[tags]ip adress,malware,virus,trojan,security,computer,hack,intrusion,backdoor,safety,privacy,protection,prevention[/tags]
A hosts file is a file located in the ETC folder of almost every operating system (with some exceptions). The hosts file is a file that is scanned at the first accesses of a network. Be it a program that you expect to go to the internet or not. Your computer will first try and resolve the dns with the host. It does this by checking the hosts file.
In your hosts file, you can tell your computer what IP address to assign web addresses. By doing this, you bypass all network look ups on the internet for specific addresses. It is impossible to knock out every single website there is. You can how ever knock out all sites submitted, reported, and confirmed as malware sites.
You can also stop your kid from hitting sites you do not want her/him going to. The way it works is you move to the lowest section in the hosts file and type in the IP address you would like that website to go to. Like this:
127.0.0.1 a_site_you_do_not_want_to_go_to.com
This blocks that site from ever loading on your computer.
If you have a program that goes to “a_site_you_do_not_want_to_go_to.com” by default, the program will not be able to update. This can be used to your advantage if the site that the program is trying to connect to is a virus site, and the program is a virus, trojan or a malware notification type program (like a spider). We call them adware and spyware these days, the program will not be able to contact it’s owner, this hides you from the owner and increases your security. Some malware updates itself by connecting to its owner’s location, unless it is specificly assigned an IP address to connect to. That, of course, would be a mistake on the writer’s part. Much easier to locate that way, and you could actually block that IP address if you took the time.
I use mvps host because he has a much larger list than I do. I just add my stuff to his when i download it and set up my hosts file. If you have a list of bad sites, do what I and a few others do, email it to mvps site. I do suggest that you read everything on the wiki and mvps site before you do anything to change your hosts. Really, if you block yourself from the interenet (god only knows how that could ever happen) you just clear out all IP addresses and domain names in the list and you are back to the way it was.
If you have any questions related to this topic feel free to ask them.
TruXter
Owner and writer of :