How to Reset Your Hosts File to Default

By Timothy Tibbetts

on 06/15/2023

If you're having problems with a modified hosts file, possibly from malware or a third-party app has changed it, then here's how to restore your hosts file to default.

The one thing you need to know is a hosts file is simply a text file. What we're going to do is create a brand new hosts file, then rename and replace the old hosts file.

Here we go.

Open Notepad and copy and paste the following lines into a new text document:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 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

Click on File > Save As and name the file hosts. Close Notepad.

Click on hosts.txt and rename to hosts by removing .txt. Click yes to confirm the change.

Right-click on hosts and click on Copy.

Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc.

Right-click on hosts and rename that to hosts.old. That gives you a backup and you can delete it later.

Click Continue to approve.

Right-click on a blank area and click on Paste.