Thank you all for your responses.
Someone suggested setting the virtual machine IP to the local host IP of
127.0.0.1.
I use the Linux and Win hosts files to create a kind of local DNS. I
use a private IP such as 192,168,20.65, making the hosts entry
"192,168,20.65<tab>example.internal". I do not think an entry like
"127.0.0.1<tab>example.internal" would work.
I'm a PHP Dev and I know a bit of Linux so I am unqualified to say if it
would be ok to use "127.0.0.1<tab>example.internal" in my hosts files.
---
Lets ask ChatGPT
Prompt : would it be ok to use "127.0.0.1<tab>example.internal" in my
windows and Linux hosts files?
Chat's reply:
Yes, it's perfectly okay to use:
127.0.0.1 example.internal
in your Windows and Linux hosts files — and you can absolutely use a tab
character or spaces between the IP and the hostname. Both operating
systems support this.
✅ Valid Example
127.0.0.1 example.internal
or
127.0.0.1 example.internal
(both tab and spaces are fine)
📌 Important Notes:
.internal is valid for private/local use
Although .internal is not a public top-level domain, it’s fine
to use on local networks or development environments.
Just avoid using real domains unless you own them.
No DNS lookup involved
When you map example.internal to 127.0.0.1, your system will
skip DNS and directly resolve it to localhost.
Location of hosts file:
Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Linux: /etc/hosts
Permissions:
You’ll need admin/sudo privileges to edit the hosts file on both
systems.
🛠️ Use Case Example
Useful for local development:
127.0.0.1 mysite.local
127.0.0.1 admin.example.internal
127.0.0.1 php.test
You can now open http://example.internal in your browser, and it will
route to your local server (e.g., Apache/Nginx on 127.0.0.1).
---
Chat says it is ok, however it seems to be just wrong!
It seems that some on the list are using VirtualBox on their daily
driver. Given I use private IP addresses and non routable domains maybe
it is ok.
I think all my LAMP configurations are name-based virtual hosting. Given
this I can create a "shared hosting" type of configuration where
multiple virtual hosts use the sane IP address.
Other than running lots of stuff on Kubuntu, my daily, I wonder how
risky that would be virus running a separate box running VirtualBox or
Proxmox,
Your thoughts?
Thanks!!
Keith
On 2025-07-16 13:20, Stephen Partington via PLUG-discuss wrote:
I would not do this in my situation, but if i had needs and the
desktop is the only thing i had to work with I would use docker or a
VM in order to segment it afro my workstation/desktop
On Wed, Jul 16, 2025 at 4:57 AM Scott L. via PLUG-discuss
<plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
If it's bound to localhost (127.0.0.1[https://127.0.0.1]), is not
opening
listening ports externally (or said ports are blocked), and is
effectively walled off from the Internet, the risk is very low.
You could always block the program at the software level (and I
would),
but ideally you'd want to avoid forwarding any ports or allowing
external
(WAN) communication.
It's not unusual to run a web server on-demand, such as to preview a
web
page you're coding (e.g., when utilizing a JS-based framework). This
would be preferable to running it 24/7 if possible.
The weak point will probably be your router. Most consumer routers
allow
you to manually forward ports (which you wouldn't want to do here),
but
they'll also often automatically allow the program out via either
UPnP
and/or NAT-PMP (if requested).
If you know the program doesn't trigger that, or you've disabled it,
you
should be fine. It's really a matter of segmenting it from the
Internet.
If you're confident that you can do that, then you should be golden.
---
Scott Lopez
Email: p...@sl.neteng.cc
Web: https://bio.neteng.pro
----------------------------------------
Jul 14, 2025 1:43:29 AM David Schwartz <newslett...@thetoolwiz.com>:
I found that article and forwarded it to Keith. It was
specifically
about setting up and running a local web service for your own
personal
needs. The guy was not a developer. In fact, a couple of things he
said
he uses this for suggest just the opposite. He very briefly
mentions
external access, but that was clearly not the focus of the
article.
But I think Keith's question has to do with security implications
of
running a local web service on your main machine for LOCAL use at
localhost.
I’ve got a LAN at home and I’ve given some thought to what it
would
take to run a server on one machine ONLY for internal access. I
almost
set it up at one point, but changed my mind, but I haven’t ruled
it
out.
That article includes a single command you can run on a Mac to
turn on
your web server.
Windows includes IIS, and he shows how to activate it. Newer
versions
only install it if you request, and it’s easy to start it up as
a
service.
But MAMP, WAMP, and similar solutions have been available for
about 20
years now and I haven’t heard much about any security issues
simply
from running them on localhost / 127.0.0.1[https://127.0.0.1] .
Is there anything to worry about?
-David Schwartz
On Jul 14, 2025, at 12:10 AM, Eric Oyen via PLUG-discuss
<plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
Honestly,
I would rather the web server be on it’s own dedicated vm with
minimal
other services running and it’s own internal IP address on a
virtual
bridge answerable to the external ethernet interface. This is
actually
similar to what I ran post 2000 using VMWARE.
External ethernet card 1: unposted by host OS, linked to OpenBSD
vm as
internet interface
2nd ethernet interface was attached to internal virtual bridge
that
was also connected as a second interface to the openBSD vm. Host
OS
was linked to virtual bridge along with all other vm’s. This
way, all
instances and the host OS were protected behind the OpenBSD
instance
which acted as the firewall. One of those instances was a web
server
that hosted a simple website (one of the many things I tried to
learn
how to do).
At the time, that configuration for VMWare was not even
supported, let
alone documented. So, I had a pretty unique setup (and I did
document
it eventually and submitted it to the dev team at VMWare). Oh
man,
were they surprised.
-Eric
From the Central Offices of the Technomage Guild, Virtual
Environments
Coordinator Dept.
On Jul 13, 2025, at 3:00 PM, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss
<plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote:
Hi,
A friend sent me an article about a guy that always configures a
web
server on his desktop. I did some work with a guy who configured
his
daily driver MAC as a web server and used it for development.
I'm running Kubuntu on my desk top and Ubuntu on my
virtualization.
I could configure my desktop as a web server.... however I an not
so
sure I want to.
My main concern is security.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks!!
Keith
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
--
A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from
rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
Stephen
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list: PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
