GDS Hosts: News
July 7th, 2003 :
Gorilla Design Studio made changes to account for Stephen Martin's decision to move on to other things. Mike Meyer, developer of HostsToggle , will be maintaining the hosts file from this point onward. A new version of HostsToggle is in the works as well. GDS will be making Meyer's version of the hosts file available for download .
June 12th, 2002:
Gorilla Design Studio updated the FAQ with some of the more recent frequent questions, and also made some minor changes to the content and layout of the site.
May 28th, 2002:
Gorilla Design Studio is pleased to be adding the HostsToggle program to our website, courtesy of Mike Meyer. HostsToggle is a utility to assist people in the use of the Hosts file and is a nice piece of work. Thank you to Mike Meyer for allowing us to host his program.
April 9th, 2002:
Gorilla Design Studio added links to the new DNSKong and eDexter versions, which both stand at version 1.34 and are available for download. Some other minor content changes were made, and it was announced that the April 6th, 2002 Hosts file was also available for download.
May 19th, 2001:
Gorilla Design Studio passed the 50,000th hit mark this morning. That milestone took eleven months and 5 days, and averages out to one unique vistor (based on IP address) to the site every ten minutes. This has been a pleasant surprise to the author, as the original site was written to serve only a very small group of people. Those of you who have seen it from the beginning know just how far it has come over the last year, and seen the three major site redesigns resulting in the current look. GDS would like to thank everyone for their support, and for helping to make this one of the premiere nonprofit websites to visit if you want to block advertisements.
The new Hosts file pages for the Macintosh and Unix-style OS's are also doing well, and any suggestions for their improvement are welcome. Any suggestions for improving the site as a whole are also welcome and encouraged.
May 10th, 2001:
Gorilla Design Studio has added some more images to the eDexter Images Page. Click here to see the new MIB Images, courtesy of the MIB website.
April 28th, 2001:
Gorilla Design Studio has added the long-awaited Macintosh Hosts file! Please visit this page if you would like to try it out and you have a Macintosh. GDS has also added a Linux/Unix page to tell users of Unix-style OS's how to use the Hosts file on their systems.
On a side note, Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts file website is edging very close to the 50,000th hit mark by the end of its first year. Not too bad for a non-promoted website that exists solely to help users maintain their privacy. Thank you for all of your support!
April 6th, 2001:
Gorilla Design Studio edged past the 45,000th hit mark today, on its way to the 50,000 hit milestone. Thank you to all of our supporters, and for all of the input we have received since the site's inception.
February 22nd, 2001:
Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts file website surpassed the 40,000th hit mark sometime today. Please continue to watch the site as further developments are planned.
November 25th, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts file website surpassed the 30,000th hit mark as of early this morning. GDS Hosts continues to be a free site, done as a public service to help the public retain its privacy on the Internet. GDS's Hosts website has averaged approximately 6,000 hits per month since its inception, which amounts to about 200 unique hits per day. These hits come by word-of-mouth and through search engine hits, as GDS does not actively promote or advertise its site. GDS would like to thank its many supports for helping to spread the word about privacy and for encouraging others to visit here.
October 27th, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio unveils its new, completely revamped website. This new design has the goal of being accessible to those using low resolution monitors and completely eliminates the frames found in verion two of this site. We hope you like the new site, and comments may be mailed to the author.
October 16th, 2000:
Four months after launching the site, Gorilla Design Studio is proud to announce that the Hosts file, eDexter, eDexter JavaDog, and DNSKong have been responsible for over 25,000 hits to this unpromoted and noncommercial website. GDS is proud to continue its association with the fine software products from Pyrenean, and thanks everybody for their support and encouragement as we strive to regain privacy in the digital world.
September 30th, 2000:
DNSKong was formally released today as version 1.0.5. Visit the DNSKong page at this address. Many thanks to Pyrenean for continuing to make his wonderful programs available at no charge to personal users as they use them in their quest for personal privacy on the Internet. Corporate users are urged to contact Pyrenean for details on using his programs in a business environment.
September 22nd, 2000:
The How-to section was updated with a better instruction set. Also, if you would like to beta test a new program, you can try out Pyrenean's DNSKong program. It is still an early beta, and support for it is very limited. You should only try this program if you have current backups of your system, and you are an experienced beta tester.
September 12th, 2000:
GDS has added a new Java version of eDexter. Once again kindly written by Pyrenean, this program will run on any system that can use a Java interpreter. This version is very small and is also free for individual users. Visit the eDexter JavaDog page for more information.
The Windows version of eDexter has been updated to version 1.2! It is now fully controllable from the Start Menu - even while eDexter is hidden in the system tray! This version also supports command line paramters when you start it, and has some other changes noted in the release file.
GDS also added a note in the FAQ section for Windows 2000 users about troublesome slowdowns when the Hosts file is used and very large in size.
September 8th, 2000:
GDS Hosts site has surpassed the 20,000th hit mark as of early this morning. Thanks to all of the visitors who have made this site better by offering constructive feedback and helpful suggestions. Keep them coming, and thank you for helping to spread the word about the Hosts file and privacy protection on the Internet.
August 9th, 2000:
eDexter version 1.1.4.5 released today! All other versions of eDexter are no longer available from the site. You may E-mail me if you wish to discuss using an alternate version of eDexter.
August 7th, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio Presents: Using the Hosts File surpassed the 15,000th hit mark today. The site achieved this number in less than two months since its creation. Thanks to all who have visited and to all of those working hard to get the word out about how to use the Hosts file to further protect your privacy while online.
August 4th, 2000:
Seigfried's Art Images added to the eDexter images page.
August 2nd, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts site was included in the August 2nd Noises From the Basement newsletter. NFTB wrote an article that was a condensed version of this site and included it in their newsletter with my permission. You may visit their site by clicking here.
Gryphonn Design's Images added to the eDexter images page.
August 1st, 2000:
Gryph's Ad Blocker Images added to the eDexter images page.
July 31st, 2000:
eDexter page updated with version 1.1.4, which includes some new features and minor tweaks. Two questions on using Hosts with Windows 2000 added to the FAQ page. The mailing list has been finalized and is ready for use. The automated version is still under construction, but if you send an e-mail to [email protected], you will be added to my list and will receive all e-mails now and in the future.
July 27th, 2000:
GDS Hosts website mentioned in the Langa List newsletter thanks to Milly!
July 21st, 2000:
Hit counter surpassed the 10,000th hit mark today!
July 20th, 2000:
Preliminary signup for the Gorilla Design Studio Hosts File Mailing List was unveiled. The list is currently under construction and will be setup as soon as I get an automated system up and running. Details are available on the mailing list page.
July 19th, 2000:
eDexter pages split into an introduction with a feature comparison between versions 1.0 and 1.1.3 - also, each version now has its own page. eDexter alternate images were also added to the site, and users may submit their own images for review and possible inclusion on the site. eDexter's page has been accessed 1,000+ times as of today.
July 18th, 2000:
eDexter version 1.1.3 released for distribution today. Thanks to Pyrenean! Notepad question added to the FAQ for overcoming hosts file size limitations. Credit line for The WebFairy and accs-net added to the opening page as a thank-you for hosting this site. Minor wording changes and/or corrections made to several pages.
July 11th, 2000:
The hosts.txt file will now come exclusively from Stephen Martin's website. Since he created the list in the first place, I will now just link to his pages for the hosts.txt file. Also, he and others get the list updated rather often, so this will ensure people get the most up-to-date list.
July 10th, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts site was completely redesigned for quicker page loading and navigation. An archive of past hosts.txt files was added, and the site's main page was split into smaller sections for readability and ease-of-use. Some additional content was added to various pages as well.
July 6th, 2000:
Hosts.txt file updated.
July 1st, 2000:
FAQ (frequently asked questions) section added to the web site.
June 27th, 2000:
Site moved to new location provided by Accs-net (thanks!). The old location had 2,560 hits in just under two weeks before the transfer to the new location! NEW HOSTS LIST added to the site!
June 25th, 2000:
A note about privacy concerns was added to the site. GDS Hosts is heading rapidly towards 2,000 hits - and it made it sometime around 8:00 - 9:00 PM! (here in Texas)
June 24th, 2000:
New explanations were added, and the order of directions was rearranged somewhat for better clarity overall. A better introduction to the Hosts file was written. GDS Hosts surpassed the 1,500th visitor mark just after midnight this morning.
June 23rd, 2000:
eDexter was added to the site as a free download. eDexter will replace empty boxes that would have contained ads with one of four graphics files. eDexter has its own page on this site.
June 21st, 2000:
Gorilla Design Studio's Hosts site reached its 1,000th hit mark today - exactly one week after the site's launch date. The 1,000th visitor was...drumroll please.....Norman Levin! Thanks Norman for putting the site into four digits. Step (7.) added to clarify where to get updates from for your Hosts file. The Hosts file restrictions section was also updated to reflect answers to some common questions.
June 20th, 2000:
Minor wording changes made, and a warning to backup your existing Hosts file was added. Acknowledgements were updated, and a section on Hosts limitations was added. Also, an extensionless Hosts file was put on the site to eliminate problems with renaming the Hosts.txt file.
June 19th, 2000:
Site update completed, with News, Acknowledgements, and an About page added. Instructions made more clear, and the Hosts.txt file was also updated. All suggestions received to date have been incorporated into the site.
June 14th, 2000:
Original GDS Hosts site created. Later updated that night with a nicer interface and better introduction.
