The apps

A menu bar app. It installs a small service that blocks at the Mac's resolver and keeps the Mac's DNS pointed at it, with the standard administrator prompt. The beta blocks sites; the signed release adds the system-level filter. macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon and Intel.

1. 01Open the disk image and drag Vowius to Applications, then open it from there.
2. 02The first time, macOS says it cannot verify the developer. Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll down and choose Open Anyway. That is once; the beta is not yet notarised.
3. 03Click the shield in the menu bar, paste the code from your dashboard's Devices page, and enter your administrator password when asked. That installs the service and enrolls the Mac.

Blocking keeps running after a restart and whether or not the app is open. Removing it takes an administrator; the app has no off switch. A site that was already open when the block arrived keeps its connection for a while; open it in a new tab to see the block.

Blocks sites and apps. The app runs a VPN on the phone itself, so every app's traffic passes its filter, and it watches which app comes forward. Nothing leaves the phone but the counts. Android 8 or later, installed from this page rather than the Play Store during the beta.

1. 01Open this page on the phone and download. When Android asks, allow your browser to install apps; it asks once.
2. 02Open Vowius and paste the code from your dashboard's Devices page. Then grant what it lists: the VPN, usage access so it can see which app is in front, and drawing over other apps so it can cover a blocked one.
3. 03In Android's VPN settings, open Vowius and turn on Always-on VPN with Block connections without VPN. From then on, turning the tunnel off cuts the network, and the system restarts it at boot.

The beta is not on the Play Store, so updates come from this page too: install the newer file over the old one and nothing is lost. Uninstalling is a bypass and is reported to your dashboard as such.

A system service. It blocks sites at the PC's resolver, keeps every network adapter pointed at itself and closes the other DNS routes, and ends programs named by your rules, whether or not anyone is logged in. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.

1. 01Open Vowius-setup.exe. Windows asks for your permission as it opens, because the service it installs runs for the whole machine; that is the only time it asks.
2. 02The beta is not yet signed, so SmartScreen may ask you to confirm first: More info, then Run anyway.
3. 03When it finishes, a shield appears in the tray. Click it, paste the code from your dashboard's Devices page, and this PC is protected.

Blocking keeps running after a restart and whether or not anyone is logged in; the tray shield is only the window into it. Later builds install themselves, so this is the last time Windows asks your permission. To remove it, use Vowius in Settings, Apps; removing protection is reported to your dashboard as a bypass and does not end a commitment. A site that was already open keeps its connection for a while; open it in a new tab to see the block.

A system service. It answers names at the machine's resolver, holds the resolver there through systemd-resolved or resolv.conf, and closes the other DNS routes with nftables, whether or not anyone is logged in. x86-64, systemd, nftables installed. No tray yet: sudo vowius status is the window into it.

1. 01Extract the archive: tar xzf Vowius-linux-beta.tar.gz
2. 02Install and enroll in one step with the code from your dashboard's Devices page: sudo ./install.sh CODE
3. 03Check it: sudo vowius status, and a listed name gets NXDOMAIN from dig.

Blocking keeps running after a reboot. The archive has an uninstall.sh; removing protection is reported to your dashboard as a bypass and does not end a commitment.