Hosts-file hosts check

[Giel]

Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to hpguru and
http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts don't exists
anymore.
So some cleaning would be nice.
But im too lazy to manually check every host.
So before i start making weird macro's;
Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every host in the
file to see if it's there?

friendly greetings from giel
__________________________________________________

Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/

[Russbucket]

I have been using AM Deadlink (Free) available at
http://www.aignes.com/products.htm It seems to work OK.

Hope this helps, I'm lazy too!

"Giel" <NeverSP@Mthe.net> wrote in message
news:3fc4d1c5$0$1504$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
> Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to hpguru
and
> http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
> It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts don't exists
> anymore.
> So some cleaning would be nice.
> But im too lazy to manually check every host.
> So before i start making weird macro's;
> Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every host in
the
> file to see if it's there?
>
> friendly greetings from giel
> __________________________________________________
>
> Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
>
>


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.544 / Virus Database: 338 - Release Date: 11/25/2003

[Giel]

nope, its a nifty program, but it will not open my (hosts)txt-file and i
don't think it can handle the syntax, but i'll keep trying though....

--
__________________________________________________

Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
"Russbucket" <Russbucket@centurytel.net> wrote in message
news:sbydnbnWPqnhelmiRVn-sw@centurytel.net...
> I have been using AM Deadlink (Free) available at
> http://www.aignes.com/products.htm It seems to work OK.
>
> Hope this helps, I'm lazy too!
>
> "Giel" <NeverSP@Mthe.net> wrote in message
> news:3fc4d1c5$0$1504$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
> > Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to hpguru
> and
> > http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
> > It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts don't
exists
> > anymore.
> > So some cleaning would be nice.
> > But im too lazy to manually check every host.
> > So before i start making weird macro's;
> > Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every host in
> the
> > file to see if it's there?
> >
> > friendly greetings from giel
> > __________________________________________________
> >
> > Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
> >
> >
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.544 / Virus Database: 338 - Release Date: 11/25/2003
>
>

[data64]

"Jim Byrd" <jrbyrd@spamlesscomcast.net> wrote in
news:w1cxb.231441$mZ5.1747211@attbi_s54:

> Hi Giel - The attached .zip file contains a .vbs script which will do
> what you want. It was developed by one of the MVPs, but hasn't been
> published because he can't afford the time/effort to maintain it and
> answer questions. I just received permission from him to post it -
> thus the delay in responding to this thread. There's no Help file,
> but it's fairly self explanatory - just move a copy of your HOSTS file
> to the same folder where you unzip this and follow the direction which
> will come up when you run it. You'll need to copy the resultant
> modified HOSTS file back to where it's normally located for you. Be
> sure to rename it to HOSTS there - all caps, no extension. Use at
> your own risk.
>

That script is quite nifty, thanks. I have one question though.
The script seems to assume that each address in the hosts file is tied
to a webserver. I thought that hosts file might also have entries for
servers which maybe spyware call-home sites which could be listening on a
different port than 80 used by http. In fact they could be using UDP
instead of http or tcp. The script would assume that such entries are not
valid and remove them.

Am I making sense here or did I completely miss something as usual.

thanks,
data64

[YoKenny]

Jim Byrd wrote:
> Hi Giel - The attached .zip file contains a .vbs script which will do
> what you want. It was developed by one of the MVPs, but hasn't been
> published because he can't afford the time/effort to maintain it and
> answer questions. I just received permission from him to post it -
> thus the delay in responding to this thread. There's no Help file,
> but it's fairly self explanatory - just move a copy of your HOSTS
> file to the same folder where you unzip this and follow the direction
> which will come up when you run it. You'll need to copy the resultant
> modified HOSTS file back to where it's normally located for you. Be
> sure to rename it to HOSTS there - all caps, no extension. Use at
> your own risk.

The use of PING to test if a site is available is good for that instant but
as the Internet is dynamic it is not a reliable test.

Also, the spammer, scammer and p0rn sites have learned to hide themselves
from PING probes.
This invalidates this test and only an application that attempts to retrieve
active information from the site can be trusted.

eg: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com substitute www for wxw
A browser hijacker site.
=== partial===================
11/26/03 23:53:40 Browsing http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/
Fetching http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/ ...
GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com
Connection: close
User-Agent: Sam Spade 1.14
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: Microsoft-IIS/5.0
Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 04:54:30 GMT
P3P:CP="BUS CUR CONo FIN IVDo ONL OUR PHY SAMo TELo"
X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
Connection: close
X-AspNet-Version: 1.1.4322
Set-Cookie: mh=MSFT; domain=.msn.com; expires=Wed, 27-Nov-2013 04:54:30 GMT;
path=/
Set-Cookie: MSNADS=UM=; domain=.the-huns-yellow-pages.com; expires=Tue,
26-Apr-2022 19:00:00 GMT; path=/
Cache-Control: no-cache
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: -1
Content-Type: text/html; charse
==========

> In news:3fc4ea92$0$1500$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl,
> Giel <NeverSP@Mthe.net> typed:
>> nope, its a nifty program, but it will not open my (hosts)txt-file
>> and i don't think it can handle the syntax, but i'll keep trying
>> though....
>>
>> Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
>> "Russbucket" <Russbucket@centurytel.net> wrote in message
>> news:sbydnbnWPqnhelmiRVn-sw@centurytel.net...
>>> I have been using AM Deadlink (Free) available at
>>> http://www.aignes.com/products.htm It seems to work OK.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps, I'm lazy too!
>>>
>>> "Giel" <NeverSP@Mthe.net> wrote in message
>>> news:3fc4d1c5$0$1504$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
>>>> Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to
>>>> hpguru and http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
>>>> It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts
>>>> don't exists anymore.
>>>> So some cleaning would be nice.
>>>> But im too lazy to manually check every host.
>>>> So before i start making weird macro's;
>>>> Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every
>>>> host in the file to see if it's there?

[Jim Byrd]

Hi Data - I can't provide any more information than is given in the script
itself. It will have to speak for itself - it does what it does, and you'll
just have to experiment and see if that's useful to your needs.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In news:Xns943FE26D7C2AFData64Bigfootcom@130.133.1.4,
data64 <me@privacy.net> typed:
> "Jim Byrd" <jrbyrd@spamlesscomcast.net> wrote in
> news:w1cxb.231441$mZ5.1747211@attbi_s54:
>
>> Hi Giel - The attached .zip file contains a .vbs script which will do
>> what you want. It was developed by one of the MVPs, but hasn't been
>> published because he can't afford the time/effort to maintain it and
>> answer questions. I just received permission from him to post it -
>> thus the delay in responding to this thread. There's no Help file,
>> but it's fairly self explanatory - just move a copy of your HOSTS file
>> to the same folder where you unzip this and follow the direction which
>> will come up when you run it. You'll need to copy the resultant
>> modified HOSTS file back to where it's normally located for you. Be
>> sure to rename it to HOSTS there - all caps, no extension. Use at
>> your own risk.
>>
>
> That script is quite nifty, thanks. I have one question though.
> The script seems to assume that each address in the hosts file is tied
> to a webserver. I thought that hosts file might also have entries for
> servers which maybe spyware call-home sites which could be listening on a
> different port than 80 used by http. In fact they could be using UDP
> instead of http or tcp. The script would assume that such entries are not
> valid and remove them.
>
> Am I making sense here or did I completely miss something as usual.
>
> thanks,
> data64

[Jim Byrd]

Hi YoKenny - You're correct about that; however, I suspect from my
experience that there aren't that many "hidders" by comparison with the rest
of most block lists. As I posted to Data, the script speaks for itself,
does what it does, and it's utility lies in whether what that is is useful
to you as an individual. It's not my script; it dates from 2002; it's not
maintained; YMMV. I merely provided it in an effort to be (at least
partially) helpful with a particular problem that no one else appeared to be
able to address.

--
Please respond in the same thread.
Regards, Jim Byrd, MS-MVP



In news:5Afxb.12646$p8C.12613@news01.bloor.is.net.cab le.rogers.com,
YoKenny <YKnot@home.invalid> typed:
> Jim Byrd wrote:
>> Hi Giel - The attached .zip file contains a .vbs script which will do
>> what you want. It was developed by one of the MVPs, but hasn't been
>> published because he can't afford the time/effort to maintain it and
>> answer questions. I just received permission from him to post it -
>> thus the delay in responding to this thread. There's no Help file,
>> but it's fairly self explanatory - just move a copy of your HOSTS
>> file to the same folder where you unzip this and follow the direction
>> which will come up when you run it. You'll need to copy the resultant
>> modified HOSTS file back to where it's normally located for you. Be
>> sure to rename it to HOSTS there - all caps, no extension. Use at
>> your own risk.
>
> The use of PING to test if a site is available is good for that instant
but
> as the Internet is dynamic it is not a reliable test.
>
> Also, the spammer, scammer and p0rn sites have learned to hide themselves
> from PING probes.
> This invalidates this test and only an application that attempts to
retrieve
> active information from the site can be trusted.
>
> eg: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com substitute www for wxw
> A browser hijacker site.
> === partial===================
> 11/26/03 23:53:40 Browsing http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/
> Fetching http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/ ...
> GET / HTTP/1.1
> Host: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com
> Connection: close
> User-Agent: Sam Spade 1.14
> HTTP/1.1 200 OK
> Server: Microsoft-IIS/5.0
> Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 04:54:30 GMT
> P3P:CP="BUS CUR CONo FIN IVDo ONL OUR PHY SAMo TELo"
> X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
> Connection: close
> X-AspNet-Version: 1.1.4322
> Set-Cookie: mh=MSFT; domain=.msn.com; expires=Wed, 27-Nov-2013 04:54:30
GMT;
> path=/
> Set-Cookie: MSNADS=UM=; domain=.the-huns-yellow-pages.com; expires=Tue,
> 26-Apr-2022 19:00:00 GMT; path=/
> Cache-Control: no-cache
> Pragma: no-cache
> Expires: -1
> Content-Type: text/html; charse
> ==========
>
>> In news:3fc4ea92$0$1500$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl,
>> Giel <NeverSP@Mthe.net> typed:
>>> nope, its a nifty program, but it will not open my (hosts)txt-file
>>> and i don't think it can handle the syntax, but i'll keep trying
>>> though....
>>>
>>> Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
>>> "Russbucket" <Russbucket@centurytel.net> wrote in message
>>> news:sbydnbnWPqnhelmiRVn-sw@centurytel.net...
>>>> I have been using AM Deadlink (Free) available at
>>>> http://www.aignes.com/products.htm It seems to work OK.
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps, I'm lazy too!
>>>>
>>>> "Giel" <NeverSP@Mthe.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:3fc4d1c5$0$1504$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
>>>>> Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to
>>>>> hpguru and http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
>>>>> It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts
>>>>> don't exists anymore.
>>>>> So some cleaning would be nice.
>>>>> But im too lazy to manually check every host.
>>>>> So before i start making weird macro's;
>>>>> Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every
>>>>> host in the file to see if it's there?

[YoKenny]

Jim Byrd wrote:
> Hi YoKenny - You're correct about that; however, I suspect from my
> experience that there aren't that many "hidders" by comparison with
> the rest of most block lists. As I posted to Data, the script speaks
> for itself, does what it does, and it's utility lies in whether what
> that is is useful to you as an individual. It's not my script; it
> dates from 2002; it's not maintained; YMMV. I merely provided it in
> an effort to be (at least partially) helpful with a particular
> problem that no one else appeared to be able to address.

Jim, I do not want to belittle your advice but nowadays with the Internet
being what it is we must be careful what we use.

I just wanted to make people aware of what the spammers, scammers and p0rn
artists are doing now. I think that the sites that are the worst know that
something is up(1) and the more they can hide the longer they can do their
dirty stuff.

Identifying invalid sites in a HOSTS file is a very time consuming process.
I have not found an easy way to do this and I am sure that the maintainers
of their HOSTS files have not either.

It has become a constant battle of them trying to get in without permission
and us trying to keep them from corrupting our systems.

(1) Ad-aware, SpyBot S&D, CWShredder and the like.

> YoKenny typed:
>> Jim Byrd wrote:
>>> Hi Giel - The attached .zip file contains a .vbs script which will
>>> do what you want. It was developed by one of the MVPs, but hasn't
>>> been published because he can't afford the time/effort to maintain
>>> it and answer questions. I just received permission from him to
>>> post it -
>>> thus the delay in responding to this thread. There's no Help file,
>>> but it's fairly self explanatory - just move a copy of your HOSTS
>>> file to the same folder where you unzip this and follow the
>>> direction which will come up when you run it. You'll need to copy
>>> the resultant modified HOSTS file back to where it's normally
>>> located for you. Be sure to rename it to HOSTS there - all caps,
>>> no extension. Use at
>>> your own risk.
>>
>> The use of PING to test if a site is available is good for that
>> instant but as the Internet is dynamic it is not a reliable test.
>>
>> Also, the spammer, scammer and p0rn sites have learned to hide
>> themselves from PING probes.
>> This invalidates this test and only an application that attempts to
>> retrieve active information from the site can be trusted.
>>
>> eg: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com substitute www for wxw
>> A browser hijacker site.
>> === partial===================
>> 11/26/03 23:53:40 Browsing http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/
>> Fetching http://wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com/ ...
>> GET / HTTP/1.1
>> Host: wxw.the-huns-yellow-pages.com
>> Connection: close
>> User-Agent: Sam Spade 1.14
>> HTTP/1.1 200 OK
>> Server: Microsoft-IIS/5.0
>> Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 04:54:30 GMT
>> P3P:CP="BUS CUR CONo FIN IVDo ONL OUR PHY SAMo TELo"
>> X-Powered-By: ASP.NET
>> Connection: close
>> X-AspNet-Version: 1.1.4322
>> Set-Cookie: mh=MSFT; domain=.msn.com; expires=Wed, 27-Nov-2013
>> 04:54:30 GMT; path=/
>> Set-Cookie: MSNADS=UM=; domain=.the-huns-yellow-pages.com;
>> expires=Tue, 26-Apr-2022 19:00:00 GMT; path=/
>> Cache-Control: no-cache
>> Pragma: no-cache
>> Expires: -1
>> Content-Type: text/html; charse
>> ==========
>>
>>> In news:3fc4ea92$0$1500$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl,
>>> Giel <NeverSP@Mthe.net> typed:
>>>> nope, its a nifty program, but it will not open my (hosts)txt-file
>>>> and i don't think it can handle the syntax, but i'll keep trying
>>>> though....
>>>>
>>>> Try my ADBlocker at http://nina.xs4all.nl/pac/
>>>> "Russbucket" <Russbucket@centurytel.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:sbydnbnWPqnhelmiRVn-sw@centurytel.net...
>>>>> I have been using AM Deadlink (Free) available at
>>>>> http://www.aignes.com/products.htm It seems to work OK.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hope this helps, I'm lazy too!
>>>>>
>>>>> "Giel" <NeverSP@Mthe.net> wrote in message
>>>>> news:3fc4d1c5$0$1504$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
>>>>>> Hello, im updating my hosts file for some time now (oa thanks to
>>>>>> hpguru and http://accs-net.com/hostess/).
>>>>>> It really grows out of proportion and i've noticed some hosts
>>>>>> don't exists anymore.
>>>>>> So some cleaning would be nice.
>>>>>> But im too lazy to manually check every host.
>>>>>> So before i start making weird macro's;
>>>>>> Does anyone know of such a program or script that connects every
>>>>>> host in the file to see if it's there?