There are many ways to block a website. You can block a website on a specific browser, or on the entire operating system, or on your network. Websites can be blocked by:
If you want to control access to a website on only one machine on your computer, you can set up blocks at the operating system level. This method of blocking a website is not very difficult and it will work on every browser.
How to Block a Website in Windows 7
The DNS system is considered the backbone of the Internet. Its job is to convert any website address into an IP address. You use a DNS server to browse any website, while your computer has HOSTS files, which store these information on the local system. It can be used to block multiple websites. We tested this process on Windows 7 and Windows 8.
1. Make sure you have administrator access to your computer. Sign in to your computer with an administrator account, then go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\ .
2. Double-click the file named “hosts”, then choose Notepad from the list of programs to open the file. Then click OK. Now in the last two lines on notepad you will see…”#127.0.0.1 localhost” and “#::1 localhost”.
2a. If you can’t edit the file, right-click on the file named hosts and then select Properties. Click the Security tab, select the Administrator account, and then click Edit.
2b. In the pop-up, select Account once again, then check Full control. Click on Apply > Yes. Now click on OK in all the pop-ups.
3. At the end of the file, type the address of the website you want to block. To do this, add a line at the end of the file, in which first write 127.0.0.1, followed by the name of the website you want to block. Doing so will redirect the site name to your computer.
4. For example, to block Google, write “127.0.0.1 www.google.com” at the end of the file (don’t use quote marks). You can block multiple websites this way, but remember that you can only write the name of one website per line.
5. Repeat the above instructions until you have blocked all the websites you want.
6. After this close the hosts file and click on Save. Reboot your computer for these changes to take effect. After doing this you will find that all the websites you want have been blocked.
How to Block a Website on Mac
You can block websites on OS X this way.
1. First make sure you have administrator access to your Mac. Now open Terminal. You can find it here- /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.
2. Type sudo nano /etc/hosts , then press Enter. Provide login details if asked.
3. This will open the file /etc/hosts in a text editor. Type the name of the website in a new line, its format should be “127.0.0.1 www.blockedwebsite.com” (do not use quotes). For any website you want to block, type a line and then type the same command, just change the name of the website at the end. After typing the name, first press ctrl + x then Y, so that the file is saved.
4. Then give the command sudo dscacheutil -flushcache followed by pressing enter or restarting the machine to make sure the websites are blocked.
browser level block
The easiest thing to do is to block a website on a browser.
To block a website on Firefox, you can install an addon called BlockSite.
1. Install the addon, then press ctrl+shift+a, and then click on Extensions on the left. Now click on the option inside BlockSite. Then click on Add in the pop-up, then type in the name of the website you want to block. Repeat this process until you block all the websites you want. Finally click on OK.
2. Now all these websites will be blocked on Firefox. You can also give BlockSite password protection. By doing this, no one will be able to tamper with the list of blocked websites without your permission. To turn on Password, you have to choose the option menu.
Let us tell you that the BlockSite addon is also available on Google Chrome.
You can easily block a website on Internet Explorer too. Follow these instructions for that.
1. Open the browser, then go to Tools (alt+x). After that in Internet Options. Now click on the Security tab and then click on Restricted sites icon in red color. Then click on the Sites button made under the icon.
2. Now in the pop-up type the names of all the websites that you want to block. After entering the name of each website, click on Add. When you have entered all the website names, click Close and click OK in all windows. Now all these websites will not be visible on Internet Explorer.
on phone or tablet
How to Block a Website on iPhone
Apple has some handy parental control tools that let you block certain websites. Block the website in this way.
1. Go to Settings > General > Restrictions.
2. Tap on Enable Restriction. Now set a passcode for restrictions. It is better that you keep this passcode separate from the passcode created to unlock the phone.
3. Once you’ve set up the passcode, scroll down and tap Websites. Here you can think about banning adult content, or allow access to selected websites only.
4. Only a select few websites have a list of sites that can be accessed, such as Discovery Kids and Disney, but you can expand the name of the website, all you have to do is tap on Add a Website and enter the website name.
5. If you tap Limit adult content, Apple blocks websites that are considered objectionable, but you can access any website, all you need to do is tap Add a Website under Always Allow. And you can blacklist it by tapping inside Never Allow.
6. If you try to access a blocked website, you will see a message saying that it is restricted. Tap on Allow Website, then you can open this website by entering the restriction passcode.
How to Block a Website on Android Phone
On an Android device, you’ll need to edit the hosts file so that the device can redirect to the website you’ve blocked. You will need a file manager and text editor. The only suggestion we would suggest is to use the ES File Explorer app, which lets you do both. This is how it works.
1. Install ES File Explorer, then open it. Tap on the “/” button at the top. Then tap on System > etc.
2. In this folder you will be able to see the hosts file. Tap on it, and then tap Text in the pop-up menu. In the next pop-up tap on ES Note Editor.
3. Tap the three dots button in the top right, then tap Edit.
4. Now you can edit this file. To block the website you want to redirect its DNS. To do this, you start a new line at the end of the file. Here type “127.0.0.1 www.blockedwebsite.com” (don’t use quotes, blocked website is the name of the site you want to block). Type the name of each website on a new line. For example, to block Google, type 127.0.0.1 www.google.com.
5. Reboot your Android device.
If this method is a bit complicated for you, then you can download an anti-virus app like Trend Micro, which allows you to block websites.
1. Install the app and then run it. Go to Options > Safe surfing Options.
2. Then go to Parental Controls and click on Set up Account. Create an account, after that you will be able to see an option named Blocked List in the app. Tap on it, then Add. Now, one by one, enter the names of the websites that you want to block. After this you will not be able to access these websites from your Android smartphone.
How to Block a Website on Windows Phone
You can’t completely block a website on Windows Phone, but you can download the AVG Family Safety browser. This app blocks websites with objectionable and unsafe content. And if you buy AVG anti-virus license then create account. You can then customize the list of blocked websites.
On Your Network If you have a Wi-Fi network in your home, it’s easy to block the website you want via a Wi-Fi router. Most routers don’t have user-friendly interfaces, so this can be a bit annoying. One more thing, the steps to do this vary with each router, but the basic process will remain the same. So if you exercise some restraint, then in reality this method is very easy. One more thing to note that if you tamper with any wrong settings then it is possible that your connection may be closed. Therefore, if you get stuck somewhere, contact your Internet service provider immediately.
1. We followed this process on Beetel 450TC1 router provided by MTNL in Delhi. Apart from this, also on the Binatone router provided by Airtel. The same process had to be followed on both the routers. To get started you need to go to the router’s settings. Open any browser and then type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar. Then press enter. This address is different on some routers, so if it doesn’t work, check the documentation provided by the Internet service provider to see if it is mentioned.
2. Now you need to enter username and password. It must have been set up at the time of your connection installation. By default username: admin and password: password. If it is not there, contact your Internet Service Provider and get the correct username and password.
3. We have already mentioned that interfaces can vary. In our MTNL router we found that we can block website through Access Management > Filter option.
4. There is a drop-down menu here, which is known as Filter type selection. We selected URL Filter and then entered the names of the websites we want to block in the URL field. Above this field is an option named Active. Here we see two buttons, Yes and No. We chose Yes and clicked on Save. With this we wish that all the websites are blocked.
5. You can create 16 list of blocked websites, in which each list will have 16 websites. In this way you can block a total of 256 websites. Will say once again that this process may be different in every router.
This guide will help you block websites on almost all devices. If you know any other way to block website then do let us know through comments section.