Do we must need to add hnsc address to host files?

I am facing issue,

According to this blog, I should add it to host files, but when i ping my site using this,

portal.fruitfactory.com

ping works, But it doesn't work in visual studio as you see above.

My network admin says I don't need to add address to the host file point to 127.0.0.1, so why do i need to add it ???