Madshrimps Forum Madness - You can’t block Facebook using Windows 8′s hosts file

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You can’t block Facebook using Windows 8′s hosts file

While you can still add any host you want to the hosts file and map it to an IP, you will notice that some of the mappings will get reset once you open an Internet browser. If you only save, close and re-open the hosts file you will still see the new mappings in the the file, but once you open a web browser, some of them are removed automatically from the hosts file.

Two of the sites that you can’t block using the hosts file are facebook.com and ad.doubleclick.net, the former the most popular social networking site, the second a popular ad serving domain.

The strange thing is that even write protecting the file does not have an effect on it as entries are still removed once you open a web browser. Actually, any kind of Internet connection seems to be enough for that behavior. If you open the Windows Store for instance, the entries get removed as well automatically.

http://www.ghacks.net/2012/08/19/you...8s-hosts-file/

solution: http://www.howtogeek.com/122404/how-...8s-hosts-file/

Quote:

Ways to Bypass the Restriction

Because this restriction is put in place by the Windows Defender (formerly known as Microsoft Security Essentials) antivirus included with Windows 8, you have several options for bypassing it:

Exclude the hosts file from being monitored in Windows Defender – If you want to use Windows Defender instead of a third-party antivirus, this is your best option. This does mean that Windows won’t protect you from malicious hosts file entries added by malware, however.
Install a Third-Party Antivirus – Many third-party antivirus applications won’t be as aggressive about policing your hosts file. Many, such as avast! and AVG, are free. When you install a third-party antivirus, Windows Defender will disable itself.

You can also disable Windows Defender entirely, but that isn’t a good idea unless you’re using a third-party antivirus. Even if you’re a careful computer user, having multiple layers of protection is a good security practice.