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.
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.
The real hack is (almost) always social.
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.
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.
Even better, store the password offsite—safe at a friend’s house, safety deposit box at the bank . . .
well I do hate going into town, so that would work
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.
/etc/hosts and set the websites to go to 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1
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.
You could try behavioral therapy. Doesn’t need to be psychiatrist (but does have to be professional).
use the redirector addon to auto redirect somewhere else
thanks for the great technical suggestions everyone
Don’t look for a solution that is technical where the problem is mental.
lmao. I hate takes like this.
It’s not about making the website impossible to get to, it’s about making the website more difficult and annoying to get to than an alternative productive activity/site.
Part of making it difficult to get to is technical.
i’m curious what websites are you doing. what’s the threat model??
reddit; may add news sites given the wonderful news we’re getting these days
oooh!! i did a *monkey (greasemonkey, violentmonkey (tampermonkey is not libre!)) script to redirect to a random xkcd page hashed based off of the url (despite xkcd not being a free cultural work)
i do not currently have it
Only thing I can think of is to remove your default account from the sudoers file and have an account with a frustratingly long password written on physical paper hold the keys to the kingdom. That will make a whole lot of other things a hurdle too though.
