how do you ban a site from your computer?

Question

how do you ban a site from your computer?

Answer 1

From what I know, there are several ways to do this. One is by blocking the URL from a firewall.That is, either through a hardware (router) or software one. The second one is through a browser, which is how we usually connect to a particular website. Another is through a HOSTS file edit.



I actually cannot give you precise answers on banning URLs from a firewall unless I know what router or software firewall you are currently behind. The best thing for you should you choose to do this is to read the instruction manual or if not available, GOOGLE for it online. Take note though, that if you block through a router, the browser will display specific information that you banned that specific website. This is not ideal if you do not want the user to become aware of this action.



For browser banning, that depends on the browser. I assume you are using one of the two most common browsers -- IE and Firefox. For IE, you have to add it to the Restricted Websites list in Internet Options ( I don't use IE so pls. forgive me for giving very broad instructions on this). For Firefox, Go to Tools in the menu bar, then click Add-ons (no, not Options - that's for IE). In that window, click the hyperlink that says Get Extensions. Look for Adblock. It's free and Enable that Update by going to Add-ons once again after it's installed. You can now type the restricted website in there.



On the other hand, if you want to use the HOSTS file (not recommended for far too many reasons and ineffectiveness), HOSTS file is located in WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc for Windows XP. You can edit the HOSTS file using notepad. If you prefer not to edit the HOSTS file manually, you can use a free tool called Any Weblock to block any website on your local computer. It works with any web browser and displays a fake error page. No network knowledge required to configure. You only need to know the domain/subdomain names of the websites. More information is presented here:



http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm



Whew! I gave you my Best answer right there. (pun intended - pls.. vote) :-)

Answer 2

There various ways to do this. If you are using a router, you can actually type in the URL of the website and ban it. Read your routers manual for info on how to do this. This is the best way to disallow access to certain websites. Also, you can use a software firewall and do the same thing. Again, it varies from program to program. Windows Vista now has the ability to ban sites also.



Good luck!



cheers!

Answer 3

jibbarjabar has the best answer. It will block the site for any computer that you make those changes to. To block from all computers in a home, use the router. Most offer some solution for blocking sites.

Answer 4

You can easily and effectivily block access to a website by adding it to your Windows HOSTS file. (Yes, Hosts is capitalised for some strange reason).



1.Go to your HOSTS file which is located at:

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC for windows Vista and XP

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC for Windows 2k

C:\WINDOWS for Windows 98 and ME



2. Open HOSTS with Notepad.



The default Windows HOSTS looks like this:

______________________



# Copyright © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a "#" symbol.

#

# For example:

#

# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server

# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

#

127.0.0.1 localhost

_____________________________



3. Directly under the line that says 127.0.0.1 Localhost, you will want to type:



127.0.0.1 name of the URL you want to block



For example to block the MySpace.com homepage (highly recommended!), simply type:



127.0.0.1 myspace.com

127.0.0.1 www.myspace.com



Other parts of MySpace could be blocked in a similar way:



127.0.0.1 search.myspace.com

127.0.0.1 profile.myspace.com

etc etc etc...



You may need to add sites with both with and without the "www.". Test after blocking to make sure you got it right.



You can add as many sites as you wish to block in this fashion. I, myself, have over 12000 undesireable and dangerous sites in my personal HOSTS file!



4. Close Notepad and answer "Yes" when prompted.



5. Reboot your computer and attempt to access your now blocked website. You should see a Cannot find server or DNS Error saying: "The page cannot be displayed".



-----------------------------



Some people above have suggested that you add a website that you wish to block by adding it to Internet Explorer's Restricted Zone. That is nonsense! That does NOT totally block a site. It will only RESTRICT a site from certain actions such as using javascript, Active-X and Java etc. It can not ban or block a site.

Answer 5

You can block a website ....... in Internet Explorer



Go to "Tools"

>Internet Options

>Security

> Restricted Sites

>Click "sites"

This opens the Restricted Sites dialog box

>Type the site address in the panel

>Click "Add"



Voila - you are done.

Answer 6

go into the internet properties, on the security tab, select the Restricted Sites icon, click the Sites button, add the site(s) there



good luck