This is only for parents (Ha ha..!) who want to protect their children from accessing unwanted websites. It is simple to block. You don’t need any software for this. You can ask me “why I need this trick?” since many browsers provide you option for blocking websites. Yes that is true. But if by any chance your child is tech-savvy minded, he/she can easily install another browser and access those sites. But this trick is done in the system so it automatically prompts all the browsers to block that site. Here is the trick. You may get worry for accessing these sections in your system, if you do these steps carefully, it really works fine and no issues will rise. Windows uses a Hosts file to maintain a personal list of web addresses. The Hosts file will be checked when any URL request is made. First go to C:WindowsSystem32DriversEtc folder.
You can block the sites by adding entries to Windows “Hosts” file and it is editable file, so open it with notepad. At the bottom you can a line like this, 127.0.0.1 localhost Now type a line similar to it below, with the URL of the site which you are going to block. 127.0.0.1 www.xyz.com
You can block the sites by adding entries to Windows “Hosts” file and it is editable file, so open it with notepad.
At the bottom you can a line like this,
127.0.0.1 localhost
Now type a line similar to it below, with the URL of the site which you are going to block.
127.0.0.1 www.xyz.com
The number 127.0.0.1 is the “loop back” IP address of your own computer, so Windows skips the link to that site and moves on.
So thus that website is blocked permanently in your system because the DNS for the website has been changed to 127.0.0.1 instead of the real DNS. You can also do this for preventing ads and spyware.
Whatever blocking is in question – be it inbound or outbound, it's better to do it on a separate physical device if possible. If self-hosted I would definitely get one of the advanced routers and do all the access rules there.
Neat trick actually! Quite helpful for non-techie types!
dude!! i don’t want to block any site.. is there any possible solution to unblock a blocked site??
BTW thanks for sharing this post..
The host file is a fabulous file that access the local DNS server on our computer..
One thing you can do to help stop those tech kids is to lock down the computer. Give each user a login with user rights only. Ensure you are the one with admin rights only. Then they cannot edit the hosts file. Or hey also you could block access to all the search sites like google, bing and yahoo so they cannot research. Just an idea. It would definitely slow them down.
Anyway for those having trouble following the “how to” I’ve created a point and click instructional video on how to block access to websites. Here is the link http://helpviavideo.com/watch.php?vidid=37.
Remember too when blocking you need to add the site as http://www.thesite.com as well as thesite.com to the host file.
Last note when testing after you edited the file you must close and then reopen the browser for the changes to take effect.
Thankz for sharing 🙂
Thanks for sharing this one. I agree its greatness is in its simplicity.
But as you said in the start of your blog. If a Kid is tech savvy he would beat this layer of protection as well.
All he has to do is post a question on a forum. People like us will love to spoil other kids. LOL.
I would suggest ISP level blocking requests. If available. A normal home does not have routers.
Most routers allow you to block sites too. I have a netgear router which has this function 🙂
http://notmystuff.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-block-websites-without-software.html with screen shots…………..
good info….i tried and got success
And what of those savy kids who surf the net and find websites like this who then know where to go to delete all those blocked sites from that directory? you just gave them the key to unlock those doors once again.