tl;dr what are all the ways I can block a website on linux? Debian if it’s relevant.
I want to stop myself using certain sites. Since I’m reasonably techy and can work round all blocks I’ve come up with, I’ve found an effective approach is to apply as many hurdles as possible, so that visiting the website takes effort.
So far I’ve added the site to ublock’s block list, and redirected sites via /etc/hosts. What other options are there?
While I have admin access to the router, I’m not allowed to block sites there.
Don’t look for a solution that is technical where the problem is mental.
Private DNS service.
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See a psychiatrist. You already have root on these systems… if you are truly a split personality then fences aren’t going to prevent your other self from doing whatever they want.
DNS level blocking is a massive pain to circumvent. Adguard DNS and NextDNS allow you to do this. Mullvad DNS allows you to block adult websites, gambling sites, and (optionally) social media without creating an account.
Maybe block on your router and save your router password such that you need to jump through several hoops to unlock it, eg password saved in one password manager DB whose master password is in another DB whose password is in another DB, etc. If you have to unlock like 10 password databases to get into your router, you’ll probably give up on whatever bad habit you were trying to do as it’s too much effort.
/etc/hosts and set the websites to go to 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1
thanks all, these are good suggestions
Therapy of some sorts is probably going to be more effective than making self-blocks, especially if you’re technically competent. I wish you luck with stopping whatever addiction it is.
It can help. A lot of the time I go on Reddit for example starts subconscious. If that doesn’t work the conscious part kicks in and I know I don’t want to visit that craphole so I close the tab again and put the phone aside. Otherwise I see content and keep scrolling.
The real hack is (almost) always social.
Setup a PiHole and add them to the blocklist. Then make the PiHole password stupid long and write it down. Then take the paper, put it in a safe, and put it in the highest shelf in the back of your closet. Recurse safes and passwords as much as needed.
You could just change your DNS server to get around that though, even without the password.
Even better, store the password offsite—safe at a friend’s house, safety deposit box at the bank . . .
And if you don’t have any friends or a bank, put it in a double ziplock, then drop it in a Tupperware of water and freeze it.
well I do hate going into town, so that would work
You’re gonna have better luck changing your habits than you will making a block that you yourself can’t overcome.
Creating hurdles can help lowering the temptation. I totally get OP.
DNS… set your system up to use an external DNS provider like OpenDNS where you can select categories to block.
I used this to block adult, gambling, malware, etc at the grandparent’s house when the kids were growing up and starting to search the internet for school homework, etc.
If it’s done in the router you’ll cover all devices and you give someone else the password, so you can’t change it.
Therapy is probably a better option.
Any of the adblockers can do this. Pihole, adguard home, technitium. Ublock origin to. You can probably do it pretty painstakingly through the hosts file as well.
