The hosts file is a P.
C.
File used to store info on where to get a node on a PC network. The hosts file is employed as a supplement to ( or a replacement of ) the Domain Name System ( DNS ) on networks of varying sizes. Unlike DNS, the hosts file is under the control of the local PC’s director. The ARPANET ( predecessor to the Net ) had no domain name system for giving network nodes their own addresses. Seeing as there had been no centralized system for this reason, each network node contained its own “map” of the network nodes that it required to understand about and allotted them names that were remarkable to the user.
There wasn’t any system for guaranteeing that all references to a given node on a network were called by the same name, nor was there a method to read some other user’s hosts file to immediately get their copy. The tiny size of the ARPANET permitted hosts files to be used with some convenience for a period of time.
As individual TCP / IP PC networks started becoming favored the hosts file changed into a large burden on system administratorsnetworks and network nodes were being added all of the timemaking maintenance of the hosts file a role which grew noticeably. Standardization of HOSTS.TXT in RFC 952 ) and distribution customs ( e.g. The Hostname Server in RFC 953 ) helped with these problems, but the centralized and monolothic nature of host files ultimately needed the creation of the distributed Domain Name System. The hosts file has alternate uses, including filtering online advertising ( adverts ) by having entries for known ad servers redirect to machines without the advertising on them, or more often by redirecting references to ad servers to the local address 127.0.0.1. This can save network bandwidth as well by getting rid of requests to the DNS server used to get address info. The user’s experience might be further reinforced by running a minimal Internet server domestically that only returns a blank page for each request. In this manner the adverts from the Internet pages will never basically be requested over the Net and will fail to appear in the user’s browser rather than throwing “not found” mistakes. However, if the hosts file is to be used for this reason, it has to be kept contemporary with inventories of Web servers known to host such content.
Also, on some Windows machines, the “DNS Client” service may want to be stopped in order for changes to the hosts file to have effect.
Obstructing advertisements in this fashion may lead to faster browser operation and performance improvement for several reasons. Another use of the host file is to dam known malevolent or criminal domains and servers that might contain spyware, adware, and other malware.
The free application Spybot – Search & Destroy, for instance, encompasses a feature called “Immunize” that populates the hosts file with thousands of URLs of such web sites redirected to 127.0.0.1 to dam them. The hosts file may also be “hijacked,” or used for malignant purposes. As an example, adware, PC viruses, trojan horses, and other malware can edit the hosts file to redirect traffic from a “safe” site ( like Google or Wikipedia ) to sites hosting content that is offensive or intrusive to the user or the user’s computer system.[2] The widespread worm Mydoom.B blocked users from visiting sites per PC security and antivirus software and also influenced users’ ability to use the Windows Update website.
Redirecting
A useful and time-saving tip for website programmers, intranet developers, and IT managers is to enable non-standard TLDs on a LAN for various purposes, such as .local to access the company’s intranet or .new to test websites.
192.168.1.100 example.local 127.0.0.1 example.new
Location and default content
The hosts file is located in different locations in different operating systems and even in different Windows versions:
- Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7:
%SystemRoot%system32driversetc is the default location, which may be changed. The actual directory is determined by the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParametersDataBasePath.
- Windows 95/98/Me:
%WinDir%
- Linux, BSD based, and other Unix-like operating systems:
/etc/hosts[1]
- Mac OS 9 and earlier: System Folder: Preferences or System folder (format of the file may vary from Windows and Linux counterparts)
- Mac OS X:
/private/etc/hosts
- iPhone/iPod OS:
/private/etc/hosts
- OS/2 and eComStation:
"bootdrive":mptnetc
- Symbian 1st/2nd edition phones:
C:systemdatahosts
- Symbian 3rd edition phones:
C:private10000882hosts, only accessible with file browsers with AllFiles capability, most are not.
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