Как изменить домен localhost

Файл hosts — текстовый документ, который содержит в себе информацию о домене и IP-адресе, который ему соответствует. Файл hosts появился во времена зарождения Интернета (ARPANET) и служил неким маршрутизатором, пока на замену ему не пришла служба DNS. Но до сих пор он не утратил важности и по-прежнему используется как инструмент, который обладает приоритетом перед обращением к DNS-серверам.

Зачем нужен файл hosts

Предположим: вы зарегистрировали домен и привязали его к Hosting Linux. Но чтобы увидеть сайт, вам нужно дождаться делегирования домена на DNS-серверы. В файле hosts вы можете указать ваш домен и IP-адрес хостинга, а затем открыть браузер и зайти на ваш сайт, не дожидаясь делегирования домена. Также с его помощью вы можете заблокировать на локальном компьютере доступ к определённому сайту, указав соответствующую запись.

Где находится файл hosts

Путь к папке, где лежит файл hosts, зависит от операционной системы, которая установлена на вашем компьютере:

• Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 7, 8, 10 — c:windowssystem32driversetchosts
• Linux, Ubuntu, Unix, BSD — /etc/hosts
• macOS — /private/etc/hosts

Редактировать файл etc hosts нужно от имени администратора, иначе вы не сможете сохранить внесённые изменения.

Как внести изменения в файл hosts

Ниже мы рассмотрим, как редактировать и как сохранить изменения в файле hosts. Важно открыть файл с правами администратора, иначе система не даст вам его сохранить. Выберите вашу операционную систему и следуйте инструкции или посмотрите видеоинструкцию:

Видеосправка. Как изменить файл hosts

Также вы можете заблокировать определенный сайт через файл hosts, воспользовавшись инструкцией ниже:

Блокировка доступа к сайту через файл hosts

Доступ к сайту также можно ограничить для локального компьютера. Для этого укажите адрес страницы (домен) в файле hosts. Заблокировать IP нежелательного сайта не требуется. Блокировка осуществляется по локальному хосту с фиксированным IP (127.0.0.1):

Готово! Доступ к сайтам будет ограничен на определенном ПК.

Оригинальный файл hosts и как его восстановить

Скачать содержимое файла hosts можно на разных ресурсах. Но мы не рекомендуем делать это, так как файл может быть заражен.

Файл hosts по умолчанию есть в каждой операционной системе, но он может быть скрыт для просмотра. Следуя инструкциям выше, вы сможете его открыть и отредактировать. Если вы удалили его, то просто создайте текстовый файл без расширения в нужной папке.

По умолчанию файл hosts выглядит следующим образом:

Для Windows

# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host
# localhost name resolution is handle within DNS itself.
#       127.0.0.1       localhost
#       ::1             localhost

Для Linux

127.0.0.1       localhost

127.0.1.1      user

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters

где user (во второй строке) — это имя вашего компьютера.

Для MacOS

##

# Host Database

#

# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1  localhost
255.255.255.255  broadcasthost
::1             localhost

Удалите текущее содержимое из файла hosts, вставьте текст по умолчанию и сохраните изменения.

Теперь вы знаете, как должен выглядеть файл hosts и как с ним работать.

Want to access your website on a localhost via a domain name, say something like mywebsite.test? There are few benefits in doing so.

Updated: 21/01/2022

• — You can create shortened URLs to be able to access your local website easily
• — If your project is located in a subfolder, you could route the domain directly into the subfolder. For example, let’s say, your website is located at C:xampp/htdocs/folder/example/. Instead of typing the full url, you could route your custom domain to that specific subfolder.
• — You get the idea. There are a number of things you can accomplish better with this.

This process assumes you are running Windows 10 and XAMPP environment. It might work differently for other operating systems or different versions of those systems.

Step 1.

Open the directory below in file explorer:

C:WindowsSystem32driversetc

Step 2.

There you will find a file called «hosts». Double click on the file to open it. If it asks you to choose a program to open it, choose «Notepad» or your preferred text editor.

Step 3.

Scroll to the end of the file and add the following line:

127.0.0.1  example.test

Note:

• — Type in your local machine address(127.0.0.1) follow by the domain name. You can use any extension(.test .mywork .dev). Do not use common extensions (such as .com, .net, .io, etc), otherwise it will conflict with your access to other websites on internet.

Step 4.

Click Save(Shortcut for Windows is CTRL+S) to overwrite the changes to the file. In the «Save Type As» dropdown select ‘All Files’. There should be a popup window asking you if you want to replace the file. Click «Yes».

You could get a message prompt saying that you don’t have the right/administrator permissions to replace the file. If you do, Go to step 4.1 , if not skip to Step 5.

Step 4.1

In your windows startup search bar, type «notepad». Right click on notepad and run it as administrator.

Copy the full contents of hosts file that we previously opened in step 3. Paste the content into the notepad file that you opened as an administrator in step 4.1.

Click «Save As» on the new notepad. For «Save Type As» select ‘All Files’. Change the directory on the Save Popup Window to the following folder:

C:WindowsSystem32driversetc

You will see a file on top called «hosts». Select the file and it will prompt «file already exists, do you want to override the file?», to which you must select «Yes».

Step 5.

Open the follow directory

C:xamppapacheconfextra

Double click to open a file called «httpd-vhosts». If it asks you to choose a program to open it, choose Notepad.

Step 6.

Scroll to the bottom end of the file and add the following code:

  
	<VirtualHost *:80#62;
		ServerAdmin example.test
		DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/foldername/"
		ServerName example.test
	</VirtualHost#62;

You should replace «c:/xampp/htdocs/example/«with location of your project. Example, if your project is in a subfolder then add the subfolder “ c:/xampp/htdocs/folder/subfolder/

ServerName (example.test) should also be replaced your chosen domain name. Note it must be the same domain name that you used in Step 3.

Next restart your xampp. (Stop & Start the apache service).
Type in your new domain name into the browser’s search bar and you are good to go.

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About the Author

Shavkat

Has been doing web design & development since early 2010s. Believes every website should serve a purpose. he is the founder and head of Development at Ecompile.

Here is how to change localhost to domain name in Windows 10. Have you ever thought about how to change or rename your localhost address with a domain name you like?. For me when I found that I can change localhost address to a domain. I was so excited to use my favourite domain name, instead of localhost. Have you decided to change your Localhost name to a specific domain name? Like many other developers and me. Here Is How to change your localhost address to your favourite domain name.

Here are two easy methods to change your Windows localhost address to the domain name.

Method One:  Using Hosts file

Step – 1: Run your notepad or any other text editor as administrator. A dialogue box will pop up and ask you “Do you Want to Allow This App to Make Changes to Your Device?”  Click Yes

Step – 2: From the Menu bar of Notepad go to File>open and open the following Directory

C:WindowsSystem32driversetc

Or go to MyComputer>Drive C>Windows>System32>Drivers>etc>

By default, you won’t be able to see the files located in them, etc. folder to see the existing files, Change the Document text to all files from the extension tab of notepad.

Once you changed the extension tab to all files, you will see the following files in the folder

hosts, Imhosts.sam, networks, protocol, services

Step – 3: Open the host’s file and write down your favourite domain name

After opening the “hosts” file that will look as below. Here you can add your favourite domain name with the same IP address as I have added the Dev.com with the IP of 127.0.0.1.

Note: you can add as many domains as you want to add.

Method Two: Wamp Server Tools

This technique is a  little bit easier than method one. To change your localhost to domain name all you need to do is run your wamp server and go to localhost page.

In the Localhost page, on the tool section, click on Add A Virtual Host then you will be guided to the following page.

Like the page, itself has the guide in the first input field write your domain name without space, Underscore and diacritical characters. 

The second input field is optional; you can add an IP address, or leave it empty.

The third input field goes to the address of the wamp server which is common as below.

C:/wamp64/www   or  C:/wamp/www/

Once you are done with the above steps, click on the Start, the creation of the virtual host.

Then go to wamp and rightclick>tool>restartDNS that’s it. Now open your browser and type your domain name to open the localhost page.

Final word:

I know you, like me, and many other techies enjoy learning new things every day and to build up your skills, improve in your filed and have more grip on your passion.

Domain names are always easy to remember and also give a professional look in local development instead of typing IP (127.0.0.1) or localhost and file directory.

By default while using local development server WAMP and XAMPP, you have to type localhost/{directory_of_web_application} or 127.0.0.1/{directory_of_web_application} in browser. In XAMPP/WAMP, there is no direct one-click method like in localWP to create a custom domain.

This tutorial will help you to create an easy-to-use custom domain URL in WAMP and XAMPP.

Let’s say you have your local application on localhost/mylocalapp. After following this tutorial you can access that application with mylocalapp.test or any domain name you would like.

Steps to convert localhost into a custom domain in XAMPP in Windows

To set up a custom domain in localhost we have to apply the change in three places: Setting local development in XAMPP & identifying directory, pointing a custom domain to local computer from Windows host file, and redirecting the domain to a specific application folder through VirtualHost.

Locate Application directory (folder)

Generally, application/website files are located inside htdocs in the main XAMPP folder. For localhost/mylocalapp directory C:/xampp/htdocs/mylocalapp.

Update Windows Host file

Now, Update the Windows host file to tell the local DNS to redirect your domain into your local computer (same Computer).

• Step 1: Go to C:WindowsSystem32driversetc and edit hosts file “as Administrator”. [ For that open, any text editor in administrator mode then navigate to hosts file.]
• Step 2: Add 127.0.0.1 and custom domain at the end of file.

127.0.0.1   mylocalapp.test mylocalapp.local

You can add as many domain names as you want by separating them with space. Or can add on each new line like: 127.0.0.1 mylocalapp.local

• Step 3: Save and close.

After getting a request on the same localhost server, let’s tell which application to execute on a particular domain request with a virtual host.

Update Apache virtual host.

Virtual host redirects a particular domain to a specific application file directory in the server.

• Step 1: Go to C:xamppapacheconfextra and open httpd-vhosts.conf file.
• Step 2: Add virtual host configuration for particular URL at the end of file.

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName mylocalapp.test // URl to set
    ServerAlias mylocalapp.local // Another URl to open same Web App
    DocumentRoot C:/xampp/htdocs/mylocalapp // Application file directory (folder) in XAMPP localhost
</VirtualHost>

You can add multiple alias names (domain name) by separating with space or can add another ServerAlias line in the new line.

• Step 3: Save and close.

Now, your custom domain for local applications is ready.

Find More:

• 10 Best WordPress Themes for 2022.
• Top 10 Best Domain Registrars [2022]

Steps to convert localhost into a custom domain in WAMP in Windows

Now, we can easily add a custom domain in WAMP from Graphical Interface.

• After starting WAMP server, visit localhost in browser and click “Add a Virtual Host” on left bottom corner.

• Then, add custom domain in “Name of Virtual Host” field and your local application folder path in “VirtualHost folder” field. And, click on “Start the creation of the VirtualHost”.

• Now, restart the DNS server. Right click on WAMPserver icon on taskbar tray. Go to Tools and click on “Restart DNS”. Now your custom domain is configured an ready to use.

Why should you use .local & .test instead of .com domain in localhost?

When using already available domain extension suffixes like .com, .net, .dev, and more, there is a chance domain may already be registered and hosted on the internet and may conflict while browsing these real domains with your local setup.

So, it’s always better to use .local and .test in the local test environment as they are special-use domain names reserved by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for these scenarios and can’t be registered in the domain registrar.

If you have any confusion following this tutorial or any topics on Nil Tutorial, don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section. You can also reach me on Twitter.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the key to locating a website on the Internet. With so much at stake, making changes to your DNS records can be a nerve-wracking experience.

Fortunately, there is a way to test DNS-related changes without editing your live records. By modifying your local hosts file, you can preview how your domains will function on a new server without putting your live site at risk.

In this post, we’ll explore what hosts files are and share some reasons why you may want to modify them. We’ll then show you how to edit hosts files on Windows 10. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to the Hosts File

A hosts file is a local plain text file that maps your server or hostnames to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Every time Windows 10 connects over a network using a hostname, it’ll refer to the hosts file. If Windows finds an entry in this file, then it’ll contact the specified server.

If it doesn’t find a relevant hostname, Windows 10 will resolve the hostname using a Domain Name Service (DNS). This is the process used to obtain the server IP address behind a domain name.

Each hosts file entry has its own line, with the numerical IP address, a space or a tab character, and finally the hostname or domain. Let’s look at an example of a hosts file entry:

120.0.0.0 example.com #Example

In the above example, the first section denotes the IP address where this request will be redirected to (120.0.0.0). The second section designates the location that we want to redirect a request from (example.com). The final section specifies a comment for this entry. We‘re using a hashtag to tell Windows 10 to ignore the comment when reading the local hosts file.

After adding the domain information, your system will resolve to the IP address you specified. In the above example, we’re associating the domain name example.com with the IP address 120.0.0.0.

It’s worth noting that some software employs its own techniques to look up hostnames. This means there’s always a chance that it may ignore the hosts file completely.

DNS is the key to locating a website. 🔑 With so much at stake, making changes to your DNS records can be a nerve-wracking experience. 😰 Learn how to safely modify your host files in this guide 👇Click to Tweet

What Happens When You Modify a Hosts File?

When you modify your hosts file, it causes your local machine to look directly at the IP address specified by you. For example, if you wanted to point mywebsite.com to the IP address 1.2.3.4.5, you’d add the following:

1.2.3.4.5 mywebsite.com

Now, every time you try to visit mywebsite.com, you’ll find yourself at 1.2.3.4.5 instead. By editing your hosts file, you can override the DNS for a domain on your specific machine only.

In this post, we’ll be focusing on opening your hosts file and adding individual entries. However, it is also possible to replace this file entirely. This can be an easy way to block malicious or spammy websites in bulk. There are even sites that have published ready-made lists of IP addresses associated with advertisements, hijackers, page counters, and other unwanted connections.

You can download one of these pre-prepared lists and copy/paste its contents into your existing hosts file. Alternatively, you might replace your native hosts file with the newly-downloaded file. If you do opt for the latter, then we recommend keeping a copy of your original file, just in case you encounter any strange behavior with its replacement.

Why You May Want To Modify the Windows 10 Hosts File

You can use your hosts file to test DNS-related changes without having to alter your DNS records. For example, imagine you’ve migrated to a new server. Before updating your DNS settings, it’s a good idea to verify how your domains will look and function on this new server.

However, if you enter your current domain name, then it’ll resolve to your old server. In this scenario, you can modify your hosts file to point the domain to the new server’s IP.

This file can also help test how your website looks on a different server when your DNS hasn’t propagated yet. At Kinsta we provide a temporary URL (sitename.kinsta.cloud), but this cannot mimic everything. For example, by default, a CDN won’t work on a temporary URL.

You can also use the hosts file to block certain websites. This can be useful for employers who want to ensure that their staff isn’t wasting time on unauthorized sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

While there are fewer technical ways to block access to unauthorized websites, many of these methods are relatively easy to reverse. For example, a tech-savvy child may have little problems bypassing parental controls, but modifying the hosts file requires a higher level of technical knowledge.

You might take this a step further and block all websites that serve up advertisements. If you map the addresses of all the major ad providers to an unused internal IP address, then Windows 10 will be unable to resolve these addresses. You can then enjoy the web, advertisement-free.

Finally, some malicious third parties may set up redirects by altering your hosts file. This is known as a hosts file hijack. If you’re encountering strange redirects, then it may be worth checking your hosts file for suspicious entries.

How To Make Firefox Honor the Windows 10 Hosts File

If you’re using Firefox for Windows, then Mozilla’s browser resolves IP addresses slightly differently compared to the other major browsers. By default, Firefox uses DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH).

This is a protocol for performing remote DNS resolution via HTTPS. With this setting enabled, Firefox will use the DOH server as the primary name resolver, rather than checking your local hosts file or DNS resolver.

As a result, the website displayed will always point to the IP address that the Internet deems authoritative for that domain. Even if you edit your hosts file, your changes won’t have any effect if the DoH server returns a working IP address.

There are plenty of great web browsers that are compatible with Windows 10 and that honor the hosts file out-of-the-box. However, if you want to stick with Mozilla Firefox, you can always disable DoH.

To start, select the Menu button in the Mozilla Firefox browser and go to Settings.

In the subsequent tab, make sure General is selected. Then, scroll to the Network Settings section and click on Settings.

In the popup that appears, scroll to Enable DNS over HTTPS. Then, uncheck the accompanying box.

To save your changes, click on OK and then exit this window. From this point onwards, Firefox will honor any custom addresses that you add to your Windows 10 hosts file.

How To Edit Your Windows 10 Hosts File (In 3 Steps)

There are many reasons why you might need to edit this important file. Regardless of whether you want to block advertising networks, verify a new domain, or perform other DNS-related tests, the process will be exactly the same.

Let’s look at how to add custom addresses to the Windows 10 hosts file.

1. Find Your IP Address

Often, you’ll want to change how Windows 10 resolves the IP address of a site that you own. To make this modification, you’ll need to know your website’s IP address.

If you’re a Kinsta customer, you can retrieve this information easily using the MyKinsta dashboard.

Find the domain that you want to work with and click on it. On the next screen, you’ll find some information about this domain, including your IP address.

Alternatively, you might want to modify how Windows 10 resolves a third-party IP address. You can retrieve any website’s IP address using tracert.

Tracert is typically used as a network diagnostic tool to help resolve network connectivity issues. However, you can also use it to trace the paths a data packet takes from its source to its destination, which will reveal the IP address of the destination website.

To launch tracert, click on the Start icon, then type command prompt into the search bar.

When the command prompt icon appears, give it a click. In the subsequent window, type tracert followed by the URL of the website in question, for example:

tracert website.com

Next, press the Enter key on your keyboard. The command prompt will then display the IP address of website.com in a bracket alongside the URL.

2. Run Notepad as an Administrator

In Windows XP and earlier, editing your hosts file was relatively straightforward. You could simply add an exception to your antivirus, open the hosts file in the Notepad application, and then make your changes.

However, Windows 10 added some security measures to prevent users from accidentally modifying this important file. This makes sense, as editing the hosts file could potentially make your favorite websites inaccessible. In the worst-case scenario, it might even make the Internet unusable on your machine.

In Windows 10, the hosts information is stored in a plain text file in the internal System32 folder. While you should have no problems opening this file, when you try to save your edits you might encounter the following error: “You don’t have permission to save in this location. Contact the administrator to obtain permission”.

If you want to save your changes, you’ll need administrator access. The quickest way to gain this is to use a text application that has elevated privileges. In this post, we’ll be using Notepad.

To start, press the Windows key and type Notepad into the search field.

Next, right-click on Notepad and select Run as Administrator. Windows 10 will now ask whether you want to allow this application to make changes to your device. Select Yes.

This launches a privileged instance of the Notepad application. Note that you may be asked to enter an administrative password in order to re-authenticate yourself.

3. Make Your Changes

Once you have Notepad open in administrator mode, you’re ready to edit the hosts file. In the Notepad toolbar, select File > Open.

Then, navigate to C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts. Alternatively, you can copy/paste this file path into the address bar and then press Enter.

If you don’t see the hosts file in your /etc directory, you may need to change the file filter type. In Notepad, open the File name dropdown and choose All Files.

Once you have the hosts file in your sights, you’re ready to edit. If this is your first time opening this file, you’ll see some text describing the file’s purpose and how to make modifications, for example:

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

You can now add your custom IP address and hostname to the end of this file. If you’re adding multiple entries, remember to place each entry on a separate line. Once you’re happy with your changes, you can save and close the hosts file.

To make sure your computer recognizes your edits, it’s a good idea to flush the DNS cache. If you don’t currently have a command prompt window open, click on the Windows button and search for command prompt. In the subsequent window, type the following:

ipconfig /flushdns

To flush the DNS cache, press the Enter key. Once this process is complete, Windows 10 should be using your new hosts file settings. Alternatively, restarting your computer should have the same effect.

How To Lock Your Hosts File on Windows 10

By default, you cannot edit the hosts file without administrator privileges. However, it isn’t impossible to acquire these privileges, especially for tech-savvy individuals.

If you’re worried about unauthorized edits, you can add an extra layer of security to your hosts file. For example, you might be using the hosts file to prevent staff from accessing social media sites and you’re concerned about them bypassing your restrictions. You might also be worried about hosts file hijack attacks.

In these scenarios, you might want to consider locking your hosts file. While this security precaution isn’t bullet-proof, it will dissuade third parties from tampering with the file.

To lock your hosts file, navigate to C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts. Then, right-click on the file and select Properties.

In the Properties window, mark the hosts file as Read-only. This will lock the file and prevent anyone from modifying it.

If you want to remove this lock at any point, simply navigate back to the Properties window. You can then remove this Read-only restriction.

How To Reset Your Windows 10 Hosts File

You can always remove individual entries from your hosts file. Simply open the file in Notepad and delete the line in question.

However, sometimes you may need to revert your hosts file to its original state. For example, you might have made multiple adjustments to your file and don’t particularly want to unpick each of these changes manually. You may also be encountering strange redirects, which suggests that your hosts file has become corrupted.

To reset your hosts file back to its original state, open your File Explorer. In the address bar, either type or copy/paste the following:

%systemroot% system32driversetc

Then, press the Enter key on your keyboard. At this point, we recommend renaming your original hosts file. This file will then serve as a backup, just in case you encounter any issues with your new hosts file.You may be required to take ownership of this file first, depending on how privileges are configured on your computer.

The next step is creating a new default hosts file. To achieve this, create a text file in the %WinDir%system32driversetc directory, and name this file hosts.

You can now copy/paste the text from Windows’ default hosts file, which is provided by Microsoft:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.

#

# For example:

#

# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server

# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.

# 127.0.0.1 localhost

# ::1 localhost

Save this file. As always, you may need to reset your computer or flush your DNS cache in order for these changes to take effect.

Worried about testing DNS-related changes? 😅Don’t sweat it. 😄 Learn how to use your local hosts file to preview edits without putting your site at risk 👇Click to Tweet

Summary

Making changes to your DNS records can feel like a stressful endeavor. However, as we discussed in this article, you can safely test your local hosts file without putting your live records at risk. In Windows 10, you can do this by finding your IP address, running Notepad as an administrator, then making your changes.

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The Domain Name System (DNS) is the key to locating a website on the Internet. With so much at stake, making changes to your DNS records can be a nerve-wracking experience.

Fortunately, there is a way to test DNS-related changes without editing your live records. By modifying your local hosts file, you can preview how your domains will function on a new server without putting your live site at risk.

In this post, we’ll explore what hosts files are and share some reasons why you may want to modify them. We’ll then show you how to edit hosts files on Windows 10. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to the Hosts File

A hosts file is a local plain text file that maps your server or hostnames to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Every time Windows 10 connects over a network using a hostname, it’ll refer to the hosts file. If Windows finds an entry in this file, then it’ll contact the specified server.

If it doesn’t find a relevant hostname, Windows 10 will resolve the hostname using a Domain Name Service (DNS). This is the process used to obtain the server IP address behind a domain name.

Each hosts file entry has its own line, with the numerical IP address, a space or a tab character, and finally the hostname or domain. Let’s look at an example of a hosts file entry:

120.0.0.0 example.com #Example

In the above example, the first section denotes the IP address where this request will be redirected to (120.0.0.0). The second section designates the location that we want to redirect a request from (example.com). The final section specifies a comment for this entry. We‘re using a hashtag to tell Windows 10 to ignore the comment when reading the local hosts file.

After adding the domain information, your system will resolve to the IP address you specified. In the above example, we’re associating the domain name example.com with the IP address 120.0.0.0.

It’s worth noting that some software employs its own techniques to look up hostnames. This means there’s always a chance that it may ignore the hosts file completely.

DNS is the key to locating a website. 🔑 With so much at stake, making changes to your DNS records can be a nerve-wracking experience. 😰 Learn how to safely modify your host files in this guide 👇Click to Tweet

What Happens When You Modify a Hosts File?

When you modify your hosts file, it causes your local machine to look directly at the IP address specified by you. For example, if you wanted to point mywebsite.com to the IP address 1.2.3.4.5, you’d add the following:

1.2.3.4.5 mywebsite.com

Now, every time you try to visit mywebsite.com, you’ll find yourself at 1.2.3.4.5 instead. By editing your hosts file, you can override the DNS for a domain on your specific machine only.

In this post, we’ll be focusing on opening your hosts file and adding individual entries. However, it is also possible to replace this file entirely. This can be an easy way to block malicious or spammy websites in bulk. There are even sites that have published ready-made lists of IP addresses associated with advertisements, hijackers, page counters, and other unwanted connections.

You can download one of these pre-prepared lists and copy/paste its contents into your existing hosts file. Alternatively, you might replace your native hosts file with the newly-downloaded file. If you do opt for the latter, then we recommend keeping a copy of your original file, just in case you encounter any strange behavior with its replacement.

Why You May Want To Modify the Windows 10 Hosts File

You can use your hosts file to test DNS-related changes without having to alter your DNS records. For example, imagine you’ve migrated to a new server. Before updating your DNS settings, it’s a good idea to verify how your domains will look and function on this new server.

However, if you enter your current domain name, then it’ll resolve to your old server. In this scenario, you can modify your hosts file to point the domain to the new server’s IP.

This file can also help test how your website looks on a different server when your DNS hasn’t propagated yet. At Kinsta we provide a temporary URL (sitename.kinsta.cloud), but this cannot mimic everything. For example, by default, a CDN won’t work on a temporary URL.

You can also use the hosts file to block certain websites. This can be useful for employers who want to ensure that their staff isn’t wasting time on unauthorized sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

While there are fewer technical ways to block access to unauthorized websites, many of these methods are relatively easy to reverse. For example, a tech-savvy child may have little problems bypassing parental controls, but modifying the hosts file requires a higher level of technical knowledge.

You might take this a step further and block all websites that serve up advertisements. If you map the addresses of all the major ad providers to an unused internal IP address, then Windows 10 will be unable to resolve these addresses. You can then enjoy the web, advertisement-free.

Finally, some malicious third parties may set up redirects by altering your hosts file. This is known as a hosts file hijack. If you’re encountering strange redirects, then it may be worth checking your hosts file for suspicious entries.

How To Make Firefox Honor the Windows 10 Hosts File

If you’re using Firefox for Windows, then Mozilla’s browser resolves IP addresses slightly differently compared to the other major browsers. By default, Firefox uses DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH).

This is a protocol for performing remote DNS resolution via HTTPS. With this setting enabled, Firefox will use the DOH server as the primary name resolver, rather than checking your local hosts file or DNS resolver.

As a result, the website displayed will always point to the IP address that the Internet deems authoritative for that domain. Even if you edit your hosts file, your changes won’t have any effect if the DoH server returns a working IP address.

There are plenty of great web browsers that are compatible with Windows 10 and that honor the hosts file out-of-the-box. However, if you want to stick with Mozilla Firefox, you can always disable DoH.

To start, select the Menu button in the Mozilla Firefox browser and go to Settings.

In the subsequent tab, make sure General is selected. Then, scroll to the Network Settings section and click on Settings.

In the popup that appears, scroll to Enable DNS over HTTPS. Then, uncheck the accompanying box.

To save your changes, click on OK and then exit this window. From this point onwards, Firefox will honor any custom addresses that you add to your Windows 10 hosts file.

How To Edit Your Windows 10 Hosts File (In 3 Steps)

There are many reasons why you might need to edit this important file. Regardless of whether you want to block advertising networks, verify a new domain, or perform other DNS-related tests, the process will be exactly the same.

Let’s look at how to add custom addresses to the Windows 10 hosts file.

1. Find Your IP Address

Often, you’ll want to change how Windows 10 resolves the IP address of a site that you own. To make this modification, you’ll need to know your website’s IP address.

If you’re a Kinsta customer, you can retrieve this information easily using the MyKinsta dashboard.

Find the domain that you want to work with and click on it. On the next screen, you’ll find some information about this domain, including your IP address.

Alternatively, you might want to modify how Windows 10 resolves a third-party IP address. You can retrieve any website’s IP address using tracert.

Tracert is typically used as a network diagnostic tool to help resolve network connectivity issues. However, you can also use it to trace the paths a data packet takes from its source to its destination, which will reveal the IP address of the destination website.

To launch tracert, click on the Start icon, then type command prompt into the search bar.

When the command prompt icon appears, give it a click. In the subsequent window, type tracert followed by the URL of the website in question, for example:

tracert website.com

Next, press the Enter key on your keyboard. The command prompt will then display the IP address of website.com in a bracket alongside the URL.

2. Run Notepad as an Administrator

In Windows XP and earlier, editing your hosts file was relatively straightforward. You could simply add an exception to your antivirus, open the hosts file in the Notepad application, and then make your changes.

However, Windows 10 added some security measures to prevent users from accidentally modifying this important file. This makes sense, as editing the hosts file could potentially make your favorite websites inaccessible. In the worst-case scenario, it might even make the Internet unusable on your machine.

In Windows 10, the hosts information is stored in a plain text file in the internal System32 folder. While you should have no problems opening this file, when you try to save your edits you might encounter the following error: “You don’t have permission to save in this location. Contact the administrator to obtain permission”.

If you want to save your changes, you’ll need administrator access. The quickest way to gain this is to use a text application that has elevated privileges. In this post, we’ll be using Notepad.

To start, press the Windows key and type Notepad into the search field.

Next, right-click on Notepad and select Run as Administrator. Windows 10 will now ask whether you want to allow this application to make changes to your device. Select Yes.

This launches a privileged instance of the Notepad application. Note that you may be asked to enter an administrative password in order to re-authenticate yourself.

3. Make Your Changes

Once you have Notepad open in administrator mode, you’re ready to edit the hosts file. In the Notepad toolbar, select File > Open.

Then, navigate to C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts. Alternatively, you can copy/paste this file path into the address bar and then press Enter.

If you don’t see the hosts file in your /etc directory, you may need to change the file filter type. In Notepad, open the File name dropdown and choose All Files.

Once you have the hosts file in your sights, you’re ready to edit. If this is your first time opening this file, you’ll see some text describing the file’s purpose and how to make modifications, for example:

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

You can now add your custom IP address and hostname to the end of this file. If you’re adding multiple entries, remember to place each entry on a separate line. Once you’re happy with your changes, you can save and close the hosts file.

To make sure your computer recognizes your edits, it’s a good idea to flush the DNS cache. If you don’t currently have a command prompt window open, click on the Windows button and search for command prompt. In the subsequent window, type the following:

ipconfig /flushdns

To flush the DNS cache, press the Enter key. Once this process is complete, Windows 10 should be using your new hosts file settings. Alternatively, restarting your computer should have the same effect.

How To Lock Your Hosts File on Windows 10

By default, you cannot edit the hosts file without administrator privileges. However, it isn’t impossible to acquire these privileges, especially for tech-savvy individuals.

If you’re worried about unauthorized edits, you can add an extra layer of security to your hosts file. For example, you might be using the hosts file to prevent staff from accessing social media sites and you’re concerned about them bypassing your restrictions. You might also be worried about hosts file hijack attacks.

In these scenarios, you might want to consider locking your hosts file. While this security precaution isn’t bullet-proof, it will dissuade third parties from tampering with the file.

To lock your hosts file, navigate to C:WindowsSystem32driversetchosts. Then, right-click on the file and select Properties.

In the Properties window, mark the hosts file as Read-only. This will lock the file and prevent anyone from modifying it.

If you want to remove this lock at any point, simply navigate back to the Properties window. You can then remove this Read-only restriction.

How To Reset Your Windows 10 Hosts File

You can always remove individual entries from your hosts file. Simply open the file in Notepad and delete the line in question.

However, sometimes you may need to revert your hosts file to its original state. For example, you might have made multiple adjustments to your file and don’t particularly want to unpick each of these changes manually. You may also be encountering strange redirects, which suggests that your hosts file has become corrupted.

To reset your hosts file back to its original state, open your File Explorer. In the address bar, either type or copy/paste the following:

%systemroot% system32driversetc

Then, press the Enter key on your keyboard. At this point, we recommend renaming your original hosts file. This file will then serve as a backup, just in case you encounter any issues with your new hosts file.You may be required to take ownership of this file first, depending on how privileges are configured on your computer.

The next step is creating a new default hosts file. To achieve this, create a text file in the %WinDir%system32driversetc directory, and name this file hosts.

You can now copy/paste the text from Windows’ default hosts file, which is provided by Microsoft:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.

#

# For example:

#

# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server

# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.

# 127.0.0.1 localhost

# ::1 localhost

Save this file. As always, you may need to reset your computer or flush your DNS cache in order for these changes to take effect.

Worried about testing DNS-related changes? 😅Don’t sweat it. 😄 Learn how to use your local hosts file to preview edits without putting your site at risk 👇Click to Tweet

Summary

Making changes to your DNS records can feel like a stressful endeavor. However, as we discussed in this article, you can safely test your local hosts file without putting your live records at risk. In Windows 10, you can do this by finding your IP address, running Notepad as an administrator, then making your changes.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, then you’ll love our support. All of our hosting plans include 24/7 support from our world-class WordPress developers and engineers. We can provide the help you need to succeed, regardless of whether it’s 2:00 a.m. or 2:00 p.m.