Originally Posted by Zone-MR
/me wonders what kind of overhead is introduced by windows having to check a 17MB file every single time you want to resolve a hostname.
Wouldnt you be better off with ad blocking software like proximotron?
Hi,
Location of Windows OS Hosts file:
Windows XP=
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
Windows 2K=
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
Win 98\ME=
C:\WINDOWS
There is no need to install, turn on, or change any settings. Windows automatically looks for the existence of a HOSTS file and if found, checks the HOSTS file first for entries to the web page you just requested. The 127.0.0.1 is the location of your computer, so when the entry "
ad.doubleclick.net" is requested your computer thinks 127.0.0.1 is the location of the file. When this file is not located it skips onto the next file and thus the ad server is blocked from loading the banner, Cookie, or some unscrupulous javascript file.
In case you're wondering ... this all happens in microseconds, which is much faster than trying to fetch a file from half way around the world. Another great feature of the HOSTS file is that it is a two-way file, meaning if some parasite does get into your system (usually bundled with other products) the culprit can not get out (call home) as long as the necessary entries exist. This is why it's important to keep your HOSTS file up to Date.
In some rare cases it's been reported that a large HOSTS file tends to slow down the machine. This usually only happens in W2, but may occur in XP.
To resolve this issue open the "
Services Editor"
- Start | Run (type) "services.msc" (no quotes)
- Scroll down to "DNS Client", Right-click and select: Properties
- Click the drop-down arrow for "Startup type"
- Select: Manual, click Apply\Ok and restart.
You can see that the above "Service" is not needed (after a little browsing) by opening the Services Editor again, scroll down to DNS Client and check the "Status" column. It should be blank, if it was needed it would show "Started" in that column.
Cheerz