HOWTO: Get Instant Access to the HOSTS file
[ 1 May 2007 ]
Marked under time savers, windows.

The HOSTS file is a file used to map IP addresses to domains. There are many uses for it — my favorite it to block ad servers. The HOSTS file has no extension, so you can’t associate a program with it automatically to open it all the time. Instead, you can create a shortcut that calls a text editor of your choice to open it.

Create a desktop shortcut with the following program path to open the HOSTS file in Notepad:

notepad "c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts"

Create a desktop shortcut with the following program path to open the HOSTS file in WordPad:

"c:\program files\windows nt\accessories\wordpad.exe" "c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts"

If you want to auto-open it in any other editor, just change the first path to the program editor’s main executable.

Once you have your shorcut, rename it to hosts and drop it in C:\windows\ so you can run it from the Run box by entering in hosts and hitting enter.

Watch a screen cast of it right now:

“Hardware: the parts of a computer that can be kicked.”
          - Jeff Pesis