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Answering both you and Dan, here. You can get George Geyde's HOSTS =
Manager program he http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/SoftMain.htm It's at the bottom of that page (address is case-sensitive.) This = program downloads the MVPS HOSTS file from MVPS.ORG, the home site for = MS MVPs. MVPS.ORG is run by MVPs, not to be confused with the MVP = Program site maintained by Microsoft. Mike Burgess, I believe it is, = maintains the MVPS HOSTS file. As malicious sites are encountered--sites = that are prone to loading adware, spyware, sites that provide the = content for advertising banners, like doubleclick.com... or sites that = barrage you with popups or trick you into going to a porn site, for = instance--any sites that we find to be deleterious to the health of a = computer we send the address on to Mike. He adds it to the HOSTS file. Now, here's where I'm likely to lose you: Normally, on an everyday home = computer, when you type in an internet address, www.microsft.com, for = instance, that address isn't by itself going to get you anywhere. The = *real* address you need is the IP address of the server that has the = pages you want. An IP address is four sets of digits separated by = periods. When you type in www.microsoft.com, and then press Go or Enter, = the first thing that happens is your system queries you ISP's DNS = server---Domain Name Server. That server has a catalog of domain names = (microsoft.com) and matches it with the proper IP address for you to = use. That IP address is then used to route your system to the target = server. Now, most domains have more than one server, if for no other = reason than to act as backup. Domains like microsoft.com have many, many = IP addresses to choose from. This is how they divide load. So, me living = here in California, when I query my DNS server for the IP address for = microsoft.com, I'm not likely to get the same one as someone in New York = gets doing the same thing. Got it? OK! Now for the HOSTS file. In business networks--in-house--each = of the machine on that network have unique IP addresses. But it's a real = PITA to remember the IP address of a server or another machine on the = system, so we have the HOSTS file. A HOSTS file (no extension) is a = plain text file that simply lists an IP address, followed by a space, = followed by a familiar name, all on one line. Each line has that = pairing--IP FamiliarName. If your address on a network that we share is = 192.168.1.932, I could make the following line in my HOSTS file: 192.168.1.932 jane Then, wherever that address was needed, all I would have to do is type = in "jane" and it would be automatically converted to 192.168.1.932. Part 2 of the equation: By convention, your *own* machine is always = 127.0.0.1. But unless you are running an internet server on your system, = if you put that number into the address bar of your browser, you are = going to get a 404-Page Not Found. So, the idea behind using the HOSTS = file for protection is to pair every undesirable address with the IP = number 127.0.0.1. On my system, I *do* run an internet server, for = testing my web pages and other uses I won't go into, and to make life = more pleasant, I have a cute lady in a nice pose as my server's default = page. So anytime an address in my HOSTS file gets called for, up pops my = cutie instead. (Though more often, because the real address that's being = called isn't a simple web page, I still get a 404, Page not found. So, Mike Burgess has a HOSTS file he maintains, regularly updated when = someone reports a malicious site, and you can download it any time from = http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip. You can read a *lot* more = about it, and see pretty pictures, at = http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm. And, getting back to where I = started out, you can install George Geyde's HOSTS Manager from = http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/SoftMain.htm and it will do the = downloading, unpacking and placing of the HOSTS file for you. It also = locks the HOSTS file so malicious varmints can't mess with it, and = reminds you every couple of weeks to check for an update--but I run it = as a scheduled task with switches that make it totally automatic. --=20 Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User =20 "jane" wrote in message = ... =20 "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message ... To be clear, I wouldn't use the additional protections because I am satisfied with the protections I have in place. I find that = duplication of active scanning/blocking protection software usually leads to = problems. I use SpywareBlaster and the MVP HOSTS file, along with eTrust antivirus = and Firewall as active protection, all on top of properly conservative = IE/OE settings, and they seem to cover all the bases. Any more than that, = Spybot's additional tools like Immunization and TeaTime, for instance, tends to = get in my way without providing any additional protection. =20 -- Gary S. Terhune MS MVP Shell/User =20 hello, very little 'hello', do not know if I am going to get way out of my depth, but could you tell me what MVP HOSTs file means? Is it somethng we all should have?; I think I mentioned also once before that I dont have a firewall, (kids are kept well away from matches in my house) and I havent yet suffered any Internet Inconvenience due to it... I know most people here have told me I should have one, I even got told the same thing tonight from the person who gave me linux disks, but I am yet to get past all the posts this newsgroup has regarding the interference and problems caused by actually having a fire-wall. (especially the problems it causes with a persons own = ISP.) =20 That was not the reason for my post, my curiousity lies in the the MVP hosts file. (& what is it?) =20 regards Jane =20 |
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