Zoom7000 Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 I've tried blocking some websites by adding them to my hosts file. However, for some reason it's stopped working. (i.e The websites are still working even though I have re-routed them to the local host)I've used the usual method:E.g. 127.0.0.1 runescape.comIs there any reason the file isn't doing what it should be?
Joe K Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 Are you using Webroot Spysweeper by chance? It causes trouble with hosts files. Is the file locked somewhere as a read only file? Many programs allow locking Zonealarm and Spybot Search and Destroy.Joe
Zoom7000 Posted February 25, 2007 Author Posted February 25, 2007 Yeah, I'm using ZoneAlarm 7. Is this what is causing the issue?
Joe K Posted February 25, 2007 Posted February 25, 2007 It could. Go into Zonealarm Control Center click on firewall main tab and advanced and see if the hosts file is locked. If you have antispyware software it may lock it also. If you have some security suite as part of your antivirus it cold be there too.Just some places to look.Joe
Joe K Posted February 26, 2007 Posted February 26, 2007 One more thing I just remembered. After you make an entry to hosts make sure you dump cookies and temp files or ihe host won't block the site.Joe
Zoom7000 Posted February 26, 2007 Author Posted February 26, 2007 Checked everything. It all seems to be fine, the hosts file is not locked by ZoneAlarm. I dunno why but it doesn't want to work. It seems to do the trick in Firefox though, just not in IE7? Do I also need to edit the hosts.msn file?
Zoom7000 Posted February 28, 2007 Author Posted February 28, 2007 Anyone got any ideas? I would really like to get this working.
aussiecanuck46 Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 Be sure you've stopped the DNS Client service and set it to start manually. Otherwise DNS entries are cached and subsequent queries for known hosts bypass the hosts file.
Tarun Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 The DNS service has nothing to do with it.Have you tried running ipconfig /flushdns yet? Also, your 127.0.0.1 should be 0.0.0.0
Zoom7000 Posted March 1, 2007 Author Posted March 1, 2007 The DNS service has nothing to do with it.Have you tried running ipconfig /flushdns yet? Also, your 127.0.0.1 should be 0.0.0.0I've tried the ipconfig /flushdns, to no avail. However, why does 127.0.0.1 need to be 0.0.0.0? That's the first time I've heard of the local host being that address.I was pointed to this link. Apparently, it's a feature in IE7. I can confirm this, because the file work fine for Firefox. So, how can I "undo" this annoying feature.
Joe K Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 Have you tried this site http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm This is where I get my Hosts file. I only had IE 7 for a short time and went back to 6 because of problems. It was pretty buggy as far as I was concerned. I didn't use it enough to notice if the Hosts file worked of not.Joe
oldgoat43 Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 Have you tried this site http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm This is where I get my Hosts file. I only had IE 7 for a short time and went back to 6 because of problems. It was pretty buggy as far as I was concerned. I didn't use it enough to notice if the Hosts file worked of not.JoeNow there's one guy who's got a handle on the situation (finally).After letting AutoUpdates inject IE7 into my PC, I found all sorts of problems with O.E. etc. It was an easy choice to just go to Add/Remove programs and dump that turkey.I've blocked IE7 from ever downloading again.I too have been a fan of Mike Burgess and his custom hosts file, for many long months.I signed up for his newsletter (Hosts Alerts) and have his "Hosts Secure" program to download the latest Hosts file and install it where it needs to be.Maybe just deleting the old hosts file and replacing it with the latest one from Mike, would solve a bunch of problems.I'd sure give it a try. Like, what can it hurt? OldGoat43
Zoom7000 Posted March 5, 2007 Author Posted March 5, 2007 Well, I don't wanna remove IE7 as of yet, so downloading that hosts file is gonna be no use to me because IE7 is bypassing the hosts file anyway. So, anyone got any other ideas?
Tarun Posted March 5, 2007 Posted March 5, 2007 The DNS service has nothing to do with it.Have you tried running ipconfig /flushdns yet? Also, your 127.0.0.1 should be 0.0.0.0I've tried the ipconfig /flushdns, to no avail. However, why does 127.0.0.1 need to be 0.0.0.0? That's the first time I've heard of the local host being that address.I was pointed to this link. Apparently, it's a feature in IE7. I can confirm this, because the file work fine for Firefox. So, how can I "undo" this annoying feature. 127.0.0.1 points to your machine. Sending it to 0.0.0.0 sends it to a dead address. When sent to the localhost address it will retry connection attempts multiple times. However, when sent to 0.0.0.0 it will try once and then stop.Have you tried this site http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm This is where I get my Hosts file. I only had IE 7 for a short time and went back to 6 because of problems. It was pretty buggy as far as I was concerned. I didn't use it enough to notice if the Hosts file worked of not.JoeUnfortunately their Hosts file is inaccurate and bloated. It will slow down your network performance and surfing habits. They also give you misinformation about disabling the DNS Client service, which should not be disabled.Have you tried this site http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm This is where I get my Hosts file. I only had IE 7 for a short time and went back to 6 because of problems. It was pretty buggy as far as I was concerned. I didn't use it enough to notice if the Hosts file worked of not.JoeNow there's one guy who's got a handle on the situation (finally).After letting AutoUpdates inject IE7 into my PC, I found all sorts of problems with O.E. etc. It was an easy choice to just go to Add/Remove programs and dump that turkey.I've blocked IE7 from ever downloading again.I too have been a fan of Mike Burgess and his custom hosts file, for many long months.I signed up for his newsletter (Hosts Alerts) and have his "Hosts Secure" program to download the latest Hosts file and install it where it needs to be.Maybe just deleting the old hosts file and replacing it with the latest one from Mike, would solve a bunch of problems.I'd sure give it a try. Like, what can it hurt? OldGoat43 He doesn't have a handle on the situation at all, his hosts file simply slows your machine and surfing drastically.Host file usage debunked which also features how to block malware and other items safely. Things like SpywareBlaster and IESpyAds will work wonders.
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