Struggling to Block Websites

[dinosaurpaint]

Hey Everyone,

I'm newer to taking a smart phone (I only got mine in June of this year), and while I really love my phone, I'm just on it way too much.

I thought I could solve part of this by blocking certain websites, but that has been hard to accomplish then I though.

The only app I've found to block sites is Freedom (Official Website - Play Store Link), a timed site blocking app.

Does anyone here have experience with this app on their Galaxy S5's? I could never get it to connect to the VNP. The box would pop up to connect to it, but then it never would. I heard this might have something to do with the phone itself?

Of course, you have to pay from Premium to have it on Smart Phones. I've been having problems with their customer services. It says i'm on Premium but the payment never went though, so I don't know.

Another mentioned I've learned of is the 127.0.0.1. method. I learned about it from an article on Gadgets 360. Probably something really well know to everyone here.

Android

On Android, you'll need to edit the hosts file on your device to redirect sites you want to block. You'll need a file manager, and a text editor - the easiest option is to use our favourite app ES File Explorer, which lets you do both things. Here's how it works.

1. Install ES File Explorer Open ES File Explorer and tap the "/" button at the top. Tap on system > etc.

2. In this folder, you'll see the hosts file - tap it and in the pop up menu, tap text. In the next pop up, tap ES Note Editor.

3. Tap the three dots button in the top right, and tap edit.

4. Now, you're editing the file, and to block sites, you want to redirect their DNS. To do this, just start a new line, and type "127.0.0.1 www.blockedwebsite.com" (without the quotes, where blocked website is the name of the site you're blocking) for each website you want to block. For example, you'll have to type 127.0.0.1 Google to block Google.

5. Reboot your Android device..

I followed this, but when I got to putting in the websites, it said there was an error and it couldn't save.


If someone out there has had success with blocking websites with the Galaxy S5 (either through a different app or different method) or can tell me what I could be doing wrong, I'm appreciate it.

dinosaurpaint

 

[ironass]

Hey Everyone,

I'm newer to taking a smart phone (I only got mine in June of this year), and while I really love my phone, I'm just on it way too much.

I thought I could solve part of this by blocking certain websites, but that has been hard to accomplish then I though.

The only app I've found to block sites is Freedom (Official Website - Play Store Link), a timed site blocking app.

Does anyone here have experience with this app on their Galaxy S5's? I could never get it to connect to the VNP. The box would pop up to connect to it, but then it never would. I heard this might have something to do with the phone itself?

Of course, you have to pay from Premium to have it on Smart Phones. I've been having problems with their customer services. It says i'm on Premium but the payment never went though, so I don't know.

Another mentioned I've learned of is the 127.0.0.1. method. I learned about it from an article on Gadgets 360. Probably something really well know to everyone here.



I followed this, but when I got to putting in the websites, it said there was an error and it couldn't save.


If someone out there has had success with blocking websites with the Galaxy S5 (either through a different app or different method) or can tell me what I could be doing wrong, I'm appreciate it.

dinosaurpaint

Hello and welcome to Android Central dinosaurpaint!

See under, "Block Websites on Android", in How To Block A Website (Windows & Android), for a simple method of blocking certain websites.