How to Block Facebook With a Router

Block Facebook from your Internet router by tweaking your computer's hosts file.

Many parents worry about the safety of their children online. If you're concerned that your child might access inappropriate material on the Facebook social network site, or fall victim to cyber bullying, then you might want to block access to the site with your Internet router. The router controls access to the Internet for all computers and mobile devices using its Internet connection, so blocking the site at router-level is an effective way to prevent anyone from accessing Facebook.

Instructions

1. Click "Start" on the computer's desktop taskbar.

2. Click "All Programs" followed by "Accessories," then click "Run."

3. Type "notepad c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts" into the input field in the Run dialog box. Click the "OK" button. This opens the hosts file in a Microsoft Notepad document.

4. Scroll to the last line in the Notepad document. Click after the last line of text and press the "Enter" or "Return" key on your computer keyboard.

5. Type "127.0.0.1 facebook.com" into the document. This instructs the router to block access to Facebook.

6. Click "File" in the main menu, then click "Save" to save your changes. Click "File," then click "Exit" to exit the file.

Tips & Warnings

• You can block access to any Internet site by following this procedure. Take care not to alter any other of the settings in the document, because this might prevent your Internet connection from working properly.

References

• Digital Inspiration: How Parents Can Block Certain Websites from Children at Home; Amit Agarwal; October 2007

Resources

• Get Safe Online