How To Block Discord On A Router
Discord is an exceptionally popular platform that allows gamers and people from all walks of life, with all kinds of interests to meet and chat. It is primarily a positive and supportive place to spend time but there are always exceptions. There are also those who spend way too much time on Discord and not enough time on work, study or more important things. While blocking Discord on your router is something of a nuclear option, it is possible.
If you block Discord on your router, you block it for everyone in your household. You could create an exception if you use static IP addresses within your home network but things begin to get complicated in those situations. If you’re a parent or partner who has tried all other interventions to control someone’s Discord use, blocking it may be your only option.
You should try discussions, parental controls and perhaps uninstalling Discord from the person’s computer and phone but they may be ineffective. I know a couple of parents who have tried this and it failed miserably. In the end, they asked me to configure their broadband router to block the app completely. Not the ideal solution for anybody but it works after a fashion.
Block Discord on your router
Blocking Discord on a router is not an exact science. You can block the main Discord domains but as the chat servers use multiple addresses, you don’t catch them all. You can sniff your home network for traffic to identify exactly what addresses Discord uses but that can be quite involved. Instead, you can block the main Discord domains and see how effective that is.
The exact steps to this will differ depending on the make and model of your router. I have a Linksys router so will be using that. Your router will likely have a similar setup but might use different names for menus and settings.
- Log into your router as an administrator.
- Navigate to Parental Controls and enable the setting if it isn’t already.
- Select to Block Specified Sites and add the domains below to the list.
- Save your changes.
If your router has parental controls, this should be all you need to do. You will need to add the following domains to the block list:
These are the main Discord domains used for the app. Adding those to the block list will stop the majority of connections from within your home network. That will include the mobile app if the person uses your WiFi. It will not block the mobile app if they use 4G.
If your router doesn’t have parental controls, you can use its firewall to block the domains above. The firewall should be under the Security tab or something similar or have its own menu item.
Router firewalls block using IP addresses so you will need to obtain the IP addresses of the domains in order to block them. IP addresses change so rather than listing them here, I’ll point you to this WHOIS IP lookup tool. Enter each Discord domain above into the tool to get the IP address. Once you have a list of IP addresses, find the menu item for blocking or access restriction and enter the IP addresses into that. Set times or complete blocks depending on your router options and save your changes.
Digging deeper into Discord blocking
If you find your blocks not working, it could be that Discord is using a different domain. In that case, you’re going to need to sniff your network to discover what IP addresses Discord is using. For that we need a tool called Wireshark.
- Install Wireshark on a computer and open it.
- Select Capture and Options and ensure Promiscuous Mode is enabled.
- Set Wireshark to capture traffic when Discord is in use so you can see what and where that traffic goes.
- Stop Wireshark after a few minutes.
- Look for blue UDP traffic first and read the logs to identify Discord traffic. Move to TCP traffic after and do the same.
You can use filters at the top of the Wireshark screen to located Discord traffic by typing ‘discord’ into the filter box. This is inexact as not all traffic may use the ‘discord’ label. Either way, you will need to identify the IP addresses from here to add to your firewall above. It’s quite an involved process but a very useful one. If you want more information on using Wireshark in this way, there is a very helpful wiki that can guide you through the process.
As you can see, due to how Discord works, it is very difficult to completely block it on a router. Those domains should make life more difficult for a prolific user but it is not that precise. Wireshark is exact but much more involved. It’s a great tool to get to grips with though!
How to block Discord on a router?
Discord is one of the most popular VoIP programs out there right now. It started initially as a chat application for gamers but since then has evolved into a fully-fledged communication platform complete with video and voice calls and text messaging.
This has brought in an influx of users onto the platform. It can be used in a web browser also makes it rather easy to access on just about any device. This also creates a problem for network admins who might need to block specific programs on their network.
Whether you’re handling IT for a company or school or you’re just a parent looking to cut down on your kid’s Discord time, blocking the program can seem a little difficult when it’s so easily accessible.
In this article, we’re taking a look at how you can block Discord from a router.
Block Discord on router
The good news is, by playing around in your router settings just a little, you can block Discord access on your network. All you need to do is add Discord’s domains in your router’s domain blocker or firewall. After that, anyone connected to your router, either via LAN or WiFi, won’t use Discord anymore.
Note that different routers have different configuration UIs, and the settings are named differently. However, the general idea remains the same. The steps below are for a D-Link N300 router.
Step 1: Head over to your router’s configuration page and log in with your credentials. Most routers have their configuration pages on the base IP address, such as 192.168.0.0 or 192.168.0.1. Check your router’s manual for the exact address.
Step 2: Head over to the Firewall section followed by URL Filtering and check the Enable URL Filtering box.
Step 3: Make sure the Deny URL address radio button is checked and add discord.gg in the URL Address field. Click Save & Apply and restart your router.
Now, wait for your router to restart and discord.gg, Discord’s primary domain will be blocklisted, meaning anyone on your network won’t be able to access Discord anymore.
Yadullah Abidi
Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he’s not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He’s been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: [email protected]