Cannot block website usings Hosts file in Windows 7


Recommended Posts

in Windows XP and Vista, you can go into your c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\ directory and add websites in the Hosts file to block them from being accessed by any windows browser. But in Windows 7 it still opens the websites despite me adding them to the Hosts file.

is there a different way website blocking works in Windows 7?

Thanks

Try to see if it directly is ignoring the hosts file or just something with the browser.

1. Change a site in the hosts file and redirect it to '127.0.0.1'

2. Open Command prompt and try these commands 'ipconfig /flushdns' and then 'ping <website you blocked>'

If all is correct it should return 127.0.0.1

  ThreeLies said:
Try to see if it directly is ignoring the hosts file or just something with the browser.

1. Change a site in the hosts file and redirect it to '127.0.0.1'

2. Open Command prompt and try these commands 'ipconfig /flushdns' and then 'ping <website you blocked>'

If all is correct it should return 127.0.0.1

thats the thing, for example if i added www.website.com into the hosts file and ping it. it times out. but even after i close the browser and come back , it still goes to www.website.com in the browser

but yes, it seems to be ignoring the Hosts file

  maash said:
thats the thing, for example if i added www.website.com into the hosts file and ping it. it times out. but even after i close the browser and come back , it still goes to www.website.com in the browser

but yes, it seems to be ignoring the Hosts file

Did you try clearing your browser's cache?

Also, if I recall, the hosts file does not support wildcards, so a list like this:

www.blockdesite.com
forums.blockedsite.com
www1.blockdesite.com
www.blockedsite.org

must have a separate entry.

  • 6 months later...

i also find the hosts file is not working in win7 rtm, i have 'shortcut' in there

192.168.2.1 router

to allow me to just type router in the address bar to connect to my router admin page. works fine in xpsp3. does not work in win7.

added a few real addresses to speed up dns lookups, they also were not recognised. i tried adding them to the similar lmhosts file. that worked. it appears win7 is indeed ignoring the hosts file.

lmhosts (no extension) lives in the same dir. as hosts. slightly different syntax allows directives, see lmhosts.sam.

it indicates lmhosts is parsed only AFTER dynamic lookups fail. wonder if hosts behavior has similarly been changed.

i'd prefer it to work the old way as in all pre-win7 microsoft os's all the way back.

See if making the edit to hosts and then rebooting makes any difference. While experimenting with the DNS settings for my domain, I had to reboot before certain changes were 'seen' by Windows 7. Cleared DNS cache and browser cache, even tried a different browser, no change until I rebooted.

  • 1 year later...

I have been banging my head for hours on this and I think I have found the answer. For whatever reason Microsoft has decided that a tab in between your ip and hostname in the host file will not work in Windows 7. Try taking out the tab and using a space instead. Microsoft sucks!!!

  On 15/04/2011 at 15:59, BudMan said:

Nonsense - tab clearly still works.. Not sure what you were doing wrong, but tab is just fine.

post-14624-0-51925700-1302883141.jpg

If I take the tab out it works if it is in it doesn't. Not nonsense. If you are having problems I suggest you try it. It takes 2 seconds and if it doesn't work you are out 2 seconds.

This is not the best way to block a website. Any person over 13 with half a brain can bypass this method.

Unless you manage to block all search engine like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. This method is only useful for folks that are not computer illiterate.

All right enough of my of topic nonsense...

Like other have said. After making change to the host file. Clear your DNS and restart and see if it works.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Here's how to watch Summer Game Fest 2025 showcase today and what to expect by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe E3 as we know it might be dead, but Summer Game Fest is still going strong with its scheduled events in June. For five years now, Geoff Keighley has been organizing and hosting the video-game-centered platform to get developers and publishers a central location to have their reveal events. Summer Game Fest itself has its own massive show, and tonight, that kickoff event is going live with a whole bunch of announcements, updates, and more. The Summer Game Fest showcase hosted by Keighley is scheduled to go live at 2 PM PT | 5 PM ET | 10 PM BST later today, June 6. The live show is being hosted at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles and is slated to run around two hours. To watch it online, viewers can tune into the show's YouTube (4K at 60 FPS), Twitch, Twitter, and Steam pages. Separate streams featuring American Sign Language and Descriptive Audio are available on YouTube as well. Not much information has been released regarding what gaming fans can expect to see at the event, but there are some clues and teasers to follow. Hideo Kojima is attending the event like always, meaning Death Stranding 2: On The Beach should get a brand-new trailer, unless it's a misdirect of some kind. The next entry in the Mafia franchise, The Old Country, the Soulslike action RPG Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, a surprise from the Splitgate 2 developer 1047 Games, a Fortnite-focused event from Epic Games, and new content for Atomic Heart should appear during the show. Being a rather long showcase, there should be plenty of other surprise reveals and announcements on stage, especially from major publishers like Ubisoft and 2K, which do not have their own dedicated summer events. Right after the main kickoff event, the Day of the Devs showcase will begin its own festivities at 4pm PT | 7pm ET. This is focused entirely on upcoming indie games. Later in the day, Devolver Digital and IO Interactive are hosting their own showcases. Here's the full calendar.
    • TIL you can report articles. reported as ad lol.
    • Paid US$798 for the 85" model which seemed like a better deal. Pretty nice TV.
    • Apple is making a scary move: a private company overchallenging a legit government and legislation. I am not a fan of democracy, but I am more scared of corporatism. The EU must take a strong stance now: Apple should comply with the law or face consequences, and it must do so immediately.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      EdwardFranciscoVilla earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      MoyaM earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      qology earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      Frinco90 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Apprentice
      Frinco90 went up a rank
      Apprentice
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      453
    2. 2
      +FloatingFatMan
      247
    3. 3
      snowy owl
      240
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      196
    5. 5
      Xenon
      143
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!