Block Websites on Your Router with Parental Controls & Rules

• If you purchased your own router, chances are that you can access its settings to filter sites that you don't want to allow.
• In case you rent your router and don't have the option to access its settings, you can instead edit the "Host" file on your Windows computer.
• For Macs, use Screen Time to prevent specific pages, like YouTube, from opening.

Using Your Router's Block Function

Open your router's configuration page. The steps to block a website on your router are going to be very different depending on your router model. In most cases, you'll need to access your router's admin page, which you can get to by visiting its IP address in your web browser. Check out our guide to find your router's IP address, or try these common options for the most popular routers: Linksys – https://myrouter.local D-Link - https://192.168.0.1 Netgear – https://www.routerlogin.net Belkin - https://192.168.2.1 ASUS - https://192.168.50.1/ AT&T U-verse - https://192.168.1.254 Xfinity - https://10.0.0.1

Log in to your router. Your router has a default username and password (or sometimes just a password, depending on the router). If you haven't changed the login information, you can visit https://www.routerpasswords.com and search for your model to find the default login information.

Find the URL Filtering or Blocking section. The location of this will vary depending on your router. You may find this in the "Firewall" menu, or in the "Security" section. On a Netgear router, go to Advanced > Security > Block Sites. If you have a TP-Link router, look for Access Control and select Host to block websites. On most Arris routers, you'll need to go to Firewall > Access Control. Some routers have built-in parental controls that make it easy to block websites. For example, on a Huawei router, you can go to More Functions > Security Settings > Parental Controls to block any site or service. On an Xfinity router (non-xFi), go to Parental Controls > Managed Services, choose Enable, and you'll see the option for Blocked Sites.

Add the URLs or keywords that you want to block. Enter each URL that you want to block on your connected devices. For example, if you have a Netgear router, you can enter "www.youtube.com" to block the YouTube website, but you can also enter "Roblox" if you want to block everything that mentions "Roblox."

Save your settings. Click the "Save" or "Apply" button to save your settings. Your router will apply the settings and reboot, which may take about a minute. After saving your settings, try visiting the sites you added to your blocked list. If you can still access the sites, try using this guide to block websites from all browsers on your computer instead.

Using Linksys Parental Controls

Go to https://LinksysSmartWiFi.com in a web browser. If you have a Linksys router, you can block websites with parental controls. You'll need a configured parent node before continuing (something you can set up with the Linksys mobile app on iPhone and Android). Sign in if prompted.

Click Parental Controls. It's in the menu on the left side of the page, the third icon from the top that looks like a triangle.

Click the switch to turn it on Windows Switch On. You'll see this switch under the "Enable parental controls" header.

Click the device that you want to manage. In the box under the header "Restrict Internet access on", you'll see a list of all the devices on your network. Click one to be able to manage its access to the internet.

Configure that device's settings. You can restrict that device "Never", "Always", or "Specific Times." Once you select either "Always" or "Specific Times," you'll be able to add URLs and keywords you want to block.

Click OK. This saves your changes. Your child can still access those restricted sites if they use a different network other than your own, like a cell phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.