Tired of finding the best ad blocking software and applying
it on every PC and mobile device, I came across https://pi-hole.net/
and immediately set out to test it on my network. It is a DNS based ad blocker
that will handle ad blocking for all devices on your network at once. All DNS
requests are sent to the pi-hole device, ad serving IP addresses are filtered
out, and the remaining requests are forwarded as usual to the DNS provider of
your choice.
I ran the install on a Raspberry Pi 3 and the single command
install and accompanying setup was completed within minutes. Ads on my PCs and
mobile devices had disappeared and the pi-hole admin console confirmed which
DNS lookups were being blocked. From the admin console I can also tweak which
domains are blocked or make exceptions for domains I need to access.
I have had this setup running for about 3 months without issue
and little need for maintenance beyond occasionally running updates. I recently
purchased a new router that forced me to switch the Raspberry Pi to wireless connectivity,
which some have written can cause latency issues with the DNS lookups, but so
far I have not seen noticeably delays. Overall, it was a cheap and simple project
that improved my network security and user experience.
Edit: 4 months later, this setup continues to work without issue. I was curious if the wireless connection would be a problem, but that does not appear to be the case.
Edit: 4 months later, this setup continues to work without issue. I was curious if the wireless connection would be a problem, but that does not appear to be the case.