{"slug": "stevenblack-hosts", "name": "StevenBlack/hosts", "category": "networking", "category_name": "Networking and VPN", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 4.199, "rising": 0.02, "first": "2025-11-20", "latest": "2026-10-05", "why": "I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/stevenblack/hosts", "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["StevenBlack/hosts", "StevenBlack hosts"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 799377857, "item_id": 49961116, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49961116", "by": "BLKNSLVR", "date": "2026-10-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane", "excerpt": "This lists politico.eu, which seems to me to indicate an overly broad blocking mindset. And I love blocking all sorts of shit. The Daily Telegraph is also listed, which is a bit more understandable, but they're still a recognised national newspaper. 7news.com.au, 9news.com.au, news.com.au Nah man, this is silly. I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane: https://raw.githubusercontent.com", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking sites", "switched_from": "", "story": "AQAB: Anti-fascist blocklist QAnon, conspiracy, fake news, far-right, hate sites"}, {"id": 779916761, "item_id": 48744797, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48744797", "by": "anthk", "date": "2026-07-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dillo and a hosts file cuts down both ads and cookies/trackers", "excerpt": "It's still there, at IRC/Usenet/some niche forums. Replace phreaking with maybe some mesh networks and ways to connect computers without calling an ISP. There are still niche blogs and even phlogs. And you can still use Pidgin and libpurple plugins to connect to a huge array of protocols. Ditto with core Biltbee or Bitlbee+libpurple allowing you to use any IRC client (even the ones without TLS for DOS and Win9X) to c", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking ads and trackers", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Internet I Grew Up with Doesn't Exist Anymore"}, {"id": 773741712, "item_id": 48358857, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48358857", "by": "gaiagraphia", "date": "2026-06-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "a great compilation of curated block lists", "excerpt": "For those who don't use it already, the following is a great compilation of curated block lists you can put into your etc/hosts file to block traffic :) https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking distracting sites", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 767843280, "item_id": 47990205, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990205", "by": "0123456789ABCDE", "date": "2026-05-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "just sinkhole the domains", "excerpt": "just sinkhole the domains https://dpaste.com/E7RZ34MVD https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts", "context": "", "use_case": "Ad and tracker blocking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Do_not_track"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["blocking sites", "blocking ads and trackers", "blocking distracting sites", "ad and tracker blocking"], "compared": [{"slug": "ublock-origin", "name": "uBlock Origin", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49810036", "title": "AQAB: Anti-fascist blocklist QAnon, conspiracy, fake news, far-right, hate sites", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48744655", "title": "The Internet I Grew Up with Doesn't Exist Anymore", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48312443", "title": "I made my phone slow on purpose", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47988592", "title": "Do_not_track", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46550231", "title": "The No Fakes Act Has a \"Fingerprinting\" Trap That Kills Open Source", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45980117", "title": "Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 799377857, "item_id": 49961116, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49961116", "by": "BLKNSLVR", "date": "2026-10-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane", "excerpt": "This lists politico.eu, which seems to me to indicate an overly broad blocking mindset. And I love blocking all sorts of shit. The Daily Telegraph is also listed, which is a bit more understandable, but they're still a recognised national newspaper. 7news.com.au, 9news.com.au, news.com.au Nah man, this is silly. I'm going to stick with Steven Black's list, which seems much more sane: https://raw.githubusercontent.com", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking sites", "switched_from": "", "story": "AQAB: Anti-fascist blocklist QAnon, conspiracy, fake news, far-right, hate sites"}, {"id": 779916761, "item_id": 48744797, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48744797", "by": "anthk", "date": "2026-07-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dillo and a hosts file cuts down both ads and cookies/trackers", "excerpt": "It's still there, at IRC/Usenet/some niche forums. Replace phreaking with maybe some mesh networks and ways to connect computers without calling an ISP. There are still niche blogs and even phlogs. And you can still use Pidgin and libpurple plugins to connect to a huge array of protocols. Ditto with core Biltbee or Bitlbee+libpurple allowing you to use any IRC client (even the ones without TLS for DOS and Win9X) to c", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking ads and trackers", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Internet I Grew Up with Doesn't Exist Anymore"}, {"id": 773741712, "item_id": 48358857, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48358857", "by": "gaiagraphia", "date": "2026-06-01", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "a great compilation of curated block lists", "excerpt": "For those who don't use it already, the following is a great compilation of curated block lists you can put into your etc/hosts file to block traffic :) https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking distracting sites", "switched_from": "", "story": "I made my phone slow on purpose"}, {"id": 767843280, "item_id": 47990205, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47990205", "by": "0123456789ABCDE", "date": "2026-05-02", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "just sinkhole the domains", "excerpt": "just sinkhole the domains https://dpaste.com/E7RZ34MVD https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts", "context": "", "use_case": "Ad and tracker blocking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Do_not_track"}, {"id": 744851024, "item_id": 46553189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46553189", "by": "rookderby", "date": "2026-01-09", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Reddit is one of the domains I block using StepenBlack's hosts list", "excerpt": "Reddit is one of the domains I block using StepenBlack's hosts list [0]. Here is some background info on the act from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Fakes_Act. [0] https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts/blob/master/readme.md", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The No Fakes Act Has a \"Fingerprinting\" Trap That Kills Open Source"}, {"id": 735897971, "item_id": 45993623, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45993623", "by": "dbg31415", "date": "2025-11-20", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "with Steven Black's block list", "excerpt": "I work right at the junction of marketing tech -- eCommerce, marketing sites, account management systems. Theoretically I should be living in compliance hell, but here's the dirty secret: To \"follow\" every rule, all you really need is another layer of UX friction. Another modal. Another \"consent wizard.\" A few toggles buried under Manage Settings \u2192 Advanced \u2192 Optional \u2192 Something You'll Never Click \u2192 Opt Me Out. If y", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws"}]}