May 2011 - Posts

Updating the MVPS HOSTS file via 3rd party programs

For those of you using 3rd party programs to update or install the MVPS HOSTS file ... a few simple changes may be needed.

For HostsMan users ... open HostsMan, click Hosts and select: Manage Update Sources
Click to Highlight MVPS Hosts, click Edit source and paste the following updated URL: (click Ok and you are done)

http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.zip


For HostsXpert users version 4.4 has been updated to reflect the new MVPS HOSTS location ...

For other 3rd party programs ... I've tried to contact a few, but sadly no replies as yet ... if you use one of these and need
help let me know and I'll try to resolve the issue ... although a few of these programs are no longer maintained ...

 

Posted by winhelp2002 with 1 comment(s)

Some thoughts on IE9

When I first installed IE9 when it was released I didn't like the performance ... although it was faster on some sites, others were really slow to open. A few sites that I normally visit I couldn't even access ... after researching the problem, it turns out my video card drivers were not compatible and needed updating.

It's easy enough to tell ... open Internet Options > Advanced tab and the first option = Accelerated graphics, Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering.
 
This option will be checked and greyed out if your card does not support the hardware acceleration. When the option is selectable and unchecked, hardware acceleration is enabled. Since my video card did not have a new vendor issued drivers, I had to purchase a new card thru Amazon, install it then use the newly released updated drivers ... and what do you know ... the above option is no longer checked and grayed out. All the previous sites I had trouble accessing are no longer an issue ...

The new card also increased my Windows Experience - Gaming graphics score from 3.8 to 6.2 ... so it was well worth the investment.
Also see:  Getting the Most from IE9 and Your GPU

Have you tried enabling the "Tracking Protection" option?

Here is a good article to get you started: IE9 and Tracking Protection - By Ed Bott | February 13, 2011

I did try it and was not impressed ... the "Personalized List" option provided by Microsoft can not be edited or added to ... Huh? ... so it's pretty much a waste of time.
The other list provided by several 3rd parties (see list here) were not impressive ... several are nothing more than a very short list of 3rd parties to block ... and
all of these entries are pretty much included in the MVPS HOSTS file ... so nothing gained there. I would not recomment the Truste list at all ...

So I set out to create my own list (see below) ... it takes a lot of time and effort to see what works and what doesn't ... but once configured it can do a few things the
HOSTS file can not ... now they make a real good combination. And before anyone asks ... no I have no plans on maintaining a list for public use ...

If you want to see what's being blocked on a site ... load the Developer Tools (press F12) then click the Console tab and refresh the page (F5) you are viewing.
Go back to the Console and anything blocked by the Tracking Protection List will be noted ...

Another way is to load the Developer Tools and click Network ... click the Start capturing button, then refresh the page or click a internal link on the page ... then view
the output in the Network tab ... look under the Result column = 502 entries = blocked by hosts file or "(Aborted)" entries = Tracking Protection List

Tip: To express your preference not to be tracked in IE9 - without actually loading a Tracking List ... select the option near the bottom of the page:
"Click here to add an empty Tracking Protection list" ... then revisit the "Do Not Track Test Page"

See above screenshot - it will add the Microsoft (empty list) option ... the idea here is even if you disable any other Tracking lists you may subscribe to
your browser will still send out the "DoNotTrack" header ...

Hopefully some kind of standards will be adopted as to sites that do not honor the "DoNotTrack" header ... but it's doubtful ...
We all know "it's all about the almighty $$$" ... and to hell with your personal Privacy rights or how much bandwidth advertisements consume ...

 

Posted by winhelp2002 with 1 comment(s)

MVPS HOSTS File Update May-09-2011


The MVPS HOSTS file was recently updated [May-09-2011]
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm

Download: hosts.zip (149 kb)
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.zip

How To: Download and Extract the HOSTS file
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts2.htm

HOSTS File - Frequently Asked Questions
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hostsfaq.htm

Note: the "text" version makes a great resource for determining possible unwanted connections ...
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt (603 kb)

Get notified when the MVPS HOSTS file is updated
http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/updates.htm

Posted by winhelp2002 with 4 comment(s)

The MVPS HOSTS has moved to a new server

The MVPS HOSTS site has moved to a new server ... please update any links you may have. All previous links will still work by simply being redirected to the new location. Please note we are still being hosted by the great folks at mvps.org ... however with the new server it was necessary to change locations.

[Example]
Old location: http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/
New location: http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/

I'm working on a new HOSTS update which should be ready in a few days ...

Posted by winhelp2002 with 3 comment(s)