Browser Redirects XP/IE


In my XP Hosts file [1] I find the following “loopbacks” apropos Spybot [2] and AVG [3].


Code:
127.0.0.1	www.spybot.ca
127.0.0.1	spybot.ca
127.0.0.1	www.spybotseekanddestroy.com
127.0.0.1	spybotseekanddestroy.com
Code:
127.0.0.1	www.avg.grab-it-today.net
127.0.0.1	avg.grab-it-today.net
127.0.0.1	www.avg.softwarecenterz.com
127.0.0.1	avg.softwarecenterz.com
127.0.0.1	avg-secure.com
127.0.0.1	www.avg-secure.com

My understanding was Hosts File entries were/are inserted by spybot to foil malware attempts to redirect
the browser (e.g., iexplore) to unwanted sites. [4]

Could someone shed some light as to why these spybot and avg ‘loopbacks’ are included
in the hosts file?



[1] C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\

[2] Spybot Search & Destroy 1.6.0

[3] AVG-Free 8.0.176

[4] “The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local (your) machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists.”http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm