How activate custom plugin in WordPress on virtual box "host only adapter" and no internet connection?

Question

I'm running WordPress in Virtual Box CentOS 6.5 on a laptop without an internet connection. I am able to get the CMS in a web browser by running the virtual box using a "host only adapter". however, when I try to activate my plugin, it throws an error:

WordPress could not establish a secure connection to WordPress.org

Why does it even need to connect to WordPress.org? How do I stop this error and activate my plugin?

Edit: it appears to have activated the plugin if I go back to the main CMS page. Why is the error occurring at all?

Answer 1

I believe, wordpress need to connect to wordpress.org to send the statistics about the plugins that are used on your website. For example, when one of your plugins has an update, wordpress will give you a notification about it. If an error raised because cannot connect to wordpress.org, don't worry because it is not a fatal one, and the plugins can still be activated and used properly.