Mac
How to Block Activity Monitor on a Macbook
Activity Monitor can be used to force-quit applications that you want to ensure are always running. You can block access to Activity Monitor to prevent this.
If you want to prevent applications from being disabled on your Mac computer, one way to do this is to block access to Activity Monitor. Activity Monitor lets you force-quit any application on your device, so blocking access to it can prevent background apps from being turned off.
Activity Monitor can’t be disabled with Screen Time, since it’s a part of the built-in applications Apple always wants you to have access to, so you'll have to use some alternative approaches.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to use restrict access to Activity Monitor specifically. We'll even go through some alternatives to blocking activity monitor, but achieving the same effect: enforcing specific applications on a Mac so that they can't be stopped or uninstalled.
Cautions with Blocking Activity Monitor
Activity monitor is one of several ways that applications can be force quit on a Mac computer. If enforcing the use of an application to prevent intentional or unintentional bypass is critical for you, consider some of the alternatives we propose later on in this guide. You might consider enforcing an application (discussed later on) to prevent it from being stopped or uninstalled.
Force Content Filtering with an Enforcer Tool
If you've connected your Mac to Tech Lockdown's DNS Content Policy, you can optionally download our Mac Enforcer Tool . The Enforcer Tool will automatically re-enable the content filtering VPN if it gets disabled on your Mac:
This is an ideal approach since there are many ways that an application can be stopped even without using activity monitor. Furthermore, sometimes an application encounters a temporary problem and stops itself. In this case, it's useful to have a solution in place to automatically restart it.
How to Lock Access to Activity Monitor
If you've connected your Mac to a Content Policy to block online content, chances are you've installed an application that will enforce that policy on your Mac computer. The application will show up in Activity Monitor and you'll want to prevent it from being intentionally stopped using this panel.
In the case of Tech Lockdown's Content Policy, you can choose to use the Mac Application Enforcer Tool instead of blocking Activity Monitor completely. This tool prevents the application from being stopped or uninstalled.
Alternatively, you can pay for a Mac blocking application like Cold Turkey and use that to lock access to activity monitor. This Mac app blocker also has bypass prevention built-in, so you can enforce the Activity Monitor block rule.
Here are the basic steps you would follow using this application:
Activate a License
In order to block applications like Activity Monitor on a Mac using this tool, you'll need to activate a paid license to get access to this feature.
Create an Application Block Rule
In this new block, click on the Applications tab near the top of the menu:
Add the Activity Monitor Application to the Block Rule
From this menu, look for the Utilities folder and click on it. In most cases, Activity Monitor will be shown near the top, but if not, look for it elsewhere in this directory:
Save and Lock your Block
Make sure that you lock your block to prevent yourself from easily disabling this block later:
Consider using a locking method like random text, time delay, or scheduling.
Use a locking method you can undo
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the other blocking applications that I can use instead of Cold Turkey?
Yes, the are plenty of applications that are compatible with Mac devices.
We’ve specifically looked another one called Freedom Blocker that can do similar things to Cold Turkey.
Can I block other applications with Cold Turkey?
Yes! I would strongly recommend taking a look at our more robust guide about blocking apps on Mac to find out how.