Technology

Pi-hole – Network-wide Ad Blocking

Bits & Pieces

Pi-hole is a network firewall that blocks ads and tracking domains for all devices behind it, unlike traditional ad blockers that only run in a user’s browser. Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that compiles a blocklist of domains from multiple third-party sources.

Pi-hole works by blocking advertisements before they are downloaded, which improves network performance and makes browsing feel faster. It also caches DNS queries, which speeds up the feel of everyday browsing.

To set up Pi-hole on Ubuntu, you can follow these steps:

  • Update Your System:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

  • Install Required Packages:
sudo apt install curl

  • Download and Run the Pi-hole Installer:
curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

  • Follow the Installer Instructions:
    • Choose the network interface (usually eth0 for wired or wlan0 for wireless).
    • Select the upstream DNS provider (such as Google or OpenDNS).
    • Set a static IP address for your Pi-hole if you haven’t already.

  • Configure Your Router:
    Change your router’s DNS settings to point to the IP address of your Pi-hole. This will make sure all devices on your network use Pi-hole for DNS.

  • Access the Pi-hole Admin Console:
    After installation, you can access the Pi-hole admin console by navigating to http://<your_pi-hole_ip>/admin in a web browser. The default password is shown at the end of the installation process.

  • Optional: Configure Additional Settings:
    • Set up DHCP server on Pi-hole to manage IP addresses on your network.
    • Install additional blocklists or configure custom DNS settings in the Pi-hole admin console.

  • Keep Pi-hole Updated:
    Regularly update Pi-hole and its blocklists to ensure it remains effective.

  • Consider Security:
    • Change the default password for the Pi-hole admin console.
    • Enable the Pi-hole firewall to block external access to the admin interface.