Windows and Tablet Setup

A durable desktop setup starts with a serious blocker, a clear blocklist, and rules that cannot be edited during vulnerable hours.

1. Install a blocker

Cold Turkey Blocker Pro is the reference tool for this setup because it can lock blocks, schedule them, and make casual bypassing difficult. Other tools may work, but the key requirement is simple: once a block is locked, it should not be removable on impulse.

2. Start with the blocklist

Download or copy the starter blocklist, then remove entries you truly need and add the sites or apps that are most costly for you.

3. Lock the high-risk hours

The most useful blocks are often boring: late evening, early morning, and the first work session of the day. Start with the hours where you repeatedly make choices you later regret.

4. Harden search and app loopholes

Block the alternate routes too: web app versions, app stores, browser extension pages, proxy sites, and search terms that reliably lead back to the same habits.

5. Optional: add a network layer with Tech Lockdown

Cold Turkey blocks on the machine. A network-level filter blocks below it, which closes a different set of loopholes: a second browser, a portable browser, or an app that reaches the web without going through anything Cold Turkey watches. Tech Lockdown is the tool used in this setup, and the same Content Policy covers your iPhone at the same time.

Three parts, in this order:

Point Windows at the Content Policy. Under Settings → Network & Internet, open your current adapter, then DNS server assignment → Edit. The values, including the DNS-over-HTTPS settings, come from the Tech Lockdown dashboard under Install → Config.
Install the Cloudflare WARP app to hold that connection. It runs in either DNS-only mode or as a full tunnel; the mode is set in the dashboard under Settings → App Preferences.
Install the WARP Enforcer tool from the dashboard under Tools → Windows. This is the part that matters for bypassing: it removes the ability to uninstall the WARP app, and restarts it if it is stopped. Without it, the filter is one right-click away from being off.

Tech Lockdown is a paid service, around $9.99 per month billed annually, with a free trial. It is genuinely optional here: Cold Turkey alone is a complete Windows setup. Add this layer if you have found yourself reaching for a second browser, or if you want one policy covering the phone and the computer together.

Do not lock yourself out of work-critical tools. Build the first version with care, test it, then make it stricter after you know what breaks.