Recently saw a post regarding pi-hole, and I am considering to try it out. I am wondering if it would fit my usecase, so I want to ask about specifically what it solves.
I heard pi-hole blocks ads at DNS resolution level, so it does not block e.g. youtube ads. For me and my family who mostly watch youtube with handful of blog surfing, what value would it bring? Most blogs do not seem to contain much ads, so I am not sure ad-blocking helps much there.
Given the praise pi-hole is getting, I guess there are more to it than limited blocking of ads. I would love to learn more about this topic, as I am blind on the networking stuff. Thanks in advance!
Two things. 1, unless you specifically need to run the software on a Pi, I recommend using AdGuard Home over Pi-Hole. It’s more actively maintained (not to imply that Pi-Hole isn’t actively maintained), and is going to be more of a setup once and forget type of solution.
2, the value in running a software like this is to be able to monitor your network traffic for suspicious activity, block ads, and access to malware, porn, warez, gambling, crypto, etc (especially if you have children). You can use custom blocklists like Hagezi’s threat intelligence feeds (TIF) which instantly decreases your attack vector while interfacing with the clear-net. The TIF blacklists block malware, cryptojacking, scam, spam and phishing. Blocks domains known to spread malware, launch phishing attacks and host command-and-control servers.
I very highly recommend using the Hagezi TIF lists. You can setup AdGuard very easily (mine runs off my Synology NAS), and you can easily force your entire network to use it by changing your DNS server in your router configuration page to your AdGuard Home instance IP (in my case, it’s my Synology NAS IP from within my network).
Takes a few minutes to setup, and you’re done. From there you can use the web-ui to change settings, update blacklists, and even see what your network traffic looks like: https://x0.at/D-aY.png and you can even block access to services directly: https://x0.at/QlbJ.png
I agree here. AdguardHome is way easier to configure and just have it work. Evidently, it’s always important to maintain, like any other software, but it is way less hands-on than PiHole.
Thanks a lot for detailed analysis!!
May I ask about difference between Adguard Home and Pi-Hole in terms of “setup once and forget”?
To put a fine point on it, its about usability. AdGuard is just a simple DNS stub resolver which acts as a middle-man between your network, and an upstream DNS resolver. Basically, your device makes a DNS request to your AdGuard instance, and it either gets filtered out by your blacklists (and never leaves your network), or its forwarded to an upstream DNS resolver (a real DNS server) and then back again. Pi-Hole does the same thing, and many many many more things. So while they would both do what you want, Pi-Hole (in my experience) is dozens of times more complicated and difficult to setup. Which is awesome–if you need all those other features.