Python script to block Websites !!! | Daily Python #22
This article is a tutorial on how to block websites in a given time frame.
This article is a part of Daily Python challenge that I have taken up for myself. I will be writing short python articles daily.
Requirements:
- Python 3.0
- Pip
First, let’s find the hosts file stored by the operating system
Content of the ‘hosts’ file
What is the ‘hosts’ file?
The host is an operating system file that maps hostnames to IP addresses. In this program, we will be mapping hostnames of websites to our localhost address. Using python file handling manipulation we will write the hostname in hosts.txt and remove the lines after your working hours.
Note: The location of the host file may be different for different operating systems. Windows Users should create a copy of this hosts file.
Let’s write the Python script that will do the task
# Run this script as Administrator
import time
from datetime import datetime as dthostsFilePath = "C:\\Windows\\System32\\drivers\\etc\\hosts"
# localhost's IP Address
redirect_IP = "127.0.0.1"# Websites that you want to block
website_list =["www.facebook.com","facebook.com",
"www.gmail.com","gmail.com"]while True:
# time of your work
if dt(dt.now().year, dt.now().month, dt.now().day,8) \
< dt.now() < dt(dt.now().year, dt.now().month, dt.now().day,21):
with open(hostsFilePath, 'r+') as file:
content = file.read()
for website in website_list:
if website in content:
pass
else:
# Mapping hostnames to be blocked to your localhost IP address
file.write(redirect_IP + " " + website + "\n")
print("Access Denied...")
else:
with open(hostsFilePath, 'r+') as file:
content=file.readlines()
file.seek(0)
for line in content:
if not any(website in line for website in website_list):
file.write(line)
# Removing hostnmes from hosts file
file.truncate()
print("Access Granted...")
time.sleep(5)
Change the extension of the Python file from ‘.py’ to ‘.pyw’ and run the script as Administrator to gain access to the hosts file.
You can also, schedule the above script to run At startup
Finally, Restart your machine, and check if the website blocker works.
I hope this article was helpful, do leave some claps if you liked it.
