How to Block All But One Website

The Web is an incredible source of information for nearly any topic you can imagine. Much of that information, however, is not suitable for children nor should people access it in certain environments. Many ways exist to prevent users from accessing specific sites. Nevertheless, sometimes the best option is to block all websites except those you choose to specify. With the Parental Control features available in Windows, you can prevent anyone who uses your computer from accessing certain types of websites or allow them access to only one site.

Instructions

Enable Windows Parental Controls

1. Log in to Windows with an account that allows administrator access. Click "Start," then "Control Panel." Click the "User Accounts and Family Safety" link.

2. Click "Set up parental controls for any user," then select the Windows user account for which you want to enable parental controls. If the computer has only one account, click "Create a new user account" and set up a new account. Enter a username and password, then click "OK." Do not enable the "Administrator" option, since you cannot enforce parental controls on an account with administrator privileges.

3. Click "On, enforce current settings" under "Parental Controls," then select "OK."

Install Windows Live Family Safety

1. Go to the Windows Live Family Safety website. Download the Windows Live Safety add-on and save it to your computer.

2. Click "Start" then "Computer." Navigate to the folder in which you saved the Windows Live Safety add-on. Double click the file to launch the installation wizard and wait while it downloads additional files. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, this process could take several minutes to an hour.

3. Click "Choose the programs you want to install" in the installation wizard window. Click the check box next to the "Family Safety" option. If you want to install other Windows Live programs, click to check the boxes for those. Click the "Install" button.

4. Wait a few more minutes for the installation wizard to download and install the "Family Safety" component application. When prompted, click the "Close" button. Click "Restart" if prompted and wait while your computer reboots.

Configure Parental Controls

1. Click "Start," then "All Programs." Click "Windows Live," then "Windows Live Family Safety."

2. Enter your Windows Live username and password. Click "Sign up" if you do not have a Windows Live account.

3. Click the Windows user account for which you want to restrict Web access. Click the "Save" button. Click the "familysafety.live.com" link in the new window.

4. Click the "Edit settings" link under the Windows user account you created. Click "Web Filtering" the slide the "Slider Control" on the next page to the "Allow list only" position. Click "Save," then select "Web filtering lists" on the left side of the page.

5. Enter the address of the website you want to allow in the "http://" field. Leave the "For this person only" option enabled, then click "Allow." Click "Save."

6. Log off the Windows Live site. Users of the account you created can now only visit the website you specified.

References

• How-To Geek: How to Use Parental Controls in Windows 7
• Wired Magazine; 7 Things To Like About Parental Controls in Windows 7; Chuck Lawton; September 2009
• Microsoft Windows: Parental Controls
• Microsoft Windows: Set Up Parental Controls

Resources

• Windows Live: Windows Live Family Safety 2011