How to Disable Internet Access for a Period of Time Every Day or On a Schedule Using Pfsense

Say you want to disable internet access on a specific computer on your LAN between 11pm to 2am every day and you have the pfsense (https://pfsense.org) firewall properly setup. Here are the steps:

Assign static IP to the machine

• Login to pfsense dashboard > Status > DHCP Leases
• Find the current IP of the chosen machine
• Give is static IP by clicking on the first plus sign (light one) on the right.

Create schedule

• Log in to your pfSense web interface.
• Navigate to “Firewall” > “Schedules”.
• Click on the “+” button to add a new schedule.
• Define the schedule for blocking internet access from 11pm to 2am. You’ll need to add two times because one schedule does not go past the midnight. Test a few times and hit save.

Create an alias for the computer

• Go to “Firewall” > “Aliases”.
• Click on the “+” button to add a new alias.
• Create an alias for the specific computer’s IP address or MAC address. We’ll need this when setting up the firewall rule.

Create the firewall rule

• Go to “Firewall” > “Rules”.
• Select the appropriate interface (e.g., LAN) where the computer is connected.
• Click on the “Add” button to create a new firewall rule.
• Set the following parameters: - Action: Block - Interface: LAN (or whichever interface is appropriate) - Protocol: Any (or specific protocols if needed) - Source: Single host or alias (select the alias you created for the computer) - Destination: Any - Description: Provide a description like “Block Internet Access during 11pm to 2am” - Click on “Display advanced” and select the schedule you created earlier under “Schedule”.

Save and Apply Changes

• After configuring the firewall rule, “Save” it.
• Apply the changes by clicking on the “Apply Changes” button at the top of the page.

Test

• Test if the rule works.

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