Block websites at system level? Android way? Like hosts file in windows?


Recommended Posts

Hi. I want to block certain sites on my phone but I don't want an app that will keep track of all my site visits.

 

Can it be done, like in windows, by redirecting certain urls to local host at system level ?

 

I am on unjailbroken android 11 phone

  • +Random Stranger changed the title to Block websites at system level? Android way? Like hosts file in windows?

Not that I know of. The only thing I could think of is to find some sort of DNS service that you can use to block websites and then set that up as the Private DNS provider on your mobile. I use PiHole myself at home but that does not work when I leave the house.

  On 18/01/2022 at 08:09, MarkusDarkus said:

Not that I know of. The only thing I could think of is to find some sort of DNS service that you can use to block websites and then set that up as the Private DNS provider on your mobile. I use PiHole myself at home but that does not work when I leave the house.

Expand  

Well - this might work since I mostly want to stop procrastinating at home - and wasting time.

 

Outside home is less important

 

 

But surely there must be a way????

  • 4 weeks later...
  On 18/01/2022 at 07:45, E.Worm Jimmy said:

Hi. I want to block certain sites on my phone but I don't want an app that will keep track of all my site visits.

 

Can it be done, like in windows, by redirecting certain urls to local host at system level ?

 

I am on unjailbroken android 11 phone

Expand  

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.modmy.com/how-modify-hosts-file-your-android-device%3famp

  • Like 1

android does have a hosts file but it requires root to modify (Adaway uses the hosts file and that's why it requires root to use as example)

 

if there's a way to modify the hosts file without root then I'm not personally aware of it.

 

note: I can't open techbeck's link here at work to see if it's a non-root method

  On 15/02/2022 at 16:26, Brandon H said:

android does have a hosts file but it requires root to modify (Adaway uses the hosts file and that's why it requires root to use as example)

 

if there's a way to modify the hosts file without root then I'm not personally aware of it.

 

note: I can't open techbeck's link here at work to see if it's a non-root method

Expand  

Try this.   

 

https://www.modmy.com/how-modify-hosts-file-your-android-device

 

Posts a method of non root but I personally have not tested it.  The hosts file as something that's always been on Android I believe. I've been messing with it for a while now.

  On 15/02/2022 at 19:00, techbeck said:

The hosts file as something that's always been on Android I believe

Expand  

oh yeah, with Android's Linux/Unix origins it's always had a hosts file.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Microsoft reportedly planning to lay off thousands of employees, mostly in sales by Usama Jawad Back in May 2025, Microsoft decided to lay off 3% of its workforce, which amounted to roughly 6,000 employees. It claimed that this decision allowed it to implement better organizational changes in a "dynamic marketplace". Now, a new report claims that the Redmond tech firm is planning to lay off thousands more next month. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reports that as the company continues investing heavily in its AI ventures, it is about to announce layoffs of thousands of workers as early as next month. This reduction in workforce will primarily affect sales teams, but they won't be the only ones affected. That said, the sources did mention that the timing for this announcement may change. This move, if true, won't be entirely surprising. In April 2025, Microsoft announced that it will be relying more on third-party firms to sell its software to small- and medium-sized customers. It's currently unclear how many employees will be impacted by this change, but even if the layoff percentage is in the single digits, it would still be significant as it would be impacting the professional careers of thousands. The May 2025 layoffs primarily impacted engineering and product teams. The other major round of layoffs prior to this was the decision to eliminate 10,000 jobs back in January 2023. Those represented 5% of the total workforce at that time, with numerous teams, including the one leading Mixed Reality (MR) efforts, being heavily impacted. It is interesting to note that if the timing of the announcement for layoffs is accurate, it would be soon after Microsoft closes its fiscal year at the end of June 2025. Although we'll get financial reports for the latest quarter soon after too, one has to wonder what the human cost of profit is, as Microsoft continues to report billions of dollars in revenue every quarter. Source: Bloomberg (paywall)
    • Ah .. lockout for suspicious activity. I bet they uploaded the SanDisk utility detected as malware
    • Microsoft 365 will soon disable outdated authentication protocols for file access by Usama Jawad On a fairly regular basis, Microsoft disables outdated protocols that are used to access its services. In the past few years, the company has deprecated Basic Auth in Exchange Online and cut access to Outlook for third-party apps relying on this protocol. Now, it has decided to get rid of old authentication protocols for file access across Microsoft 365 services. As reported by Bleeping Computer, Microsoft has posted a message on its Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Starting from mid-July 2025, the company will begin disabling legacy authentication protocols used to access files across Microsoft 365 and Office apps, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Essentially, applications or services which use the Relying Party Suite (RPS) or FrontPage Remote Procedure Call (FPRPC) will to perform browser-based authentication to perform open operations on Office files will no longer be able to do so. As expected, this is primarily being done to improve the cybersecurity posture of various services. Microsoft states that RPS can be brute-forced and phished with relative ease as it is fairly outdated. Similarly, FPRPC is typically used for remote web page authoring and it is susceptible to exploitation through various vulnerabilities too. As such, both of these protocols will be disabled by default starting from mid-July 2025, with the rollout of this change targeting completion by August 2025. The Redmond tech giant will update the protocol baseline by default without mandating any licensing changes for customers. In addition, once these modifications are rolled out, Microsoft 365 will require admin consent to get third-party access to files and sites. IT admins can view the guidance available here to configure admin consent workflows. Microsoft says that these changes align with the principles of its Secure Future Initiative (SFI). Earlier today, it announced the rollout of improved security defaults for Windows 365 citing the same reasons too.
    • This is how you kill your own business.
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      Fuzz_c earned a badge
      First Post
    • First Post
      TIGOSS earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      slackerzz earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      vivetool earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      pnajbar earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      704
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      283
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      216
    4. 4
      +FloatingFatMan
      194
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      131
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!