Simple Security by Blocking Harmful Sites
One of the simplest ways that you can protect your computer from
harmful sites and spyware from wreaking havoc is by doing what
I'm about to share with you. It's completely free and
will only take you 30 minutes or less to implement. First, as
always, I want to provide an explanation of how and why this
works. So if you don't care about the details go ahead and
skip on down. On every computer there is a file called a hosts
file. These days they are not used very often but the was a time
in internet history where they were necessary for communication
to occur. This file can contain a list of computer names and
their IP addresses. There is one IP address that's never
accessible from the internet. That IP address 127.0.0.1 and
it's known as the home address. If you have any servers
running on your computer you can access them at that address
without sending packets onto the network. Now, what we're
actually going to be doing is fooling our computer into thinking
that many “known” harmful sites are actually us. This
in effect disables this server because we don't in fact have
any of these servers running on our computer.
In order to get started head over to
"http://funkytoad.com/">http://funkytoad.com and download a
program called “Hoster 3.1”. Then go over to
"http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm">http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
and download hosts.zip [Updated 05-29-06]. Unzip both of these
files and run Hoster.exe from the first zip file. If the button
under “Editing Tools” reads “Make Hosts
Writable?” go ahead and click it. It should then read
“Make Hosts ReadOnly?”. Under “File
Handling” choose “Replace” (note:unless you
know that you have important entries in your hosts file.) then
click “Select File” browse to the HOSTS file from the
second zip file you downloaded. Hoster will then read that file
and make the necessary changes. Now just click Make Hosts
ReadOnly?” and you are finished. The HOSTS file you
downloaded from
"http://www.mvps.org/">http://www.mvps.org is updated often
and you should make it a habit to check it regularly in order to
have the latest protections installed as new threats popup
everyday. But if you're the forgetful type, as I am, there is
a handy little program that can run in the background and grab
the latest updates for you automatically. It's called
Hosts_Secure and it can be downloaded at
"http://www.timdorr.com/syko86/ycsoft/hostssecure.htm">http://www.timdorr.com/syko86/ycsoft/hostssecure.htm.
Once downloaded run the installer and when prompted choose
“Start with Windows”. This will ensure that you
always have the latest HOSTS file.
As always I've provided you with resources that are free, but
all the authors that have spent their time developing these tools
do accept PayPal donations and it would be a good idea to give a
little if you can. If you can't that's ok, it isn't
required. I hope you find as much use from these tools as I have.
They really can effectively disable many harmful sites and
spyware.
Please send your comments, questions, or suggestions to:
comments@deconfuser.com
PO BOX 987
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
