Windows 8 - IE cannot reach sites listed in hosts file

Question

I have many local websites set up in IIS and have entries in my hosts file to make the websites available locally.

I've come from a Windows 7 machine where everything was working correctly in all browsers. The move to Windows 8, using the same hosts file and the same websites in IIS seems to be causing issues with Internet Explorer (11).

I can access the website: mywebsite.local in Firefox and Chrome but am unable to access the same website in Internet Explorer. I've made sure that I'm not connected via any proxies or VPN connections and that my hosts file entry is typed correctly yet Internet Explorer is still aborting the connection with the error: "This page can't be displayed".

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Jon

Answer 1

I ran into the same problem.

In IE10 and IE11 protected mode is always on by default. Add the URL to the trusted sites at the security tab of Internet Explorer settings.

Also with Windows 8.1, unchecking "Automatically detect settings" at the LAN settings (connection tab) will enable custom entries in the HOSTS file.