Microsoft.com site does not work

Hi PeterH,

If the Hosts file is strictly default (only comments marked with #), the issue is likely stemming from a malicious Proxy configuration or a poisoned DNS cache that is persisting in memory. The "Microsoft Health Beacon" page appears when a client successfully connects to a Microsoft IP, but it is an IP reserved for backend connectivity checks (NCSI) rather than the public web frontend; your computer is effectively being told "go here" by a middleware setting.

You must inspect the legacy WinHTTP and WinINET proxy settings. Open the Run dialog (Win + R) and type inetcpl.cpl to open Internet Properties. Navigate to the Connections tab and click on LAN settings. Ensure that "Use a proxy server for your LAN" is unchecked and that "Use automatic configuration script" is also unchecked; malware often enables these to redirect legitimate traffic. Once those are cleared, open a Command Prompt as Administrator and run ipconfig /flushdns to purge the resolver cache. If the site remains inaccessible, run nslookup microsoft.com and report the IP address returned; this will confirm if your upstream DNS server (ISP or Router) is providing the incorrect routing data.

VP

Hi VPHAN,

Thank you very much for your kind and detailed explanation.
I checked the host but I did not find any suspicious lines.
All lines begin with a #.

Peter

Hi PeterH,

The error message "All external to Microsoft Health Beacon traffic should be routed to..." typically appears when a client machine attempts to connect to a specific Microsoft backend IP address that is not intended for public web traffic. This almost exclusively happens because your local Windows Hosts file has been modified to hardcode microsoft.com or office.com to an incorrect IP address (often done by third-party "privacy" scripts, anti-telemetry tools, or unauthorized license activators to block communication with Microsoft). Your computer is bypassing public DNS and forcing the browser to hit a dead or restricted endpoint.

To fix this, you need to sanitize your Hosts file. Open File Explorer and navigate to the path C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc. Locate the file named hosts (it has no file extension). Right-click the file, select Open with, and choose Notepad. You must verify if there are any lines at the bottom of the document that map IP addresses (like 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0 or other IPs) to domains such as microsoft.com, setup.office.com, or office.com. You must delete every line referencing a Microsoft domain. After saving the file, open a Command Prompt as Administrator and run the command ipconfig /flushdns to clear the cached bad routes. This will force Windows to query the public DNS servers again and should immediately restore access to the sites.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

VP