• Around The HomeToggle Menu

    • Entertainment
    • Productivity
    • Smart Home
  • FamilyToggle Menu

    • Parenting
    • Toys
    • Pets
    • Travel
  • ReviewsToggle Menu

    • Phones
    • Tablets
    • Laptops
    • Desktops
    • Wearables
    • Audio
    • Cameras
    • Headphones
    • Printers
    • Smart Home
    • TVs
    • Gaming and Video
  • One Cool ThingToggle Menu

    • Frugal Tech
    • Kickstarters
    • Videos
  1. Home
  2. Around The Home
  3. Productivity
  4. How to Unblock Sites Using the Terminal Mac OS X Application for MacBo...

How to Unblock Sites Using the Terminal Mac OS X Application for MacBook

By: Chris Hoffman
  • Share
  • Share on Facebook

The terminal application included with Mac OS X can be used to block websites by editing the hosts file. By pointing a website address to an address that doesn't exist, the website becomes inaccessible. You can unblock websites that have been blocked this way by editing your hosts file. Unblocking websites by editing your hosts file only works if the websites were blocked in this manner. Some routers, networks and Wi-Fi hotspots block certain websites. There's no way to get around these blocks except by connecting to a different network on your MacBook.

...
Mac computers include standard UNIX terminal commands.

Step

Click the "Finder" icon on the dock at the bottom of the screen.

Step

Click "Applications" at the left side of the Finder window, double-click the "Utilities" folder and double-click "Terminal."

Step

Type "sudo nano /private/etc/hosts" into the terminal window and press "Enter" to open the hosts file in a terminal text editor.

Video of the Day

Step

Use the arrow keys to locate the line referring to the blocked website in the text editor.

Step

Position the text cursor at the beginning of the line.

Step

Type a "#" character to comment out the line. The system ignores any lines in configuration files that begin with the "#" character.

Step

Press "Ctrl+O" and then press "Enter" to save the file.

Step

Press "Ctrl+X" to close Nano, then close the terminal window.

Show Comments

Related Articles

How to Get Rid of the About:Blank Page

How to Get Rid of the About:Blank Page

Around The Home
Productivity
By: Andrew Meer
How To Disable a Website Block

How To Disable a Website Block

Around The Home
Productivity
By: Tim Mammadov
How to Change Your Local Host Name

How to Change Your Local Host Name

Around The Home
Productivity
By: Steve Gregory
How to Edit Your Windows Hosts File

How to Edit Your Windows Hosts File

Around The Home
Productivity
By: Aaron Parson
Google Chrome Has a New Ad Blocker

Google Chrome Has a New Ad Blocker

Around The Home
Smart Home
By: Jill Layton
How to Unblock a Web Page

How to Unblock a Web Page

Around The Home
Productivity
By: Erick Kristian
  • HOW WE SCORE
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • TERMS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • COPYRIGHT POLICY
  • Advertise

An error occurred. Try again later.

Thanks for signing up!
© 2019 Leaf Group Ltd. Leaf Group Media

Get great tech advice delivered to your inbox.

Keep your family productive, connected, entertained, and safe.

Please enter a valid email.