Modifying Your Host File

antspants · Jun 24, 2024

Lance1 said:
You know I've read all the negatives and one positive on my post and I've come to the conclusion that I'm not paranoid. You call me that just because I blocked MS from collecting my private data. If you think that's just OK! Then your naive.

hi, Lance.

there are a couple of threads that aren’t too old, that list telemetry apps etc. Might be worth a look?

Windows 11 Telemetry

Any good software for disable Telemetry? I'm using Chris Titus Tech's Windows Utility.

www.elevenforum.com

Windows 11 privacy tools

Hello, I went through a thread that talks about different tools to disable telemetry of Windows 11. I'm not sure which one I should use? https://www.w10privacy.de/english-home/ https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/donotspy11.html https://christitus.com/windows-tool/...

www.elevenforum.com

Jabiru · Jun 27, 2024

Ok, good thread, great implementation. I went ahead and implemented the modified Host file, but now Win 11 Security is taking exception to my having edited my own Host file. I am getting constant notification of threats associated with the fact it was modified. The only solution I've found is to "Allow on device" which I think might allow some external entity to modify the file at some time in the future. Anybody have a way to get around that?

andrew129260 · Jun 27, 2024

Jabiru said:
Ok, good thread, great implementation. I went ahead and implemented the modified Host file, but now Win 11 Security is taking exception to my having edited my own Host file. I am getting constant notification of threats associated with the fact it was modified. The only solution I've found is to "Allow on device" which I think might allow some external entity to modify the file at some time in the future. Anybody have a way to get around that?

View attachment 100107

Yes, choose allow on device. It is just notifying you that the host file has been altered, which was/is a common tactic of malware.

kelper · Jun 27, 2024

andrew129260 said:
Yes, choose allow on device. It is just notifying you that the host file has been altered, which was/is a common tactic of malware.

But if you tell Defender to allow access To the Hosts file, aren't you making your system more vulnerable? Or is this a one time only permission?

andrew129260 · Jun 27, 2024

kelper said:
But if you tell Defender to allow access To the Hosts file, aren't you making your system more vulnerable? Or is this a one time only permission?

No. Defender is just detecting the host file was changed. If you "fix" it, it will replace the host file with the normal host file.

kelper · Jun 27, 2024

andrew129260 said:
No. Defender is just detecting the host file was changed. If you "fix" it, it will replace the host file with the normal host file.

But what happens if malware changes the Hosts file later? Will Defender object?

andrew129260 · Jun 27, 2024

kelper said:
But what happens if malware changes the Hosts file later? Will Defender object?

Ah. I see what you mean. I actually dont know, thats a good question. I would think if the file was altered again it would throw a new alert. I will have to test that sometime.

antspants · Jun 27, 2024

Make file properties read only.

antspants · Jun 27, 2024

I’ve never heard of a host file being compromised outside of someone foolish enough to run illegal file manipulation to enabled pirated software

TairikuOkami · Jun 27, 2024

Jabiru said:
Anybody have a way to get around that?

Too many entries in HOSTS can slow down the internet, just add a few entries to a custom DNS, like:

Code:

location.live.net
blob.core.windows.net
events.data.trafficmanager.net
measure.office.com
telemetry.microsoft.com
win.data.microsoft.com
pipe.aria.microsoft.com
telemetry.officeapps.live.com

Jabiru · Jun 27, 2024

"Too many entries in the Host file will slow down the Internet"? I'd really be interested in seeing that. The local Host file is used exclusively by the host Windows installation to resolve "Names" with local network (LAN) IP addresses. If a "Name" is entered into the URL window of a browser and it isn't in the Host list the system will then try the local network's default DNS resolver which is usually the LAN's router. If no DNS resolver is implemented in the LAN/WAN router it will default to the Internet provider's DNS resolver. Parsing the local Host file may imperceptibly slow the local PC's ability to resolve a DNS address, but it will not affect the Internet.

pparks1 · Jun 27, 2024

z3r010 said:
I should have neck muscles like a young Mike Tyson with the amount of shaking my head I do every day when reading over posts of what people want to do to their computers, but hey, it keeps food on the table

You and me both.

andrew129260 · Jun 27, 2024

z3r010 said:
I should have neck muscles like a young Mike Tyson with the amount of shaking my head I do every day when reading over posts of what people want to do to their computers, but hey, it keeps food on the table

It amazes me everyday that windows works as well as it does despite people messing with it constantly in ways that were never intended

windoc · Jun 27, 2024

I think this is good. Some of the "diagnostic data," as Microsoft likes to call it, that goes out with Windows Telemetry is very concerning, such as browsing data, including the URLs you visit. Another concern is installed apps, and possibly also the log files of those apps. I understand why Microsoft does this; however, it is a privacy violation to many people. I do have an expectation of privacy, and I do what I can to keep as much as I can private, knowing that in today's day and age, 100% privacy is very difficult, although some people manage to go through the trouble of maintaining it.

At times, I want to look up information that I don't want anyone to know about, like medical conditions or information, so I just use TOR for that. There are techniques for doing that. Right now, I am on a VPN logging into this website. I don't maintain 100% privacy, but when I need it, I use the proper services.

Back to Windows Telemetry: this is one way of handling it. Another way is to create a blacklist that you can load in a program like YogaDNS. Microsoft probably changes this list frequently via updates, so this list will have to be updated often. I believe you can get updated lists from somewhere.
.

BamaInArk · Jun 27, 2024

TairikuOkami said:
Too many entries in HOSTS can slow down the internet, just add a few entries to a custom DNS, like:

Code:

location.live.net blob.core.windows.net events.data.trafficmanager.net measure.office.com telemetry.microsoft.com win.data.microsoft.com pipe.aria.microsoft.com telemetry.officeapps.live.com

Yeah I'm not so sure about that. I used a modified Hosts file for many years that had 1000's of entries and noticed no slowdown. I remember that rumor floating about years ago. I even used a Utility to manage my Hosts file.

antspants · Jun 27, 2024

The delay would be a 100th of a second to find the entry. I also can not see how it would have any affect. I mean how fast can a computer read a dump of text? We live in a magical world of AI and crappy singers like Kyle Minogue. I’m finding it harder to get out of bed in the morning. Like… I’ll just let my computer get up for me.

windoc · Jun 27, 2024

I just created a blacklist with the above list, and seems to be working. Microsoft updates appear to be working fine. Notice the first two addresses on this list. They are getting blocked. I loaded the list into a text file and created a rule called telemetry and the action is 'block'. I am watching now, and I see that Microsoft does send stuff out.

cheaterslick · Jun 29, 2024

Rollback_Jockey said:
Seriously it's only interested in what you eat for breakfast and where you buy take-aways from and maybe the size of your clothes

Why does it need to know that? What do I get out of it? Are they paying me for it?

Most of this is collected for user convenience.

Not everything is about convenience.

If you are that worried then maybe you should leave computers alone.

Flippant answers aren't helpful. It wasn't much of an issue until Windows 10 came out, and then all of a sudden they need to know what time you go to the bathroom at.

See? I can be flippant, too.

If some things can be turned off without breaking something else (that's not important to me) then I'm all in favor of information on how.

Other data is collected for reliability and bug tracing purposes.

Yeah, I get that. But we're really not talking about that here, since Co-pilot and AI are going to take all this to a new level.

cheaterslick · Jul 6, 2024

BamaInArk said:
Yeah I'm not so sure about that. I used a modified Hosts file for many years that had 1000's of entries and noticed no slowdown. I remember that rumor floating about years ago. I even used a Utility to manage my Hosts file.

Back in the olden days of Pentium 4 and Core2Duo machines with DSL lines and throttled broadband, yes big host files were slow. But in the last 10 years or so, speeds have gotten better and a lot faster so it's not much of an issue anymore.

Still, a simpler hosts file would be much easier to manage, imo...

andrew129260 · Jul 21, 2024

kelper said:
But what happens if malware changes the Hosts file later? Will Defender object?

andrew129260 said:
Ah. I see what you mean. I actually dont know, thats a good question. I would think if the file was altered again it would throw a new alert. I will have to test that sometime.

I can confirm it does indeed flag it again anytime the file is altered.

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