OT - for geeks - freeware personal web proxy server

[.p.jm.]

If you don't know what a HOSTS file is, read up on it.

Then DL this jewel and use it :

This thing automatically updates from various published 'Hosts' files ( if you tell it to ) every day, and blocks not only ads, etc, but also known malware sites etc. TOO cool !!

Make sure to check out ALL the 3 EXE's included in the distro - ( ZIP or 'installer' distro build as you choose ), including the server, which is a personal proxy server. It speeds up some websites I frequent from 4+ seconds down to 1- seconds, at the same time managing a HOSTS file with 135,000 blocked 'bad' websites ( if you allow the maximum download of reference files ) blocked as ad-servers, malware-servers, etc.

********************************************* (as I emailed them ) *****************************************

This is somewhere between 'cool' and 'scary cool' ;-)

Having overflowed the filter list buffer on my router (Netgear FVS318 ), it kept going into 'test' mode and locking up. I was on the verge of buying a new one. Then at a guess I cleared out the 'filter' list I had in it, and that fixed the problem. So, I stumbled upon the old 'Hosts' file solution, and it works perfectly.

I've been manually managing my hosts file, and it was so large ( from sources like MVPS ) I had to cut it way down ( too slow to open and edit ), which of course meant giving up a lof of the protection.

Using your Hosts Server is AMAZING ! With a fully populated Hosts, pages that I know the load times well are VERY much faster, with a large HOSTS file. I can turn the speed on and off by enabling / disabling uyour HostsServer. Amazing !

Thanks for the INSANELY great tool ! IN-freaking-valuable !

[HankG]

I've been using a hosts file for years. I switched to Mozilla because IE was a pain in the ass with script errors. There is evidence that it's working, but with some sites that I've blocked, I keep getting .......waiting for xyz to download... statements.

BTW, in case you (or anyone else) didn't know, you can use a hosts file to speed up your 'normal' surfing. Instead of entering 127.0.0.1, enter the IP address of the site you wish to download. You can find it at:

This eliminates the step of your computer, having to go out to a 'name server' to translate the name to an IP.

HankG

[.p.jm.]

What's really nifty about the site I linked is not just that it has a nice Hosts auto-updater, but that it includes a proxy server that is WAY faster than 'the same HOSTS file without the proxy server'.