Host With the Most

First, a quick quiz: What's 207.46.131.137? It's Microsoft's Web site (but you knew that). Use the IP address--the numbers--instead of 'www.microsoft. com' in your browser, and you'll arrive at the site in what feels like almost 5 seconds less. (You'll also turn into a technodweeb.)

See, when you type a URL, a Domain Name Server on the Internet translates the name into an IP address. The trick is to tell your PC to look at a file on the hard drive--called a hosts file--so it doesn't need to bother your network's DNS. You probably already have a sample hosts file, hosts.sam, in your Windows directory. You can use that file, or create a new one using Windows Notepad; just save the file in your Windows folder as "hosts" (use quotes to avoid the standard .txt extension). You can also use the hosts file to turn off banner ads; more on that in a sec.

If you're a dedicated propellerhead, you'll have fun with this next part. Each line in the hosts file needs to have a URL along with a matching IP address. You could look up the IP address of every Web site. A better idea is to grab yourself a copy of Legion, a $10 shareware hosts utility. Import your Netscape Bookmarks or Internet Explorer Favorites into Legion, and it pings each Web site, looks for the IP address, and enters it into the hosts file. You can download Legion from PC World Online.

SUMMARY

Legion $10 Warever www.actionplus.com/products/legion