Block and Tackle: How to Stop Unwanted Websites on Your Home Network

While most modern routers support basic web filtering, it’s possible to block certain websites on your home network if children are in the house or if some websites have to be restricted for work or other reasons. Fortunately, practically all contemporary routers are equipped with built-in settings that let you block a site in all devices connected to it.

Here, we can do it in 4 easy steps:

Access Your Router Settings

First of all, you should go to your router’s admin portal and sign in. So locate your router, open a browser, and enter your router’s IP address in the address bar; it should be something like 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Type in the router username and password – these details are often written on the router or in its accompanying manual. If you haven’t altered it, then it could be the standard login details.

Navigate to the Website Blocking Section

To do this, you will need to first gain access to your router by entering the appropriate IP address in the address bar of your browser, then look for an option that says “Parental Controls,” “Security” of “Website Filtering” based on the type of your router. This section is where you have the opportunity to add sites that you want to block by including their URL addresses.

Add URLs to the Block List

Another feature of the software is the ability to add specific URLs of websites you want to block by typing URLs. You must be specific to the full domain (e.g., www.example.com) to make sure that they are restricted. A lot of routers also allow blocking based on keyword or domain rating.

Save Settings and Reboot the Router

Once the websites you want to block are listed, click on save after that to implement the settings. It is very important to always reboot your router after making some changes to the router’s settings. After that, any device connected to the home network cannot open the banned websites.