website blocking
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i want to block some websites so that users of this computer will not be able to access them.
how do i do this? -
One of the simplest way is to edit the "hosts" file in a folder within "system32", typically "C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc". This is commonly used in ad-blocking programs as well.
Open the file in Notepad. There are some instructions in the file to guide you in editing it. Basically, to block a website, say "example.com", I would point it to 127.0.0.1 by adding a new line "127.0.0.1 example.com". -
HOSTS file for any operating systems. Note that the HOSTS file only worked well in IE.
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
For Firefox, there's an addon known as Blocksite.
For those using Linux, the inbuilt firewall can be used to block certain websites as well.
1. Start IPTables first. sudo service iptables start or su service iptables start or sudo su service iptables start, depending on your Linux distro.
2. Then add in the website you want to block:
iptables -A INPUT -s -i -d -p TCP -j DROP
If you don't know your network card interface, use the ifconfig command for wired connections and iwconfig command for wireless. It will list your interface. The one with the correct internal IP address (not loopback IP address aka 127.0.0.1) will be your network card interface. Usually is eth0 or eth1
If you use a third party firewall, some can be configured to block websites. Check their manuals. -
If you are using Avast antivirus, can also use its URL blocking function.
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Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:
Oh. I thought a hosts file only exist in MS. Time to jump out of the well.
HOSTS file for any operating systems. Note that the HOSTS file only worked well in IE.
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
For Firefox, there's an addon known as Blocksite.
For those using Linux, the inbuilt firewall can be used to block certain websites as well.
1. Start IPTables first. [b]sudo service iptables start or su service iptables start or sudo su service iptables start, depending on your Linux distro.
2. Then add in the website you want to block:
iptables -A INPUT -s -i -d -p TCP -j DROP
If you don't know your network card interface, use the ifconfig command for wired connections and iwconfig command for wireless. It will list your interface. The one with the correct internal IP address (not loopback IP address aka 127.0.0.1) will be your network card interface. Usually is eth0 or eth1
If you use a third party firewall, some can be configured to block websites. Check their manuals.[/b]
But anyway, not just IE, any other browsers and applications that require Internet connectivity goes through the hosts file as well. Everytime a domain name require resolving (which basically means translating "example.com" to "123.123.123.123", for example), Windows reads the hosts file first before sending a request to a DNS server to translate the domain name, results of which get cached. -
You are right. I just realized that I've forgotten one part.Originally posted by LatecomerX:Oh. I thought a hosts file only exist in MS. Time to jump out of the well.
But anyway, not just IE, any other browsers and applications that require Internet connectivity goes through the hosts file as well. Everytime a domain name require resolving (which basically means translating "example.com" to "123.123.123.123", for example), Windows reads the hosts file first before sending a request to a DNS server to translate the domain name, results of which get cached.
HOSTS file for Windows works best with IE. I have no idea why. -
Works well enough for me.
Many thanks! -
What took you so long to reply?
