tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65577726669659103822024-03-13T04:58:44.093-07:00Self Restraint UnBlock (Self Control similar process)ED-R Studioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02598600166663813226noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557772666965910382.post-4610626677628761052015-02-20T20:27:00.001-08:002015-02-20T20:27:49.949-08:00How to Unblock the Self-Restraint App, Designed to block websites (PC, MAC & LINUX!!)Okkkk.... So long story short; I used the Self Restraint PC program (Based on the mac only Self Control App) to block facebook whilst I studied, my computer then crashed & Self Restraint never removed the block on the website. As I work in Social Media Marketing part time, having no access to facebook (and all other sites that used my facebook account as a log in).. I was crippled from doing my job and forced to spend hours trying to learn code, etc.. to understand how Self Restraint works in order to start working again.<br />
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Sadly I wasted hours upon hours working through all of it before finding an extremely easy unblock which I can now promise will work if you have landed yourself in a similar situation to myself.<br />
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SELF CONTROL WORKS BY PLACING A BLOCK IN THE HOSTS FILE IN YOUR COMPUTER.<br />
Here's how to unblock websites from self control: (for windows 7&8.. other operating systems below)<br />
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<ol>
<li>Open Notepad as Administrator (Start - Search - Notepad [right click] - Run as Administrator)</li>
<li>Open Hosts File in Notepad: (File - Open: <span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;">c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts</span>)</li>
<li>Remove Blocked Websites from list:</li>
<ol>
<li>Find this section:<br />"# PySelfControl Blocklist. NO NOT EDIT OR MODIFY THE CONTENTS OF THIS <br /> # PySelfControl will remove the block when the timer has ended<br /> # Block the following sites:<br /><span style="color: red;">(List Of Blocked Websites)</span><br /> # End Blocklist"<br /></li>
<li>To delete a specific website from the block list, delete the ENTIRE Line which it is listed on (including the numbers infront of it)<br /><br />-OR-<br /><br />To delete all websites blocked; delete all lines of this code (from #PySelfControl Blocklist... to - #End BlockList)<br /><br /><br /><br />PERSONALLY I RECOMMEND USING THE SECOND OPTION, AS IT LEAVES NO CRAP LYING AROUND & SLOWING DOWN YOUR COMPUTER.<br /></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SO WHAT IF YOU'RE USING ANOTHER OPERATING SYSTEM???</span><div>
<b style="font-style: italic;">The process to unblock websites should be relatively similar once in the host file! </b>(if you hadn't noticed, the code for Self Restraint in the host file refers to itself as "self control", its predecessor Mac App; suggesting that the way in which the application blocks websites through modifying host files is almost, if not, exactly the same across operating system platforms).</div>
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<i>The following is copied from:</i></div>
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http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/article/how-do-i-modify-my-hosts-file</div>
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<h2 style="color: #514c4c; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista</h2>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista use User Account Control (UAC), so Notepad must be run as Administrator.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<strong>For Windows 8</strong></div>
<ol style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;">
<li>Press the Windows key.</li>
<li>Type Notepad in the search field.</li>
<li>In the search right click Notepad and select Run as administrator.</li>
<li>In Notepad, open the following file:<br />c:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts</li>
<li>Make the necessary changes to the hosts file.</li>
<li>Click <strong>File </strong>-> <strong>Save </strong>to save your changes.</li>
</ol>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<strong>For Windows 7 and Windows Vista</strong></div>
<ol style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;">
<li>For Click <strong>Start </strong>-> <strong>All Programs</strong> -> <strong>Accessories</strong>.</li>
<li>Right click Notepad and select <strong>Run as administrator</strong>.</li>
<li>Click <strong>Continue </strong>on the "Windows needs your permission" UAC window.</li>
<li>When Notepad opens Click <strong>File </strong>-> <strong>Open</strong>.</li>
<li>In the filename field type:<br />C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts</li>
<li>Click <strong>Open</strong>.</li>
<li>Make the necessary changes to the hosts file.</li>
<li>Click <strong>File </strong>-> <strong>Save </strong>to save your changes.</li>
</ol>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
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<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="Windows_NT2000XP" name="Windows_NT2000XP" style="color: #1e82d7;"></a></div>
<h2 style="color: #514c4c; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
Windows NT/2000/XP</h2>
<ol style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px;">
<li>Click <strong>Start </strong>-> <strong>All Programs</strong> -> <strong>Accessories </strong>-> <strong>Notepad</strong>.</li>
<li>Click <strong>File </strong>-> <strong>Open</strong>.</li>
<li>In the filename field type:<br />C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts</li>
<li>Click <strong>Open</strong>.</li>
<li>Make the necessary changes to the hosts file.</li>
<li>Click <strong>File </strong>-> <strong>Save </strong>to save your changes.</li>
</ol>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
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<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="Linux" name="Linux" style="color: #1e82d7;"></a></div>
<h2 style="color: #514c4c; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
Linux</h2>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
1. Open a terminal window.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
2. Open the hosts file in a text editor (you can substitute any text editor):</div>
<pre id="pre-1" style="background: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-bottom-left-radius: 6px; border-bottom-right-radius: 6px; border-top-left-radius: 6px; border-top-right-radius: 6px; color: white; font-size: 13px; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 40px 20px 20px;"><div class="syntax">
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sudo nano /etc/hosts</pre>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
3. Enter your password.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
4. Make the necessary changes to the hosts file.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
5. Press <strong>control-X</strong> (hold control and hit X), then answer <strong>y</strong> when asked if you want to save your changes.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
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<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="Mac_OS_X_100_through_1015" name="macosx10.0" style="color: #1e82d7;"></a></div>
<h2 style="color: #514c4c; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.1.5</h2>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
1. Open <strong>/Applications/Utilities/NetInfo Manager</strong>.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
2. To allow editing the NetInfo database, click the padlock in the lower left corner of the window.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
3. Enter your password and click <strong>OK</strong>.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
4. In the second column of the browser view, select the node named <code>machines</code>. You will see entries for <code>-DHCP-</code>,<code>broadcasthost</code>, and <code>localhost</code> in the third column.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
5. Select the <code>localhost</code> item in the third column.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
6. Choose <strong>Duplicate </strong>from the <strong>Edit </strong>menu (the quickest way to create a new entry is to duplicate an existing one). A confirmation alert appears.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
7. Click <strong>Duplicate</strong>. A new entry called <code>localhost copy</code> appears, and its properties are shown below the browser view.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
8. Double-click the value of the <code>ip_address</code> property and enter the IP address of the other computer.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
9. Double-click the value of the <code>name</code> property and enter the hostname you want for the other computer.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
10. Click the <code>serves</code> property and choose <strong>Delete </strong>from the <strong>Edit </strong>menu.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
11. Choose <strong>Save </strong>from the <strong>File </strong>menu. A confirmation alert appears.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
12. Click <strong>Update this copy</strong>.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
13. Repeat steps 6 through 12 for each additional host entry you wish to add.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
14. Choose <strong>Quit </strong>from the NetInfo Manager menu. You do not need to restart the computer. </div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="color: #514c4c; font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px;">
Mac OS X 10.6 - 10.1.8</h2>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
1. Open <strong>Applications </strong>> <strong>Utilities </strong>> <strong>Terminal</strong>.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
2. Open the hosts file by typing the following in the Terminal window:</div>
<pre id="pre-2" style="background: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-bottom-left-radius: 6px; border-bottom-right-radius: 6px; border-top-left-radius: 6px; border-top-right-radius: 6px; color: white; font-size: 13px; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 40px 20px 20px;"><div class="syntax">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="highlighter-2" style="background: url(http://www.rackspace.com/knowledge_center/profiles/kc/themes/rackspace_kc/images/page-white-code.png); color: #1e82d7; cursor: pointer; display: block; float: right; height: 16px; position: relative; top: -25px; width: 16px;"></a></div>
sudo nano /private/etc/hosts</pre>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
Type your user password when prompted.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
3. Edit the hosts file. The hosts file contains some comments (lines starting with the <code>#</code> symbol), as well as some default hostname mappings (e.g. 127.0.0.1 – local host). Append your new mappings underneath the default mappings.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
4. Save the hosts file by pressing <strong>Control+x</strong> and answering <strong>y</strong>.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
5. Make your changes take effect by flushing the DNS cache with the following command:</div>
<pre id="pre-3" style="background: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-bottom-left-radius: 6px; border-bottom-right-radius: 6px; border-top-left-radius: 6px; border-top-right-radius: 6px; color: white; font-size: 13px; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 40px 20px 20px;"><div class="syntax">
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dscacheutil -flushcache</pre>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4em;">
6. New mappings should now take effect.</div>
</div>
</div>
ED-R Studioshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02598600166663813226noreply@blogger.com2