Blocking Myspace
"My daughter is 12 years old and I just found out she has a Myspace account with some stuff that's not appropriate. The account was deleted, but I want to make sure she has no access to Myspace in the future. How can I do this?"
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Preventing Access to MySpace
You concern is common amongst parents of young teens. It's your job as a parent to make sure your child's Internet access is limited to content that is age appropriate and which meets household standards. But this is no easy task, especially if you aren't always able to supervise their Internet usage. There are some ways to prevent access to certain websites, but I'll preface my remarks with this caveat: A child who is computer savvy and determined to violate the guidelines you set will probably find a way to do so. Even if you are able to lock down your own computer, kids have computer access at school, public libraries and friends' houses.
That said, I applaud you for setting rules regarding WHEN and WHAT your child is allowed to access online. The best way to make sure your kids are safe on the Internet is to tell them plainly what your rules are, what the consequences are for breaking the rules, and then enforce them. I strongly suggest that computers are placed in public areas of your home (not the child's bedroom) so you can do a little "shoulder surfing" from time to time, just so they know you're watching. And you can always look in your browser's History (Ctrl-H) to see exactly what sites have been accessed. If the rules are broken, a few days away from the computer will serve as a reminder that you're serious.
If you want to use technology as a second layer of defense, here are some options:
Blocking Access to Myspace
When you enter myspace.com into your web browser, it must query the network to find that website's numeric IP (internet protocol) address before it can contact the site. A hosts file can be used to short-circuit that IP lookup process by specifying any IP address you wish for a website. If you tell your browser that Myspace is at 0.0.0.0 then it will not be able to fetch and display that website. Locate the following directory, depending on your computer's operating system...
| Windows 98/ME | C:\WINDOWS |
| Windows XP/NT/2000 | C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc |
| Mac OS X | /etc |
| Linux/Unix | /etc |
...and open or create the hosts file with NOTEPAD or your favorite text editor. Add the following lines to the file, then save it.
0.0.0.0 www.myspace.com
Now if you try to access the Myspace website, your browser should give a "page not found" error. You may wish to block other sites, such as LiveJournal, Xanga and Friendster. Be sure to include these domains with and without the "www" as shown above. Of course this relies on your child not knowing about the hosts file.
If you have a high-speed connection, your network router may offer some stronger domain blocking features. Log in to your router by going to http://192.168.0.1 with your web browser. It should ask for a username and password. If you never assigned one, or never changed the factory default, do so now. Since every router is different, I can't provide precise instructions for how to setup domain blocking with your router. But using my D-Link DI-614+ I can click on Advanced, then Parental Controls and the setup screen is as shown here.
If you have firewall software installed, it may also offer domain blocking. Consult the manual, or poke around in the configuration or options screens for the firewall and you'll probably find something similar to the router example above.
Do you have any Myspace tips to share? Post your comments below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on May 12, 2006 06:18 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Blocking Myspace (Posted: May 12, 2006 06:18 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/blocking_myspace.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Blocking Myspace"
(See all 13 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Sebastian
06 Sep 2006
Hello...my question is if the public library blocked to access myspace...is there a way through www.google.com to hack into myspace? thanks
EDITOR'S NOTE: No. Google is a search engine, not a proxy service. But previous commenters have suggested some alternatives.
Posted by:
sean
13 Sep 2006
Here's a list I compiled just to cover all angles. Some may say...overkill... but use this and you can bet that you've blocked myspace from the ‘not-so’ savvy.
127.0.0.1 log.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 browseusers.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 classifieds.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 collect.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 events.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 favorites.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 forum.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 groups.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 home.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 invite.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 linux.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 login.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 message.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 messages.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 music.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 mx2.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 myspace.com
127.0.0.1 ns1.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 ns2.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 profile.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 rio.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 search.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vids.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 viewmorepics.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta01.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta02.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta03.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta04.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta05.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta06.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta07.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta08.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta09.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta10.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta11.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta12.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 vmta13.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 www.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 www1.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 videos.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 mail.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 signup.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 security.myspace.com
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.219
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.24
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.25
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.28
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.40
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.41
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.42
127.0.0.1 63.208.226.43
127.0.0.1 63.209.191.74
127.0.0.1 69.89.74.30
127.0.0.1 82.165.169.214
127.0.0.1 209.59.200.170
Posted by:
surfmas
20 Nov 2006
To use a proxy to access myspace try http://hidemyway.com -- hope it works for you.
Posted by:
master surfer
30 Jan 2007
When the schools block one proxy, just use another one, it is the only way to go for now. Just use the proxifeir pages to secure login: http://www.surfinter.net/prox or direct via http://www.vipsurfer.com ! Hope this works!
Posted by:
XPPro
17 Apr 2007
Of course if you are running Windows XP Professional keep the Admin account away from the kids and then place the entries into the hosts file to block unwanted sites. Set the family use account up to be a 'user' level account on the machine. This runs with the least privleges on the machine. The kids 'user' account can't make changes to the file and it helps protect from malware and viruses as well.
Posted by:
Spartan069
25 Jun 2007
For the guy who asked about scheduled blocking. Some routers allow website blocking based on a schedule. Essentially it works the same as the example above, but it also has options for when to block. My Netgear WGR614v6 allows such a block.
Posted by:
melissa fredericks
08 Nov 2007
quit trying to bock it from ur kids they will go be hind ur back and go on any ways
Posted by:
cm
17 Dec 2007
how do I unblock myspace?
Posted by:
Miranda Grech
26 Mar 2008
Yes, how do I "unblock" myspace?
EDITOR'S NOTE: This may help -- http://askbobrankin.com/banning_myspace.html
Posted by:
KC5JMR
28 May 2008
Weather I am a parent or a Boss who only wants productivity and not myspace surffing is in the end my business and the reasons should not matter. I have a client who wants all of myspace blocked web and IM. Is it right to let him decide what is done in his office? SO I blocked my IP's in the Hosts file and that was that. Now I need a way to block the IM as well. I personaly don't want my kids on myspace at all and as a parent I will enforce it whit them. Also he school district my kids go to hs both proxy servers blocked and Myspace as well.