How to block a website in Windows 10 and 11

This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to block a website in Windows 10 and 11 by adding a few lines to the Windows hosts file using Notepad.

You don't need third-party software to block websites in Windows 10 or 11. You can do this by adding a few lines to the Windows hosts file using Notepad.

The website will be blocked in all web browsers (e.g., Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Brave, Opera, etc.).

How to block a website in Windows 10 and 11 using hosts file

  1. Click the Windows start menu button or the search icon in the taskbar.
  2. Type notepad.
  3. Right-click on Notepad as soon as it appears in the search results.
  4. Click Run as administrator.
    Open Windows Notepad as administrator
  5. If the User Account Control window appears, click Yes. Depending on your settings, you may also need to enter the admin password and then click Yes.
  6. Click File in the top left corner of Notepad.
  7. Click Open.
    Windows Notepad open file
  8. Navigate to the following folder on your PC: (C:) ➔ Windows ➔ System32 ➔ drivers ➔ etc.
  9. Click Text Documents (*.txt) in the bottom right corner of Notepad.
  10. Select All Files (*.*).
    Select All Files in Windows Notepad
  11. Select the hosts file.
  12. Click Open.
    Open Windows hosts file in Notepad
  13. Add the following lines underneath localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself: 
    127.0.0.1  www.example.com
127.0.0.1  example.com
    Replace www.example.com and example.com with the website you want to block (e.g., www.youtube.com, youtube.com).
    Block a website in Windows 10 using the hosts file
  14. Click File in the top left corner of Notepad.
  15. Click Save.
    Save the Windows Hosts file in Notepad
  16. Close Notepad.

The website is now blocked in all web browsers by the hosts file in Windows 10 or 11.

Note: If the website still opens, close and reopen your web browser to clear its cache, or try opening the site in an Incognito / Private window to test it.

To unblock the website in the future, simply open the hosts file as an administrator again and delete those lines.

Related:

How to block adult content websites on Windows 11 (easy way)

Block websites with NextDNS: Chrome, Edge, Brave & Firefox

How to block a program from accessing the internet on Windows

How to unblock blocked websites (4 safe and free methods)

Windows

References:

https://www.wikihow.com/Block-a-Website-on-Your-Computer

https://www.howtogeek.com/784196/how-to-edit-the-hosts-file-on-windows-10-or-11/

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-block-specific-websites/