HOSTS file length

[Lars-Erik]

Spybot S&D add over 6000 sites to the HOSTS file.
The file gets a size of 168K.
Won't this take up memory and slow down the PC?
Doesn't it check all those entries to de a DNS resovle?
Or is there anything smart I'm not aware of :-)
Has anyone check if this affects the PCs perfomance?

[md usa spybot fan]

Actually after the 2007-10-17 updates the count that I get of Spybot's Hosts file entries is 6857 (including one (1) duplicate entry) plus the three (3) comments that are added to the HOSTS file. With Spybot's Hosts file entries added, the size my HOSTS file is: Size: 188 KB (192,983 bytes)
Size on disk: 192 KB (196,608 bytes)
Have you actually noticed a slowdown in the accessing of the internet? Personally I can't tell the difference with or without Spybot's Hosts file added.