There are times when you want to block certain websites on your computer so that they do not open even when you enter their web addresses. For example, you want to get rid of your social media addiction. So, you need to block social media sites so that even if you are tempted, you cannot open them at once.
Similarly, you want to block adult websites or harmful websites on your computer so that your kids cannot open them even by mistake.
In this article, we will provide you with three different ways on how to block websites on Windows 10. Additionally, we will illustrate how you can monitor someone's activities on Windows 10 PC remotely from your computer.
- Way 1. Block Websites via Hosts File
- Way 2. Block Websites via Microsoft Family Safety
- Way 3. Block Websites via Windows Defender Firewall
- Bouns: How to Check Activities on Windows 10?
- Why Need to Check Activities on Windows 10?
- Conclusion
Way 1. Block Websites via Hosts File
Hosts file is a system file where you can mention the web address of any website to block it on your computer. You need to be the administrator of the computer in order to edit Hosts file and insert websites to block them. Here are the steps on how to block a website on Windows 10 via Hosts file.
Step 1: Click on Start menu button on your Windows 10 and type "Notepad".
Step 2: Right-click on Notepad and click on Run as administrator option from the menu.
Step 3: When Notepad opens, go to File> Open option.
Step 4: Go to "C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc" from Open dialog box.
Step 5: Make file type from Text Documents to All Files. Click on Hosts file and click on Open button.
Step 6: Go to the bottom of the file, and on a new line, you have to Localhost IP followed by the website that you want to block. For example, if you want to block Facebook website, you have to type the following:
127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
This should be the last line of Hosts file. You can make multiple entries one by one in new lines following the same format.
Step 7: Finally, go to File > Save option.
You can go to your web browser now and try and open the blocked website to see if it works.
Way 2. Block Websites via Microsoft Family Safety
When you are using Windows 10, you must be having a Microsoft account. You can use your Microsoft account to block websites for your kid if he uses your computer for online access. Microsoft Family Safety allows you to filter content and block harmful websites for your kid automatically. However, you must create an Outlook or Hotmail email account for your child to avail the feature. Here are the steps how to block website on Windows 10 via Microsoft Family Safety.
Step 1: On your web browser, visit "account.microsoft.com/family/about".
Step 2: Click on Create a Family Group button.
Step 3: Log into your Microsoft account.
Step 4: After logging in, click on Add a family member.
Step 5: Here, you should be adding your kid's email account. If you have not created already, you can click on Create an account option. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process of creating an email account for your kid.
Step 6: After adding your kid's email account, go to your kid's account through Family Safety.
Step 7: Click on Content Filters option and turn on "Filter inappropriate websites and searches" option.
All the inappropriate websites such as adult websites, websites on crime, racism, and drugs are blocked automatically. In fact, your kid won't be able to any other web browser except Microsoft Edge.
Way 3. Block Websites via Windows Defender Firewall
Windows 10 comes with Defender Firewall to maintain the safety and security of your computer when you are accessing the internet. It basically prevents the access of malicious software and hackers and blocks harmful websites and apps. Windows Defender Firewall allows you to explicitly block any website you want. Here are the steps on how to block website on Windows 10 Windows Defender Firewall.
Step 1: Click on Start menu button and type "Defender Firewall" and open the application.
Step 2: When Windows Defender Firewall, go to Advanced settings.
Step 3: Click on Outbound Riles and then right-click on Outbound Rules. Select New Rule option.
Step 4: When New Outbound Rule Wizard opens, click on Custom option followed by Next button.
Step 5: On the next screen, click on All Programs option followed by Next button. On the next screen as well, click on Next button.
Step 6: Under "Which remote IP addresses does this rule apply to?", select "These IP Addresses".
Step 7: Click on Add button and enter the IP addresses of the websites that you want to block. When you are done adding the websites' IP addresses that you want to block, click on Next button.
You can use "www.ipvoid.com/find-website-ip" to find the IP address of any website that you want to block.
Step 8: On the next screen, select Block the connection option and click on Next button.
Step 9: Choose Domain, Private, and Public options and click on Next button.
Step 10: Add a Name and click on Finish button.
If you are looking for a way on how to unblock blocked websites on Windows 10, you have to select those IP addresses of the websites that you want to unblock and click on Remove button.
Bouns: How to Check Activities on Windows 10?
Even when you block certain websites on your computer, someone accessing your computer such as your kids can still access certain inappropriate websites that can surpass your list of block websites as well as filters you have set. In fact, they can come across harmful content through social media platforms, emails, external files, and much more.
That is why it is essential for you to check activities on Windows 10 on your PC remotely. We recommend MoniVisor for Windows to remotely check every activity on the target PC from your computer without getting detected.
The app stays hidden on the target computer and syncs the data on computer activities with the webserver so that you can check the activities from your web account instantly from any device.
Key Features of MoniVisor
Check out the features of MoniVisor to understand the activities you can monitor with MoniVisor for Windows.
Social Media:
MoniVisor lets you check on all the chat messages sent and received by the target user on various social media platforms. Starting from Facebook, Twitter, and Skype to WhatsApp and Instagram, you can check profile, media files, contacts shared as well as call history on those social media sites.
Screenshots:
MoniVisor automatically captures the screenshots on the target computer's screen regularly as per the set interval. The captured screenshots are synced with the web server in real-time, and hence, you can instantly see what the target person is doing on the computer. You can even download the screenshots for evidence.
Keystrokes:
MoniVisor tracks every keystroke on the target computer. Therefore, you can check what the target user has typed in Incognito browsing mode. You can check the captured keystrokes on your Dashboard with application name and timestamps of the typed keystrokes.
Emails:
One of the unique features of MoniVisor is that it lets you read all the sent and received emails on the target person's web email account. The target person won't know about your spying activity on his email account. You can also check the file path of the attachment in the emails. MoniVisor supports Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.
File Activities:
MoniVisor lets you track all the file activities on the target computer. If the person has deleted or renamed any file, you can check the changes made as well as know the location of the file. In fact, you can also check the operation time of the changes made.
Browser Activity:
You can check the target user's browsing history including the searches made as well as the websites visited. You also get to see the visiting time along with the visited URL. Moreover, if the person has downloaded any file from the internet, you can see the file storage path. MoniVisor supports tracking browser activity of Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and Internet Explorer.
Login Activities:
You can check when the target person logged in and logged out of your computer. In fact, you can understand if the target person is currently online or not. This will help you to calculate the access time of the target person on the computer.
Miscellaneous Activities:
MoniVisor lets you check app activities starting from last used timestamp to time usage. Similarly, you can check print activities as well as USB activities to understand if the target person is inserting external devices and accessing files from them.
Check Computer Activities in 3 Steps
Here are the steps to deploy MoniVisor for Windows on the target computer and start monitoring activities.
Step 1. Click the "Monitor Now" button to create an account for MoniVisor and then choose a suitable plan.
Step 2. Download and install MoniVisor on the target computer. Launch the application and complete the configuration. Install Chrome extension as well for tracking internet activities.
Step 3. After the installation, you can log into your account and start monitoring all the Windows activities from Dashboard.
Why Need to Check Activities on Windows 10?
There are various reasons why you need to check activities on Windows 10.
Protecting Your Kid – You need to track your kid's social media activities to ensure he is not a victim of cyberbullying, child predators, and various online dangers. You can also check if the target person is sexting, sending inappropriate media files, or putting up vulgar profiles.
Check Online Activities – You want to ensure that the target person does not visit inappropriate websites, and hence, you have blocked certain websites and set content filters. Yet, you have to check the browsing history to ensure the target person is not visiting any harmful websites or searching for something toxic.
Detecting Addiction – You want to check if the target person is getting addicted to any app such as video games by checking the app activities on Windows 10. Besides, you can check the log-in and log-off details to find out the screen time.
Malicious Attachments – Sometimes, hackers send malicious attachments and even fraudsters send malicious links through emails. Hence, you need to keep an eye on the emails received and sent on your computer by any user.
Conclusion
We have stated how to block websites on windows 10 through various methods. You can choose whichever method you find the easiest. You can also unblock the blocked websites using the same steps. Along with blocking websites, you should track your computer activities when someone such as your kid is using your computer. That is why we have recommended MoniVisor for Windows through which you can monitor the target computer activities remotely without the target user knowing.