blocking webpages

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2007-08-26 12:01pm

hey is there a way to block certain websites using Firefox? or is there a way to make it where you have to know a password when installing a new program onto a computer?

A buddy of mine thinks it is ok to come over and install free games from the internet on my comp and they then are full of spyware and other assorted problems. I know denying access at all would fix this problem, but I wanted to see if there was a way to block the site he uses to download most of these games or know a password (which he wouldn't) before installing a new program.

And yes, I explained to him the problem, but he disbelieves me about the spyware problem. And continues to do it when I am not around.

If there is a way to do so can someone please list how? thanks.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-08-26 12:04pm

Perhaps the easiest solution is to make a "guest" account with virtually no rights for him to use.

Luke Starkiller · Post by **Luke Starkiller** » 2007-08-26 12:29pm

I don't know of a way to do that in Firefox but your firewall should be able to be configured to block a particular site.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2007-08-26 12:38pm

If they require installation simply denying all accounts except admin permission to install software should be sufficient. Or just tell him he can't use your computer anymore.

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2007-08-26 12:47pm

ok, never mind, I forgot that I could make more than one user account for my computer.... so I activated the guest account that he will use and that should put a stop to it.

now I just have to remember to log off my computer when I walk away.

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2007-08-26 12:57pm

thanks Destructionator XIII that was pretty much what I was looking for

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2007-08-26 01:01pm

one question, do I use the 127.0.0.1 or do I need to use the ip address of the webpage? and if so how do I find that?

Comosicus · Post by **Comosicus** » 2007-08-26 01:10pm

Death from the Sea wrote:one question, do I use the 127.0.0.1 or do I need to use the ip address of the webpage? and if so how do I find that?

127.0.0.1 is the "localhost" address - the implicit address of your own computer. What Destructionator XIII did there was to tie those pesky websites to the localhost address, redirecting the request from the real address to your own computer. If you put there the real IP address of those websites, you would merely confirm that the respective IP addresses are tied to those websites.

Hope I have explained clearly enough

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-08-26 01:12pm

Death from the Sea wrote:one question, do I use the 127.0.0.1 or do I need to use the ip address of the webpage? and if so how do I find that?

No, it's 127.0.0.1 - localhost, the generic IP for your own computer. The idea is that your browser is tricked into thinking that the IP associated with the blocked website is 127.0.0.1 and when it tries to contact that IP, it just loops back to your own PC and gives an error message.

Laughing Mechanicus · Post by **Laughing Mechanicus** » 2007-08-26 01:31pm

Death from the Sea wrote:ok, never mind, I forgot that I could make more than one user account for my computer.... so I activated the guest account that he will use and that should put a stop to it.

now I just have to remember to log off my computer when I walk away.

If you want a quick way to disable the machine press the Windows key + L, this will lock the computer instantly and require re-entry of the account password to unlock it.

Argosh · Post by **Argosh** » 2007-08-27 10:40am

Death from the Sea wrote:one question, do I use the 127.0.0.1 or do I need to use the ip address of the webpage? and if so how do I find that?

Instead of 127.0.0.1, you could always redirect it to www.disney.com or something, for laughs.
For more information on hosts, read this.

Bounty · Post by **Bounty** » 2007-08-27 10:51am

I'd redirect him here.

The problem with the hosts method is that you need to know the precise URL of the websites he's trying to reach - and with the thousands of game sites around, it's probably not very practical.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » 2007-08-28 03:21am

If you're using a router often you can blacklist domains and websites.

Jawawithagun · Post by **Jawawithagun** » 2007-08-29 05:51pm

Inside Firefox you can also use the AdBlock extension to block these websites. Though if he knows about that stuff it's easy to circumvent.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2007-08-29 06:20pm

Jawawithagun wrote:Inside Firefox you can also use the AdBlock extension to block these websites. Though if he knows about that stuff it's easy to circumvent.

I was going to suggest this as well. I had, not sure if I still do, GAIN (Gator) blocked entirely, as well as double-click. Grease Monkey is another option, although it can be a bitch to set up.