This should get you started in understanding the Hosts file and how it can help protect your computer. It is possible to force your browser to use the DNS Server Windows specifies, but you’ll have to dig through your browser’s settings. That results in the browser completely bypassing the hosts file.

A lot of browsers will enable DNS Over HTTPS automatically and use their own DNS servers. The hosts file can only be used to block internet traffic if your browser is deferring to the DNS Server specified in the Windows operating system. RELATED: How DNS Over HTTPS (DoH) Will Boost Privacy Onlineįor our purposes here, it limits the utility of the hosts file. DOH encrypts your DNS requests so that they can’t be intercepted and read by third parties that might be snooping - in general, this is a great thing. Why Isn’t The Hosts File Blocking Connections?Īll of the major modern browsers offer DNS Over HTTPS (DOH). You can ignore the IPv6 section in most cases just editing the IPv4 section should do what you need.

You will notice that with Ubuntu there is also a section for IPv6. Now that it is open we can edit it to redirect Facebook into nothing. RELATED: How to Control sudo Access on Linux Note: If you get a message notifying you that Vim is not installed, just run “sudo apt install vim” in a Terminal. You’ll need to enter your password before the command will execute. Open up a Terminal, then enter: sudo vim /etc/hosts You’ll need to launch Vim prefaced by sudo, which is conceptually and functionally similar to “Run as Administrator” on Windows operating systems. RELATED: Define a Great Vim Profile Using. The hosts file is protected, and your regular user account will not be able to edit it. Like Windows, Ubuntu’s hosts file is located in the /etc/ folder, though here it is in the root of the drive. For this example we will use Vim, since it is one of the traditional text editors in Linux. You can use your favorite command-line editor or your favorite GUI text editor.

In Ubuntu (and most Linux distributions) you can edit the hosts file directly in the Terminal.

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