There are several reasons why you might want to
block certain websites on your computer. Some websites could be spreading
viruses, contain explicit content or even be trying to steal your personal
data. While you may well be more than capable of avoiding these websites, but
that doesn't stand true for every one who uses your device. In such cases, it
might be best to block certain websites.
There are different ways to go about blocking
websites. You can choose to block websites only on specific browsers, the
entire operating system, or indeed your network router. Here's how to block
websites.
On
your computer
If you want to control access to websites on just
one machine, then you can set up block at the operating system level. This
method for blocking websites is not too hard to configure and will work across
browsers.
Windows
One of the backbones of the Internet is the DNS
system that translates easy to remember (and type) names such as www.google.com
into equivalent IP addresses (8.8.8.8). While you use DNS servers to get to
websites, your computer also has something called a HOSTS file which can have
this information stored locally. This can be used to disable access to unwanted
websites. We checked this method with both Windows 7 and Windows 8.
1. Make sure you have administrator access on your
computer. Sign in to your PC using an administrator account and go to
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\
2. Double-click the file named "hosts" and
select Notepad from the list of programs to open the file. Click OK. The last
two lines of your hosts file should read "# 127.0.0.1 localhost" and
"# ::1 localhost".
2a. In case you can't edit the file, you'll need to
right-click the file labelled hosts and select Properties. Click the Security
tab, select the administrator account and click Edit.
2b. In the pop-up, select the account again and
check Full control. Click Apply > Yes. Now click OK in all pop-ups.
3. At the end of the file, you can add the addresses
of websites to block. To do this, just add a line at the end of the file, with
127.0.0.1 and then the name of the site you want to block - this will redirect
the site's name to your local computer.
4. To block Google, for example, add "127.0.0.1
www.google.com" to the end of the file without the quote marks. You can
block as many sites as you want this way, but remember you can only add one per
line.
5. Repeat this step until you've added all websites
you want to block.
6. Now close the hosts file and click Save. Reboot
your computer for the changes to take effect and you'll find that all those
websites are now blocked.
Mac
Here's how to block websites on OS X .
1. Make sure you have administrator access to your
Mac. Now open Terminal. You can find it under /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.
2. Type sudo nano /etc/hosts and press enter. Enter
the user (login) password when prompted.
3. This will open the file /etc/hosts in a text
editor. Type the name of the website in a new line in this format
"127.0.0.1 www.blockedwebsite.com" (minus the quotes). For each
website you want to block, start a new line and type the same command with only
the name of the website being replaced. When done, press ctrl+x and then Y to
save changes.
4. Now key in the command sudo dscacheutil
-flushcache and press Enter or restart your machine to make sure the websites
are blocked.
Browser-level
blocks
Blocking a website on any browser is the easiest way
to get the job done.
On Firefox, you can install an addon called
BlockSite to block website.
1. Install the addon, press ctrl+shift+a, and click
Extensions on the left. Now click Options under BlockSite. In the pop-up, click
Add and type the name of the website you want blocked. Repeat the process for
all websites you don't want to access. Click OK.
2. Now these websites will be blocked on Firefox.
You can also set a password in BlockSite to prevent others from editing the
list of blocked websites. This can be done via the options menu described in
the previous step.
BlockSite is also available on Google Chrome.
Internet Explorer lets you block websites easily.
Here's how.
1. Open the browser and go to Tools (alt+x) >
Internet Options. Now click the security tab and then click the red Restricted
sites icon. Click the Sites button below the icon.
2. Now in the pop-up, manually type the websites you
want to block one-by-one. Click Add after typing the name of each site. When
done, click Close and click OK in all other windows. Now these websites will be
blocked in Internet Explorer.
On
your phone or tablet
iOS
Apple has some handy parental control tools that let
you block certain websites. Here's how.
1. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions.
2. Tap on Enable Restrictions. Now set a passcode
for restrictions. This should ideally be different from the passcode you use to
unlock the phone.
3. After the passcode is set, scroll down and tap
Websites. Here you can either choose to limit adult content, or allow access to
specific websites only.
4. In specific websites only, there's a short list
of allowed websites including Discovery Kids and Disney, but you can also add
sites by tapping on Add a Website.
5. If you tap Limit adult content, Apple blocks
websites that are deemed objectionable, but you can whitelist websites by
tapping on Add a Website under Always Allow, or blacklist them by tapping on it
under Never Allow.
6. If you try to access a blocked website, you see a
message telling you it is restricted. Tap the Allow Website and key in the
Restrictions passcode to open that website.
Android
On Android, you'll need to edit the hosts file on
your device to redirect sites you want to block. You'll need a file manager,
and a text editor - the easiest option is to use our favourite app ES File
Explorer, which lets you do both things. Here's how it works.
1. Install ES File Explorer Open ES File Explorer
and tap the "/" button at the top. Tap on system > etc.
2. In this folder, you'll see the hosts file - tap
it and in the pop up menu, tap text. In the next pop up, tap ES Note Editor.
3. Tap the three dots button in the top right, and
tap edit.
4. Now, you're editing the file, and to block sites,
you want to redirect their DNS. To do this, just start a new line, and type
"127.0.0.1 www.blockedwebsite.com" (without the quotes, where blocked
website is the name of the site you're blocking) for each website you want to
block. For example, you'll have to type 127.0.0.1 www.google.com to block
Google.
5. Reboot your Android device.
If that method is too complex for you, you can
install an anti-virus app such as Trend Micro that lets you block websites.
1. Install the app and run it. Go to Options >
Safe surfing.
2. Now swipe to Parental Controls and click set up
account. Create an account and you'll see an option called Blocked List in the
app. Tap it, and tap Add. Now add the websites you want to block one at a time.
Once that is done, you won't be able to access these websites on your Android
smartphone.
Windows
Phone
You can't do a full block of websites on Windows
Phone, buy you can download the AVG Family Safety browser. By default it blocks
websites with malicious or explicit content, and if you purchase an AVG
anti-virus licence and create an account, you can customise the list of blocked
websites.
On
your network
If you have a Wi-Fi network in the house, then it is
easier to just set up a block on unwanted websites via your Wi-Fi router. Most
routers don't have very user friendly interfaces, so this can be a little
daunting, and of course, the steps can vary for each router, but the basic process
you follow is pretty similar, so if you're just a little patient, this is
actually pretty easy.
Changing the wrong setting could accidentally
de-activate your connection, so if you get stuck, call your ISP right away.
1. We tried this on a Beetel 450TC1 router provided
by MTNL in Delhi, and with a Binatone Router provided by Airtel. The steps were
exactly the same for both. To start, you need to go to your router's settings.
Open any browser and type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar. Press Enter. Some
routers use a different address, so if this doesn't work, check and see if it
is mentioned in the documentation from your ISP.
2. Now you will have to enter a username and
password. This would have been set up during the installation of your
connection - defaults are usually username: admin, and password: password. If
not, check with your ISP and get the correct username and password.
3. As mentioned earlier, the interface can differ.
In our MTNL router, we found that we could block websites under Access
Management > Filter.
4. Here there's a drop-down menu called Filter type
selection. We selected URL Filter and typed the website we wanted to block in
the URL field below. Above this field, there is an option called Active. Here
we saw two buttons, Yes and No. We selected Yes and hit Save. This blocked the
website on our network.
5. You can create 16 lists of blocked websites, each
containing 16 websites, using this method, letting you block up to 256
websites. Again, this will vary from router or router.
This guide should have helped you block websites on
almost any device. If you know any other methods to block sites, let us know
via the comments. For more tutorials.
(Know about this topic from gadgets ndtv )
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