Website blocking methods for Mac users. If you are a Mac user and want to block certain websites, there are ways to do it. In this article, we are going to show you quite simple yet effective ways to restrict access to websites on Macintosh computers.
The main ways to block sites
As a basic, there are two ways, if you have a question about how to block a site, with which you can block access to websites on a Mac. You can either implement the parental controls option that comes with the Mac system or use HOSTS to block sites.
Blocking by “Parental Controls”
This option, however, is limited in scope as you can only apply very specific restrictions as expected in the Safari browser.
Click the button and open the preferences system. There you will find the Parental Controls setting. After completing all the steps described above, you need to click on the “Enable Parental Control” button.
A menu opens and asks you to set control options for the web browser and other related programs you use on your Mac.
Next, click on the Content tab and select the options for restrictions provided by the Safari browser.
You can choose the types of websites to block from the options provided by Safari, or you can create a list of sites you want to access.
Blocking via HOSTS
If you want to block access on all browsers, this is the solution for you. You must have Mac OS X to do this.
Start the terminal app. Open the Utility folder in the application, there you will find the terminal application. Simply double-click its icon to launch it.
Make a backup copy of the HOSTS file and enter sudo /bin/cp/etc/hosts/etc/hosts – the original in the terminal box.
Press ENTER when finished.
You can block multiple sites in this way by simply adding the specific site names/addresses in the mod mentioned above.
This process can be undone with the same steps above to access HOSTS and remove rows containing banned addresses.
Another way to block websites on Mac is to download and install the self-monitoring app. This application is compatible with OS X 10.5 and above, and effectively blocks any website or mail server (both incoming and outgoing) for a specified period of time. This process cannot be undone by any action, even restarting the computer. The only way to regain access to blocked sites is to wait for the timer to expire.
These are the two most popular, convenient, and optimal ways to block websites for MAC users. In fact, each of them is universal. Having studied all the nuances and details of each of these methods, you can easily choose the one that suits you best.