I have very slow resolution with "personal.vanguard.com". The status line on my browser says "looking up personal.vanguard.com" for a long period. I also ran a traceroute, etc. My ISP says the problem is down the line with an AT&T switch. In order to speed up the resolution, I added the IP to my hosts file, and have the DNS service running. However, it is still slow, i.e. I don't think my hosts file is being read. How can I get it to read the IP on my hosts file, so I can speed this thing up? Thanks very much.

Windows should automatically read the hosts file so I doubt that's the problem unless you didn't add the entry correctly. Double check it for syntax/spelling errors. Even if you have the entry set correctly in the hosts file, if for some reason your PC needs to contact your DNS server, it's still going to send a request to the server regardless of the hosts file. If you're having issues contacting vanguard, I recommend you contact them. Keep in mind, if the server you're trying to contact is a very busy server, you can expect slower response time.

Well, a bit slow, but try putting in the correct address. Set the whole https address in either the line or hosts. https://personal.vanguard.com/ is a sercure site. It might speed up a bit with the https and you also might have to connect to a certificate server that needs to authenticate the site. See certificate for address and add that to hosts. REMEMBER that you should also have a good hosts file for internet protection. And it is used before dns, unless you are using a proxy pac file. Proxy pac's always go first. I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you peanut.

If the issue is a configuration of a AT&T switch all the dns/hosts resolution in the world will not make a single difference in accessing the site. You can't fix what is beyond your ability to control. Are you ready for where Microsoft wants you to go today?

It's interesting what your ISP said. Do they mean that your “local loop” (distance from your location to the nearest telephone switch) is a long way? If using the popular ADSL, you can get 1.544mbps up and 8mbps down. Why not try a speed test? If you are within 9000 ft. from the switch you can get the max throughput. If you are at the maximum distance of 3.4 mils from the switch, the throughput will drop to 1.543mbps. If you find out from ATT that you are far away, then check to see if another telephone provider has a switch located closer to you, and consider changing ISPs. Also, ask your ISP what your service includes (referring to connection speeds) so you know what to expect as the best-case scenario and have it to compare to your speed test.