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I want Firefox to ignore the hosts file (Windows 10) like it does by default.

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  • Last reply by Terry

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I run Firefox Developer Edition.

I recently added some lines to my hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts). Despite these additions, Firefox ignored the hosts file and loaded the pages I had blocked just fine. So I tried a multitude of options like disabling "Enable DNS over HTTPS" and eventually I got to work and the hosts file was respected.

So after thinking about it for awhile, I actually DO want Firefox to ignore the hosts file like it did before I made the change. I reverted the "Enable DNS over HTTPS" setting to its default of enabled, and I've tried everything else I can think of, but I just can't get it to work.

How can I configure Firefox to ignore the system HOSTS file and load blocked pages anyway?

Could really use some help.

I run Firefox Developer Edition. I recently added some lines to my hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts). Despite these additions, Firefox ignored the hosts file and loaded the pages I had blocked just fine. So I tried a multitude of options like disabling "Enable DNS over HTTPS" and eventually I got to work and the hosts file was respected. So after thinking about it for awhile, I actually DO want Firefox to ignore the hosts file like it did before I made the change. I reverted the "Enable DNS over HTTPS" setting to its default of enabled, and I've tried everything else I can think of, but I just can't get it to work. How can I configure Firefox to ignore the system HOSTS file and load blocked pages anyway? Could really use some help.

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You can't stop Windows "hosts" file from running otherwise your computer will not connect to the internet. Windows uses that file to determine site and access. For this question you should post it on a Windows forum site for more help since that is Windows O/S system file.

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I have a preference in about:config but I am using Firefox on Linux. Try searching about:config for hosts.