Hosts File : Use in Windows 7 / Vista

Barman58 said:

This thread is very old

That means a lot of people are subscribed already. :)

avada said:

Isn't there a better way than the hosts file to block domains? I remember it being inefficient. And if you add a lot of stuff in there it will slow down the system.

I would have imagined that the firewall could do it. But it I only saw an option to block IP adresses.

Having a large HOSTS file does not slow the "system" down - because the "system" does not need to read or deal with the HOSTS file*. For the most part, only apps that need to resolve web addresses will access the HOSTS file.

*This assumes that the operating system's DNS Client service has been disabled.

Some apps (like IE) will use a bit more RAM - because the entire HOSTS file is read (and held in memory) by the app.

The HOSTS file was not designed to block stuff. It was designed to do just the opposite (before there were DNS servers). There are more efficient ways to block domains, but this forum's rules prevent us from talking about them :-(

The tutorial suggests using 127.0.0.1 as the IP address to use when blocking a domain. Starting with Windows 8.1, it is probably better to use 0.0.0.0 to block a domain. All zeros will work with earlier versions of Windows too.

UsernameIssues said:

avada said:

Isn't there a better way than the hosts file to block domains? I remember it being inefficient. And if you add a lot of stuff in there it will slow down the system.

I would have imagined that the firewall could do it. But it I only saw an option to block IP adresses.

Having a large HOSTS file does not slow the "system" down - because the "system" does not need to read or deal with the HOSTS file*. For the most part, only apps that need to resolve web addresses will access the HOSTS file.

*This assumes that the operating system's DNS Client service has been disabled.

Some apps (like IE) will use a bit more RAM - because the entire HOSTS file is read (and held in memory) by the app.

The HOSTS file was not designed to block stuff. It was designed to do just the opposite (before there were DNS servers). There are more efficient ways to block domains, but this forum's rules prevent us from talking about them :-(

The tutorial suggests using 127.0.0.1 as the IP address to use when blocking a domain. Starting with Windows 8.1, it is probably better to use 0.0.0.0 to block a domain. All zeros will work with earlier versions of Windows too.

I was thinking it slows down networking.

What on earth do you mean by the forum rules prevent talking about blocking domains? Why?

Why is it only better since 8.1? 0.0.0.0 wasn't invented between 8 and 8.1, right? What changed?

> I was thinking it slows down networking.
A lot has been written on the speed impact of using a large HOSTS file and alternative (more efficient) ways to block domains. Unfortunately, I cannot link to that info.


> What on earth do you mean by the forum rules prevent talking about blocking domains? Why?
See rule #13:
https://www.sevenforums.com/misc.php?do=showrules

In the past, I have tried to post a link to websites that talk about ways to manage the HOSTS file and those links were automatically changed/removed by this forum's software. I understand the reason for the rule, but much of the discussion about blocking domains is for security reasons. I block lots of malicious domains.

> Why is it only better since 8.1? 0.0.0.0 wasn't invented between 8 and 8.1, right? What changed?
127.0.0.1 and 0.0.0.0 worked equally well for decades. Microsoft changed the TCP loop back interface in W8.1. It is better to use 0.0.0.0 from now on - however, there are some security apps that don't like 0.0.0.0. Try 0.0.0.0 and see how it works for you.