I would like to bring your attention to this subject.

Users of SpyBot S&D and SpywareBlaster will know that both applications essentially immunize a system against incursion by parasites, assuming that the parasites are known to either application.

There is another string you can add to your bow, and it is not so well known, hence the reason for this post. The next paragraph is taken directly from the MVPS Hosts web site..

"What it does ...
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 machine. Another feature of the HOSTS file is its ability to block other applications from connecting to the Internet, providing the entry exists............."

I would like you to visit this web site, and read more about it..

http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

OK. At the end of the document, there is a reference to a utility called HOSTSMAN. This little program makes installation and update of a HOSTS file so easy, and it works with Vista and XP.

You can get 'Hostsman' from here.....

http://www.abelhadigital.com/2007/06/hostsman-3040-released.html

Follow the advice in the first link, and set the update Hosts file to overwrite the old one. Also set the option to auto update the Hosts file in Hostsman options. This will get over the problem of you forgetting to do it.

If the Hosts file blocks the visitor counter or some such device that you can't live without on your web site or blog,  Hostsman will allow you to easily edit the file such that you can re-instate the counter such that you can once again see it.

So what are you waiting for? You have a utility download and setup to perform.