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Blocking Websites not working
I am trying to block youtube on my Xfinity router and it is not working. I have the URL set -- https://www.youtube.com/ -- under blocked sites. I can still get to youtube. Is there something I am missing?
Hemingray42
Contributor
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76 Messages
3 years ago
Quite a bit actually.
What device are you testing this on?
If on a PC, Your browser may be using what's called "Secure DNS". This is also known as DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), which sends DNS queries in an encrypted manner over the standard HTTPS protocol. This has the major ability to evade network filtering. To disable, you'll need to dig into the settings:
Chrome/Edge: You'll find it in the Security and Privacy tab. This will be a setting called "Use secure DNS". This may be ON by default. Switch it OFF then test your blocking.
Firefox: Open Settings, Go to the VERY END of the General tab, and click on the Settings button for Network Settings. Scroll down in that window and uncheck "Enable DNS over HTTPS". Test blocking.
If on a Mobile device, see below:
Android: You'll want to dive into the network settings for your Wifi network on the device, locate and turn off Private DNS.
iOS: This will require disabling iCloud Private Relay. I've seen reports of PR functioning as an Oblivious DoH (ODoH) client even without a paid iCloud sub.
Misc:
Be sure the device is not connecting to a VPN or set to use a proxy server.
Be Warned:
Router-based blocking is extremely easy to evade, especially with the availability of DoH/DoT clients (Such as Intra for Android, the 1.1.1.1 app with Cloudflare WARP VPN, etc).
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