Summary
Even if you are trying to protect your children from potentially harmful websites or you are trying to protect yourself from sites that might distract you while you are working, there are instances when you will need to block a website for your own protection. Finding a suitable equilibrium between privacy, freedom, and control may be a challenging task.
prevent access to a website
Despite the fact that many laptops already have some parental controls installed, there are some that are easier to use than others. You will be guided through the process of using the settings, as well as the use of host files and routers, in order to do this.
Through the use of parental controls in Windows, how can websites be blocked?
You have the ability to utilize the parental controls that are built into Windows, which makes it simple to prevent access to content that you do not want to be available on your computer. In the event that you discover that you need more functions, we have created a list of the finest free parental control software.
It is possible to activate parental controls on kid accounts in Windows, which is the first step. It is possible to configure it on your smartphone if it does not already have one of them by going to Settings > Accounts > Family and then choosing Add someone from the menu that appears. You should follow the directions that appear on the screen, and after you have a kid account set up, proceed with the procedures that are listed below.
You will still be able to locate everything you want in the Accounts part of the Settings menu, despite the fact that the navigation is somewhat different in Windows 10.
Step 2: Go to the page that corresponds to your Microsoft account. Under the account of your kid, choose the Overview option. Then, on the right side of the screen, pick the Content Filters tab.
Step 3: When it comes to banning websites, you have a few choices available at your disposal inside the Filter Settings section, which can be found under the Web and Search menu. You have the ability to turn on the option to just use allowed websites, which will restrict your child’s access to the internet to just those websites that you have specified in the Allowed Sites section. However, even if you choose to disable this option, you will still be able to generate lists of websites that are permitted and those that are prohibited.
In order to add websites to a list of material that is permitted, you must first visit the area labeled “Allowed Sites,” then input the websites that you want to permit, and then click the plus sign button to add them. When it comes to banning websites, you can do the same thing. Simply go to the section titled “Blocked Sites,” input the URLs of the websites you wish to block, and then click the plus sign button.
How do I block websites with parental controls in macOS?
There are other operating systems outside of Windows that enable you to keep track of your child’s actions when they are using the internet. This feature is referred to as Screen Time on macOS. In this section, you have the ability to do a broad variety of tasks, such as imposing restrictions on the amount of time you are permitted to spend using certain applications or websites, completely banning specific websites, and examining metrics on your screen time habits.
As a first step, launch System Preferences and choose the Screen Time option from the menu that appears.
Step 2: If you have not already activated Screen Time, you will be required to do so in order to proceed with the process. Following this, you will need to choose the profile that you want to modify. In the event that you are the administrator of that Mac, all of the users on that Mac should be shown, and any user who is linked to your Family Sharing account should also be displayed here. Choose the user you wish to use from the menu that drops down in the upper-left corner of the screen.
Step 3: In the menu, locate the bottom left corner and click the item labeled “Content & Privacy.” Adjustments may be made to a variety of aspects here; however, you should seek out the area that is called web content. Here, you have three different choices. You will want to pick Limit Adult Websites since Unrestricted Access is exactly what it looks like it is giving you access to. By doing so, the websites that are deemed to be the most offensive will be removed automatically; nevertheless, you have the ability to add any other websites by clicking the + symbol that appears.
Select the Allowed Websites Only option in the fourth step if you are serious about exercising control over the content that the user views. The user will only be able to access websites that you have given permission for them to use. If you click the Customize button and add all of the websites that you are okay with, the user will be barred from accessing any other websites.
Is it possible to block websites on Windows by utilizing the Hosts file?
When using Windows, blocking certain websites is a simple process that is often safe for children to use. It does not need any extra software, is absolutely free of charge, and only requires a few short changes to be made to the Windows Hosts file that is located on your own computer. It is possible to redirect a domain name back to the local computer by using the Hosts file, which is a plain text file that your operating system uses for mapping IP addresses and hostnames. This would, in essence, block the website that you want to access. No matter the browser they are using or the time of day, it is an excellent method for preventing people from seeing anything that you do not want them to see on your website.
Having said that, it is important to bear in mind that in order to modify the file, you need to have administrator capabilities, and the process might be rather complicated. In the event that it is necessary, you can always reverse the change; however, the procedure is a bit more hands-on than the parental controls that are available on Windows and MacOS.
In the first step, you will need to search for “Notepad” on your desktop and then right-click the application that displays. The next step is to choose Run as Administrator and then click the Yes button. After that, choose File > Open, and then locate the file via the box that appears. This will allow you to go to the host file. To access the hosts file, go to the following path: C: > Windows > System32 > Drivers *> *Etc. There is a possibility that you will need to choose All Files from the file format option that is located in the same window of File Explorer.
Open the hosts file as the second step.
Step 3: You will see that there are many lines of text that are being utilized for mapping purposes in Notepad. You should input 127.0.0.1 and then hit the spacebar underneath the last line of text, which should include some information about a local host. Next, on the same line, put the web address of the website that you want to block that you want to block. One example would be to put 127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com in order to prevent any traffic from coming from the well-known video-sharing website.
The fourth step is to continue adding websites that you want to block in this fashion, with each addition starting with 127.0.0.1, followed by a space, and then the website that you want to ban. Be careful to just use the “www” format, and stay away from adding the “http” format unless you want the entry to be considered invalid. There is no additional text in the hosts file that needs to be changed.
Step 5: Once you have entered the websites that you wish to block, click the File option in the upper-left corner of the screen, choose Save, and make sure that you do not modify the name or save location. Finally, disregard any warnings that may appear against changing the host file. Finally, when you are finished, shut Notepad.
The sixth step is to use your preferred web browser and check out the results! In the event that you try to visit any of the websites that are on your prohibited list, you should be presented with a blank page automatically. To ensure that the modifications take effect, it is possible that you will need to restart your browser and wait for a few minutes.
