Block a Website in All Web Browsers

Perhaps you're disciplined and want to block a website from yourself. (No more guilty pleasures per your New Years' resolution.) Maybe you're the proud owner of a child who surfs the web for less than appropriate material. Whatever the reason, this action will require you to edit your Host file. Your host file is a computer file used to store information on where to find a node on a computer network.

Steps

PC

  1. Open Windows Explorer and type in C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc. If Windows isn't installed on the C: drive, substitute the C: for the appropriate drive letter.
  2. Double-click on hosts and open the document using Notepad when Windows prompts you. The hosts file tells the system what it should do when specific domains or IP addresses are accessed. This is the file that you are going to edit.
    • If Windows automatically redirects you, or if hosts opens in another program, simply open Notepad (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad) and then go to hosts by clicking File -> Open inside Notepad.
  3. Locate the line "127.0.0.1 localhost" or "::1 localhost." Put your cursor at the end of whichever line is lowest down.
  4. Press "Enter" to create a new line.
  5. Type in whichever website or websites you wish to block. You can add any site, but you'll will need to preface it with "127.0.0.1".
    • To block the website reddit.com for example, just type in "127.0.0.1" followed by a single space, followed by "reddit.com".
    • Add all of the site's domains, especially mobile domains, on new lines. Your computer might block "www.facebook.com", but not "m.facebook.com" if you're not careful. This is an easy workaround for the experienced computer user.
  6. Click "File -> Save" in order to save the hosts file. If a prompt comes up saying that you cannot save the file because you are not an administrator, you'll need to change the administrator permissions to include you. To do this:
    • Right click on the hosts' file, choose Properties -> Security and make sure all the boxes are checked in your user account. This should allow you to save the file as an admin.
    • Otherwise, save the file to your Desktop and drag the file to where it needs to be. This could work, although it's not as preferable as the above method.

Mac

  1. Launch Terminal. Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal.
  2. Back up your data before making a serious systematic change (optional). It's a good idea to make a backup of your original hosts file before you start changing it.
    • Copy and paste the following code into Terminal and press Enter:
      • sudo /bin/cp /etc/hosts /etc/hosts-original
    • Terminal will warn you about this command and ask you to supply a password. Type in your password and hit Enter. While you type your password, it will look like your keystrokes aren't working; they are being registered invisibly.
  3. Copy and paste the following code into Terminal. In one line, add the following line and press Enter: sudo /Applications/TextEdit.app/Contents/MacOS/TextEdit /etc/hosts
    • TextEdit will open the hosts file in a separate window.
  4. Unlock the hosts file if it isn't already. Do this by clicking next to the "Locked" icon and clicking "Unlock."
  5. In TextEdit, locate the line "fe80::1%lo0 localhost". Create a new line directly underneath it with a hard return (press Enter).
  6. Type in whichever website or websites you wish to block. You can add any site, but you'll will need to preface it with "127.0.0.1".
    • To block the website youtube.com for example, just type in "127.0.0.1" followed by a single space, followed by "youtube.com".
    • Add all of the site's domains, especially mobile domains, on new lines. Your computer might block "www.facebook.com", but not "m.facebook.com" if you're not careful. This is an easy workaround for the experienced computer user.
  7. Save the file and exit.
  8. Check to see if the websites you specified are actually blocked.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Block_a_Website_in_All_Web_Browsers&oldid=266569"