# Changing links? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 23, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555 "2015-10-23T17:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/61 "2015-10-24T16:47:01Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > It’s pretty obvious that post 46 was meant to go somewhere else. Since I have no idea where though, I don’t know where to put it. Since you guys are having a bit of fun with it, I guess it can stay here. I moved it to [the thread where it evidently was meant to go.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18800614#post18800614) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/62 "2015-10-25T22:13:03Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > All well and good for a computer. There’s really no alternative if you’re browsing on a phone or a pad. Maybe, maybe not, this link suggests it is possible on androids anyway. > **[How to Edit the Hosts File on Android (and Block Web Sites)](https://www.howtogeek.com/140576/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-on-android-and-block-web-sites/)** > > Whether you want to prevent your child from accessing Facebook or are simply sick of the advertisements that litter webpages, a custom hosts file can come in handy. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/63 "2015-10-26T15:04:20Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Maybe, maybe not, this link suggests it is possible on androids anyway. > > [http://www.howtogeek.com/140576/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-on-android-and-block-web-sites/](http://www.howtogeek.com/140576/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-on-android-and-block-web-sites/) Eminently possible, as long as you have root on the device (since /etc/hosts is a root-owned file). My Droid 4 has a custom hosts file with lots of advertising sites redirected to localhost, and a little bitty webserver answering HTTP calls to localhost with blank data (so host file redirects don’t result in stuck/timeoute web pages). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/64 "2015-10-26T19:48:14Z")
Yet another possible Viglink misbehavior: Yesterday, the webcomic Schlock Mercenary had a bit of a blip with their DNS servers, with the result that some people (myself included) couldn’t view the page, and instead got a page apparently trying to sell the domain name. [**Yllaria** started a thread about it.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=773263) Well, this morning (when the site was still down for me), that thread had a link where no legitimate link could possibly be: The word [schlockmercenary.com](http://schlockmercenary.com) in the subject line was converted to a link. Now, the site is back up, and the link has disappeared from that thread. I can’t say for sure, but it sure looks like Viglink is in cahoots with whomever it was who was trying to profit off of the site’s brief disappearance. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/65 "2015-10-27T00:05:06Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I would very strongly recommend against using Viglink’s opt-out page. The Viglink opt out must be yet another cookie that shouldn’t be killed. Screw that. NEVER trust advertisers and trackers. If a browser can run Ghostery, download it. (Is Viglink short for Vigilant link?) Why save cookies? Browsers can sign into any form requiring a screen name and a password or by an AppleScript if so desired. I use an AppleScript to quit Firefox, It nukes all the cookies that may lurk, including those that don’t expire for 99 years and Adobe’s Flash super cookies that those SOBs created to dig holes into the operating system where they plant themselves so they won’t disappear when cookies are cleared via the browser. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/66 "2015-10-27T00:42:26Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Screw that. NEVER trust advertisers and trackers. If a browser can run Ghostery, download it. (Is Viglink short for Vigilant link?) WAG=[Vigorish.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigorish) ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/67 "2015-10-27T00:51:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > WAG=[Vigorish.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigorish) That’s gotta be it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/68 "2016-09-21T14:07:43Z")
Just happened, after fine Amazon links. Resurrecting this since I noted it where it occurs, [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19643467&posted=1#post19643467](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19643467&posted=1#post19643467). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555/69 "2016-09-22T02:48:56Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Just happened, after fine Amazon links. Resurrecting this since I noted it where it occurs, [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19643467&posted=1#post19643467](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19643467&posted=1#post19643467). Interesting. At first, I had no idea what you were talking about. Hovering over the link I see the link goes to [walmart.com](http://walmart.com); but quoting that post, I see the url is [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). Using the “Disable VigLink” page mentioned above, it properly shows and goes to Amazon. Sneaky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changing-links/735555.md?page=3)