Your child is now growing visibly and, without you noticing, has become old enough to use your computer and / or your mobile devices to play, surf the Internet and, why not, do homework. After you have decided to grant him this possibility with the due limits, you have however wondered if it is possible to block his Internet browsing and inhibit access to pages not suitable for him.
I am happy to inform you that the answer is yes, and that this is just the right guide to start: in fact, below I will teach you how to block unwanted sites by providing you with all the necessary instructions for the various platforms, both for computers and smartphones and Tablet. The procedures that I am going to illustrate, although very effective, are very simple to apply and also suitable for those who, like you, are not very familiar with the world of technology.
So what are you waiting for to take action? Make yourself comfortable, take a few minutes of free time for yourself and read carefully what I have to say on this important topic: I am sure that, at the end of this reading, you will be perfectly able to choose the solution that best suits your case, so that your children (or whoever they are) can browse in total safety and without encountering unwanted or age-inappropriate content. Happy reading and good luck for everything!
Index
- How to block unwanted sites on your PC
- Windows
- Mac
- How to block unwanted sites on Chrome
- How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: PC
- How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: Android
- How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: iPhone
- How to block unwanted sites on iPad and iPhone
- Other solutions to block unwanted sites for children
How to block unwanted sites on your PC
The simplest way to impose restrictions on specific computer websites is definitely to intervene on the settings of the operating system in use. Let’s see where to find them
Windows
You should know that the most recent versions of Windows, such as Windows 10 and Windows 11 , incorporate an excellent parental control system to block, among other things, access to sites not suitable for minors. To use it, just go into the settings panel and, in a few minutes, you will have erected a good defensive wall around your family.
The first thing to do is to click on the Start button (the flag icon located at the bottom) and then choose the Settings option from the menu that opens. In the next window, in the left column select the Account item and then the Family and other users option . Here, as you can easily understand from the name, you can set up different accounts for the device – one for each person who uses it.
In this way you will be able to generate an account for those you need to protect, placing various limitations. To do this, once you get here, click on the Add Account button located in the Add Family Member section . Now you are asked to enter your Microsoft account information for the profile to be created.
If, as likely, your child (or someone for it) does not yet have a Microsoft account, you can click on the item Create an account for the child and then follow the classic Microsoft account creation procedure in which to enter email, password and various data personal data of the person.
Once finished, among the family members you will find the newly created account. Log back into your main account (if necessary), then press Manage family settings online or remove accounts from the Family and other users menu .
An account management web page will open, where you can click on the child’s profile box to be able to place the desired restrictions on the child. From the left column, then click on the Content Filters option , then activate the toggle next to the Filter inappropriate websites and searches option . This will basically limit any site branded as unsuitable for little ones, but you can still increase the security level with the other option present.
Scrolling a little further down you will find the item Use only allowed websites , which allows you to create a list of sites to which it can connect, or one of those to which it absolutely cannot access (or both). To proceed, enter the URL of the page in the Add a website box (either way), then click the + button .
This limitation only applies to the Edge browser , which means your child may install a second , uncovered browser . Later we will also see how to block sites in Chrome , don’t worry.
Mac
As with Windows, macOS also has its own easy-to-use and very effective parental controls. Everything is found in the various menus, so let’s see together how to find these settings. The first thing to do is to go to the System Preferences menu and then click on the Usage Time item .
Now, in case you are using the Family Sharing option , you will need to select the child’s account in question from the pop-up menu on the left. From here you can select a whole series of limitations for the aforementioned account, including Content and privacy which allows you to block inappropriate sites. Enable this option to limit the account’s ability to access this type of content.
You can choose from Restricted Access , Restrict Adult Websites, or Allowed Websites Only . With the latter, you can then include a number of granted links simply by copying and adding them here.
If you don’t have the Family Sharing option turned on, you will need to log into your child’s profile instead, go to System Preferences , then Screen Time , then click Content and Privacy and Activate . You will then be able to access options to block both web content and various other applications . If you want to know in more detail how to block sites on Mac in more detail or how to block them on Safari , I leave you to my guides just linked.
How to block unwanted sites on Chrome
Do you use Google Chrome and don’t know how to limit dangerous sites in the latter? Let me show you in a few steps.
Note : There are a number of extensions on the Chrome Web Store that promise to block unwanted sites. Pay close attention to the ones you install, as there are some that do not protect users’ privacy and, therefore, could spy on browsing data.
How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: PC
Block Site is an extension for Chrome that, in fact, allows you to set blocks on specific Internet sites simply by visiting them and then selecting the appropriate item from the proposed menu.
To use it, install it from the relevant page of the Chrome Web Store by clicking on the Add and Add extension buttons , then connected to the site you want to inhibit , wait for the page to load, click anywhere on the screen and select the Block this site option : Block websites and stay focused , then Block this site .
The block will be immediately effective and, every time you try to view the blocked Internet site, a page will be displayed showing that it has been blocked.
To prevent the action of the add-on from being “circumvented”, perhaps by another particularly clever user, you can set a password for changing the extension options. I also suggest you make it operational during incognito browsing sessions and hide its icon from the Chrome bar: below I give you the instructions to proceed.
- Set a password for access to changes– right click on the Block site icon displayed at the top right, next to the address bar (in the shape of a shield with a “no access), select Options from the menu contextual proposed and, on the next screen, click on the section Password protection , however, this function is only available for premium accounts, whose subscription costs $ 3.99 per month.
- Activate the extension while browsing incognito – go to the Google Chrome Extensionsmenu , press the Details button under BlockSite and activate the Enable Incognito mode switch . Once this is done you can use the same procedure to block in classic navigation even when you are incognito.
If you need it, know that Block Site also allows you to block unwanted sites for children , such as sites for adults or pages whose address contains one or more specific words. To proceed, right-click on the extension icon, select the Options item followed by Categories from the left side of the screen, then move the lever located in the Adult box to ON to block adult sites, then move to the Block by words section to block Internet addresses that contain one or more “forbidden” words (you can specify them, one at a time, by typing them in the appropriate box and pressing the buttonAdd article ).
Finally, if you wish, you can unblock one or more blocked sites by accessing the Block sites section attached to the Block Site options screen and clicking on the trash can icon corresponding to the Internet site to be unblocked.
Does the extension I have reported to you do not meet your needs? Then I advise you to try an alternative tool, such as Stay focused , or to make a more “drastic” block using the hosts file: I have given you more details about it in my specific tutorial on how to block a site with Chrome or, alternatively, you can use Google’s Family Link .
How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: Android
Also on Android there is BlockSite , which you can download as an app from the Play Store . If you have created a profile on the PC version, you can simply log in also from the app to automatically obtain the same blocks on your mobile or tablet. Obviously, this also works in the opposite direction, i.e. by creating a profile from the app and then switching to PC.
If, on the other hand, you are using it only here, once it is open, press the + button to switch to the block management screen. Here you can insert any link simply by copying and pasting it in the top bar, then pressing the + button in the results box.
You can also block apps or entire categories from the lock screen by pressing the icon corresponding to what you want to block. The various default options are quite varied and effective, so I recommend that you try them one by one. Same thing for some particularly used websites ( Facebook , YouTube , Instagram and others), which you can always exclude them in a tap from this screen. To clear the block, press the trash can next to the site on the Home screen. If you want to know other methods to block sites on Android , I leave you to my guide on the subject.
How to block unwanted sites on Chrome: iPhone
Do you have an iPhone and don’t know how to block various sites? Don’t worry, there are several effective methods and I’m going to show you a couple of really good ones. The first is through the same Chrome app / extension I talked about in previous chapters, namely BlockSite .
Once you have downloaded the app from the App Store , all you have to do is open it to find yourself on the Home screen. From here, to block a site you can tap on the item
- Add item
that you find below.
From this screen you can choose a series of preset links or categories (such as adult sites) to block, but there are a few more limitations. Through the iOS version you cannot block individual sites like for Android and Chrome , unless you upgrade to the premium version at a price of € 3.92 per month .
In any case, the preset links are so many and allow you to insert them into groups that follow particular rules. For example, you can block Facebook during working hours of the week, while adult sites always keep them excluded. In short, you can create your own rules with great flexibility.
How to block unwanted sites on iPad and iPhone
In addition to apps like BlockSite, you can also resort to another method to block sites on iPhone or iPad, which is the native one of the operating system. To do this, open the Settings menu , then press on the items Usage time and Enable “usage time” .
You will be asked if the iPhone (or iPad) is yours or the minor’s: choose the option that’s right for you and complete the procedure until you find yourself in the various settings screen. Here you tap on the item Content and privacy restrictions , then again on Content restriction .
To limit web pages, tap on Web content , then choose whether to limit adult websites or set the allowed websites. Then tap on the Add website item to be able to enter a URL to which access will be granted. Once sent , the site will be added to the list and will always be available at any time. If, on the other hand, you want to know how to block a site on the iPhone in more detail, I leave you to my guide on the subject.
Other solutions to block unwanted sites for children
Weren’t the options seen so far enough for you? Are you looking specifically for a way to block unwanted sites for children ? So I think what could do for you is a DNS level connection filter .
Specifically, you could change the DNS of your connection to use OpenDNS , a famous international DNS service which, among other things, also provides filters to block content not suitable for minors: I explained everything in my tutorial on how to set up OpenDNS .