Editing the Hosts File

Note: This section describes highly technical features associated with how your computer finds the actual address of a Web site. The features described here will not damage your computer or remove anything you need if you enable them, but the underlying technology is complex if you are not aware of how IP addressing works.

You can set up Spy Sweeper to continuously monitor two functions related to the Hosts file. The Hosts file is a Windows file that helps direct your computer to a Web site using Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Your Web browser, for example Internet Explorer, uses the IP address to actually connect you to a Web site.

When you go to a Web site, like www.webroot.com, your computer first looks in the Hosts file to see if it already knows where to go. If the domain (webroot.com) is listed, your computer goes directly to the IP address listed in the Hosts file. If the domain is not in the Hosts file, your computer looks up the information from the Internet (a slightly slower process).

The Hosts file has two primary uses, one good and one bad:

Good—You can block a lot of tracking cookies and other monitoring by using the Hosts file to route certain domains, such as advertising sites, to a dead end.
Bad—Some potentially unwanted programs will route certain domains to false addresses, for example, by making a commonly used search site open to a porn site. We call this hijacking.

Using Spy Sweeper to manage the Hosts file, you can block a lot of unwanted adware activity, while preventing your Web browsing from being hijacked.

When Spy Sweeper detects activity related to the Hosts File Shield, it displays an alert.

If the shields are unavailable (dimmed), you may not have access to this function. For more information, see Understanding How Spy Sweeper Works with Multiple User Accounts.

To edit the Hosts file:

Click Edit Hosts File.
The Edit Hosts File window displays, showing entries that you, your IT department, or potentially unwanted programs have added to your Hosts file. If you have the Common Ad Sites Shield turned on, it does not display the blocked ad sites.
Spy Sweeper compares the IP address of each entry in the Hosts file to the correct address on a domain name system (DNS) server. Any address that does not match and is not set to the local machine address (127.0.0.1) is flagged as possibly hijacked .
Select the entries you want to remove.
Click Delete Selected.
Spy Sweeper deletes the selected entries from your Hosts file.
Click Close.