Host File Help

You have probably read all about how your hosts file redirects bad sites to the ether. A hosts file can also help you connect to the internet. The reason you are asked to back up your hosts file is just in case your internet connection needs some odd lines of code in that hosts file. This web page explains how to look at your old hosts file and see what was in it, in case you need to copy-paste something into the new one. These instructions are typical for most computers. You do not need to bother doing this unless your computer stops connecting to the internet.

Disconnect from the internet and log in as administrator. Open Notepad (Start>All Programs>Accessories>Notepad) and select File>Open> then at the bottom select "All Files" then up arrow (icon to the right of green left arrow) until the desktop files are listed. Then select MyComputer then Local Disk C: then navigate to your hosts file backup (which might be called old-hosts if you took our suggestion). In Windows XP it will be at C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC and in Windows 2000 it will be at C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC.

The contents of the hosts file will look something like this if it is a standard one not modified by an internet connection:

127.0.0.1 localhost

Yup, just one line. That 127.0.0.1 is the address of your computer. Anything else in that file was added by something. If you look at the hosts file on one of the two web sites mentioned, you will see all the ad servers and bad sites being pointed back to 127.0.0.1 too. Please read those sites for a detailed explanation.

You can go ahead and close notepad if you don't need to copy-paste anything. Otherwise, highlight the part of the file that pertains to your connection, press "ctrl-C", then open the new hosts file and position the cursor at the top and "ctrl-V". Make sure the columns look right after adding the code. Save and log out of administrator. Check the connection and you should be all set to go. If you are still having trouble, there is help available at both web sites for the hosts files. Remember, sometimes bad stuff ends up in unprotected hosts files on unprotected computers, so be cautious of what lines of code to add back in to the new hosts file.