How to Block a Specific Website without any software?

You have an annoying pesky site that you want to block. But you do not have any specialized software with your that can block websites. We tell you how to block any site without using any software in this guide.

Before you begin, please be aware that this method is not a replacement of your "Parental Control Software" used to regulate access to porn or any other unsuitable websites. This is a quick method by which you can disable access to "known websites". You can try blocking "adult" websites via this method also but any tech-savvy kid will be able to bypass the same via a proxy.

So how do we go about it?

How to block a website on Windows XP?

• Find your computer's HOSTS file

  .

  1. NT Based Windows - C:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc
  2. Other: C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc
• Open the hosts file using Notepad. Right-Click -> Open With -> Notepad.
• The file will contain entries such as the one below
  

  127.0.0.1 localhost

• Add new entries to block at the bottom of the file. The Entry depends upon the name of the site you want to ban.So eg you want to ban www.example.com you will add an entry of the type.
  

  127.0.0.1 example.com

Vista will not allow you to edit the hosts file!!
As you would have noticed, Windows Vista(or Windows 7) will not allow you to modify the hosts file. It will throw an error even though you log on by using an account that has administrative credentials. The way around for this issue

How to modify the hosts file on Windows Vista?

The steps are similar to those in XP with one minor change. As you cannot edit the hosts file directly in Vista, you have to follow one extra step.

• Click Start ->click All Programs -> click Accessories -> right-click Notepad, and then click Run as administrator. (If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow or Yes.)
• Open the Hosts file, make the necessary changes, and then click Save on the Edit menu. If using Windows 7, you will need to click Save on the File menu.