Cyber Security Awareness Tip of the Day: October 13

If you followed the Atrivo (Intercage) Takedown, it is also likely that you also read Microsoft MVP Mike Burgess' reports about the thousands of suspended domains. The IP addresses for those suspended domains were in the MVPS Hosts file. As a result, with the MVPS Hosts file, access was blocked.

For those unfamiliar, Mike defines the Hosts File as follows:

"The Hosts file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. This file is loaded into memory (cache) at startup, then Windows checks the Hosts file before it queries any DNS servers, which enables it to override addresses in the DNS. This prevents access to the listed sites by redirecting any connection attempts back to the local (your) machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists."

October 13 Tip of the Day:

Block access to undesirable sites with the HOSTS File.



MVPS HOSTS File Information:

• The MVPS HOSTS file: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
• Download: hosts.zip: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.zip
• How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS file: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts2.htm
• HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hostsfaq.htm
• HOSTS file update notices: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/updates.htm

Visit the Hosts News blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/hostsnews/default.aspx

Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...