How to Block Sites on a Router

If you have access to your router you can block inappropriate sites from any users on your network.

If you have children or individuals in your home or office you want to block from visiting inappropriate content or other sites, block the sites through a router. Unfortunately, firewalls can be bypassed so users can still access inappropriate sites. If you are the only person that has access to the router settings, you can permanently block sites and keywords on your network as long as the password is secured. Block certain keywords as well because users can access sites that you have not blocked by searching for sites including the inappropriate keywords.

Things You'll Need

• IP address for router

Instructions

1. Type in the IP address of your router to access the administrative account. Each router you have purchased has a specific link to access the account. For example, Linksys and Netgear routers may have a default IP address of 192.168.1.1. Contact your router's tech support department if you do not know the IP address needed to access the router.

2. Type your user name and password to access your IP administrator account. Your instruction manual to your router will tell you the default user name and password for the router. Many routers have a user name of "admin" and a password of "password." Change the default password and user name to avoid unauthorized users accessing your router.

3. Click on "block sites" or "block services" under "Content Filtering," depending on the setup of your router access menu.

4. Type in keywords or domain names you want to block. Insert the full domain name of the specific website you want to block (include the .com, .net, etc). You can also block keywords (slangs, racial slurs, sexual content, etc.) to ensure the user does not access a domain name that you may have missed.

5. Press "Apply" or "Save" the changes and attempt to visit the site you have blocked to ensure the changes were effective.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also block sites by schedule, which means that you can create a time frame when certain sites will be blocked.

References

• Technipages: Blocking Web Sites