TCP/IP - HOSTS files can improve internet performance

So you want to improve your internet performance? Seems to be a little slow, eh? There are quite a few things that you can do on your own computer to make things faster - even if you have a DSL or cable modem.

Once action you can take is to edit your HOSTS file. Here's how that gains you performance. The internet uses TCP/IP addresses to identify a site, yet human beings use URLs. The method by which a URL is translated to a TCP/IP address is called DNS (to simply things greatly). Each time you enter a URL your browser asks a DNS server to translate the name into a TCP/IP address (that's the "find" message you see flash on the bottom of the browser). This may involve going to several DNS servers if the information is not on the one that was asked.

As you can see, this can be quite a lengthy process. How do HOSTS files help? A HOSTS file is a simple text file located in your system which bypasses all of this. A sample is shown below.

127.0.0.1         localhost
204.168.27.71     www.jasonproject.org
207.87.7.101      www.financenter.com
128.11.100.130    www.visa.com
130.65.122.33     myron.sjsu.edu

The file consists of one or more lines, each with a TCP/IP address and the associated domain name (don't include the http or ftp.)  To edit the file, simple use a simple text editor such as Notepad.

How do you find out the TCP/IP address of a site? That's easy. Just get to your MSDOS command prompt and issue the PING command. For example, to find out the address of www.microsoft.com, issue PING www.microsoft.com.

Here's where the potential problems begin. Suppose Microsoft moves it's site to a different address? Using the standard DNS server method, it all works fine. However, if you've changed your HOSTS file, then obviously it is not automatically updated with the new address.

Thus, if you find that your browser suddenly cannot find a site, one of the first things to check is your HOSTS file. This is especially true if you've been editing the file in the past.

Remember, products such as TweakDUN automatically edit the HOSTS file for you. So if you being having problems finding sites but have NOT edited the HOSTS file, it's still a good idea to check it out.

Also note these entries are case sensitive. Thus WWW.MICROSOFT.COM is not the same as www.microsoft.com.