Dont know about the list linked directly, but I have used hostfiles to block plenty of sites. I avoid timeouts by running a small http service on localhost so that your browser can get a quick 404 response instead of a timeout..
Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
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Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#42Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#43Be aware that this blocks Google Analytics and similar services. IMO it's a really bad idea to encourage users to block these services. For example, they are used by pretty much every software company to IMPROVE the product, and if they can't get data on what people use the most in their product, it may not get the attention it needs.
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#44I have a script setup in my router (TomatoUSB) that downloads a known hosts list and maps all the domains to 0.0.0.0 to block ads and other bad content for all the devices on my network. Generally, I enjoy not seeing all the ads, but some sites (Slickdeals, I'm looking at you) make such extensive use of affiliate and ads sites that it makes the site barely useable. For slickdeals I ended up making a Chrome extensions…
I like this approach, although I don't have a router that I can flash with TomatoUSB. Instead I setup adsuck[1] which is a DNS blacklisting daemon. It can be setup on individual machines, or on the perimeter like in your case. I prefer the DNS approach as hosts files can grow to be quite lengthy (article proves it) and can in certain cases cause performance issues, as parsing several KBs of entries prior to sending a DNS request is noticeable.
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#45Anyone got a version that is only blocking malicious sites? I don't want to block ads and stuff.
Why not just delete the entries which block ads?
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#46Madness.
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#47Does anyone else see this as a Shock site gold mine?
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#48I'd prefer using Disconnect and Adblock - I usually allow the ads on sites I read daily - at least they receive the impressions, even if I don't click on them.
Facebook and Twitter buttons on the other hand - sorry guys, you stay blocked.
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#49There are some really poor ideas in there like blocking the domains of affiliate marketing networks. That won't just block ads, it'll prevent you from clicking through from affiliate sites to vendors' websites.
I may be in the minority, but I like that. If I really want to get to the vendor site I will type in the URL directly, this is generally safer than clicking links anyway.
Re: Using a Hosts File To Make The Internet Not Suck As Much
#50I see a load of porn sites. Just how does this Make The Internet Not Suck? (damn it's even more annoying to write incorrect casing than read it.) I thought this was going to block the fifty "Share this! Email this!" buttons on websites or something... If you don't visit porn websites, you won't visit these domains anyway; what's the point in blocking them in a huge hosts file?
You never know where a URL redirection service (e.g., bit.ly) is going to send you.