Scanning hosts file, need support.

[Milosh86]

Hello and thanks for support in advance.

I was using Lavasoft's Ad-Aware for some time but got said Spybot - S&D is better program for this use so I downloaded it and installed.

I, now, have one problem.

I am still using Ad-Aware and from moment I installed Spybot I am gettin "Scanning hosts file" part of system scan that makes my total scanning double longer. Whilst I am getting scanned through some domains and IPs I never visited nor heard of. I am totally confused now.

My question and ask for support is:

Did Spybot added those hosts files?*
Why?
What are they?
What is their use?
How to remove them?

(*I am sure Spybot added them, because I never saw that "scanning hosts file" before moment I installed Spybot)

Thanks in advance.

[md usa spybot fan]

Milosh86:



What are they?
What is their use?

From the Spybot help facility:


Hosts file

The hosts file could be described as an address book. While the normal user is accustomed to access other computers on the internet using names (for example security.kolla.de), every computer is accessed by a numeric address at a lower level. You may already have seen this numeric addresses; they look like 127.0.0.1 for example.

Every time you try to access another computer by using his name, your computer looks up his address in an address book. First it looks into a local address book (the hosts file), and only if it cannot find the address there it looks in a very big address book in the internet.

So, if you want to block an internet web site, you could simply redirect this sites name to a place where nothing will be delivered from. Such a place would be your computer for example. The address I already mentioned, 127.0.0.1 is an address that will always point to the local - your - computer. By adding an entry to the hosts file (your local address book) that redirects an ad site to your machine, you would trick your internet browser to think that ad site would be on your machine, and as your machine does not deliver ads, it would not get the ad and it will not be displayed.

Another way of using the hosts file is if you want to access computers that are not listed in any address book yet. For example if you have a local network, you would not list your local computers in any internet address book, if only because that would be very expensive. So you could just enter them into the local address book (your hosts file).

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

What it does ...
The Hosts file (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists.

You can use a HOSTS file to block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies (http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/cookies.htm), 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and even most hijackers (http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm). This is accomplished by blocking the connection(s) that supplies these little gems.

Example - the following entry 127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net blocks all files supplied by that DoubleClick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubleclick) Server to the web page you are viewing. This also prevents the server from tracking your movements. Why? ... because in certain cases "Ad Servers" like Doubleclick (and many others) will try to open a separate connection (http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/doubleclick.gif) on the webpage you are viewing.

…

Did Spybot added those hosts files?*
Why?

(*I am sure Spybot added them, because I never saw that "scanning hosts file" before moment I installed Spybot)
Possibly. You indicated:


… from moment I installed Spybot I am gettin …
Did you install Spybot 1.5 and did you Immunize? If so, you added probably added Spybot's HOSTS file entries to your original HOSTS file and it was done to add protection to your system.



[/b]How to remove them?[/b]
Assuming you are running Spybot 1.5 and still want to remove Spybot's entries from your HOSTS file, go into Spybot > Immunize. Right click on the list of protection in the right hand pane and select "Deselect all". Scroll down to the "Global (Hosts)" entry in the Windows section of the list and check it. Then go to the top of the right hand pane and click the "Undo" button. After you have removed the Hosts protection right click on the list of protection in the right hand pane and select "Select all". Scroll down to the "Global (Hosts)" entry in the Windows section of the list and uncheck it so that the next time you immunize you will not add the Hosts file entries.

[Milosh86]

Thanks mate. I thought it is some malicious stuff that affected my PC.

Still, thanks, for clarify me what is it for sure.

Now I am feeling better knowing it is what it should be and that is actually helping me to fight against spy-evul-thingies.

/love