If you are looking to restrict yourself from visiting a few websites in order to boost your productivity or doesn’t want your kids to be exposed to certain websites, you can choose to simply block the websites on your device. Few laptops come with parental control while other devices have no such restrictions pre-installed in them. There are multiple ways to block a website on your Windows & Mac. In this article, we are going to explain in detail about how to block a website with the help of settings, host files, and router.
How to Block a Website on PC- Windows & MAC
Block a Website Using Parental Controls
The good thing about the recent devices is that both the Windows and iOS devices come with pre-installed parental controls with them. There are few software apps that do the job, but we recommend using the in-built tools for this as it’s more than enough.
Parental control in Windows 10:
Follow the below steps to know how to use parental control in Windows 10.
- In order to use parental control, you need to create a child account first.
- Click on the Windows menu located on the taskbar of your screen and then click on the Settings icon.
- Scroll down a little bit and then click on the Accounts section.
- On the right side pane of the screen, click on the ‘Family & other users’ option and then click on the ‘Add a family member’ button.
- Now you need to click on the ‘Create one for a child’ option and then follow the on-screen instructions to create an account.
- Open the Microsoft account page and then under the newly created Child account, click on the ‘Overview’button.
- On the right side, click on the Content filters tab.
- Here you will be able to see few options regarding the blocking websites under the Web and Search tab and within the Filter settings section.
- Now if you select the ‘Only use Allowed websites option’, your child will be able to visit the websites that are mentioned in the ‘Allowed websites’ section only.
- You can also simply create the list of allowed and blocked websites. In order to do this, just click on the plus sign icon beside the ‘Allowed sites’ section and then enter the websites you want your child to have access to.
- If you want to simply enter the list of blocked websites, click on the plus sign icon beside the ‘Blocked sites’ section and then enter the list of websites you want to block.
Parental control in MacOS
MacOS has had this option of restricting websites for a long time. But after the Big Sur MacOS update, Screen time replaces the parental control feature. With this multiple options such as restricting the amount of time spent on browsing websites, blocking websites completely and analytics of your app usage metrics are being added. Follow the below steps to know how to use parental control in MacOS.
- Click on the Apple icon located at the left top side of the screen and click on the System preferences option.
- On the top left corner, you need to select the profile where you want to block the websites. If you want to block the websites for your child, then select your child profile.
- On the left pane side of the screen, click on the ‘Content & privacy’ option.
- Under the ‘Web content’ section, you will be able to see three options. Unrestricted access, limit adult websites and allowed websites only.
- If you want to restrict the websites your child has access to, then select the ‘Allowed websites only’ option. Enter all the websites you want your child to access to and the rest of all the websites will be blocked.
- If you want to restrict your child from accessing adult websites, then simply choose the ‘Limit adult websites’ option.
Also Check : Auto-shutdown in Windows 10 – Different Methods to Setup
Block a Website Using Host files
Using host files in Windows 10:
You can also block the websites on your Windows 10 computer using the host files. This process doesn’t require any third-party apps or altering your settings. Note that in order to use this method, you need to have the access to administrator profile. Follow the below steps to know how to block the websites using host files on Windows 10 computers.
- Click on the Windows icon located on the taskbar and in the search bar, enter ‘notepad’.
- Now you need to right-click on the top result and then click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option. Open the host file by clicking on the File option and then click on the Open button and then select the file. You can simply go to the host file by going through C: > Windows > System32 > Drivers > Etc
- Now select Hosts.
- Here on the notepad, you will be able to see several lines of text. On the last line, you will see details regarding the local host.
- Below that you need to enter 127.0.0.1 and click on the spacebar button. Now enter the URL of the website you want to block on your computer. Eg: 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
- You can block multiple websites in the same way. Just make sure the IP and the URL of the website you want to block are correct.
- Now click on the File option located at the top left side of the screen and then click on the Save option.
- The websites you’ve mentioned on the notepad are blocked now. You can check it by entering the URL in any browser on your computer. You will not be able to access it.
Using host files in MacOS:
The process of blocking the websites on macOS using host files is similar to that of the Windows procedure. Follow the below steps to know how to block websites on macOS using host files.
- Launch the Spotlight on your Mac and then enter Terminal in the search field. Click on the result to open it.
- Now in the terminal window, enter sudo nano /etc/hosts and click the enter button to open the hosts file. You need to enter the administrative password now.
- On the host file window, you will be able to see several lines. On the last line, you will be able to see details regarding the local host.
- Here enter 127.0.0.1 and click on the spacebar button. Now enter the URL of the website you want to block. Eg: 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
- Repeat the same procedure if you want to block multiple websites.
- After you are done with listing websites you want to block, press and hold ‘control key + X button to save the changes to the host file. Now exit the host file.
- All the websites you’ve listed on the host file are blocked now. You can check it by entering the URL in any browser on your Mac.
Using router settings
Using parental controls and host files to block websites on all profiles of your computer can be hectic work. You can avoid that using the router to block the websites. Follow the below steps to know how to block websites using the router.
- Open any browser on your computer and enter 192.168.1.1 in the address bar. Now you need to enter the username and password to log in. If you don’t know the login details of your router, check the backside of the router. You can find the login details over there.
- Lookout for the Access restrictions or Content filtering options and click on it.
- Here you need to enter the list of websites you want to block on your computer.
- Once you are done with it, click on the Save option and click on Apply button to save the changes.
- That’s it. The websites you’ve mentioned are blocked now. Please note that when you block websites using the router settings, you will not be able to access them on any devices that are connected to the router.
Block a Website On Network
Blocking a website on the network is an easy and effective way to get rid of distractions. A network administrator can block a website by adding it to the firewall’s list of blocked websites. There are many third-party tools, apps, and extensions available for your device and browser so that you can directly block a website by simply adding to these tools.
Conclusion
Hope we have covered everything about how to open a blocked website on both Windows and Mac. If you have any queries regarding the above article, please let us know in the comments below. We will get back to you as soon as possible with the best solution.
FAQS
What is the process of blocking a website ON PC?
The process of blocking a website on PC is as follows:
1. Type the address of the website you wish to block into your browser address bar.
2. Click on “add” or “submit”, and then type in your password if prompted, to confirm that you are allowed to block the website.
Is there any way to restrict content of websites that are blocked?
There is no way to restrict content for sites that are blocked.