editing hosts file

[jonnyD]

I tried to block a couple of websites in my hosts file by adding text in the format as follows:

127.0.0.1 www.whateverwebite.com
127.0.0.1 www.anotherexample.com

The websites were not blocked.  My default browser is Mozilla Firefox, although I also have an Internet Explorer icon on my desktop which I also occasionally.  Regardless of which browser I use, doesn't it have to access the hosts file to translate the domain names into IP addresses?  And if that's the case, why are the websites I chose not blocked?

[Fed]

Is it saved as HOSTS without a file extension?
This may not be apparent if your windows explorer is set to hide files with known extensions.

[patio]

How To's of the Hosts File

Grab the beverage of your choice...it's a good read.

[jonnyD]

I've seen this page before and the MVPS page with the unwanted sd-site lists.   Maybe up the road I'll put this page in place in my hosts file, but right now I'm interested in blocking particular websites which are not ad sites.

Do you know if each browser (Mozilla Firefox & Internet Explorer) relates to the hosts file differently?  I would figure once I get into the hosts file, regardless of which browser I'm in, and put the site addresses I want blocked there, that's all I have to do.
And yet the sites I entered in the manner I put in the above first entry are not blocked........

[Deerpark]

The browser shouldn't matter. All of them rely on Windows for DNS resolving and Windows should be looking in the hosts file before resolving a DNS name.

Try removing the www part so you only got the host names. I.e. computerhope.com instead of www.computerhope.com

you can also try clearing the Windows DNS cache:
Go to start and select Run...
type ipconfig /flushdns and hit enter.

[jonnyD]

OK, did both - the flush and remove the "www".  Nada.  Still see the websites I don't want to see.  Any ideas?