Browsers Ignore Change in Hosts File

I modified C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for a local test. However, the browser did not respect to the change in hosts file. At last, I found it’s due to the proxy settings in my machine. Change in hosts took effect once after I unchecked all proxy configuration in Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN settings.

If unfortunately in your network, connections are proxied by force (for example, in a corporate network), you can try to let the proxy bypass some domains by adding the domains into LAN settings -> Proxy server -> Advanced -> Exceptions.