How to Block a Website Domain
The Internet is filled with websites that are unsafe for children to access. If your child is using a website that you feel is inappropriate, or you simply believe that too much time is being spent on a particular site, use the Windows HOSTS file to block access to that site.
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Instructions
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Double click the "My Computer" icon. Browse to your hard drive, then double click on "Windows," "System32," "drivers," and "etc." Note that you may need to click through warnings about modifying the contents of these folders in order to see the files that are stored in them.
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Locate the file called "HOSTS," with no extension, and double click on it. Windows will ask you which program to open the file with. Choose "Notepad."
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Confirm that you have opened the correct file. Near the top, you should see a line beginning with "This is a sample HOSTS file." Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the cursor to the first blank line at the end of the file.
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Add a line to the end of the file with the IP address "0.0.0.0," a space, and the name of the site. For example, a finished line might look like "0.0.0.0 www.website.com." Add a new line, each beginning with "0.0.0.0," for each website that you wish to block.
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Save and close the HOSTS file. You may need to restart your computer for the change to take effect. After restarting your computer, the websites that you added to the HOSTS file will be inaccessible. To restore access to a website, edit the HOSTS file again and remove the line for that website.
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Tips & Warnings
Although blocking access to a single website is something that nearly anyone can do in only a few minutes, blocking access to all potentially dangerous websites (such as when children are in the household) can be a monumental task. To make Internet usage safer for your children, consider purchasing parental access control software. This software can be used to block access to questionable sites (using a list maintained by the creator of the software), keep a log of all sites visited by your children, or simply block access to all sites except the ones that you approve.
