Help needed on running nameserver in windows XP

[gator]

I currently use a huge hosts file (~600KB) on my T23 and T60 from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm (regularly updated) to block ads (and no, I do not block the ads on thinkpad forums!) ... I have set the startup of windows DNS service to 'manual' as suggested in this site, and have not had any problems till date.

However, I keep reading that using the list of ad servers with a nameserver is a more efficient method, because it allows you to block entire domains, rather than just individual host. If I understood this right, it means that instead of having to add entries for "ad1.doubleclick.net", "ad2.doubleclick.net", etc., I can simply set one setting for "doubleclick.net" ....

I have no experience with running a nameserver and have no idea how to proceed ... can someone with experience in this guide me?

[Harryc]

Find the cheapest machine that you can LAN attach and run any Linux distro that you can on it. Then set up DNS from there. It's very simple... no huge learning curve. The exact steps depend somewhat on the distro you choose.