The Hosts file in Windows 10/8/7, is used to map host names to IP addresses. If for some reason, you find that your Hosts file has been compromised and that some malicious entries have been added, you can if you wish, reset Hosts file back to default.
Close Notepad. Search for%WinDir% System32 Drivers Etc using Cortana, and then select the File folder icon. Tap and hold or right-click the Hosts file, select Rename, and then rename the file as 'Hosts.old'. Saving Windows 7 HOSTS file to drivers etc folder - posted in Windows 7: Hi all! Hope someone can be of assistance with this. Removed virus 'Security Shield' from my system with the help of Bleeping Computer. I would like to add an address to the hosts file. I am running Windows 7 (Hebrew edition), and I am the system administrator. I have tried the command notepad C: Windows System32 drivers etc hosts. Navigate to C: WINDOWS system32 drivers etc hosts and open. Navigate to C: Windows System32 drivers etc using. Download the CNET app About. Jan 22, 2016 Hi, I am aware of the C: Windows System32 Drivers Etc folder. For example, the hosts file affects DNS resolution. Is there any MS documentation that mentions C: Windows SysWOW64 Drivers Etc on 64-bit. 32-bit and 64-bit Windows see one and the same hosts file in system32 and SysWOW64 respectively. This is because redirection is disabled for the folder system32 drivers etc.
Reset Hosts file in Windows 10
The Hosts file in Windows 10/8/7 is located at the following location:
C:WindowsSystem32driversetc
To reset the Hosts file, open File Explorer, type the following in the address bar and hit Enter:
%systemroot% system32driversetc
Rename the Hosts file to hosts.bak. You may be required to take ownership of the file first.
Next, create a new default Hosts file. To do so, open a new Text file named hosts in the folder %WinDir%system32driversetc folder.
Copy-paste the following text into the notepad file:
Save the text file.
Download default Windows Hosts file
Alternatively, if you wish you can download the default Hosts file of Windows 10/8/7 by clicking here. Extract the contents and place the Hosts file in your C:WindowsSystem32driversetc folder. You may be asked for permissions to replace it.
HostsMan is good freeware utility that lets you add, remove the entries and generally lets you manage the Hosts File in Windows easily. Go here to see how you can Lock, Manage, Edit Hosts File in Windows.
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The Hosts file in Windows 10/8/7, is used to map hostnames to IP addresses. This Hosts file is located deep down in the Windows folder. It is a plain text file, and the size of the original default Hosts file is around 824 bytes.
Hosts File in Windows
In this post, we will see its location and also how to manage, lock or edit the Hosts file.
Host file location
Windows 7 Host File
The Hosts file in Windows is located at the following location:
Lock Hosts file to prevent hijacking
Imagine clicking on www.thewindowsclub.com and seeing a completely different website load in your browser. Malware can redirect Web addresses on your computer by altering your hosts file. This is referred to as the Host File Hijack.
To prevent Host file hijacks, you may navigate to it, right-click on it, select Properties and make it a Read-only file. This will lock down your Hosts file and prevent anyone or any malware from writing to it.
Block website using Hosts file
To block a website using the Hosts File, simply add the following entry:
127.0.0.1 blocksite.com
Although I do not do it, many users like to manually add entries to it in order to block the opening of one or more particular websites. Others, like to download and use List from well-known sources like mvps.org, to add entries which block malware sites from opening.
Edit Hosts file
If you need to edit the Hosts file, navigate to the following folder location:
Here you will see the Hosts file. Right-click on it and select Notepad. Make the changes and Save.
But sometimes, even when you are logged on with administrative credentials, you may receive the following error message:
Access to C:WindowsSystem32driversetc hosts was denied
Or
Cannot create the C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts file. Make sure that the path and file name are correct.
In this case, type Notepad in start search and right-click on the Notepad result. Select Run as administrator. Open the Hosts file, make the necessary changes, and then click Save.
HostsMan
While you can always manually manage or edit Hosts file manually, I would like to suggest that you use a third-party freeware tool like HostsMan to do it.
HostsMan is a feature-rich tool that lets you add, remove, edit entries in the Hosts file. It also lets you easily add third-party Hosts lists that help in blocking malware sites and lets you easily enable or disable the hosts file. It includes a built-in hosts file updater & a hosts editor. It lets you scan the hosts file for errors, duplicates, and possible hijacks – and also lets you create an Exclusion list. One more useful feature it offers is the Hosts file backup manager. Backup your Hosts file to a safe place and use it to restore it, should the need arise.
Hostman also lets you Flush DNS cache, open Hosts with a text editor, count the number of hosts, find duplicates, replace IP, scan hosts for malicious entries, rearrange hosts, manage DNS Client Service and more. In short, its the only Hosts Manager that you will even need. You can download it from its home page. SysMate Hosts File Manager is another tool that lets you do so.
How to manually reset Hosts file back to default in Windows may also interest you.
If your browser has been hijacked, you might find this post on Browser Hijacking and Free Browser Hijacker Removal Tools helpful.
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