Blocking access to site(s) is easy and free. Of course this assumes that the person that is going to try and access the site(s) does not about this trick.

Again, this is easy to do, assuming that the PC has Windows on it. Just modify computer’s host file so that when they attempt to go to myspace.com or any of its related pages they are not able to. You can even set it up so that when they attempt it they get redirected to some other site of your choosing. It would be cool to redirect them to a site with your picture or something.

Ok so here is what you do:

1. Locate any existing hosts file on your computer.
Depending on the operating system, it will be in the following directories:
- Windows 95/98/Me go to c:\windows\hosts
- Windows NT/2000/XP Pro go to c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
- Windows XP Home go to c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
(you may need administrator access for Windows NT/2000/XP)

- For Windows Vista go to the bottom of these instructions
2. You may not initially see the file because it’s hidden since it is a system file. Once you are in the right directory change the folder’s settings to show protected system files and show hidden files and folders. To do this in XP you go to Tools > Folder Options > View and CHECK “Show hidden files and folders” and UNCHECK “Hide protected operating system file (Recommended).

3. Now you should see a file named hosts (again, it does NOT have an extension (like .exe, .txt, .doc, etc.) so double click on it and you should be asked what you want to open it with, just choose Notepad.

4. Once you have opened it you should see  an entry like this:
127.0.0.1       localhost

5. In the next line under the above entry type the myspace entries, like shown below. Notice how we added one without the “www” and one with the “www” on the same line. You can do this with any other site that you want blocked. If instead you want to redirect the site then find out the other site’s ip address and use it instead of the 127.0.0.1. Below I show an example of how to redirect facebook.com to Bloomberg.com, which if you know Bloomberg, it boring stocks stuff.

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.0.1       myspace.com www.myspace.com
204.179.240.224    facebook.com www.facebook.com

6. Now, here is the tricky part. When you try to save the file you will probably get a message saying that the file cannot be created and to make sure that the path is correct. Just click OK and click Save. Notice how the file was saved as hosts.txt, we have to rename it to just hosts. Since you already have a file named hosts we need to right-click on that file and rename it to hosts.old and then you can rename the hosts.txt that you saved to hosts with no problem.

7. Go back and undo step 2. In your folder go to Tools > Folder Options > View and UNCHECK “Show hidden files and folders” and CHECK “Hide protected operating system file (Recommended). This is so that you don’t leave the system and unprotected files viewable.

8. That’s it!! Restart the browser and the settings should take place.

Note: If you want to make the site(s) available again then just go back and delete the entries made but make sure to leave the “127.0.0.1       localhost”.

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In Vista, normal users are not allowed to save the hosts file, so the easiest way to edit it is to run notepad as an administrator.

1. Go to start and either search for “notepad” or go to All Programs > Accessories
2. Right click “notepad” and select the “Run as Administrator Option.”
3. Once Notepad opens go to File > Open and browse to “C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc”
4. Set the file filter to “All Files”
5. Select and Open “hosts”
6. Edit it and save it.

If you get an error about it being read only:

1. Go to File > Open, right click the “hosts” file and select properties
2. Uncheck read-only at the bottom and click OK.
3. Click Cancel to go back to notepad”
4. Save it

That’s it!! Restart the browser and the settings should take place.

Note: If you want to make the site(s) available again then just go back and delete the entries made but make sure to leave the “127.0.0.1       localhost”.

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