Focus Better and Get More Done

FocalFilter Start

FocalFilter is a free productivity tool that helps you focus by temporarily blocking distracting websites. After the block timer runs out, your websites are available for you to view again.

  1. Run FocalFilter.
  2. You choose which websites to block.
  3. Set how long they should blocked for.
  4. Get more work done.

One Block, All Browsers

FocalFilter was built to work with every web browser including

Adding a Website to FocalFilter

FocalFilter Edit

Just copy and paste the address from your browser’s address bar.

Examples

(If you don't see a "www" in the address bar, then don't add it when you paste into FocalFilter.)

The list of blocked sites is saved for the next time you run FocalFilter.
You can always edit your block list before starting the timer.

You can't reach FocalFilter's controls while it is blocking sites, and terminating it or uninstalling it before the time runs out will not remove the blocks. If FocalFilter is still installed, you can remove the blocks early by rebooting your computer.

Installation Instructions

FocalFilter works on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
You can download it for free: [ click here ] (last updated December 2011)

Note: FocalFilter cannot block sites if you are using Kaspersky Internet Security or Avira. Please let us know if you have problems with any other security software. If FocalFilter doesn't work for you, see the Related Software section below for other software you can use instead.

To run FocalFilter, your PC must have Microsoft's .NET Framework version 4. If you don't already have it on your PC, our installer will let you know. [ install .NET now ]

Windows 8 users: You may have to completely exit and restart your browser for the blocks to start working (this is true for other versions of Windows as well). If you are using the new Windows 8 Internet Explorer with the address bar at the bottom (let's call it the "Metro browser"), note that switching to another application or switching to the old style "desktop" browser does not exit the Metro browser (it stays running in the background). You can hit Alt-F4 while using the Metro browser to make it exit. FocalFilter was tested on the February 2012 Windows 8 preview.

Windows XP users must either be an administrator, or run FocalFilter as an administrator. You can it run as an administrator by right-clicking the icon and choosing "Run As..." and then giving the administrator password.


Related Software

Leechblock for Firefox and StayFocusd for Chrome should work with any security software because they are built into the browser. And being built into the browser lets them offer some great features that FocalFilter cannot. LeechBlock is harder than StayFocusd for you to sneak around when it is blocking. If you don't want to be able to sneak around these tools by using Internet Explorer, see here for how to remove Internet Explorer from your system.

BinarySwitch Eclipse, which blocks websites in all browsers, worked with all the security software we tested.

And here are two tools which we have't tested with security software, but we like the features that they provide:

Freedom completely disables your Internet access for the amount of time you specify. It's also available for Mac.

Cold Turkey is similar to FocalFilter but there are differences. It won't stop blocking if you reboot. It has a built-in list of sites to block, in addition to letting you specify sites you want to block. And you can add more sites to the block list even while the tool is blocking sites. Also, the $2 paid version lets you block executable programs as well as websites, which could be good for gamers. Cold Turkey website blocks are harder than FocalFilter blocks for a sophisticated user to sneak around, because it will stop you from manually changing the system settings that it modifies. Because Cold Turkey is similar to FocalFilter, it may have website blocking problems with the same security software that stops FocalFilter from working.

If you are a Mac user and you want to block distracting sites in all browsers without blocking the whole Internet, check out Anti-Social or Self-Control.

Also, one of the authors of FocalFilter found the book The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination helpful.


Contact Info and Credits

Contact us at .

FocalFilter was written by David Gelbart, Shan Naziripour and David Gong. You can donate if you'd like to express your appreciation for the time we've spent.