HostsShield adds a list of known malicious entries to the Windows hosts file to protect you from malicious websites, malware, advertising, hit counters, and more.

The download is an installer which will download an additional 22+ MB. Windows Defender SmartScreen also does not like the app. Hosts files are updated as needed, in our case, immediately after installation.

HostsShield runs in the system tray, and the main window is small, uncluttered and easy to use. The two important areas are tEnable or Disable HostsShield and EditView hosts file database. Opening the hosts file database will open your default text editor. You can scroll through or search for entries causing you trouble as well as add your entries.

Finally, there are three additional options; run at startup, enable automatic updates, and minimize at startup. Only the automatic update option is enabled by default. Of course, there's an info link and a link to the program page.

There's a lot of security software out there as well as host file editors, but HostsShield makes it easy to configure what you can and can't see easily.