4 Ways to Block Websites

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

The internet can be a scary and dangerous place, especially for children. As a parent, there are several tools at your disposal that you can use to monitor and monitor your child's internet usage. Using these tools, you can significantly lower the chances of your child encountering dangerous people or questionable content. Follow this guide to easily start monitoring your family online.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Use a Web Monitoring Program

Step 1. Buy a web monitoring program:

will allow you to block groups of sites as well as specific addresses. Typically these programs allow you to set different levels of protection for different users, giving you more control over who sees what in the family. Popular programs include:

• Net Nanny

  

• Norton Family

  

• K9 Web Protection

  

• Qostodio

  

Step 2. Install the program on each computer

Most monitoring programs require an initial purchase or subscription. You will need a license for each computer you want to protect. When you purchase a web filter product online, you will be given the link to download the program to your computer.

• Generally these programs need to be installed on each computer you want to protect.

  

Step 3. Set the content you want to block

Most programs offer a list of categories that you can select and deselect to customize what is allowed. You can also indicate specific sites that you do not want to make accessible or that, on the contrary, you want them to always be reachable.

• You need to set these filters on each computer where you install the software.

  

• The filters are constantly updated by the companies that run these programs. Many use automated systems that detect new pages and automatically block them, even if the site is not yet in the database.

  

Step 4. Set the times you want the content to be available

Some programs will allow you to set specific times during which content will be accessible. For example, you could disable all access to social networks during homework hours so that kids don't waste time on Facebook instead of studying.

Step 5. Monitor online behavior

Most programs will provide you with log data and alerts that show when someone tries to access inappropriate content. Some programs like Net Nanny also allow you to see your child's Facebook profile with all messages and images.

Method 2 of 4: Use OpenDNS to Secure Your Entire Network

Step 1. Sign up for OpenDNS

OpenDNS is free for home use and a more powerful version is available for a fee for businesses. OpenDNS is installed on your network router and monitors all traffic. This means that it blocks websites on any device connected to the router, including computers, tablets, game consoles, and cell phones.

OpenDNS blocks sites on every device, so it may not be useful for parents who want to access blocked sites when their kids aren't around

Step 2. Open the router configuration page

Most routers can be accessed by entering 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 in the address bar of the web browser on a device that is connected to the network. The program may ask you to enter your username and password.

• The login address to the router and the default combination for username and password vary according to the manufacturer. If you can't access the router, try checking the default settings in RouterPasswords.com.

  

• If you are unable to log into the router due to forgetting your username or password, you can press the reset button on the router to reset it to factory settings. This will erase all network settings, including wireless settings.

Step 3. Find the DNS settings

These are usually found in the section Internet of the router. Look for the voice DNS, accompanied by two or three fields where you can enter IP addresses. For most of the default settings there will be two options, although the exact wording may change: "Obtain automatically from ISP" and "Use these DNS servers". Select "Use these DNS servers" so that you can enter the OpenDNS server information.

Step 4. Enter the DNS information

In the primary and secondary DNS fields, enter the following addresses:

• 208.67.222.222
• 208.67.220.220

Step 5. Click Apply Changes or Save

Once the settings have been updated, you will need to download DNS on each computer connected to the network. This will ensure that the new settings take effect immediately.

Step 6. Enable dynamic IP updates

Your home internet connection has probably been assigned a dynamic IP by your internet service provider. This means that the home IP address changes from time to time. OpenDNS must be configured to update settings when your IP address is changed, otherwise the filter will not work.

• Log in to the OpenDNS Panel using the username and password you received when you signed up.

  

• Select your network in the Home or Settings tab. Click on Advanced Settings and scroll down to the Dynamic IP Update section. Check for Enable and then click Apply to save your settings.

  

• Download the OpenDNS Dynamic IP Updater program. This program must be installed on a computer that your children do not have access to so that it cannot be disabled. Ideally, this computer will always be on or it should be on before connecting the other computers.

  

Step 7. Set the filters

Once you've set up OpenDNS, you'll be ready to set up filters. These filters will block sites that meet certain criteria, such as pornography, academic fraud, social media, and many more. You will be able to filter categories, set overall levels of protection, block specific websites or allow only specific websites.

• Access the OpenDNS Panel. Select the network you want to adjust the filtering for. Click on the Web Content Filtering link.

  

• Choose the filter level. You can choose between three levels of filtering: low, moderate and high. OpenDNS will give you examples of what is filtered at each level.

  

• Set up a custom filter. If you want to define which filters to activate, choose the custom option and then check each box you want to activate.

  

• Add domains to black or white list. In the "Manage individual domains" section, you can enter those domains you want to be always blocked or always allowed, regardless of the filter setting. For example, you may have enabled the Social Networking filter, but by adding "twitter.com" to the white list, you will always be allowed to access Twitter.

  

Step 8. Monitor which sites are accessible

After activating the filters, you can monitor web usage on the network to see if people are trying to access prohibited sites. To do this, you must first verify that statistics logging is enabled. Log into the Panel and click on the Settings tab. Check the "Enable Logs and Statistics" box and then click Apply.

Click on the Statistics tab to view the logs for your network. You can use the left menu to see which websites have been accessed and when. You will know if your children are trying to access sites they shouldn't see

Method 3 of 4: Use Windows Family Safety

Step 1. Install the Family Safety filter on each computer

This security filter must be installed on every computer your child will have access to. The Family Safety filter is automatically installed on Windows 8, but may need to be downloaded in order to set it up on Windows 7. Previous versions of Windows (XP, Vista, etc.) and other operating systems do not support it.

Step 2. Enable Family Safety on Windows 7

Open the Family Safety program and log into your Microsoft account. In order to use the Family Safety program, you must have a Microsoft account. When you log in for the first time, the primary master account will be created. This is the Family Safety administrator account and it will be from here that you can change the settings from the Family Safety website.

• If you install Family Safety on multiple computers, sign in with the Microsoft account you initially used.

  

• Check the box next to each account you want to monitor. The program works best if each family member has their own password protected account. This is important, because if someone enters the PC with an account that is not covered by Family Safety, they will be able to access the blocked content.

  

• Deactivate any Guest account, otherwise children can access the blocked content by logging in with that account. To deactivate a Guest account, search for "user account" in Windows Search and select it from the results. Click Manage Other Accounts and then select Guest. Click "Deactivate Guest Account".

  

• Check your settings. After you indicate which logins you want to monitor, you will be shown a summary of all selected accounts, as well as a link to the Family Safety website.

  

Step 3. Activate Family Safety on Windows 8

Family Safety is automatically activated on every Child account you create with Windows 8 as long as the Administrator account signs in to a Microsoft account. You can also activate Family Safety on standard accounts.

• To activate Family Safety on an existing account, open Settings and click Change PC Settings. Open Account and click on Other Accounts. Select the one you want to enable Family Safety on and click Edit. Change the "Account Type" to Child.

  

• Make sure all accounts are password protected, so that a child can't log into another account from which to view blocked material.

  

Step 4. Log in to the Family Safety website

Once all of your accounts have Family Safety enabled, you can adjust the settings for each user through the Family Safety website. Log in with the parent's primary Microsoft account.

Step 5. Select the user you want to modify

Once logged in, you will be presented with a list of all users who have Family Safety enabled. Select a user and you will see options to filter websites, report activity, set time limits, allow access requests, and set restrictions on games and apps.

• Web filtering - In this section you can set the filtering level for the user. Different levels allow you to let different types of sites pass. The strongest filter is located at the top. You can choose to allow only specific sites, block all sites, except those for children, allow all sites in general or social networks or you can not block anything.

  

• Web filtering lists - This section allows you to designate those specific sites that you always want to allow or block.

  

• Activity reporting - You can set the reporting activity level for each account and you can choose how much web browsing to record.

  

• Requests - You can allow users to send you requests to access blocked sites. You will then receive these requests to which you can consent or not, at your choice.

  

• Time limits - With this item you can set specific times when the user can use the PC. After a certain amount of time, the user will be logged out of the computer.

  

• Restrictions of Games and Apps - These sections allow you to specify which games and applications installed on your computer you do not want the user to be able to access. This is useful if you have some adult games and don't want your kids to play them.

  

Method 4 of 4: Edit the Hosts File

Step 1. Edit the hosts file in Windows

The hosts file allows you to block sites to be accessed from the computer you are using. It works for all computer accounts. Editing a hosts file will block a website, but you won't be able to manage additional features like tracking or time limits. More experienced users may be able to edit the hosts file and bypass the blocks.

• Move up C: / Windows / System32 / drivers / etc and double click on it. When prompted to choose a program, use Notepad to open the file.

  

• Place the cursor at the bottom of the document. Put a blank line between the starting point and the end of the existing text.

  

• Enter 127.0.0.1 and press ENTER. Replace with the website you want to block (facebook.com, youtube.com, etc.).

  

• Enter another line with the same information without "www." in front of the site address. Basically you should have two entries for each website you want to block: 127.0.0.1 facebook.com AND 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com.

  

• Repeat this process for each website you want to block.

  

• Save the file. Do not change the name, file type, or file path. Simply save the changes you have made. You may need to restart your browser for the changes to take effect.

  

Step 2. Edit the hosts file on Mac

The hosts file allows you to block sites accessed from the computer used. It works for all computer accounts.

• Launch the Terminal, located in the Utilities folder.

  

• Create a backup of the hosts file. You can create a backup of the hosts file by entering the following command and pressing ENTER:

  sudo / bin / cp / etc / hosts / etc / hosts-original

  . You may need to enter the administrator password.

  

• Edit the hosts file. To change it, you need to open it in Nano with the following command:

  sudo nano / etc / hosts /

  . The Nano window will open and you will see the text of the hosts file.

  

• Start a new line at the bottom of the file. Enter 127.0.0.1 and press ENTER. Replace with the site you want to block (facebook.com, youtube.com, etc.).

  

• Enter another line with the same information without "www." in front of the site address. Basically you should have two entries for each website you want to block: 127.0.0.1 facebook.com AND 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com.

  

• Repeat this process for each website you want to block.

  

• Save your changes by pressing Ctrl + O. Once saved, press Ctrl + X to exit Nano.

  

• Clear your DNS. Use the command to purge DNS

  sudo dscacheutil –flushcache

  . You will reset your DNS and load the new settings. The browser should now block the sites you have listed in the hosts file.

  

Step 3. Repeat these steps on each computer you want to protect

The drawback of the hosts file method is that it has to be changed on each computer you want to protect. If your network manages many computers, this can be impractical.