Topic: APK HOSTS FILE UPDATE (2/1/2009 - 644,842++ entries (5,524 new entries added)) (Read 7802 times)

APK · « **Reply #15 on:** December 20, 2008, 06:22:44 PM »

Quote from: JDW on December 20, 2008, 06:02:54 PM

APK how long have you been doing this hole project. yes i call it a project because you are still in the stages of putting this together. but honestly how long have you been working on this project.

Whew... been popping together customized HOSTS files since, oh... 1997-1998 or thereabouts.

@ First, for SPEED only, by blocking out adbanner servers...

(Even before they were known to bear malicious javascript attacks &/or FLASH based attacks, that started around, iirc, 2002 or so)

Yes - this DID 'tick off' some webmasters though, but, I like anyone else, including webmasters & other surfers like myself, have expenses, including line time online via your internet provider... l

(Loading adbanners only CUTS INTO that speed you pay for, & that alone justified doing that on my part - this 'caught on' a lot more around 2004 or so, with others doing this as well such as MVPS.org & their HOSTS file as well)...

Secondly/later, for SECURITY:

Anyhow, around 2001-2002 I started filling my HOSTS files with blocking bad sites (then seeing others do it as well, such as Spybot "Search & Destroy")... that's when I started REALLY 'digging into' the area of PC security.

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Before THAT though (going a BIT off track)?

I did the FIRST "guide" online for both SPEED & SECURITY for NTCompatible.com around 1998 or so...

It 'took off' & did well, but that was "VERSION 1.x" of my "IRON MAN ARMOR ONLINE" lol, as I call it, & like Tony Stark's FIRST armor?

It was a prototype... did well, & got imported to NeoWin.com & was rated well:

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/01/11/29/apk-a-to-z-internet-speedup--security-text

... only thing is?

It only took you to a 67-75 score on CIS Tool (a benchmark of security)...

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Then, I did the Guide in this forums (& on 20 others on the web) in late 2007:

http://ashentech.com/index.php?topic=1391.0

Was only after seeing so many folks getting burned by viruses & such on the job, it was just time to help out the online community... they've helped ME before, like these guys have & are for example.

(It was my "New Year's Resolution" to "DO A GOOD DEED")

... & it was repaid me many times over, the guide's going strong @ over 250,000++ views with many folks happy using it, on 20 sites or so, & 15 of them made it an:

1.) ESSENTIAL GUIDE

2.) STICKY/PINNED THREAD

3.) MOST VIEWED

4.) 5-5 STAR RATED

5.) Getting me PAID $100 (which I wasn't even aware they did that stuff here) @ PCPitstop January 2008...
etc., & it will take you to a 85/91-100 score on CIS Tool... thus, I call it my "Iron Man Armor Online" VERSION 2.0... lol!

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Anyhow/anyways... the program I use for this ( "APK HOSTS FILE GRINDER 4.0++" ) that I wrote up for it?

It's a supplement to ALL that. HOSTS files, work, you know this.

So - Around late 2002-2003, iirc?

I built my FIRST "iron man armor" (lol) in a HOSTS file manager, & it sucked... I'll admit it.

(I must have been 'out of it' because it was SO slow (I used what is called a 'brute force' search, which is FINE for smallish HOSTS files, but slower than frozen tar on large ones)).

That's when I started building the engines for the latest one I have pictured in this thread... probably early 2007/late 2006.

(Taking my time about it, because MOST folks don't realize or KNOW what a HOSTS file is, or, what it can do to help speed them up, OR protect them as well (go faster, & safer, via 1 single file, that acts as a SINGLE POINT OF CONTROL for every app there is that is webbound... not just browsers, but email or any program that contacts the worldwide web really)).

Seemed "efficient"... For instance, in coding?

You do NOT repeat or reinvent the same routine over & over, because it is HARD to maintain that... you make a SINGLE POINT OF CODE CONTROL, called a function usually... & call THAT, from wherever you need it. When you need to CHANGE it? You don't have to track 50 diff. spots... only 1!

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I then started seeing that adbanner servers had malware in them, & even the likes of Microsoft got 'burned' by it as well.

Then, I figured:

"OK, this is starting to be serious, & additionally justifies my blocking out adbanners"

... & then, I got wind of "bad sites" online!

(Which 'boggled my mind' because these idiots who do that are no better than say, Dr. Victor Frankenstein & we all know what his Monster did to he, but more importantly, his friends & family - which makes ME wonder, wtf these misguided fools are thinking: Don't they realize their "monsters" can harm THEIR friends & family too (those who they don't warn or protect that is))?

... & FINALLY? Well - I got wind of Stopbadware.org & Dancho Danchev's blogsite around 2005 & the rest? Is "history"...

* &, here we are now, attempting to 'trim this HOSTS file' so that no valid servers are blocked in it (this HOSTS is composed from many sources is why, some make mistakes etc.)...

APK

P.S.=> The logic here using HOSTS? Seemed to myself @ least, the same... a SINGLE point of control, for every webbound app.

Their internal protective mechanisms (OPERA filter.ini, FireFox NoScript, IE Restricted Zones) are added layers/locks ontop of it.

This is WHY I feel it is a SUPERIOR method vs. say, even Opera's native built in "Filter.ini/URLFilter.ini", or, FireFox's "NoScript" even... they, for example, don't cover IE, or ONE ANOTHER EITHER!

... but, IE does have restricted zones in the registry you can populate for this (so you know/some FYI).

Thus, instead of using MULTIPLE solutions for every program? I use 1...

The others? Yes, I use them... but, only as ADDED LAYERS OF PROTECTION... bust up my HOSTS file, for instance? You still have to deal with Opera, FireFox, & IE's layers too.

I believe in "layered security"... period.

----

I.E.-> It's like putting MULTIPLE locks on your doors @ home: Bust thru the door handle lock, you have another one in the deadbolt... bust that too? There is a chain lock... etc. et al... I think you get my point.

Same with SOFTWARE firewalls: 1 of the FIRST things virus & spywares do, is shut those down... along with antivirus &/or antispyware programs running resident as services, drivers, & in your tooltray.

I supplement those with IP Security Policies, NAT firewalling hardware routers, & Port Filtering

E.G.-> Bust down my firewall?

YOU still have the others to contend with... manage to shut those down (hard to do, harder than disabling a firewall in code imo)? HOSTS gets in the way, when these 'bad programs' call out to their botnet control servers, etc. et al... apk

JDW · « **Reply #16 on:** December 20, 2008, 08:58:59 PM »

so what is your thoughts on spy bot and say avg antivires compared to the other spyware and antivirus programs.

APK · « **Reply #17 on:** December 21, 2008, 10:16:19 AM »

Quote from: JDW on December 20, 2008, 08:58:59 PM

so what is your thoughts on spy bot and say avg antivires compared to the other spyware and antivirus programs.

They work as well as anything else I suppose.

ON ANTISPYWARE PROGRAMS:

I like SpyBot because it is one of the sources used to populate my HOSTS file, & it generally does a decent job removing spyware or @ least detecting it.

I used Spybot on the job extensively when I had to clean up folks' systems (both home users & corporate ones, man... to the tune of $150-$200 an hour - people can or WILL pay those usurious amounts to get clean... boggles the mind!), but, when it wouldn't, even in "SAFE MODE"?

That's when tools like SmitFraudFix &/or ComboFix came into play.

... AND, If they didn't work on a particular infestation?

Then out came RECOVERY CONSOLE, as a last resort!

(However, only after I determine an infestor's name & location on disk, first, & ONLY if the other tools mentioned above, fail to do the job, & sometimes? They do... this one, does NOT & can even take out 1 kind of rootkit (bootsector resident type))

Yes - this is that tool you keep around (and anyone with a Windows OS install CD has it) just-in-case & when ALL else, fails, & it works, everytime (even against rootkits, master boot record housed ones, via FIXMBR).

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ON ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS:

AVG is a good free edition, it can do the job. When I've run into customers that didn't have an antivirus program? I'd get them this one because it's free edition did a good enough job (better than they NOT having something in place @ all by far) & because it comes with FREE email protection.

I also like Norton/Symantec Corporate Edition, because it is basically Norton AntiVirus 2002's interface & uses the same basic scanning engine as the more "user-friendly/dumbed-down" newer heavier editions.

I also like NOD32 however, the best - it has the best "heuristics" engine ('if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, tastes like duck, & sounds like a duck? IT MUST BE A DUCK' - except substitute VIRUS for DUCK, & that's how heuristics work)... & heuristics is the best vs. the REAL threat - the UNKNOWN viruses (ones they have signatures for, which are unique for each one (technically, because some can change this via "polymorphic techniques" which means self-altering for self-protection)) out there.

APK

P.S.=> For the last 8++ months or so though, I have been running MY system without keeping an antivirus &/or antispyware resident though (meaning keeping their services running + trayicon background engines going)...

(Hey - Nowadays, I only keep them online for MANUAL SCANS... just in case.)

Why? Well, traditional security measures, such as "SECURITY SUITES" aren't doing well vs. today's modern "blended threats":

----

Top security suites fail exploit tests - 12 suites get 'F' (Only Symantec's detects more than 3% of real attacks):

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117042

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HOWEVER, by way of comparison? Well - I've found that via what I do in the guide I wrote here, I am not getting infected/infested...

Which makes sense!

... & mainly because MOST of what you are seeing out here online nowadays comes in via JAVASCRIPT based attacks coming thru your webbrowser & like I have said around here before, I'd welcome anyone to take a look over @ sites like SECUNIA.COM &/or SECURITYFOCUS.COM & see that what I am saying is, indeed. the truth. All THAT, "said & aside"?

Keep javascript off, & use a HOSTS file with known bad servers of these malware javascript machinations blocking them? Well:

"IF YOU CAN'T GO INTO THE KITCHEN, YOU CAN'T GET BURNED!"

... more or less... & it works... apk

Ashen · « **Reply #18 on:** December 21, 2008, 10:36:25 AM »

apk, sorry but AVG sucks, to many false positives and such, Avast is FAR BETTER and its FREE!!!

APK · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2008, 10:49:00 AM »

Quote from: Ashen on December 21, 2008, 10:36:25 AM

apk, sorry but AVG sucks, to many false positives and such, Avast is FAR BETTER and its FREE!!!

I didn't say it was my "fav" though... it works well enough though, as far as something free, for folks that don't have anything @ all, or, were running expired antivirus programs (this I saw QUITE A LOT OF in fact), &, it gives them FREE email protection (many others don't offer THAT in their FREEBIE models).

Still - JDW might want to look into AVAST's stuff as an experiment then, because I have not tried it, & I generally won't comment on something I have not used myself.

JDW: Do give this some thought/consideration...

APK

P.S.=> AND? Hey - Nothing to be "sorry about" man!

DO let 'em rip, any & all of you guys - because, I don't mind when you question OR "second-guess" me, because I have NOT tried "every antivirus &/or antispyware solution under-the-sun" here...

After all - This is how we ALL "get wind of" new & different programs that may be superior to others' solutions (such as when YOU turned ME onto NOD32 Ash... &, you were right, it is the best afaik & am concerned)... apk

WarEagleAU · « **Reply #20 on:** December 26, 2008, 11:04:12 AM »

APK as in Alecc(cool S thingy)star from TPU?

WarEagleAU · « **Reply #21 on:** December 26, 2008, 01:20:56 PM »

SUPER DUPER SWEET! Nice to see ya again APK!!!!

Ashen · « **Reply #22 on:** December 26, 2008, 04:11:02 PM »

hope we see more of you WarEagleAU, now that you know APK is around

APK · « **Reply #23 on:** December 26, 2008, 05:15:54 PM »

Quote from: WarEagleAU on December 26, 2008, 01:20:56 PM

SUPER DUPER SWEET! Nice to see ya again APK!!!!

Heh: Hello to U²!!!

* Nice to see you again man, I most definitely remember you...

APK

P.S.=> I won't be around a lot tonite... I am busy going thru SlashDot's "FireHose" section, so I can see all the news sources they reference, & rip them out of this HOSTS file I am building so... sorry to keep it so short (& for me? THIS IS SHORT as a reply)... apk

WarEagleAU · « **Reply #24 on:** December 26, 2008, 08:30:03 PM »

Yeah, that is short for a reply from you. Got to admit, I missed the P.S. replies

. Ashen, I will definitely make it a new years resolution to be around more often!!!! Love to all!

ME!

WarEagleAU · « **Reply #25 on:** December 27, 2008, 12:59:14 PM »

espn needs to be removed from there if it is on there. also TPU wont let me see system specs anymore

.

Other than that, I love this thing

APK · « **Reply #26 on:** December 27, 2008, 04:50:37 PM »

Quote from: WarEagleAU on December 27, 2008, 12:59:14 PM

espn needs to be removed from there if it is on there.

Not sure if it is or not, but, espn.com sites are gone from it tonite... not very long from now, I have gone thru 4 months (Dec. - Sept. 2008 so far) of SLASHDOT news links from their "firehose" section (only ones that made it into actual news there on that website) & removed quite a few the past day now.

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Quote from: WarEagleAU on December 27, 2008, 12:59:14 PM

also TPU wont let me see system specs anymore .

Does it require javascript?

If not??

Then, can you give me it's URL???

(Because I don't block anything TPU in this file... @ least, not intentionally).

So - I'd like to remove it IF it is anything to do with this HOSTS file, & not something like javascript driven page material &/or NoScript in FireFox or Opera filter.ini blocking it instead...

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Quote from: WarEagleAU on December 27, 2008, 12:59:14 PM

Other than that, I love this thing

Thought you might... most folks do!

(It gives you increased speed, and, massively up-to-date security too - like I said above: What other security solution yields BOTH? None, afaik @ least - most all slow you down!)

* &, it's about to get even better, later on tonite...

E.G./I.E.-> More bad servers added from stopbadware.org (5 so far today already) & more legit news/sports/tv/radio & sciences oriented sites pulled out of it... it's DEFINITELY "getting there"...

APK

P.S.=>

Quote from: WarEagleAU on December 27, 2008, 01:00:38 PM

Would like to keep the QoS on my DLink Wireless N router, but how do I go about doing the other stuff you mentioned? Networking is definitely not my strong point.

In your LOCAL NETWORK CONNECTION item's properties...

A.) CONTROL PANEL

B.) Open up NETWORK CONNECTIONS

C.) Right-Click on your Currently used NETWORK CONNECTION (whatever its name is there)

D.) Use the PROPERTIES popup menu item

E.) In the new screen that pops up, disable (via unchecking them) anything other than Tcp/IP that you don't need (Client for Microsoft Networks &/or File and Print are used in networks, so, if you keep a home LAN there or connect to one @ work from this machine, don't disable them & disregard the rest below)

F.) Hilite Tcp/IP in the list "This connection uses the following items"

G.) The PROPERTIES button beneath that list to the right side below it will enable, press it

H.) Next screen, use the ADVANCED button

I.) Use the WINS tab

J.) Disable NETBIOS over TCP/IP (check it)
AND, in services.msc, disable "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" service (and might as well stop it while you are there too)...

(JAVASCRIPT & turning it off in IE is a pain, it will 'nag you' to no end if you do... Opera allows for native rightclick on page concerned SITE PREFERENCES, so you can GLOBALLY turn off javascript in its Tools menu, Quick Preferences for ALL sites, & then, make exceptions sites by site, simply by rightclicking on said site's page... NoScript in FireFox is a bit more complex, but can do the same job!)

DONE! apk

WarEagleAU · « **Reply #27 on:** January 16, 2009, 04:17:53 PM »

Sorry it took me so long APK

APK · « **Reply #28 on:** January 16, 2009, 05:08:30 PM »

Quote from: WarEagleAU on January 16, 2009, 04:17:53 PM

Sorry it took me so long APK

No big deal, the world is still here & all that... lol!

* I was just curious, as to WHICH WEBSITE your wife was unable to use for her banking is all... & once I have that? I can tell IF that is being blocked incorrectly in the HOSTS file, thus, seeing IF it was the cause of her difficulty...

APK

P.S.=> redfcu.org &/or www.redfcu.org are NOT in the HOSTS file (not now @ least, this is sure, as I just checked)... thus, I have to say it was JAVA or JavaScript being turned off most likely which caused your wife's ills on that site... has to be!

Thanks for the reply man! apk

Ashen · « **Reply #29 on:** January 17, 2009, 10:23:37 AM »

well apk, tpu's post options like bold and such dont work, nore do system stats on tpu, if u remove/dissable the hosts file they work fine :/

for sys specs it adds #sysinfo to the end of the url tho its not sposta when u click that, i do not dissable java script so thats not it, duno what else to tell you m8 could just be something to do with the size of the damn thing

ShoutBox!

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Author Topic: APK HOSTS FILE UPDATE (2/1/2009 - 644,842++ entries (5,524 new entries added)) (Read 7802 times)