How to Block Certain Things on Chrome

Chrome offers a wide range of site-blocking extensions, allowing you to prevent access to an entire site by adding that site's address to a blacklist. Popular examples include Nanny and StayFocusd, which both allow you to block certain sites at specific times. For example, you might choose to block Twitter during work hours, but allow access to the site on evenings and weekends. Alternatively, Block Site includes comprehensive authentication features so that others can't change your blacklist (see Resources).

Chrome's pop-up blocker prevents sites from opening additional browser windows automatically, preventing most pop-up ads from displaying. By default, Chrome blocks pop-ups from all sites. However, you can customize the list of sites that Chrome blocks pop-ups from, as some site designs may require a website to open a new window from time to time. To customize the pop-up blocker's settings, select “Show Advanced Settings” from the "Settings" menu, click “Privacy,” and then select “Content Settings” to show the pop-up blocker controls.

To go a step further than simply blocking pop-ups, you can use an ad-blocking extension to block advertisements located within Web pages themselves. Ad-blocking extensions alter the way that Chrome displays a Web page, omitting ads while leaving the rest of the page's content untouched. Popular examples include AdBlock, which offers a simple user interface and allows you to filter you individual ads, and Adblock Plus, which is designed to run in the background without affecting your browsing speed (see Resources).

Chrome's Supervised Users feature allows you to set up additional user accounts alongside your regular Chrome account. Once these accounts are created, you can set controls over what they can view using a whitelist system. Supervised Users can be a good way to prevent vulnerable users from using Chrome to access inappropriate content. To configure a supervised user, open the “Settings” menu, click “Add a New User,” fill out the user's details, check the “This is a Supervised User” box, and then click “Create.”