hosts/readme_template.md

#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 @NUM_ENTRIES@ unique entries.

Goals of this amalgamated hosts file

The goals of this repo are to:

1. automatically combine high-quality lists of hosts,

2. de-dupe the resultant combined list,

3. 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] [--ip nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn]

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.

--ip nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn: the IP address to use as the target. Default is 0.0.0.0.

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