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.

Answer 2

In addition to Michael Hompus answer, here is a step by step guide to fix it:
1. In IE, click on gear icon (config) -> Internet Options
2. In the dialog box, click "Security" tab -> "Local intranet" -> click "Sites" button -> click "Advance" button
3. Type in your website, click "Add" button! Then close it and your are done!

This worked for me after upgrading to windows 8.1 and IE 11.

Answer 3

I had the same issue, where we load balance our site across multiple servers, and I try to hit each one individually. What worked for me is going into your Internet Options, and on the Security tab, just remove the checkmark next to "Enable Protected Mode (requires restarting Internet Explorer)" and it should start using your hosts file entries.

Answer 4

I went through all this and found that turning off the Proxy server checkbox fixed all my problems. I left the protection on.

Answer 5

See https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/fiddler/2011/12/10/revisiting-fiddler-and-win8-immersive-applications/ for a simple utility that allows you to disable the restriction so that you can load content from the localhost.

See https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/ieinternals/2012/03/23/understanding-enhanced-protected-mode/ for the gory details of the restriction introduced in Windows 8.