5.2 KiB
#Amalgamated hosts file
This repo consolidates several reputable hosts
files and merges them into a single
amalgamated hosts file with duplicates removed.
Currently this amalgamated hosts file contains 27,140 unique entries.
Goals of this amalgamated hosts file
The goals of this repo are to:
-
automatically combine high-quality lists of hosts,
-
de-dupe the resultant combined list,
-
and keep the resultant file reasonably sized.
A high-quality source is defined here as one that is actively curated. A hosts source should be frequently updated by its maintainers with both additions and removals. The larger the hosts file, the higher the level of curation is expected.
For example, the (huge) hosts file from hosts-file.net is not included here because it is very large (300,000+ entries) and doesn't currently display a corresponding high level of curation activity.
It is expected that this amalgamated hosts file will serve both desktop and mobile devices under a variety of operating systems.
Sources of host data amalgamated here
Currently the hosts
files from the following locations are amalgamated:
- The Adaway hosts file, updated regularly.
- MVPs.org Hosts file at http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm, updated monthly, or thereabouts.
- Dan Pollock at http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ updated regularly.
- Malware Domain List at http://www.malwaredomainlist.com/, updated regularly.
- Peter Lowe at http://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/, updated regularly.
- My own small list in raw form here.
Generate your own amalgamated hosts file
The updateHostsFile.py
script, which is python 2.7 and Python 3-compatible, will generate an amalgamated hosts file
based on the sources in the local data/
subfolder. The script will prompt you Whether it should fetch updated
versions (from locations defined by the update.info text file in each source's folder), otherwise it will use the
hosts
file that's already there.
Usage
python updateHostsFile.py [--auto]
Command line options:
--auto
, -a
: run the script without prompting. When --auto
is invoked,
- Host data sources are updated.
- Your active hosts file is not replaced.
How do I control which sources are amalgamated?
You can add additional sources by placing each in a subfolder of the data/
folder. Provide a copy of that new
hosts
file, and place its update url in update.info
.
How do I incorporate my own hosts?
If you have custom host records, place them in file myhosts
. The contents of this file are prepended to the
amalgamated hosts file during the update process.
What is a hosts file?
A hosts file, named hosts
(with no file extension), is a plain-text file used by all operating
systems to map hostnames to IP addresses.
In most operating systems, the hosts
file is preferential to DNS
. Therefore if a host name is
resolved by the hosts
file, the request never leaves your computer.
Having a smart hosts
file goes a long way towards blocking malware, adware, and other irritants.
For example, to nullify requests to some doubleclick.net servers, adding these lines to your hosts file will do it:
# block doubleClick's servers
127.0.0.1 ad.ae.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.ar.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.at.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.au.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 ad.be.doubleclick.net
# etc...
We recommend using 0.0.0.0
instead of 127.0.0.1
Using 0.0.0.0
is faster because you don't have to wait for a timeout. It also does not interfere
with a web server that may be running on the local PC.
Why not use just 0
instead of 0.0.0.0
?
We tried that. Using 0
doesn't work universally.
Location of your hosts file
To modify your current hosts
file, look for it in the following places and modify it with a text
editor.
Mac OS X, iOS, Android, Linux: /etc/hosts
folder.
Windows: %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
folder.
Reloading hosts file
Your operating system will cache DNS lookups. You can either reboot or run the following commands to manually flush your DNS cache once the new hosts file is in place.
Mac OS X
Open a Terminal and run:
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache;sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
Windows
Open a Command Prompt:
Windows XP: Start -> Run -> cmd
Windows Vista, 7: Start Button -> type cmd
-> right-click Command Prompt ->
"Run as Administrator"
Windows 8: Start -> Swipe Up -> All Apps -> Windows System -> right-click Command Prompt -> "Run as Administrator"
and run:
ipconfig /flushdns
Linux
Open a Terminal and run with root privileges:
Debian/Ubuntu sudo /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart
Linux with systemd: sudo systemctl restart network.service
Fedora Linux: sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.service
Arch Linux/Manjaro with Network Manager: sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.service
Arch Linux/Manjaro with Wicd: sudo systemctl restart wicd.service