We will be sharing a well-researched guide for you on How to Block Websites on Wifi Router with easy and straightforward steps and multiple methods.
The internet is chock full of content, but not all of it is wholesome for general consumption by all. If you need to keep prying eyes away from certain sites, you do not have to fork out cash for a net monitoring program, you can do that right from your home Wi-Fi router and this article focuses on how to block websites on wifi routers.
Most of the router firmware allows adding individual websites to the blacklist and whitelist. The user can edit those lists to control access to particular websites effectively. It may seem unfair to restrict internet usage at home, but it also protects your network from malicious content and viruses from some websites, while speeding up connectivity in general.
However, there are some Wi-Fi routers that do not come with this feature to block individual websites. These routers will offer web filtering to filter the explicit control, but not provide granular control to block selected websites.
How To Block Websites on WIFI Router – Multiple Methods Described
There are majorly 2 methods, among others, that can be followed in order to be able to block malicious websites using the router:
Method-1: Block a Website Using Router Interface-
This is a secure and reliable way to block a website.
Point A) – Check if the Site You are Blocking is Encrypted or Not-
Most home routers can not block access to encrypted (HTTPS://) websites. You can identify if a site is encrypted by looking for a padlock icon to the left of the site’s address. If the sites you are trying to block are encrypted, move on to the next section.
Point B) – Open Your Router’s, Configuration Page-
If the sites you are trying to block are not encrypted, you can easily use your home router to block them.
First thing is to find your router’s IP address. To do this, go to the search bar on your computer and type CMD. Click on the command prompt. In the command prompt box, type ipconfig and press enter. Next to the default gateway, you will see your router’s IP address.
If you are using a MAC computer, click the Apple icon to open the menu, select System Preference> Network, and select Ethernet. You will see the IP address under the router.
You have to then enter the Router Get way address on the browser and get backend access.
Below are some of the most used, common router addresses:
- Linksys Address: http://192.168.1.1
- D-Link/Netgear Address: http://192.168.0.1
- Belkin Address: http://192.168.2.1
- ASUS Address: http://192.168.50.1/
- AT&T U-verse Address: http://192.168.1.254
- Comcast Address: http://10.0.0.1
Point C)- Enter Your Router’s Login Information:
Enter the router IP address on the browser, and log in. Usually, the default username is “admin” or black and the default password is “admin” or black, that is if it has not been changed earlier. Check the login details on the back of the router’s case. Log in to access the back end.
Point D)- Find the “URL Filtering” or “Blocking Section”:
Once you get access to the router’s back end, go to security and click on the content filter or blacklist section, depending on the router that is being used.
Most routers have this section under the ‘basic rules, ’firewalls, or ‘content’ section, where you can find the URL content filter.
Point E)- Add the URLs of the Website That You Want to Block:
One by one, enter each URL that you want to add to the blacklist on your device, and it will block it at the source.
Note- Remember you will not be able to block HTTPS:// links or addresses, which makes this method somewhat less useful.
Point F)- Save the Changes Made:
Click on the “save” or “apply” button to save your settings. The router will then reboot on its own, which might take up to about a minute or two.
Point E)- Run the Changed Settings Once:
After the settings are saved, try visiting the sites that you added to the blacklist to check if the settings were implemented correctly.
In case the browsing links are still viewable and have not been block listed, try using the next method in line.
You can also read How To Block Fortnite On Router.
Method-2: Block a Website Using DNS (can block HTTPS sites too)-
Not all routers give the option to block websites from the back end, which means another way of blocking such sites has to be opted for. The following points should be followed in order to block a website using DNS.
Point A) Sign Up for the Free Version of OpenDNS Home:
This is free to use and can block or filter out specific sites. Create a free account on OpenDNS.
Point B) Router’s Configuration Page is to be Opened:
The router has to be set to use OpenDNS’s DNS servers. To do this the router’s configuration page is to be opened. Some of the frequently used or common router addresses include: –
- Linksys Address : http://192.168.1.1
- D-Link/Netgear Address: http://192.168.0.1
- Belkin Address: http://192.168.2.1
- ASUS Address: http://192.168.50.1/
- AT&T U-verse Address: http://192.168.1.254
- Comcast Address:- http://10.0.0.1
Point C) Enter the Router’s Log in Information-
Enter the router IP address on the browser, and log in. Usually, the default username is “admin” or black and the default password is “admin” or black, that is if it has not been changed earlier. Check the login details on the back of the router’s case. Log in to access the back end.
Point D) Find the “WAN” or “Internet Section”-
This option is to be found in the “Basic Setup” section of the router.
Point E) Disable Automatic DNS-
For a lot of routers, the automatic DNS has to be disabled before a user can enter into their own DNS servers.
Point F) Enter OpenDNS Server Addresses:
Use 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220 name server addresses to block websites you don’t want others to access on your network.
Point G) Save the Settings:
Click on the “Save” or “Apply” Button to Save Your Settings. The router will then reboot on its own, which might take up to about a minute or two.
Point H) Log in to the OpenDNS Dashboard-
Log in with your new account, you will be redirected to the OpenDNS Dashboard.
Point I) Go to the “Settings” Tab:
Go to the settings tab and enter your wireless IP Address. Add a network entering the same IP Address.
Point J) Add Home Network in OpenDNS:
Open DNS is a software tool for Mac and Windows users who have a dynamic IP address. To assure you have a dynamic IP, select the option, “yes, it is dynamic”.
Point K) Set Website Content Filtering:
This option is to filter out to block websites like adult websites. This option also provides the facility to choose the level of blocking from High/Moderate/Low/Custom.
Point L) Block Individual Websites:
Scroll down to the Settings page to get to the option for managing individual domains. You will also have a drop-down option to select ‘always block or ‘never block’ to add websites.
Point M) Flush DNS on PCs:
Once you add this website to the block list, your PCs may still allow these websites from the cache, for a while. To overcome that, flush the DNS on the PCs.
Point N) Check the Blocked Website:
If you added the websites properly, on searching them, you should reach the OpenDNS blocked site Page.
Final Thoughts:
I hope this article solves your problem of how to block websites on wifi routers, we tried mentioning all the possible ways to block websites on wifi routers.
