Windows 8 Hosts File – How to Edit the Hosts File

hosts-fileprocess-explorerwindows 8

I'm trying to edit my hosts file in Windows 8 Pro.

When I open C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts in Notepad++ or any other text editor, make changes and attempt to save, I get a dialog that tells me "Save failed: Please check if this file is opened in another program."

I can't think of what would be using it (other than a browser, IIS, and Windows Defender). I've never encountered this problem in Windows 7. I have used Process Explorer to try and identify any processes that are currently using the hosts file, but when I search Process Explorer for the "Handle or DLL substring" 'hosts' it doesn't return anything. I've looked around Process Explorer to see if there is any other way to search for processes consuming the file, but haven't had any luck.

I've also tried simply stopping the Windows Defender service and stopping the WWW Service.

Best Answer

You have to run Notepad++ as administrator. Otherwise you won't have the neccessary permissions to edit that file.

Related Solutions

Add Windows Defender to Right Click Menu in Windows Explorer – How to Guide for Windows 8

Avirk's answer actually doesn't scan a file or folder directly, it just initiates a quick or full scan of your entire computer.

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/add-scan-with-windows-defender-option-context-menu-windows-8 outlines a method to get the scan to work on folders. I think with some modifications it can be made to work on files as well.

UPDATE:
It is fairly easy to get this to work on files, just change the /folder/ part of the registry keys to /*/.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\WindowsDefender]
"MUIVerb"="Scan With Windows Defender"
"Icon"="%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\WindowsDefender\Command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MpCmdRun.exe\" -scan -scantype 3 -SignatureUpdate -file %1"

(Just paste the above in a file with extension.reg and merge it into the registry by double-clicking the file.)

The one thing I can't get working is bringing up the GUI scan versus a console version of the scan output.

Windows 8 – How to Edit Hosts File When Defender Detects Malware

Windows Defender is treating these changes as malware. This is because changing the hosts file is something malware does. It's an effective way to trick people, since they think they are visiting the real website, for instance facebook.com, but are in fact really talking to a malicious (phishing) server.

What we need to do is disable Windows Defender's protection of the file. Note that this may open you up for the attack mentioned above, so it shouldn't be done unless needed.

Exclude the hosts file from Windows Defender

Open up Windows Defender.
- Press Win and write Defender and start the program.
Go to the Settings tab.
Select Excluded files and locations.
Press browse
Find and select the hosts file.
- Normally located at C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts
Press Ok.
Press Add.
Press Save changes.

enter image description here

Now the hosts file is not protected anymore, so we can finally:

Edit the hosts file

You need Administrator privileges to edit the hosts file, so open up your text editor as admin. How to do it with Notepad:

Search for Notepad in your apps.
Right click it and select Run as administrator.
Press Yes if UAC appears.
Press File -> Open and navigate to the hosts file.
- Again, normally in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts
- You may have to select All files instead of Text Documents in the lower right corner.
Edit the file to your liking and save it.