In SOLIDWORKS PDM environments, the local Windows hosts file is used as a temporary workaround for .
Your computer usually checks a DNS server to find out where www.google.com lives. However, the HOSTS file has priority. If you tell your computer that www.google.com points to 127.0.0.1 (your own machine), your browser will crash when trying to load Google. Solidworks Host File Block
# SolidWorks blocking
127.0.0.1 activation.solidworks.com
127.0.0.1 licensing.solidworks.com
To understand why and how administrators or advanced users modify the hosts file to prevent SolidWorks from communicating with specific external servers. DNS (Domain Name System) issues In SOLIDWORKS PDM
