SpyBot Bloats Host file on 1.5.2.20 install

Have been a user and advocate of SpyBot for a number of years now. But the upgrade to 1.5.2.20 from 1.4 has thrown me for a loop.

The install proceeded decently, and I did the immunize thing that it told me to. But I ended up with a host file that had bloated from 1200 bytes up to 274,000 bytes. ????

I do use FireFox, and never use IE except for MS updates. This is an XP=Pro system that it happened on. And once I saw it I did not do the "upgrade" on my W2k systems.

Have scanned the forum and I see that there seem to be a number of users having problems with SBot and FireFox relating to immunization issues. But what is the difference now that wasn't there in 1.4?? I always clicked the "immunize" button. Even though SBot did not immunize FF, where did it put the blocked items before?

This bloated hosts file is a problem for at least 2 reasons.1) I use the local host to set the access for the proxy service which we use. & 2) I also use it for local machine names and to fix the IP's for sites that I use a lot, (avoids the possibilty of DNS poisoning). It seems to me that both the bloat size and the directing of "blocked" items to local host will not work for my setup.

So can some expert explain this so I can understand it better? But at this point it looks like using SBot to immunize FF as it is now set up to do it, will not be satisfactory. ???

In Spybot 1.4 Spybot's Hosts file could only be implemented by going into Spybot > Mode > Advanced Mode > Tools > Hosts file. In Spybot 1.5 the Hosts file can also be implemented with Spybot's immunization.

If you do not want to use the Hosts file:

• Go into Spybot > Immunize.
• Right click on the right hand pane and select "Deselect all".
• Scroll down to the bottom of the right hand pane and under Windows check "Global (Hosts)".
• Click the "Undo" button at the top of the right pane.

If you do not what to use the new immunization for Firefox or Opera, follow a similar procedure to undo that immunization.

Make sure that you leave the items you do not care to use unchecked when you immunize routinely.

MD,

Thanks for your fast reply. :)Great

I think you answered this but my desire is not to have SBot use the hosts file. And the only way SBot can immunize for FF is to use the hosts file? is that right?

How does it immunize for IE? And what was getting immunized in my ver 1.4, when the hosts file did not get changed?

Do you happen to know if the Add-in, BlockPost, for the OutPost Firewall can accomplish the same protection?

Does not immunizing with the hosts file degrade any other aspects of SBot?

And I am right in thinking that the same suggestions work for W2k systems?

I will go thru a reinstall on that XP system tomorrow. and look at the options you suggest. From the other posts here, I am thinking that the odds of the bloated hosts file will likely cause problems for FF are fairly high. So since every machine I help fix gets SBot installed, is there a way to block the hosts file changes on the first install of SBot? When I was doing the install I did not see any choices, it was a yes/no for immunize.

Thanks