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You need to exclude the HOSTS file from being scanned. Example for Norton 360:

Under Virus and Spyware Settings ==> File Exclusions: “Which disks, folders, or files to exclude from risk scanning” enter your HOSTS file location, generally – C:WINDOWSsystem32driversetcHOSTS

Also the “Network Address Check” feature scans the users HOSTS file and removes all entries. To prevent this go to the “Undo & Exclude Advanced Settings” screen and exclude the HOSTS file from scanning

Also when you manually run the “Security Inspector” it will scan your system and may prompt you with “IP addresses had been re-directed” and when the user allows the program to “fix” the perceived problem … it will strip all the entries from your HOSTS file. To prevent this you can uncheck the option “IP addresses in the Hosts file” from Norton Security/Security Inspector/Basic Scans/