Tips 36 - Use the Hosts, Luke!

Whenever your computer connects to a resource on the Internet, it uses a Domain Name System (DNS) server to convert the human-friendly host name (such as \\Mailserver) or URL (such as www.pcmag.com) into an IP address. A little-known feature (lifted directly from Unix) in Windows 98 SE or later lets you keep a table of host names and IP addresses on your own computer. If this file—called the Hosts file—is present, Windows uses the IP address from the file without consulting a DNS server.

The Windows Hosts file can be found in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc. (In Windows 98 SE, the Hosts file is located in \Windows\.) The plain-text Hosts file contains one line for each entry.

Even if you haven't created the Hosts file, it's there—with one lonely entry that defines localhost. (Localhost is an alias used for testing, and it always refers to 127.0.0.1, the IP standard loopback address.)

You can add your own entries to the Hosts file using any text editor, such as Notepad. The first (and less useful) way you might use this is to add the names and IP addresses of commonly used Internet hosts, so that Windows does not have to look up the address each time it connects to a given host. But most DNS lookups are so fast that you won't notice any performance increase.

The second, more useful way to use Hosts is to create a dead-end address, known as a hacker IP address, for ad servers or for Web sites that you want to block. For example, the entry 127.0.0.1 adserver .annoying.com tells Windows to use 127.0.0.1 to connect to Adserver.annoying.com. Since that address doesn't exist, you'll never see the ad. You can use the Hosts file as a cheap and dirty content filter in the same way: Simply create an entry for each host you want to block, using the address 127.0.0.1

See also

Tips 1- Make Sure You Have the Latest update
Tips 2- Choose a File System
Tips 3- Find the Extras on the Windows XP Discs
Tips 4- Add (or Delete) Standard Desktop Icons
Tips 5- Get rid of Animated Dog
Tips 6- Tweak UI: The Must-have Tool
Tips 7- Create Your Own Toolbars
Tips 8- Eliminate Balloon Tips in the Notification Area
Tips 9- Remove Hidden Windows Components
Tips 10- Disable Error Reporting to Microsoft
Tips 11- Customize the Send To Menu
Tips 12- Enable Auto-complete in the Command Prompt
Tips 13- Add the Address Toolbar to the Taskbar
Tips 14- Search Better and Faster with Indexing
Tips 15- Organize Your Start Menu
Tips 16- The Desktop Cleanup Wizard
Tips 17- Use the Keyboard
Tips 18- Rename Multiple Files
Tips 19- Use Shortcut Keys to Launch Your Applications
Tips 20- Cool Hidden Extras
Tips 21- Private Character Editor (Eudcedit)
Tips 22- IExpress 2.0 (Iexpress)
Tips 23- Windows Media Player 6.4 (Mplayer2)
Tips 24- Keep Your Start Menu to Yourself
Tips 25- Avoid Simple File Sharing
Tips 26- Protect Your Password
Tips 27- Protect Your Accounts
Tips 28- Set Up Ownership on Hard Drives
Tips 29- Add a Subfolder in the Start Menu Visible to All Users
Tips 30- Media Player Shortcut Keys
Tips 31- Save Passwords
Tips 32- Clear Your Passwords
Tips 33- Internet explorer Shortcuts
Tips 34- Internet Connection Firewall
Tips 35- Automatic Wireless Device Configuration
Tips 36- Use the Hosts, Luke!
Tips 37- Find your IP address
Tips 38- Double Your Desktop
Tips 39- Maximize Battery Life
Tips 40- Juggle Wi -Fi At Work And Home
Tips 41- Optimize Remote Desktop
Tips 42- Using Infra Red In XP
Tips 43- Reduce Overhead By Setting Services to Manual
Tips 44- Don't Reactivate After Reinstalling
Tips 45- Reboot Without Launching Programs In The Startup Folder
Tips 46- Keep Windows Up To Date
Tips 47- Clean Up The Add/Remove Box
Tips 48- Roll Back Drivers
Tips 49- Check Event Logs
Tips 50- Clear The Prefetch
Tips 51- Protect Your Data
Tips 52- Back Up Critical System Files