How to block a website
Who needs the whole Internet at the touch of a button? Here's how to block some of them
You sit at your desk at work and fiddle with spreadsheets or documents online if you suddenly want to see Facebook. A harmless mistake, of course. But you do not even feel productive every hour, and you've done absolutely nothing. It is a problem.
And your people? Stay awake all night and read Facebook, YouTube and everything that does not support a healthy lifestyle.
The good news is that there are many ways to block access to specific websites that are time-consuming or explicit, whether you want to restrict access at all times or at specific times of day.
Method # 1: Use of Parental Controls
Both Windows and MacOS have built-in parental controls that let you easily block what you do not want to make available on your system. If you want more features, we have designed the best free parental control software here.
Parental Control in Windows 10
Step 1: You must first set up a child account. To do this, go to the Windows 10 Setup menu by searching for it or by clicking the gear icon in the Start menu.
Step 2: Click on "Accounts".
Step 3: Click on the "Family and other people" tab and click the "Add family member" button.
Step 4: Click on "Add a child" and enter the information you need to set up your child's profile.
Step 5: Go to your Microsoft Account page. Select the Web Browsing tab and select the "Only show sites in the permissions list" checkbox.
Step 6: Here you can see the sections "Always allow" and "Always block". Enter the URLs of the websites to be blocked in the appropriate area and click on the "Block" button on the right.
Using parental control in MacOS
Windows is not the only operating system that allows you to control your child's activities online. You can use the Parental Control feature in MacOS to block websites. This is especially useful if you want to keep your children away from certain websites without restricting other users' access.
Step 1: Open "System Preferences" and click on the "Parental Control" button.
Step 2: Your Mac asks if you want to create a new profile with parental controls or add it to your current profile. For example, if you want to block Web sites when your kids use the computer and keep them open for you, select "Create a new parental control account".
Step 3: If your current profile is password protected, you will need to enter your password. Once the profile has been created, select it in Parental Control and click on the "Web" tab.
Step 4: If you feel particularly draconian, you can only grant access to certain websites. Otherwise just click on the "Customize" button.
The pop-up window that follows displays a section for adding always allowed websites and a bottom section for websites that are never allowed.
Step 5: To add a site that you want to block, click the add icon under the "Do not allow" heading and enter the address of the site you want to block. Now enter as many pages as you want to block, one per line.
Step 6: When you are done, click "OK" in the lower right corner.
METHOD 2: OLD HOST FILES
Block the Windows hosts file
Blocking certain websites in Windows is easy and usually child safe. It's completely free, does not require any additional software, and only makes a few quick changes to the Windows host file on your computer. The hosts file, a text file used by the operating system to assign IP addresses and hostnames, can be used to redirect a domain name to the local computer, blocking the desired Web site. This is a great way to prevent users from seeing content that you do not want to see, regardless of the browser and the time of day.
Note, however, that you must have administrative rights to change the file. This can be a bit technical. You can always undo the change as needed, but the process is a bit more convenient than the Windows / MacOS parental control.
Step 1: In Windows Explorer, navigate to the hosts file by clicking C:> Windows> System32> drivers> and so on.
Step 2: Double-click "Hosts" and select Notepad when prompted to select a program to open the file. You can also open the editor and access the host file by selecting File> Open and place the file in this window.
Step 3: The editor displays multiple lines of text for mapping purposes. Below the last line of text, you should say something on a local host, type "127.0.0.1" and press the SPACEBAR. Then enter the IP address of the website you want to block on the same line. For example, enter "127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com" to block all traffic from the most popular video sharing page.
Step 4: Continue the sites you want to block in this way by starting with "127.0.0.1". Tracked down by a space and the corresponding website. Make sure you use only "www" and avoid adding "http" unless you want the entry to be invalid. Do not edit any other text in the hosts file.
Step 5: Once you've added the pages you want to block, click on the "File" option in the top left corner, choose "Save" - do not rename or save the location - and ignore the warnings via Edit the hosts of the file. Then close the notebook when you are done.
Step 6: Open your favorite browser and test the results! You should automatically receive a blank page each time you access one of the websites in your blacklist. You may need to restart your browser and wait a few minutes for the changes to take effect.
Use the MacOS host file
Blocking websites with MacOS works the same way as blocking websites with Windows. The process is free, relatively quick, and requires changing your Mac's host file to redirect a specific domain name. It's a simple process that prevents users from seeing content that you believe can be locked in all browsers. However, they can be reversed if you want to grant access to the sites in the future.
Step 1: Start Terminal by navigating to the main application folder, clicking Utilities, and selecting the program from the resulting list. You can also do this by searching for the program in Spotlight.
Step 2: Now it's time to make a copy of the hosts file in case something goes wrong. On the terminal command line, type "sudo / bin / cp / etc / hosts / etc / hosts-original" to back up the file in question. Click on "Enter" and enter your administrative password on request. It may seem that the keys are not recorded correctly, that is, the cursor does not move, but you can be sure that they are.
Step 3: Type "sudo nano / etc / hosts" and press Enter on the terminal command line to open your host file in a nano-box. Then enter your administrator password on request.
Step 4: Once the hosts file is open, you will see several lines of text for mapping purposes. Below the last line of text, you should say something on a local host, type "127.0.0.1" and press the SPACEBAR. Then enter the IP address of the website you want to block on the same line. For example, enter "127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com" to block all traffic from the most popular video sharing page.
Step 5: Add more web pages that you want to block in this way, each starting with "127.0.0.1". Tracked down by a space and the corresponding website. Make sure you only use "www" and avoid adding "http" unless you want the entry to be invalid and not change any other text in the hosts file.
Step 6: When done, hold down the "Control" button and press "Y" to save the changes. Then hold down the Ctrl key and press "X" to exit the host file.
Step 7: Next, enter "sudo dscacheutil -flushcache" and press Enter again to clear the existing cache and apply the changes. You can also restart your computer.
Once it's up, open your favorite browser and try the results! You should automatically receive a blank page each time you access one of the websites in your blacklist.
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You sit at your desk at work and fiddle with spreadsheets or documents online if you suddenly want to see Facebook. A harmless mistake, of course. But you do not even feel productive every hour, and you've done absolutely nothing. It is a problem.
And your people? Stay awake all night and read Facebook, YouTube and everything that does not support a healthy lifestyle.
The good news is that there are many ways to block access to specific websites that are time-consuming or explicit, whether you want to restrict access at all times or at specific times of day.
Method # 1: Use of Parental Controls
Both Windows and MacOS have built-in parental controls that let you easily block what you do not want to make available on your system. If you want more features, we have designed the best free parental control software here.
Parental Control in Windows 10
Step 1: You must first set up a child account. To do this, go to the Windows 10 Setup menu by searching for it or by clicking the gear icon in the Start menu.
Step 2: Click on "Accounts".
Step 3: Click on the "Family and other people" tab and click the "Add family member" button.
Step 4: Click on "Add a child" and enter the information you need to set up your child's profile.
Step 5: Go to your Microsoft Account page. Select the Web Browsing tab and select the "Only show sites in the permissions list" checkbox.
Step 6: Here you can see the sections "Always allow" and "Always block". Enter the URLs of the websites to be blocked in the appropriate area and click on the "Block" button on the right.
Using parental control in MacOS
Windows is not the only operating system that allows you to control your child's activities online. You can use the Parental Control feature in MacOS to block websites. This is especially useful if you want to keep your children away from certain websites without restricting other users' access.
Step 1: Open "System Preferences" and click on the "Parental Control" button.
Step 2: Your Mac asks if you want to create a new profile with parental controls or add it to your current profile. For example, if you want to block Web sites when your kids use the computer and keep them open for you, select "Create a new parental control account".
Step 3: If your current profile is password protected, you will need to enter your password. Once the profile has been created, select it in Parental Control and click on the "Web" tab.
Step 4: If you feel particularly draconian, you can only grant access to certain websites. Otherwise just click on the "Customize" button.
The pop-up window that follows displays a section for adding always allowed websites and a bottom section for websites that are never allowed.
Step 5: To add a site that you want to block, click the add icon under the "Do not allow" heading and enter the address of the site you want to block. Now enter as many pages as you want to block, one per line.
Step 6: When you are done, click "OK" in the lower right corner.
METHOD 2: OLD HOST FILES
Block the Windows hosts file
Blocking certain websites in Windows is easy and usually child safe. It's completely free, does not require any additional software, and only makes a few quick changes to the Windows host file on your computer. The hosts file, a text file used by the operating system to assign IP addresses and hostnames, can be used to redirect a domain name to the local computer, blocking the desired Web site. This is a great way to prevent users from seeing content that you do not want to see, regardless of the browser and the time of day.
Note, however, that you must have administrative rights to change the file. This can be a bit technical. You can always undo the change as needed, but the process is a bit more convenient than the Windows / MacOS parental control.
Step 1: In Windows Explorer, navigate to the hosts file by clicking C:> Windows> System32> drivers> and so on.
Step 2: Double-click "Hosts" and select Notepad when prompted to select a program to open the file. You can also open the editor and access the host file by selecting File> Open and place the file in this window.
Step 3: The editor displays multiple lines of text for mapping purposes. Below the last line of text, you should say something on a local host, type "127.0.0.1" and press the SPACEBAR. Then enter the IP address of the website you want to block on the same line. For example, enter "127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com" to block all traffic from the most popular video sharing page.
Step 4: Continue the sites you want to block in this way by starting with "127.0.0.1". Tracked down by a space and the corresponding website. Make sure you use only "www" and avoid adding "http" unless you want the entry to be invalid. Do not edit any other text in the hosts file.
Step 5: Once you've added the pages you want to block, click on the "File" option in the top left corner, choose "Save" - do not rename or save the location - and ignore the warnings via Edit the hosts of the file. Then close the notebook when you are done.
Step 6: Open your favorite browser and test the results! You should automatically receive a blank page each time you access one of the websites in your blacklist. You may need to restart your browser and wait a few minutes for the changes to take effect.
Use the MacOS host file
Blocking websites with MacOS works the same way as blocking websites with Windows. The process is free, relatively quick, and requires changing your Mac's host file to redirect a specific domain name. It's a simple process that prevents users from seeing content that you believe can be locked in all browsers. However, they can be reversed if you want to grant access to the sites in the future.
Step 1: Start Terminal by navigating to the main application folder, clicking Utilities, and selecting the program from the resulting list. You can also do this by searching for the program in Spotlight.
Step 2: Now it's time to make a copy of the hosts file in case something goes wrong. On the terminal command line, type "sudo / bin / cp / etc / hosts / etc / hosts-original" to back up the file in question. Click on "Enter" and enter your administrative password on request. It may seem that the keys are not recorded correctly, that is, the cursor does not move, but you can be sure that they are.
Step 3: Type "sudo nano / etc / hosts" and press Enter on the terminal command line to open your host file in a nano-box. Then enter your administrator password on request.
Step 4: Once the hosts file is open, you will see several lines of text for mapping purposes. Below the last line of text, you should say something on a local host, type "127.0.0.1" and press the SPACEBAR. Then enter the IP address of the website you want to block on the same line. For example, enter "127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com" to block all traffic from the most popular video sharing page.
Step 5: Add more web pages that you want to block in this way, each starting with "127.0.0.1". Tracked down by a space and the corresponding website. Make sure you only use "www" and avoid adding "http" unless you want the entry to be invalid and not change any other text in the hosts file.
Step 6: When done, hold down the "Control" button and press "Y" to save the changes. Then hold down the Ctrl key and press "X" to exit the host file.
Step 7: Next, enter "sudo dscacheutil -flushcache" and press Enter again to clear the existing cache and apply the changes. You can also restart your computer.
Once it's up, open your favorite browser and try the results! You should automatically receive a blank page each time you access one of the websites in your blacklist.
Editors' Recommendations
. How To Buy a Wi-Fi Router
. How to See and Delete Alexa's Recordings
. Luma Surround Wi-Fi Review
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