Blocking a server with hosts.

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03-13-2003
adrianxw

Blocking a server with hosts.

I am well aware that if you redirect a url to your localhost IP that you have effectively blocked access to that server, i.e...

127.0.0.1 a.tribalfusion.com

... will kill tribalfusion adds from that server. What happens if you do it the other way round? i.e...

ninemsn.imrworldwide.com localhost

... I can't find that documented where I've searched. Certainly switching the first entry around...

a.tribalfusion.com 127.0.0.1

... does not block the adds.

The reason I'm asking is that I am having a small war with the
Red Sherriff spyware firm. Eventually they told me I could deactivate their spy by closing off the servers in hosts, and they helpfully(?) gave me the following lines to add...

>>>
server-au.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-uk.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-dk.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-fi.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-us.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-nz.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-sg.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-se.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-no.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-pl.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-de.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-by.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-ee.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-lv.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-lt.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-ru.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-ua.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-jp.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-it.imrworldwide.com localhost
server-br.imrworldwide.com localhost
telstra.imrworldwide.com localhost
ninemsn.imrworldwide.com localhost
secure-au.imrworldwide.com localhost
secure-us.imrworldwide.com localhost
secure-uk.imrworldwide.com localhost
secure-jp.imrworldwide.com localhost
<<<

... will that work somehow or are they trying to pull a fast one. I don't trust spy firms.
03-13-2003
Govtcheez

Have you tried using ad-aware or anything like that to kill it? I wouldn't trust anything the spyware people said...
03-13-2003
adrianxw

It was AdAware 6 that told me that the BBC had started using the damn thing!

I am quite content to have their servers mapped into a black hole. What I am trying to do now is work out if they are deliberately giving false information to enable their damn spy to keep running when people think they have killed it.
03-13-2003
Hammer

I use Outpost Firewall, free version. It has ... oh sod it, read the web site to see what it has, but basically it's an all in one thing that has plenty of options, and is simple to use. I ditched Zonealarm for this :eek:

[edit]
And your hosts file is for one way matching only. You might have something like this in it:

Quote:

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.

Also, IIRC, your PC might resolve via DNS first depending on how its configured, in which case no amount of changing the hosts files will work.
03-14-2003
adrianxw

ZoneAlarm has fixed the bug whereby it caused problems with the Apache 2.x http server.

>>> And your hosts file is for one way matching only.

I have always done it that way, but have this as an official solution from RedSherriff. I wanted to see if anyone knew this alternative method. As I said, I've tried it and it doesn't seem to work.

>>> your PC might resolve via DNS first depending on how its configured

My system is configured to use hosts first, then my own DNS server, then the ISP's DNS.

I routinely use hosts to speed up access to certain sites, this one for example. The browser loads the hosts info at startup so when I type in the url, it has the IP and can go straight to the site.