How to Block Websites from Opening in Windows 10

A website is a collection of related network web resources such as web pages and multimedia content which are typically identified with a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Sometimes, you might need to block certain websites, for example, to configure the computer for office use or restrict some websites for your home use. Therefore, in this article, we will teach you how to block websites on Windows 10.

How to block websites on Windows 10

How to block Websites from Opening on Windows 10?

When it comes to blocking sites on Windows 10, there are numerous ways of doing that. Mostly, you can search them through browsers, so you can block them on the browser that is being used. Also, our systems have a hosts file which you can use to block any site you want by editing it and putting the web address in it. We will discuss all the possible methods about how to block sites in different browsers or by using your system hosts file.

Method 1: Blocking Websites through Hosts File

In this method, we will be editing the hosts file in our system directory and putting the website’s address in the file to block them. Make sure you have permission to access the host file and always open it as administrator on the notepad for editing. Follow the steps below:

1. Open your “Notepad” as an administrator. Press Windows + S, type “notepad” in the dialogue box, right-click on the application and select Run as administrator. Opening notepad as administrator
2. Now click “File” and then “Open”
3. Then, go to the following address:
4. Locate the “hosts” file and open it Opening hosts file in the system directory
5. Now scroll down to the bottom and click on the line after the last item
   Note: You can create a space between the last line and the one you typing, just to be safe.
6. Here you need to type your localhost IP and URL/Address for websites: Adding websites to block in the hosts file

Note: Use tab for the space between IP and address. The IP will remain the same for every web address you add because it is your localhost IP, but only the website URL will be changing each time

And select File, then Save

Now try, the website will be blocked
Note: You may need to restart your PC for it to work.

Method 2: Blocking Websites in Firefox

Firefox has some add-ons which allow you to block websites by adding the URL in them. You can get these Add-ons for free, and it has a lot of features, like a password for unblocking the sites, work mode, and block by words. To add the Add-ons, follow the steps below:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox
2. Click on the “Settings Bar” on the top right corner
3. Select Add-ons (Shortcut – Ctrl + Shift + A)
4. Now search for “Block Site” in the search box Adding add-ons on firefox browser
5. Open the one that has more users and click “Add to Firefox” Adding to Firefox
6. Then you add any web address in it and that will block it for Firefox Adding sites to block in block site add-on
7. You can also add Password to your settings by selecting it on left-side panel, this will protect the blocked sites, so no one can unblock sites back. Password feature for block site

Method 3: Blocking Website in Chrome

Please click here to view the method on how to block a website in Chrome.

Method 4: Blocking Websites in Edge

Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer has an option for blocking the site, and it’s available in the Internet properties. You can restrict sites by this feature available in the security tab of properties and add a site to it manually by their URL. To block sites in Edge follow the steps below:

1. Open Run by pressing (Window + R) buttons on a keyboard
2. Now type “inetcpl.cpl” in the text box, and press EnterOpening internet properties through Run

A window will pop up for Internet Properties, then Select Security tab in the properties

Now select the “Restricted Sites” Zone and click on “Sites” Selecting a restricted site in the security tab

Here you can add any website that you want to block and press Add, and then you can close and save it. Adding website to block in Edge

How To Block All Websites Except one In Windows 10

If you are working in an office environment, you may want to restrict internet access for your employees to only a few suitable websites except a few, and the same goes for your kids as well. You may want your kids to access only those websites that you may feel are suitable for their age and block the rest.

While for the kids you can restrict all websites except a few using Parental controls, there is another way as well. And, this method is also useful for blocking selected websites for all, including your employees. Let’s see how to do it.

Solution: Via Internet Options

Step 1: Click on Start on your desktop and type Control Panel in the search box. Click on the result.

Step 2: In the Control Panel window, change View by to Large icons and select Internet Options.

Step 3: In the Internet Properties window that opens, click on the Connections tab and then click on the LAN settings button.

Step 4: In the LAN Settings window, under Proxy server, check the box next to Use a proxy server for your LAN.

Step 5: Now, in the Address field below add the proxy – 127.0.0.1 and set the Port field to 80. Then, click on the Advance button next to it.

Step 6: In the Proxy Settings window that pops up, go to the Exceptions section and under Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with, add the websites that you want to access. For instance, here we added YouTube and Google so that we can access only these websites. So, type www.youtube.com and also youtube.com (without the www) for it to work. similarly write www.Google.com and also Google.com ((without the www). Which means you have to add the websites in both the versions for them to work.

Also, separate the web addresses with a semi colon.

Click OK to save and exit.

You, your employees, or kids can now access only those websites that you set under Exceptions and not the rest. For instance, you won’t be able to use any other websites except Google.com and YouTube as shown above.

I find passion in writing Tech articles around Windows PC and softwares

How do I block all websites except approved ones in Windows 10 Family Safety?

In the pre-Windows 10 Family Safety, there used to be an option to restrict websites to only those to which I granted access. Now that option is gone. There’s lots of documentation that says it is now easier.

How do I restrict access to all websites EXCEPT the specific urls I want to allow?

For example, if I want to restrict access to youtube.com, unless the content is under youtube.com/embed (for links from other sites that I have put on my approved list.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Replies (41) 

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Thank you for posting on Microsoft Communities.

I will be glad to help you with the issue you have with the computer. I understand the frustration when things don’t work the way it should.

We’ve heard your feedback that some of the settings are too confusing and hard to use. So, we’ve made some changes to make it easier —

• For web filtering, we reduced the options down to a few crucial ways to keep your kids safe when they’re online. We now automatically block adult content in their web browsers, and if your kids are very young, you can allow them to access only specific web sites that you want them to see.
• For apps & games, we’ve simplified how restrictions are set. You can choose an age setting for them, and based on that, they’ll be able to only download apps and games that have been rated appropriate for their age.
• For screen timers, we’ve taken the complex graphs and settings and simplified them down, while giving you the flexibility to easily control when your kids can use the PC.

We believe all these changes will make it easier for you to manage your kids settings on their Windows devices.

Please find the below link to know the changes in Windows 10 Family Safety.

Hope this information is helpful. Please post in case you have any further issues, we will be happy to help you.

How to Block All Web­sites Except Approved Ones on Win­dows 10

Namrata Gogoi

12 Nov 2018

The internet is a humongous place. With over a billion websites, and thousands adding the number as you are reading this post, they open up your world to all kinds of content. That includes a fair share of explicit content, inappropriate jokes, and abusive videos. As a parent, you’d want your kid to stay off certain websites (or in extreme cases every website) before they learn to differentiate between good and evil.

In this post today, we will be exploring how to block all websites except approved ones on Windows 10 PCs. It is useful for those kids using a computer for working on school projects or browsing on it for entertainment.

For this, we will be using the proxy settings of Internet Explorer. Don’t worry. We won’t force you to use Internet Explorer as your default browser.

The good thing about Internet Explorer is that once its proxy server is enabled, it works across the system including Windows apps and browsers. Thus, you can consider it a super-safe method to block all websites on Windows 10. For those who are unaware, a proxy server acts as the gateway between your computer and the internet.

Let’s see how to get this done.

Also on Guiding Tech

# windows 10

1. Through Internet Explorer’s Proxy Server

Step 1: Open Internet Explorer. If this is the first time you are using IE, the odds are that it’ll take a couple of seconds to start. Once it launches, tap on the cog-shaped icon at the upper-right corner and select Internet options.

Step 2: On the Internet options menu window, navigate to Connections tab and click LAN Settings.

Step 3: Check the ‘Use a proxy server settings’ option which will enable the textbox for Address and Port number. All you have to do is enter the following address:

Let the Port number stay as 80.

Step 4: Now, click on the Advanced button. You’ll see that the addresses for HTTP and FTP will be already populated. Scroll down and enter the addresses of the sites which you want to whitelist. Make sure to enter the full addresses. Separate multiple addresses by a semicolon.

Once done, hit OK. Now, all the websites except the ones which you have whitelisted will be blocked on your Windows 10 PC, irrespective of the browsers you use.

You will either see an ‘Internet not available’ or ‘The Proxy server isn’t responding’ message when you try to access the blocked sites.

The above method should be used as a last resort when you’ve exhausted all other means. In the case of a shared computer at home, this method may become annoying in the long run for other users as well.

Limitations of This Method

The one setback which you might face is that this method doesn’t work for dial-up connections or when you are using VPNs. Plus, it’s quite easy to disable. However, this holds true if only your little one has heard about Internet Explorer at all.

Also on Guiding Tech

How to Fix Firefox’s Proxy Server Is Refusing Connections Error: 7 Methods

There are a couple of other alternatives as well. However, they don’t block all the websites. Instead, you’d have to specify the sites that you want to block. Moreover, this method may turn out to be cumbersome if you have a long list.

2. Alternative Method: Tweaking Host Files

Host files let you override Domain Names and allows you to redirect traffic from your computer to a specific IP address.

Editing these host files can be dangerous and can cause some apps or websites to not load up at all, especially in Windows 10. That’s why Windows 10 doesn’t allow you to tinker with these files directly. You’d have to grant the appropriate permission first. Let’s see how to get this done.

Step 1: Go to the following path on your Windows 10 PC and right-click on the file named Hosts.

Step 2: Choose Properties and tap on the Users tab. Once in, select Users and click on Edit.

Step 3: Now, select Users again and check the Modify box. Hit Apply and OK.

Step 4: Now open the Hosts file with Notepad, and hit Enter to add a new line after localhost. Type the following address followed by a space and the address of the website you want to block.

If it’s Facebook, it would be something like, «127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com» without the quotes. For multiple websites, enter a new line and then add the address. Having done that, save the file.

Now, go back to the browser of your choice and try to connect to the sites which you just blocked. You will see the ‘Site can’t be reached’ message. This is rather foolproof method where a non-Administrator user profile can not make any changes.

Also on Guiding Tech

How to Host a Folder as an FTP Server on Windows

Lock the Evil Out

Another method which you can explore is Microsoft Family where you can block inappropriate websites for a child’s profile. That is similar to the second method which we discussed above, but Family has a better UI and far too many options.

You can specify the age, and accordingly, age-appropriate games and apps will be displayed. Other than that, you can also specify the screen time. Quite naturally, Family needs a Microsoft account to sign in.

Last updated on 5 Jul, 2019
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.

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Did You Know

Windows 10 is the last Windows since Microsoft is changing the approach of building and delivering OS.