How to Permanently Block Time-Wasting Websites

     Is there a website that’s utterly toxic to your mental state or ability to work? Maybe you grind your teeth over your ex’s weblog, which details every moment of her happy new life without you. Maybe you’ve lost hours of your life trolling eBay auctions and you simply can’t allow yourself to impulse-buy another autographed Neil Diamond record. Perhaps online backgammon can snatch away hours of your day at the office.

    The preceding hack describes how to block time-wasting websites during certain times of the day and week. Alternatively, you can block sites at all times, until you explicitly release the restriction. This hack fakes your computer into thinking that those problem sites live on your hard drive — although obviously they don’t — and forces a Server Not Found error when your fingers impulsively type that tempting, time-sucking URL.     Here’s what to do.      Windows1. Open Notepad or some other text editor (in Windows 7, you need to open your text editor with elevated privileges by right-clicking the editor and clicking Run as Administrator); then open the file named hosts, which is located in the following directory: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC.2. Add the following on its own line in the hosts file:127.0.0.1 ebay.com facebook.com evilex.comReplace the sites listed with the domains that you want to block.Mac OS X1. In Finder, choose Go ⇒ Go to Folder.2. In the Go to Folder dialog, type /etc/.3. From the /etc/ folder window, locate the hosts file and Cmd+click it. From the context menu, choose Get Info. In the Ownership & Permissions area, set You Can to Read & Write.4. Now open the hosts file in a text editor.5. Add the following on its own line in the hosts file:127.0.0.1 ebay.com facebook.com evilex.comReplace the sites listed with the domains that you want to block.The ResultAfter you complete the steps for your operating system, save the hosts file and quit your editor.Now when you visit one of your blocked sites, you get a Server Not Found error. (If you’re running a web server at home, as detailed in Hack 71, “Run a Home Web Server,” your own server’s files appear.)The advantage of this method over Hack 39, “Limit Visits to Time-Wasting Websites” is that the sites are blocked from every browser, not just Chrome (StayFocusd) or Firefox (LeechBlock), on that computer. The downside is that when you decide it’s an okay time to browse eBay, you have to manually comment out the following line in the hosts file by adding a # to the beginning of the line, like this:#127.0.0.1 metafilter.com flickr.comThat’s a deliberately huge inconvenience — one that can help keep your wandering

Facebook Shortcuts

If you are using Firefox as your browser then add Shift before each shortcuts.


Alt + 1: Moves you to Facebook news feed (landing page).
Alt + 2: Shortcut to open Facebook profile.
Alt + 3: Directs you to Friend requests page for a quick approval or disapproval of any friend request.
Alt + 4: Opens the messages panel in Facebook.
Alt + 5: Shortcut to opens the Facebook notifications panel (third to the right of the left top corner).

Burn a CD/DVD on Windows 7 or Vista without using software

CD/DVD burning capability has been added to Windows Operating System since the release of Windows XP. However, the steps to burn CD/DVD on Windows Vista and Windows 7 are a bit different (and somewhat simpler) comparing to Windows XP.

For details on how to burn CD/DVD on Windows XP, click here

You can use this built-in feature to create a data CD/DVD or an audio CD. The steps below will guide you through the procedures. Although the steps below are based on Windows 7, they are very much similar to Windows Vista.

If you're using a Re-Writable CD (CD-RW) or DVD (DVD-RW, DVD+RW), make sure the disc is blank (or "formatted"). You might need to erase (or "format") it before using. For information how to erase a rewritable CD/DVD on Windows Vista or Windows 7 without using a third-party software, see this article. 

Insert a blank recordable/rewritable CD (CD-R) or DVD (DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW) disc into the CD burner drive.

With a new blank disc, Windows might pop up a prompt asking you which format you want to use (as shown on the image below).

As explained on the popup, the option "Like a USB Flash Drive" is more convenient if you want to use the disc as an external storage, which you can add or delete (rewritable disc) files on the fly; however, once the disc is formatted with this option, it can only be read on computers with Windows XP or later. On the other hand, the option "With a CD/DVD Player" is the traditional format of CD/DVD disc and is compatible with a wider range of Windows versions as well as other devices, but requires to burn the disc (or erase the entire disc) all at once.