How To Edit Hosts File On Windows
Modifying your hosts file enables you to override the domain name system (DNS) for a domain on a specific machine. DNS management is useful when you want to test your site without the test link prior to going live with SSL, verify that an alias site works prior to DNS changes, and for other DNS-related reasons. For information about changing your DNS settings, see Changing DNS settings on Linux.
Modifying your hosts file causes your local machine to look directly at the Internet Protocol (IP) address that you specify