For those wondering how to restrict the internet, detailed details will be given in this article, which also explains the necessity of this. 30 years have passed since the establishment of the World Wide Web (WWW), the world’s largest information-sharing network. The positive effects of this system, which transforms the world into a global village and offers rich content to web users, on technological development and intellectual accumulation are indisputable. However, on this platform, which grows without slowing down, the number of harmful contents also increases at the same rate. Especially when it is kept in mind that the age of Internet usage is gradually decreasing, serious steps need to be taken in this regard. First of all, it is necessary to gain awareness on an individual scale. For example, although social media platforms are often the easiest way to follow current events, uncontrolled content shared on these platforms can cause serious damage, especially to children.
For these reasons, you can block the websites that you want to prevent access to. Thus, we can provide a safer internet environment, especially for young people and children. In this context, there are many methods we can apply to block single or multiple websites.
Parental Controls
If you are a Mac user, you can access it by pressing the “cmd” and “space” keys simultaneously on the keyboard and typing Parental Controls in the spotlight search section. You can also access this section by using the “Parental Controls” option under System Preferences.
We have two options in this area. Changing the account you are using to a parentally controlled account or opening a new account under parental supervision.
When we want to create a new user account, we will be asked to create a profile for the person who will use the account. In this field, we can create a new user account by entering the age and name information of the person who will use the account.
After creating the account, we go to the “Web” area and make the necessary restrictions there. By default, Mac lists the websites they deem suitable for children under the “Allow Access to only these websites” button, as you can see below. If you want to access only these websites, you can click this button.
It is necessary to use the “Customize” option to determine the sites to which access is allowed or not. In this field, we write the web addresses (URLs) of the sites you want to grant access to in the upper section, and the web addresses you do not want to grant access to in the lower section. In this way, we provide a safer environment by carrying out the blocks we deem necessary.
Internet Restriction: Windows 10
Are you wondering how to restrict the internet? If you are a Windows 10 user, the steps you need to complete are as follows: You should go to Settings > Accounts > Family and Other Users tabs. If your Microsoft account is not connected, you must first start with the “Sign in with Microsoft account” section. If you do not have an account, you must open a new Microsoft account. Then you have a main account where you can add family members. After these steps, the option to add family members will become active. When we want to add a family member, we will see an image like the one below. From here, you need to click on “Create an Account for Your Child” and create a profile for each user.
After completing the above-mentioned steps, go to https://account.microsoft.com/family/. Here you can specify the sites that are allowed/denied access for each family member you add to your account. To operate, go to the “Browsing the Web” tab. Here you need to activate the “Block Inappropriate Websites” button. So you can choose the websites you want to allow and the websites you want to block. In this way, you can provide a safer environment for your child on online platforms.
Host Files
It is also possible to set parental controls for different operating systems by making changes to the host files. We can briefly define host files as an address book when we want to access websites. These files contain domain names and associated IP addresses. If you are a Mac user, you can block access to the website you want by following the steps below.
Since we will first perform the operations through the terminal, you can access the terminal by searching for spotlight using cmd + space. Alternatively, you can access it via Finder by following Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
When we run the sudo nano /etc/ hosts command on the terminal (plain text will appear, you can use an editor other than “nano” to edit it if you wish). After entering your Mac password, you will see the image below.
You must edit the website you want to block access to as shown in the image below. You can block access by typing the web address you want to block, leaving a space after typing the IP address 127.0.0.1. However, at this point, it is necessary to use “www” when writing the web address. It would not be correct to use “http” or “https” in question. If you are using the Nano text editor, simply press the Control and O keys after making your additions. In this way, you can save your changes and then exit the editor by pressing the Control and X keys.
You can also block access via the terminal with the same commands in the Linux operating system. If you are a Windows user, open the Hosts file in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc folder with Notepad. Then you can add the same command here (For example 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com). In the visual example below, you can see an example of blocking access to a popular social networking site.
Router Settings
In any case, your router does not have the capacity to block the specified websites. However, most routers may not restrict website access entirely, on certain days of the week, or even at certain times. They have the necessary equipment for this. In general, the modem you use at home is your router. On this modem, you can access the router interface using the address 192.168.1.1 after entering your username and password. In this interface, you can perform the necessary filtering according to the features of the router you use.
How to Restrict Internet via Browser?
Today, it is possible to block access to unwanted websites via the browser. This is quite easy in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox internet browsers. For example, it is possible to add the BlockSite extension. You can add the websites you want to block by going to the options and adding a section through the plugin.
Resources:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-block-a-website/
https://www.webtekno.com/site-engelleme-nasil-yapilir-h97077.html