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windows-7cmdhosts

How to edit hosts file via CMD?


Hello I'd like to block some websites directly from the command prompt.

echo like this:

0.0.0.0 websitename.com

How can I do this? (OS: Windows 7)


Solution

  • echo 0.0.0.0 websitename.com >> %WINDIR%\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts

    the >> appends the output of echo to the file.

    Note that there are two reasons this might not work like you want it to. You may be aware of these, but I mention them just in case.

    First, it won't affect a web browser, for example, that already has the current, "real" IP address resolved. So, it won't always take effect right away.

    Second, it requires you to add an entry for every host name on a domain; just adding websitename.com will not block www.websitename.com, for example.