    Now using HostsMan + HostsOptimizer with the updated MVPS HOSTS (monthly).

    DNS Client disabled.

    Let's see how long it lasts.
     
  15. Phant0m

    Phant0m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2003
    Posts:
    3,726
    Location:
    Canada
    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. ;)
     
  16. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

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    May 11, 2011
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    9,146
    Don't all modern browsers cache DNS and prefetch DNS at this point?
     
  17. Phant0m

    Phant0m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2003
    Posts:
    3,726
    Location:
    Canada
    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. ;)
     
  18. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Posts:
    9,146
    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.
     
  19. Phant0m

    Phant0m Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2003
    Posts:
    3,726
    Location:
    Canada
    Nice feature then. :)
     
  20. Hungry Man

    Hungry Man Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    Posts:
    9,146
    Chrome 14/15 will have proper adblocking soon so I'll be removing the host file (probably)
     
  21. carat

    carat Guest

    Is it possible to change that behaviour? :'(
     
  22. nikanthpromod

    nikanthpromod Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2009
    Posts:
    1,369
    Location:
    India
    No hosts file, using Norton DNS.
    Host files slowed my net speed..:mad:
     
  23. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2009
    Posts:
    6,623
    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.
     
  24. MikeBCda

    MikeBCda Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2004
    Posts:
    1,627
    Location:
    southern Ont. Canada
    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.
     
  25. NRProia

    NRProia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2011
    Posts:
    111
    Location:
    Lowell, MA
    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
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2011
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