Block porn on your computer

Three pieces that belong together

On a computer, a filter on its own rarely lasts. Whoever knows the administrator password can undo any setting in a minute. So you need three things together:

1. A filter for the whole device. Every time you open a site, the computer first asks for its address (DNS). If that question goes to a service like Cloudflare’s “1.1.1.1 for Families,” adult sites get no address and don’t load. That works in every browser and every app that uses the system DNS.
2. Browsers that don’t bypass the filter. Modern browsers can use their own DNS and have private windows. Both can be locked down.
3. Someone else holds the key. You work in a standard account. The administrator account belongs to the person you trust, and only they know the password. Microsoft recommends standard accounts for everyday use anyway.

Mac: with one profile

The fastest route is the Mac profile at consurgam.com/protect. It sends all DNS queries encrypted to Cloudflare’s family filter, turns on Apple’s web filter, switches off iCloud Private Relay, and sets Chrome, Brave, Edge and Firefox so there are no private windows and no guest mode. It is installed under System Settings > General > Device Management. Apple notes that some profiles can only be removed by an administrator. That’s why the person you trust types in their password, and afterward you work as a standard user.

Why Private Relay has to go: according to Apple, when you browse in Safari with Private Relay, your DNS records are encrypted, and Apple explicitly names parental controls among the services that can be affected. A DNS filter then can’t see which site you’re opening.

With built-in tools only it also works, with less protection for other browsers:

1. Turn on System Settings > Screen Time.
2. Under “Content & Privacy” > “App Store, Media, Web, & Games,” in the Safari section, choose “Limit Adult Websites.” According to Apple, this automatically limits access to many adult websites. Under “Customize” you can block more sites.
3. Turn on “Lock Screen Time Settings.” The person you trust types the four-digit passcode.

Apple describes this filter under Safari. For Chrome or Firefox, Apple says nothing. If you use other browsers, the DNS filter is the more reliable route.

Windows: with one command

At consurgam.com/protect there is a command that the person you trust pastes into an administrator terminal. On Windows 11 it sets up DNS over HTTPS to Cloudflare’s family filter, with no fallback to unencrypted DNS, applies it to all active network adapters, and turns off private windows and guest mode in Edge, Chrome, Brave and Firefox. At the end it checks for itself whether the filter works. A second command undoes everything.

Beforehand, the person you trust switches your account to “Standard user” under Settings > Accounts > Other users and creates an administrator account of their own.

Microsoft Family Safety is the built-in alternative. According to Microsoft, family members can be people of any age. So a friend can be the organizer of a family group and you a member. The organizer can then block websites, and the web filter applies in Microsoft Edge. To prevent bypassing, Family Safety blocks unsupported browsers. The price: Microsoft also describes that the organizer can see searches and activity when reports are turned on. That is more insight than many men want. Talk about whether it suits you beforehand.

The router: every device in the house at once

A DNS filter in the router protects every device on your Wi-Fi, including the TV, game console and the old tablet. On a FRITZ!Box, AVM’s guide puts the setting under Internet > Account Information > DNS Server. There you enter the addresses of “1.1.1.1 for Families” (according to Cloudflare, 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3) and can turn on encrypted name resolution (DNS over TLS) with the name family.cloudflare-dns.com. Step-by-step instructions are at consurgam.com/protect. Other routers often have a similar DNS setting; check your manufacturer’s documentation.

Two notes from AVM itself: for internet telephony and a few other functions, the FRITZ!Box always uses the provider’s DNS servers. And a mistyped address knocks out internet access. Afterward, the person you trust changes the password of the router’s admin page and keeps it. A router filter only works at home, not on the road or on mobile data.

SafeSearch in Google and Bing

Separately from the filter, SafeSearch is worth it, because many men get pulled in through image search. In Google Search, set SafeSearch to “Filter”; according to Google, that blocks all explicit results. In Bing, set SafeSearch to “Strict” in the settings. You can change both back yourself. The Mac profile and the Windows command at consurgam.com/protect also enforce SafeSearch in Chrome and Edge.

Where the block reaches its limits

It would be dishonest to promise you a solid wall.

Browsers with their own DNS. Chrome has the setting “Use secure DNS,” where you can enter a different provider, and Firefox has its own protection levels for DNS over HTTPS. If you set another provider there, the browser goes around the system filter. That’s why the Mac profile and the Windows command lock these settings. Other browsers such as Opera or Vivaldi are not covered.

Whoever is administrator can undo everything. That’s why the standard account matters so much. A second administrator account, booting from a USB stick, or a freshly reinstalled computer gets around any protection.

VPN. A VPN can bring its own DNS servers and so bypass the filter.

Lists are never complete. Every filter misses sites and sometimes blocks harmless ones.

Privacy. With a DNS filter, the names of the sites you open go to Cloudflare. For its public resolver, Cloudflare commits to truncating the IP address and deleting the logs within 25 hours. Whether that applies word for word to the family filter is not stated separately there. Nothing goes to the Consurgam team.

And the most important limit: a block doesn’t change why you sit down at the computer. It buys you a moment. What to do in that moment is in Urge to watch porn.

Who holds the key

Someone reliable who won’t give in when you text at midnight that you need the password “just for a second.” A friend, a brother, an older colleague. With the routes at consurgam.com/protect, they don’t have to check up on you and get no reports. They only hold the key. How to ask is in Accountability partner. For your phone, see Block porn on iPhone and Block porn on Android.