Immunisation

[Greyfox]

After immunising 1.5.1.19 there are three catagories shown:-
Internet Explorer (32 bit) - all items protected
Internet Explorer (32/64 bit) - all items protected
Windows - Global Hosts - 7853 unprotected, 0 protected

Main Summary:-
Unprotected 7853
Protected 2531
Total 33084

Spybot 1.4 used to report all possible items protected. Can anyone explain why are so many items appear to be not protected now?

[md usa spybot fan]

The Windows "Global (Hosts)" immunization adds entries to the HOSTS file. In versions of Spybot before 1.5, you had to go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced Mode > Tools > Hosts file to add Spybot's Hosts file entries, it was not part of the "Immunize" feature.

There are a couple of things that may be causing a problem adding entries to your Hosts file. Firstly check to see if you have a HOSTS file. Your HOSTS file is located in one of the following directories:

• Windows 95, 98 or ME:
  C:\WINDOWS
• Windows 2000:
  C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc
• Windows XP or Vista:
  C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

Secondly, there are some software products such as ZoneAlarm pro and STOPzilla that prevent access to the HOSTS file.

[Greyfox]

The Windows "Global (Hosts)" immunization adds entries to the HOSTS file. In versions of Spybot before 1.5, you had to go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced Mode > Tools > Hosts file to add Spybot's Hosts file entries, it was not part of the "Immunize" feature.

There are a couple of things that may be causing a problem adding entries to your Hosts file. Firstly check to see if you have a HOSTS file. Your HOSTS file is located in one of the following directories:

• Windows 95, 98 or ME:
  C:\WINDOWS
• Windows 2000:
  C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc
• Windows XP or Vista:
  C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

Secondly, there are some software products such as ZoneAlarm pro and STOPzilla that prevent access to the HOSTS file.

Thank you, good call. It's an XP SP2 system and access to the hosts file was being stopped by Zone Alarm. After immunising in safe mode, problem doesn't exist. Hosts file now contains 7853 names referenced to 127.0.0.1 to block them. I noticed that each time I undo the innoculation and re-do it, another 2 backups of the hosts file are made which accumulate in the C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc folder.

[hotlips69]

Can I point out that having thousands of entries in your hosts file will definitely slow your browsing down, particularly on an older machine.

When I immunize, I always untick the "Global Hosts" option and have actually performed timed tests with and without a clean (untouched) hosts file and the results were very conclusive.

[PepiMK]

This slowdown you speak about is worst on Windows 2000. Therefore, Spybot-S&D 1.5.2 handles Windows 2000 in a special way. Exact details can be found in Project Tools here on the forum, but to summarize: the option to immunize the hosts file is only shown on 2000 if it already has been immunized (to allow to undo it), if the user sets a special hidden flag (because he really wants it and knows what he is doing), or if the DNS Client Service, which is responsible for the slowdown, is permanently deactivated (which would be a workaround around the slowdown).

[md usa spybot fan]

hotlips69:

Can I point out that having thousands of entries in your hosts file will definitely slow your browsing down, particularly on an older machine.

As PepiMK indicated:

... or if the DNS Client Service, which is responsible for the slowdown, is permanently deactivated (which would be a workaround around the slowdown).

If you would like to use the HOSTS file and see if deactivating the DNS Client prevents the slowdown, here's how:

From:

• Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File
  http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

Editors Note: in most cases a large HOSTS file (over 135 kb) tends to slow down the machine. This only occurs in W2000/XP/Vista. Windows 98 and ME are not affected.

To resolve this issue (manually) open the "Services Editor"

Start | Run (type) "services.msc" (no quotes)
Scroll down to "DNS Client", Right-click and select: Properties
Click the drop-down arrow for "Startup type"
Select: Manual, or Disabled (recommended) click Apply/Ok and restart. [more info]

When set to Manual you can see that the above "Service" is not needed (after a little browsing) by opening the Services Editor again, scroll down to DNS Client and check the "Status" column. It should be blank, if it was needed it would show "Started" in that column. There are several Utilities that can reset the DNS Client for you ... [more info]

[michaelbmcgee]

Stopzilla prevents Spybot from immunizing "Global Hosts." Here is how to workaround that:

Open Stopzilla
Click “Real-time Protection”
Click “Active Enforcers”
Click “Network”
Click “Hosts File” to uncheck it
Click “Apply”
Click “OK”

Open Spybot and immunize, as usual. “Global Hosts” should immunize. Afterward, close Spybot.

Then, go back to Stopzilla and reverse the above procedure.

Peace!
Michael