With all the good work going on with Wayfarer, it seems somewhat churlish to be asking for help on this.

But - as a long-term internet user (25+ years) I've managed to build up my web/internet addiction to pretty debilitating levels. I've had some success with living in places without internet - this has been wonderful and I start to feel like i'm getting my life/brain back. No smart phones too, of course.

BUT - currently - it would be good to use the web for a few sites, on an occassional basis. White-listing sites might be a big ask - at least in a way that isn't easily circumventable. But black-listing sites seems easier as we can use the hosts file from Settings to do just that. Of course, with that alone it wouldn't be long before I just go in, delete the host list and numb out on a 48-hour Youtube binge.

So, is there a way to password lock settings? I could create a long random password - print it out - lock it away somewhere - make it hard to access - and force myself to keep the hosts file. My cursory explorations suggest this can't be done, although I wondered if the multi-user functionality might provide a way? Or is there any other way this might be done? The dream would be insurmountable whitelisting.

Any help appreciated!

Ginger1

[ Edited by Ginger1 09.07.2021 - 20:00 ]

You could create a Kryptos volume and either put Wayfarer on it or softlink the settings folder to the TrueCrypt volume. Good luck :)

Thank you Jacadcaps. Useful ideas.

With the Kryptos-volume-and-Wayfarer-in-it , I can see myself finding a good reason to unlock it and then never resetting the machine until I've "enjoyed" a full binge.

The softlink idea sounds like a good one too. I can see how I could make a softlink to the settings folder - and lock that away (specifically TrueCrypt here or is that a synonym for Kryptos?) - but couldn't I just open the actual settings and edit it there?

Also - is the Settings folder the Prefs directory in SYS: ?

And thanks for the luck :)

Some progress...

I've worked out (with a little help from a website or two) how to whitelist and blacklist sites just with the hosts file (whitelist with actual IP / domain name; blacklist with 0.0.0.0 / top level domain). I've found a long list of top level domains which I've copied into hosts (SYS:Prefs/Env-Archive/sys/net/hosts/) - each point to 0.0.0.0 and the TLD as e.g. .COM

Here's a snippet:

0.0.0.0 .ac
0.0.0.0 .academy
0.0.0.0 .accenture
0.0.0.0 .accountant
0.0.0.0 .accountants

This all looks present and correct in Hosts under Settings too.

I've whitelisted a couple of sites too, PINGing them to get their IP.

Brilliant!

Only problem is - doesn't seem to make any difference in OWB. All the sites are loading happily as normal. Tried resetting etc. Also tried 127.0.0.1 instead of 0.0.0.0. Hmmm. What am I doing wrong?

If your router have the option for whitelisting url's it might be easier to start there.

Quote:

Good idea too. Only problem with that is that I share the internet connection with others, and they might be a bit miffed when Youtube is suddenly barred.

Feel like an alcoholic, forced to live in a pub, trying to stay sober. With everyone and everything around screaming "DRINK THIS AMAZING BEER YOU LOSER!!!!"

Quote:
You could of course also add another router behind the main one, and make sure all your connections go through it.

Quote:
At least you have the self-awareness to try to do something about it. I suspect many have that issue without admitting it is a problem.

Quote:
Ah! That's a great idea. I could IP bar my devices on the main one - and only connect to the second one, with the whitelisted sites. And get rid of all ethernet cables. Will give this some serious thought.

Quote:

Yes, I suppose so. I sometimes think I might be a bit ahead of the curve on internet addiction, having been in it from my Amiga 1200 days in the mid-nineties - and as time goes on a lot more people will realise there are dangers. And I'm lucky to know how pre-internet life used to be - that it's even possible!

Thanks for the help and advice.