How to block a website in Windows 10 and 11
This tutorial will show you step by step how to block a website in Windows 10 and 11.
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, Mozilla Firefox, Brave, Opera, etc.).
How to block a website in Windows 10 and 11 using hosts file
1. Click on the start menu button.
2. Type notepad.
3. Right-click on Notepad when it appears in the search results and then click on Run as administrator.
4. If the “User Account Control” window appears, you click Yes. Depending on your settings, you may also need to enter the admin password and click Yes.
5. Click on File located in the top left corner of Notepad and then click on Open.
A small window will appear.
6. Navigate to the following location on your PC: (C:) > Windows > System32 > drivers > etc.
7. Click on Text Documents (*.txt) located in the bottom right corner of Notepad and select All Files (*.*).
8. Select the hosts file.
9. Click on Open.
10. 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).
11. Click on File located in the top left corner of Notepad and then click on Save.
That's all! The website is now blocked in all web browsers by the hosts file in Windows 10 or 11.
12. You can now close Notepad.
Related:
How to unblock blocked websites (9 easy ways)
How to block a program from accessing the internet on Windows
How to access blocked websites on an Android phone without VPN