A great HOSTS file Manager , and free to download, what more could you want

Made by Toadbee , Admin from http://www.gladiator-antivirus.com/


Hoster page info and download:

http://babbling.funkytoad.com/?p=13

>> http://www.funkytoad.com/hoster.htm <<

Give him a visit if you like it and let him know , and if you can , send a few dollars his way to show your appreciation and help toadbee to keep his great tools free..

mmMMMmm - Looks very pleasing to the eye*, and easy to use/edit/modify. Better than the Aldos one, and even got the option of backing up and restoring backups of the Hosts file. Oh, and it can tell if you have made it read only, and put in a handy button to allow you to write to it! Will have to give it a try...
(..."try pie, try!" - Weebl & Bob, www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/pie.htm)


Ced

P.S. Maybe a mod from here should see about getting bluetack on their site over at: http://www.gladiator-antivirus.com/ in their 'recommended sites' section!

*Well, the XP screenshot of it does (lol)

wow, that GUI does look neat. very clean It would be PEERRRFECT if it had a "Merge HOSTS", maybe some toggle options for the "Remove hostname" function. Like, I never "remove" a hostname, the most I do is # comment it (thus ignoring that line). and a reverse look up function (basically, a PING command) that would go thru the list of hostnames and ping them, and if they dont respond, # comment em

Maybe Ill have to throw these suggestions over on that forum lol.

im sure he could add a few more features if enough people were asking for them

Let's go troops! Raid the Gladiator Antivirus forums!

Left, Left, Left Right Leftttt!

lol

lol, no invasions are scheduled for this month , this might have to be a ninja mission instead.

Groovy people of The land of BlueTack.


Please keep in mind I am a goofball, and don't have a bunch o' time to code this stuff -
But - when r00ted says Merge Hosts - and that anoth proggy doesn't do it properly - what are you talking about exactly. What is proper what is not. Help me understand what you're talking about i may be able to hook it up

Ping what the heck is Ping - don't they make golf clubs? No, I honestly don't have time for that, though yes, that would be cool.

Grand Master Moore Pm'd me, I've added some things including appending the Hosts file, replacing the Hosts file and remove Blocking entries as well - But I say append, you say merge - not sure we're on the same wave length.

Don't worry Toadbee I have the attention span of a billy goat. HEHE! I was on this site all day when I should of been working.

toadbee,

Excellent work on that app! And welcome to Bluetack. It's great to have talented people helping out in keeping us all secure on the sticky web!

Mike

welcome to the forums toadbee hehe. yea, merge/append mean the same thing hehe. when I say "merge" basically, if I select a file to "append" to the current HOSTS file, have it remove all duplicate entries, and then append them at the end of the HOSTS file No need to actually load them into the GUI, as I think you will hit the ~65k size limit set by windows

But yea, basically, i tried Aldo's HOSTS Manager, which has a "Merge" function to set a file, and tell it to append that file to the current HOSTS file (and remove duplicates in the process), it messed with a lot of my commented lines, inserted a bunch of blank carriage returns at the beginning of the HOSTS file (not sure WHERE they came from lol). but yea, thats basically it I think that program (Hoster) would be pretty much complete if it had a browse text box to browse for a HOSTS file, and have Hoster remove all exact duplicates from it, and then append it to the current HOSTS file within the C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\drivers\etc (on XP anyway).

But yea, that was my biggest gripe of the other hosts file merging utilities they mutiliated my master piece I dont want something removing my comments and adding carriage returns at the top of my HOSTS file

@r00ted -
Well I added append all ready, but it is not Looking for Dupes - simply adding on the end.
I can understand why Aldo's is making a mees for you, the seeking dupes is a trickery task than it may seem... i.e. a tab is different than a space, a space is different than 2 spaces etc, so it's brutal to look for an accurate match. If I get the time here I'll play around with that and see if I can come up with something.

Here's an updated version. Feel free to play around with it. Again the append is a "dumb" append at this point - though useful in some cases. You can also keep a bunch of different Hosts files (different names ofcourse) and "replace" the Hosts file at will. The back up is still a backup.

Also there a button there to remove all blocking lines in one shot (it leaves "local host") - basically strips the hosts of all 127.0.0.* - Some hiJacked folks might find that useful

http://members.aol.com/toadbee/hoster11.zip

@Rooted & toadbee Rather than have a tab would it be difficult to have it in a excel sheet? You could import from the excel sheet in other words. Now then there is a constant as well as Rooted's "masterpiece" is not ruined...I don't burn this idea if you want but it is the only compromise that i can think of...Cause I belive DA is having trouble making the alogorithm for BLM?

i only just noticed today you can double click to edit the line ,

i need to add that to the exclusions manager

/me pics toadbee head for some code

also would you like us to host that file for you?

hmm. as far as the comparing algorithm and stuff, I try and keep my HOSTS file (as in the BLM HOSTS file Project) as clean cut as possible, as in
127.0.0.1<tab-key>ad.server.us

All the way down, the only tricky part, would be lines with comments such as

127.0.0.1<tab>rd.yahoo.com<tab>#<tab>This will block a lot of shit at yahoo.com

like, how it would deal with the rd.yahoo.com when it removes all of the duplicates, and keeps 1 in tact.

Would it be possible to compare just the hostnames? so, have the compare algorithm thing ignore the 127.0.0.1 (since that will be the same all the way thru, to re-route all traffic to localhost). But yea, I've been trying to keep the columns fairly straight and I usually only use comments on entries that are already commented, or like, in the case of the above rd.yahoo.com, I have it un-commented, and a reason why.

Also, another suggestion Would it be possible, to change the way the "Add to HOSTS file" text box functions upon "Add"? Make it so it puts the 127.0.0.1<tab> followed by the hostname that is entered. Or hell, have a toggle/option thing for how the hostnames should be entered, like, some people use 0.0.0.0, some use 127.0.0.1, others use google.com (which, would be 216.239.37.99<tab>adserver.com). Maybe a seperator option, whether to seperate the columns by " " or "<tab>" even lol hehe.

oops, dont know if this is a bug or not...lol. I hit the "Remove All Block Items" button, and it left behind the following:


my guess is you got some code in there to remove all lines, except for lines with leading #, and the term localhost ;-) hehe

hmm, Im not sure Im understanding what you're asking hehe.

you mean to export the hostnames to an excel sheet, then attach the 127.0.0.1 lines, then import to the HOSTS file?

as far as the compromise, whats the compromise hehe. as far as the algorithm for the BLM, last i heard wasnt it the ~65k limit messing it up? or are you referring to the IP count (% blocked) used in Moore's Blocklist Campaign thread?

@Rooted -

- Hmmm, well it's not a bug, because as you suspected, I'm leaving lines with 'localhost' if its found.
Ah... I'll re think that, maybe i.e. if I whack all 127.0.0.* - then add localhosts back in, All I can do is append it. So that, in some cases would "reorder" a persons hosts file...pis5ing them off a tad.

Maybe the button should say "attempt to remove blocking hosts" But really - keep in mind the purpose of the whole thing is/was to help people who have been hijacked bet back online quick (er).

As for sorting...I think I'm done even thinking about that. There is an efficient way to search for dupes, but it involves sorting alphabetically first - That would completely wack your super duper hosts files you guys use i.e. all #comments together etc. totally unacceptable. That leaves "old school - get it done" type parsing for matches - which is somewhat ok up to maybe 1,000 entries, but I've spyvied on some of these "masterpieces" and we're talking about 4-5,000 entries. Eegads! Thats just plain too slow.

I will try and resolve the localhosts issue in the future - until then - this is
version 1.2 - I added a "restore original hosts" function. Stick with this link only below, it will always be the most current.

http://members.aol.com/toadbee/hoster.zip

kool thanks toadbee

cool info toadbee. about the "recovering from hijacked hosts" issue:

If i understand correctly, the whole thing about "hijacking" a HOSTS file means re-routing common hostnames (such as yahoo.com, google.com,msn.com, etc) to a "bad" IP address (which often points to a webhost that contains malicious javascript/vbscript/etc)

So, in essense, what you MIGHT be able to do, is have it remove all lines that do NOT lead with 127.0.0.1, but have it ignore lines with leading # comments of course

so, if someones host file got hijacked such as:

# Mac-Daddy Test HOSTS file
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 g.msn.com
215.33.43.65 virushosthax.hax
127.0.0.1 adservers.com
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net

have the hoster scan for "odd" looking lines (that are not # commented), so, the scan would ignore the 1st line (cause its # commented), and would pick up the 215.33.43.65 line, and "fix" it to 127.0.0.1.

hehe. would something like this be possible? see i never knew that was the purpose of this little app hehe. My guess is some kind of compare algorithm could be created to remove all lines that don't match 127.0.0.1.

The only issue, would be for people who actually use the HOSTS file as it's MEANT to be used (such as including a line 216.239.57.99 google.com within the HOSTS file, so there computer doesn't have to contact a DNS server to get to google (thus making internet speed/access a tad bit faster).

r00ted -

You are correct on the rerouting. but whats more troubling is that a couple of common hijackings is blocking
90 or 100 anit-malware, and computer help sites in one shot.
So folks can't get Adaware updates, spybpt s&D updates, anti virus updates. Then they're also blocked from sites which offer help from Hijacking. So Hoster needs to knock out the blocked sites so people can actually download HiJackthis Its brutal business they're messing with.

Then we have to becareful of people on intranets and wide area networks where the HOSTS is used to direct peoples computers to networks that are on private networks -
Heres mine as example:

127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.1.10 mailserver
192.168.1.11 munchkin
192.168.1.12 oz
192.168.2.11 trappe
192.168.3.11 ksquare
192.168.1.30 kip8000
192.168.1.3 webserver
192.168.4.11 nj

All the 192 entries are servers on a wide area VPN. If I lose those entires - BOOM
I'm knocked off 7 networks and 1 KIP printer. The 192's are private IP numbers, they don't correspond to what a dns server will return - ie they are critical.

So This Hoster thing is made so these good hearted folks that advise people on the HiJackLogs can help them safely Check, and if necssary modify their hosts file

thanks again toadbee , hey i like the backup feature , no matter how bad i try to screw it up, i have something to go back to.

i do use hosts for adblocking and for website access, some sites i cant even get to unless i have their ips in the hosts file..

Hey guys/gals -
Ver 1.3 of Hoster is posted. Same url
http://members.aol.com/toadbee/hoster.zip

We ran into trouble with win95/98 only allowing 64kb total HOSTS file size. This Ver. 1.3 takes care of that

And some other little items.

Todd

thanks Toadbee

hey this Hoster program is real great.

been here for a while and i only find it now

Hi Folks -

New link for Hoster: www.funkytoad.com/download/hoster.zip

I'm sorry to do that to you but the aol link will be gone within a week or two
There has been NO update to the program - Just the move.

(Moore - I updated the link in your most thorough and informative post at GSF )

Hi Toadbee, thanks for keeping us updated

just to let you all know that Hoster 1.6 is now available at http://www.funkytoad.com/

been cruising through this site for a couple of hours now, you've done a good jobs pplz. you'll be seeing more of me

.broken.

Thanks .broken. Hoster is one of my favourite programs and Toadbee has done a great job with it.. hope to see you around the forum..

Upadated to v1.7.3 - updated 9-14-05

http://www.funkytoad.com/hoster.htm

New in v3.5:

-Downloading hosts files via Hoster
-Whitelist function
-DNS client service check
-Better memory management, and improved speed.
-Added “Delete Selected / Add to whitelist” button and menu item.

Changes:

-”Memopad” is made available only if running on an NT based machine (win2000 and >). Win9x machines can not display files larger than 64kb, so to stay out of trouble it is disabled for the older OS’s.

No Install, Just put in it's own directory and run. Simply delete it to "uninstall".

Hoster35b1.zip
Hoster Beta w\screen shots