[trellis]

I am looking for a Linux equivalent of SelfControl.app, a Mac OS X application. From its web site, SelfControl.app:

is an OS X application which blocks access to incoming and/or outgoing mail servers and websites for a predetermined period of time. For example, you could block access to your email, facebook, and twitter for 90 minutes, but still have access to the rest of the web. Once started, it can not be undone by the application, by deleting the application, or by restarting the computer – you must wait for the timer to run out.

The keys, imo: SelfControl.app blocks sites system-wide (it's not just a Firefox extension, for example); it lets you choose which web sites to block while letting you use the rest of the internet; it has a straightforward, graphical configuration (no getting into firewalls and text file configurations).

Does anyone know of a Linux equivalent that has all the keys of SelfControl.app? Or, if not, can anyone make a Linux port, since SelfControl.app is GPL software?

Thank you!

Steve Lambert SelfControl

[tchariya]

You could write rules for iptable service or use /etc/hosts.allow or /etc/hosts.deny if your was compiled against tcp wrappers.

[trellis]

Originally Posted by tchariya

You could write rules for iptable service or use /etc/hosts.allow or /etc/hosts.deny if your was compiled against tcp wrappers.

Or I could not. Thanks for the reply, but I am looking for a Linux solution that's as usable and convenient as SelfControl.app on OS X (you should try it if you haven't yet!). I'm specifically uninterested in rooting around in hosts or iptable.

[flywiththewind]

There is now a Linux (and Windows) version of SelfControl out called SelfRestraint! It's available for free at SelfRestraint | Parker Kuivila