How to Block All Websites Except Approved Ones on Windows

Method 1: Block All Websites Except Approved Ones Using Control Panel

The fastest way to block all websites except approved ones is through Internet Options in the Control Panel. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type Control Panel in the search bar, and hit Enter. Then, change the View by to Small icons.

Step 2: Select Internet Options. Then, switch to the Connections tab and click LAN settings.

Step 3: Check the box for Use a proxy server for your LAN > type 127.0.0.1 in the Address box and 80 in the Port box.

Step 4: Click the Advanced button.

Step 5: In the Exceptions box, type the website address you want to whitelist. Ensure to enter the full addresses, separated by semicolons (;) for multiple entries. Then, click OK on all the open Internet Options windows.

That’s it! Now, you can access the websites you have entered in the Internet Options window. However, there’s a catch. This method only works with Wi-Fi and LAN connections. It won’t work if you’re using a dial-up or VPN connection.

Method 2: Block All Websites Except Approved Ones by Running a Script File

Another method recommended by Microsoft advisors is to run a script file. The best part is that it works with your dial-up and VPN connections. Here are the steps to run the script file:

Step 1: Download the script to your computer and save it on your desktop.

Step 2: Open the script file in Notepad. Then, in the Exception bracket, type the websites you want to work on your computer.

Step 3: Open the Start menu, type PowerShell in the search bar, and hit Enter. Then, in the PowerShell window, use the following command to navigate to your desktop:

cd ./desktop 

Step 4: Type .\ followed by the first few letters of the script filename, and press the Tab key for completion.

Now, only the websites you listed will be accessible in your browsers. To access all websites again, restart your computer.

Also Read: How to block websites in any browser