A Guide to Blocking Unwanted Websites

Feruz Oripov — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 18:25:29 +0000

Introduction

In the vast landscape of the internet, not all websites are created equal. Some may harbor malicious content, while others could be a source of distraction. In this guide, we'll explore the importance of blocking unwanted websites and how you can safeguard your digital space.

Why Block Unwanted Websites?

The internet is a treasure trove of information and entertainment, but it also comes with its fair share of pitfalls. Blocking unwanted websites can offer several benefits:

Enhanced Productivity: Avoid distractions by blocking time-wasting websites during work hours.
Improved Security: Prevent access to potentially harmful sites that could compromise your computer's security.
Content Control: Ensure a family-friendly online environment by blocking inappropriate content.

Tools and Techniques

Now that we understand the importance of blocking unwanted websites, let's delve into the tools and techniques to achieve this:

Editing the Hosts File: The etc/hosts file on your computer can be edited to block access to specific websites. We will learn how to do this on Linux/Mac later.
Using Browser Extensions: Browser extensions like https://blocksite.co/ and https://www.webblockerextension.com/ allow for easy and customizable website blocking.
Parental Control Software: For a comprehensive solution, consider using parental control software that offers website blocking features.

Editing the Hosts File

Open Terminal: On both Linux and Mac, you'll need to use the terminal to edit system files.
Access the Hosts File: Run the following command in the terminal to open the etc/hosts file with a text editor (in my case I will use vim, I hope you know how to exit :)):
```
sudo vim /etc/hosts
```
Enter Admin Password: You'll be prompted to enter your administrator password since editing the etc/hosts file requires elevated privileges.
Add Blocking Entries: To block a website, navigate to the end of the file and add an entry in the following format:
```
127.0.0.1   unwantedwebsite.com
```
Save the changes in the text editor and exit.
Flush DNS Cache (Optional): To ensure changes take effect immediately, you can flush the DNS cache. Run the following command:
```
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache  # For macOS
sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved  # For Linux (Debian-based)
```
Verify Changes: Open a web browser and try accessing the blocked website. It should now be inaccessible.

Conclusion

Blocking unwanted websites is a proactive step toward creating a secure and focused digital environment. Whether you're aiming for increased productivity or maintaining a family-friendly online space, implementing these techniques can make a significant difference.

Remember, the key is to strike a balance between enjoying the internet's benefits and protecting yourself from its potential drawbacks. Happy browsing!

If you're looking for a convenient way to block unwanted websites on your computer, check out my open-source project, Block Unwanted Hosts. This tool, written in Go, fetches and blocks websites from various sources, adding them to your system's etc/hosts file for enhanced security and productivity.

Block websites from predefined sources, including Someonewhocares, StevenBlack's Hosts, AdAway, and PGl Yoyo.

Additional resources:

What is declarative programming?

Feruz Oripov — Wed, 12 May 2021 13:50:42 +0000

Recently, while preparing for my finals, I saw a question related to declarative programming. It was a familiar topic. I have heard this somewhere before, but couldn’t remember what exactly declarative programming is. Maybe I missed the lesson sleeping when my teacher was explaining it during the class ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. So I decided to learn more about declarative programming, and I want to share what I learned.

What is actually declarative programming? Declarative programming is a programming paradigm that’s the opposite of imperative programming. Wait, what? What is imperative programming? In imperative programming, you should define steps that your program follows to achieve the “end” result. In other words, you have to describe how your program should operate. In some cases, it is also called procedural programming. For example, let’s say you want to find an element in an array. What are you going to do? Of course, you’ll write an algorithm that finds an element in an array. You will write an algorithm that sorts the array first and then uses binary search to find the element. As you can guess, you are describing a sequence of tasks, using variables and some memory operations to achieve the goal.

OK, what is declarative programming then? In declarative programming you don’t have to describe how to achieve the “end” result, but you just declare what your “end” result should be. It’s like building UML diagrams for your database while hiding actual implementation under the hood. SQL itself also follows a declarative programming paradigm though, because SQL is a domain-specific language, which serves as an interface for your relational database and it hides the low-level implementation of your database. Infrastructure configuration languages like HCL, Terraform Language, and markup languages, such as HTML, XML, XAML are examples of declarative programming. You don’t write algorithms or workflows in HTML, but you declare what your page should display.

In programming languages like Python, you can combine both declarative and imperative programming styles. You can write the OOP section following an imperative approach, and you can also write small functions and declare what your program should perform by merging those functions(a.k.a. functional programming).