Why Localtonet Is Not a Virus: A Developer-Friendly Tunneling Tool
In today’s development workflows, many developers need to expose their local services to the internet—for testing, showcasing, or interacting with external APIs like webhooks. Tools like Localtonet provide an easy way to do this through secure tunneling. However, some antivirus software might falsely flag such tools as malicious.
In this post, we’ll explain what Localtonet is, why it might be mistakenly detected as a virus, and why it is safe to use.
What Is Localtonet?
Localtonet is a tunneling service that allows developers to expose a local web server, API, or application running on their machine to the internet via a secure public URL. Use cases include:
- Testing mobile apps with webhooks
- Sharing a web project or API with a client or colleague
- Making an HTTP server running on an Android device publicly accessible
Localtonet simplifies these tasks by generating a temporary or permanent public URL like:
https://yourname.localto.net
Why Antivirus Software Might Flag It
Localtonet, like other tunneling tools (e.g., ngrok, localtunnel), works by establishing an outbound connection to a remote server and forwarding external traffic to your local machine.
Because this behavior resembles techniques used by certain types of malware (e.g., backdoors or remote access tools), some antivirus or firewall systems may falsely identify Localtonet as a threat. This is known as a false positive.
However, this does not mean that Localtonet is harmful.
Why Localtonet Is Safe
Here’s why you can trust Localtonet:
- ✅ Official Website & Downloads: Localtonet is available from its official website: https://localtonet.com/download
- ✅ No Background Activity: It only runs when you explicitly start it.
- ✅ No Data Collection: It does not access your files, monitor your system, or collect private data.
- ✅ Trusted by Developers: Many developers worldwide use it daily without issues.
- ✅ Clear and Transparent Functionality: Localtonet only does what you tell it to do—nothing more.
What To Do If You See a Virus Warning
- Make sure you downloaded Localtonet from the official website.
- Check the file’s SHA256 hash or digital signature, if available.
- Whitelist the file or folder in your antivirus software to prevent false alerts.
- Report the false positive to your antivirus vendor.
Conclusion
Localtonet is not a virus—it’s a helpful, lightweight tunneling tool for developers. Although its behavior may raise red flags for some security software, it is perfectly safe when used properly and downloaded from trusted sources.
