On Mar 1, 6:47 pm, "Bgreer5050" <bgreer5...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Is there a way to use wild cards with the host file? I want to use the host
> file to prevent internet access by having the user automatically directed to
> a specific internal ip address no matter what url he puts in.
>
> Thanks

No, you cannot add wildcards to the Hosts File, as it blocks sites by
specific domain. However, you CAN use wildcards with a PAC file,
which can be used in cooperation with your Hosts file. For example,
on my system, I use the MVPS Hosts File and the BlockAdverts (merged
with MVPS). I then use eDexter which has a PAC file that can be
edited and wildcards added. If you look at the PAC file in Notepad,
it looks almost identical to the Adblock file (used with Firefox). It
is really effective and blocks almost all of the gargabe out there.
You can read about the eDexter program and download the program (very
small) at: http://www.pyrenean.com/edexter.php
I have used this combination for a long time and is a good way to have
all your bases covered.