HOSTS file protection?

[Guest]

[jon.bean]

How useful is HOSTS file protection (i.e., blacklisting dangerous URLs)?? I added HOSTSman to put 60,000 banned URLs in my HOSTS file.

Do I need it?

Will Comodo incorporate something like this?

[Ark]

Quite, i often used the host file to avoid ads i don't like.

[Melih]

How useful is HOSTS file protection (i.e., blacklisting dangerous URLs)?? I added HOSTSman to put 60,000 banned URLs in my HOSTS file.

Do I need it?

Will Comodo incorporate something like this?

where do they get the blacklisted URLs from?

Melih

[sded]

Most popular is the MVPS hosts file at http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm (which I use), although http://hosts-file.net/?s=Download is also widely used, and there are others.  Updated generally at least monthly.

[Melih]

Thanks for that.
where do they get it from I wonder?

Melih

[sded]

The HOSTS files developments are actually run by security organizations that accept and validate inputs from users and security professionals.   The MVPS HOSTS file is a project run by the Microsoft MVPs as a service to the community, for example; the others are similar.

[Melih]

The HOSTS files developments are actually run by security organizations that accept and validate inputs from users and security professionals.   The MVPS HOSTS file is a project run by the Microsoft MVPs as a service to the community, for example; the others are similar.

Thank you for this useful info Sded.
really appreciate it.

thanks
Melih

[Luketan]

Come on.

Why does Comodo have to do everything? What is wrong with the current hosts file system (personally i dont use it cos I think it is useless but that's another story) Comodo aims to be the MS of the security world?

Face it, even Comodo does not have the resources to be best in everything. Heck even MS has problems with getting a world class AV... And MS is not trying to copy every other security product in the world while Comodo is trying to create firewalls, hips, virtualization, antivirus, antispyware, and a million other security functions all at one time.

Seriously man, if comodo is serious about security, there is only ONE thing i want them to do. Create a safe OS. That's the key. You can run a million security apps, but if the OS is vulnerable you are going to get owned sooner or later..

Throw all your vaunted thousands of programmers on creating a secure and usable OS...

[Ragwing]

Come on.

Why does Comodo have to do everything?

No one says so, but as this forum part is named Which Product do you want Comodo to develop next?, I think it's obvious that you suggest things you would like Comodo to develop?

Cheers,
Ragwing

[panic]

personally i dont use it cos I think it is useless

Why is it useless?

[Luketan]

I think it's obvious that you suggest things you would like Comodo to develop?

Cheers,
Ragwing

Actually no. I much prefer Comodo focus on a few core products, rather than to be try to be all things for all people...

You are a big comodo fan, so you don't need me to list all the new products comodo is trying to create already in the space of a few months...

Kind of amazing considering that this security thing is a sidebusiness for comodo and they are not getting a cent from all this... I'm not surprised that quality has suffered.

[Melih]

Actually no. I much prefer Comodo focus on a few core products, rather than to be try to be all things for all people...

You are a big comodo fan, so you don't need me to list all the new products comodo is trying to create already in the space of a few months...

Kind of amazing considering that this security thing is a sidebusiness for comodo and they are not getting a cent from all this... I'm not surprised that quality has suffered.

1) if you don't want to tell us which products u want us to devleop then don't! (even though you suggested we should develop a secure OS) .. and just like others who are suggesting what they would want us to develop.

2)Security is NOT a side business as such but a core to our strategy of Building Trusted and Secure computing/internet platform. Without security there is no authentication.

3)One thing you have to realise the insecurity cannot be solved by single products. It has to have a holistic approach and thats what we are trying to achive. We started with a network firewall created a pretty decent one, then went ahead and took the challange of HIPS and i believe created a decent and powerful hips, and there are other areas we are attacking in an attemp to create a "Holistic Security Layer" and NOT "bundled" and discrete as it exists today. You do not know our abilities hence you should give us the benefit of the doubt and support our efforts as the main beneficiaries are going to be a billion of internet users!

thanks
Melih

[Data]

Hosts file is a neat extra layer of protection. I use two, merged.

Biggest downer with the Hosts file is that it's easily attacked. Write protection is useless.
Perhaps if Comodo firewall, or BOclean put a real file lock on it so it couldn't be changed without the user releasing that lock, would be rather usefull?

Anyone tried adding the Hosts file to "my protected files"? Does it work?

[tetsuo55]

Although i don't agree that the hostsfile should be used for blocking most of the malware it blocks (the adresses listed are constantly changing and so are their ip's)

I do think that accurate blocking of malware adresses requires a combination of the url's and the ip's maybe comodo could find a way to combine the 2 into the firewall's blacklist. (ofcourse temporary and permenant whitelisting would be needed)

I don't use the hostsfile anymore because it also blocks a lot of valid websites(usually webshops)


However i do think that comodo should be actively scanning the content of the hosts file, and protect it from being edited, instead have an option somewhere to edit it through the comodo interface. This same interfact could be used to (automatically) download and install (updated) hosts files

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