Block Access to Specific Websites

To block Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube on a Windows Server (for a VM), you can restrict access using one or more of the following methods, depending on your setup and control level.

Method 1: Edit the Hosts File

This blocks access at the DNS level for that specific machine.

Steps:

1. Open Notepad as Administrator

2. Go to: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

3. Add the following lines at the bottom:

   127.0.0.1 facebook.com
   127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com
   127.0.0.1 instagram.com
   127.0.0.1 www.instagram.com
   127.0.0.1 twitter.com
   127.0.0.1 www.twitter.com
   127.0.0.1 youtube.com
   127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com

4. Save the file.

5. Flush DNS with: ipconfig /flushdns

Note: This method is easy to bypass by tech-savvy users and doesn’t work over HTTPS in all cases.