I am using Windows 10 I used a custom hosts file from a website called Energized Pro. Here is a link to the hosts file itself.
I downloaded the porn ad blocker hosts file and I just replaced my original host file with this hosts file.
After that, I can't access any tab on Chrome browser. I am now using Tor browser to type this question. Whenever I open a new address tab on Chrome browser, the tab loads so slow, and eventually it will show:
“Internet interruption.”
Also, my internet connection is showing connected but "No Internet" the whole time! However, I can still use Tor browser to browse. I am using the school’s super fast Wi-Fi right now, so it's my computer's problem.
Most importantly, I can't edit the host file at all. I turned off every single startup app, and I immediately opened up Notepad as administrator and tried to edit host file. When I tried to save it, it says,
“The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.”
So this is the dead end for me. I used the Tor browser to find solution, but none.
I can’t replace this file, you can’t rename this file. There’s nothing I can do now, so I am here to look for help. I can’t use Tor browser to access my college board account either, idk why, it says:
“Access denied”
Again, I can't edit anything in it.
btw, the microsoft instruction doesn't work. I couldn't rename it or replace it with another file
21 Answer
You need to restore the hosts file on your machine to it’s default state.
Microsoft has instructions on how to restore the default hosts file on various versions of Windows that can be found here. Since you are using Windows 10, the default hosts file is this:
# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
# localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost If you somehow cannot edit and save that hosts file directly into %WinDir%\System32\Drivers\Etc right now, I would recommend saving that default hosts file as hosts somewhere else on the system, boot into safe mode and then move that default hosts file into %WinDir%\System32\Drivers\Etc.
Once that is done, reboot and all should be cleared up.
