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Re: computer issues: part infinity
Your HOSTS file is just a text file that lives in your Windows directory. Basically, it acts as sort of a phone book for your computer. When your computer gets told to load USCHO, for instance, it first tries to look up www.uscho.com in the HOSTS file, and get the website's phone number (called an IP address.) If it finds it there, it goes ahead and calls it, loading the website. (If it doesn't find it, it has other ways, but that's a bunch of gobbledygook for another time.)
What you're doing is downloading and installing a new phone book that has a giant list of malicious websites linked to a intentionally bad number. (It's 127.0.0.1, which is a special number that always leads you back to your own computer.) That way if your computer gets told to go somewhere nasty by a pop-up or hijack or script or something, it simply dials the bad number and loads nothing. Nice little extra layer of protection.
Just follow the instructions on the website. You can't really mess anything up by trying it. Note that there are special instructions if you have Windows Vista or 7 (they're actually easier.)
Originally posted by RaceBoarder
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What is that HOSTS thing? Is it a file that I download or am I changing directories on my PC... That page has me a bit confused.... Although that is something that is relatively easy to do when talking me and technology 
What you're doing is downloading and installing a new phone book that has a giant list of malicious websites linked to a intentionally bad number. (It's 127.0.0.1, which is a special number that always leads you back to your own computer.) That way if your computer gets told to go somewhere nasty by a pop-up or hijack or script or something, it simply dials the bad number and loads nothing. Nice little extra layer of protection.
Just follow the instructions on the website. You can't really mess anything up by trying it. Note that there are special instructions if you have Windows Vista or 7 (they're actually easier.)
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