The Windows Hosts file can be used to block or redirect hostnames. A hostname is the core part of a web address or local address, for instance ghacks.net or localhost. Each hosts file entry specifies an IP address and a hostname, which basically tells the system that the hostname should be resolved with that IP address.

The DNS server, that is usually queried, is bypassed for all entries in the Hosts file. Let me give you two examples where this may be beneficial. Users could block known advertising companies or spammers by redirecting requests to the local PC. This basically loads nothing when a website tries to load an advertisement, popup or other element.

Another example are web developers. Say you just moved your website to a new server and the IP changed in the process. DNS servers need up to 48 hours to propagate, which means that it is difficulty to test the website on the new server after the move if the DNS server is still redirecting the request to the old server. The web developer could assign the new IP address to the website to avoid the propagation issue. (Please see Work On Websites Before DNS Propagation for a detailed guide on that subject)

It has to be noted that the Hosts file can also be exploited by malicious software, either by redirecting the user from legit sites to questionable ones, or by blocking access to security software that they might need to remove those programs again from the PC.

The location of the Windows Hosts file

The Windows Hosts file is located under the following path:

%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\

The %SystemRoot% in the beginning is a variable that is set to the Windows directory. Most Windows users have installed the operating system on c:\windows which would mean that the hosts file can be found under c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

It may be necessary to display hidden system folders if Windows Explorer is used to navigate to the folder. A click on Tools > Folder Options in Windows Explorer and a switch to the View tab opens a configuration menu where hidden folders can be set to be revealed. Locate “hide protected operating system files” and “hidden files and folders” and make sure that the former is unchecked, and that the latter is set to “Show hidden files, folders and drives”. The settings can be easily reversed this way when needed.

The Hosts file itself can be edited with any plain text editor, Notepad for instance which ships with Windows. You should check first if the Hosts file is write protected. This is done by right-clicking the file and selecting properties from the opening context menu.

Look at the attributes section of the General tab. The file is write protected if read-only is checked. If it is, remove the entry. If you keep the read-only setting it is not possible to edit or reset the hosts file. Remember to set the read-only attribute again once you are finished to prevent third party editing of the hosts file.

The default Windows Hosts file has no active entries. Please note that a line beginning with # is a comment line which will not be executed or processed.

Editing the Windows Hosts file

Take a look at the examples in the comments. The syntax is always the same, first the IP address that you want to redirect the hostname to, then the hostname separated by at least one space.

• To add entries to the hosts file you would enter the IP address first in the next blank line, followed by a space (or by pressing tab) and the hostname (which can be a domain name or localhost).
• To delete Windows Hosts file entries select the whole line and press the delete button on the keyboard.
• To edit individual entries click in the line of the mapping that you want to edit and make the changes.
• To reset the hosts file simply remove all lines that are not comments. Microsoft has created a Fix-Ii solution to reset the hosts file which can be used instead. Users just have to execute the program once they have downloaded it to the local system. The main benefit is that they do not need to go through the manual process this way.

Please note that you need to save the changes before they become available. In Notepad you would select File > Save from the menu to do that.

And that’s how your edit and reset the Windows Hosts file. Please leave any open questions or comments in the comment section below.

Software uninstallers such as Revo Uninstaller or IOBit Uninstaller perform a scan of the operating system after the uninstallation to catch those leftovers giving the user the choice to keep or delete them.

These uninstallers have another advantage over the standard Windows uninstallation Control Panel applet as they provide the user with additional information about the installed programs.

Uninstall A Program displays up to five information about each program: Name, Publisher, Installed On, Size and Version. It does not display information about the program path, date the program was last used on, installation source and multiple others that might be useful to the computer users.

uninstall a program control panel

Revo Uninstaller, one of the most popular uninstallation programs, displays those additional information which adds to the usability of the application.

Improving Uninstall A Program

Users who are stuck with – or have to use – the Uninstall A Program applet can extend the information that are displayed in the table. A right-click on the header row in the window displays a context menu with a more link as the last entry.

uninstall program options

The more link opens a new window in which the user can add or remove details from the program uninstallation window.

The details provided are extensive ranging from the program location on the local hard drive to contact information, installation source and readme or support information.

A click on a checkbox next to each detail will enable or disable the information in the software uninstallation window depending on its previous state.

uninstall program details

The same configuration window can be used to change the order of columns in Uninstall or change a program. The same effect is also available by dragging and dropping column headers directly in the main window.

Adding details to the software uninstallation control panel applet adds valuable information to that process. The installation location can for instance be important if multiple versions of the same program have been installed.

Not all details that are enabled provide information on every software entry on the other hand. Windows can retrieve some information like the last used date or installation location but developers are responsible for contact and support information for instance.

uninstall program

The image above shows a modified uninstallation applet in Windows that is displaying the software name, publisher, size and installation location.

The same mechanism applies to uninstalling updates in Windows as well. It is possible to add and remove information from the window in the same way.

uninstall windows update

It can for instance be helpful to add the location of each installed Windows Update to the list so that identification and manual processing becomes easier.

Do you have additional tips about the standard Windows software and update uninstallation applet? Let us know in the comments.

How To Show Hidden Files In Windows 7

All settings related to hidden files and folders are configurable in the Folder Option dialog. The easiest way to get there is to click on the Control Panel in the Start menu. A click on the Appearance and Personalization category will display a link to the Folder Options where the hidden file and folder settings can be configured. Another option is to open a Windows Explorer window, click the Organize link in the toolbar, and from there click on Folder and Search options. The Hidden files and folders options are to be found on the View tab under Advanced Settings.

The four entries of relevance in this menu are:

• Hidden files and folders
• Hide empty drives in the Computer folder
• Hide extensions for known file types
• Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)

Hidden files and folders

The NTFS file system used by Windows supports several attributes that can be assigned to files, such as Read Only, Encrypted, Compressed and Hidden. Hidden files and folders are simply normal files with the Hidden attribute. Windows Explorer will not display files with the Hidden attribute to the user if the Folder Options setting is configured as such, however the operating system and applications have normal access to such files. Changing the Windows Explorer setting to “Show hidden files, folders and drives” will enable the user to see all hidden files and folders, with the exception of protected operating system files.

Hide protected operating system files

Operating system files are files that get installed with Windows 7. These files are necessary for the operation of the system. Windows users come usually into contact with these files only when they follow a tweaking guide that asks them to manipulate such a file.

Removing the checkmark from the selection box displays all protected operating system files in Windows Explorer. This is not recommended as it increases the chance that these files may be edited or deleted accidentally by the user.

Hide extensions for known file types

Windows 7 hides the file extensions of known file types by default. This mean that file.txt will be displayed simply as “file”, and application.exe will be displayed simply as “application”. This setting is often problematic as it sometimes becomes difficulty to identify a file type by its icon alone. It is generally recommended to display file extensions all the time to avoid this problems and make file identification easier.

Hide empty drives in the computer folder

Empty drives such as empty DVD drives are hidden by default in the Windows 7 operating system. This is an interesting feature that might cause some confusion, especially on new PCs. Users who do not see their DVD drive in My Computer might think that it is not properly installed. Users who wish to display all drives all the time can uncheck the associated option to hide empty drives.

You can start the Event Viewer in Windows using the keyboard shortcut [Windows R], typing [eventvwr.msc] and hitting [enter]. Navigate in the Event Manager using the menu on the left side using the following path: Applications and Services Logs => Microsoft => Windows => Diagnostics-Performance => Operational. This will lead directly to the location that contains performance diagnostics not only for the Windows shutdown but also for standby and boot performance issues.

A good way to start is to sort the columns by Task Category. Click on the Task Category title and look for Shutdown Performance Monitoring entries. Each entry will contain information about the application or process that was causing problems during shutdown including the time it took to shutdown that process. A process that takes very long to shutdown is usually the problem for the shutdown problems.

Once the process or application has been identified it is a matter of finding out why it is causing the delay. It could be outdated or incompatible with that version of Windows and to a lesser extent a faulty version or driver. A good way to start is to look for updates for that software and install those if they are available. It might be easier on the other hand to simply deactivate or uninstall the software if that is possible.