Go to the following directory on your computer
Windows 95/98/ME
%WinDir%\
Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Vista
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc
There should be a few files there, click on the one that says hosts. Open this with notepad or some other text editor. These are the contents of the file:
CODE
# Copyright (c) 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
# For example:
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
127.0.0.1 localhost
Now, this file can be useful, annoying, and funny at the same time.
Useful
When you enter in a website (like website.com), that domain will have to be matched to an IP address. Windows will have to look in places to find a record matching the domain to an IP. Windows searches in this order.
1. The HOSTS file
2. DNS server <- This is used most of the time when you are browsing the Internet
3. NetBios <- Rarely used
This order can be changed by going into the Registry. (Just to go along with SOP, I advise you not to make changes into the Registry unless you know exactly what you are doing, and that you should back up the Registry just in case).
Windows 95/98/ME
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSTCP\ServiceProvider
Windows NT, 2000, XP
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider
There are four keys.
HostsPriority (HOSTS file)
DnsPriority (DNS Servers)
NetbtPriority (Netbios)
LocalPriority (Computer’s local name)
Each has a value. The lower the number, the higher the priority. You can change the numbers and in effect change the order of how Windows resolves a domain to an IP.
Now that we’ve had a little lesson on DNS resolution, let’s get back to where we left off. To speed up load times to certain sites, find the IP of the site you visit alot. To do this:
Start >> Run >> type cmd in the box >> DOS prompt will come up >> type the following in bold, replacing website.com with the website you want. ping www.website.com A number looking like this xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with various numbers between 0-255 should come up, that's the IP.
Then, go back to the hosts file, and on a new line, type this in the hosts file (replace website.com with your website, and the fake IP with your website's IP)
CODE
255.255.255.255 website.com
You can also block ads by finding the website where the ads are coming from and putting the following in your hosts file
CODE
127.0.0.1 theadssite.com
Or you may have to put
CODE
0.0.0.0 theadssite.com
Annoying
Many spyware and trojan programs edit the hosts file to redirect you to their site when you go on the Internet. If you are having this kind of problem, check your hosts file to see if any additions have been made that you didn't make.
Funny
Do you have access to a friend's computer? Well, just have some fun with them, maybe they have a particular site they like going to. Well, find the IP of the site YOU want them to go to, and make a quick edit of the hosts file.
~NOTE: If a user types in the full url i.e. with the http:// and everything, it wll bypass the hosts file redirection and take them to the right website~
Thanks for reading, and I hope you've learned something!
-Moonbat