What's the difference between these lines: <pre class="prettyprint"><code>::1 localhost </code></pre> ...and <pre class="prettyprint"><code>127.0.0.1 localhost </code></pre> in Windows hosts file? Initially I had the line of the first kind in my hosts file and typing localhost in the browser led me to 127.0.0.1. Then I didn't use localhost prompt in the browser for some time, and when I needed to use it again it just didn't work. I changed the first line form the second one in my hosts file and it worked. Why could that happen?

::1 is IPv6. 127.0.0.1 is IPv4.

::1 is IPv6 127.0.0.1 is IPv4 I guess you disabled IPv6 in between tests?

Windows hosts file

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Initially I had the line of the first kind in my hosts file and typing localhost in the browser led me to 127.0.0.1. Then I didn't use localhost prompt in the browser for some time, and when I needed to use it again it just didn't work. I changed the first line form the second one in my hosts file and it worked. Why could that happen?