4 ms·

After the last one of these articles, I finally flashed my router with OpenWRT, and it's been pretty nice so far. Best feature: Installed `adblock` package, and

After the last one of these articles, I finally flashed my router with OpenWRT, and it's been pretty nice so far. Best feature: Installed `adblock` package, and now I get DNS-level ad blocking, which is simply fantastic. Works on all clients (including mobile) and significantly faster than blocking in browser.

fuzzy2 8y ago
> significantly faster than blocking in browser. Also significantly less effective. It’s nice for devices/cases where you cannot have an adblocker in your browser. It is unnecessary otherwise.
- tecleandor 8y ago
  Yep, that's true, not fully effective but: - Nice for TVs and other devices where you can't control the apps - Or even in phones or tablets, if you don't have root access , you can block lots of ads in browser or even in apps - Also, you can reduce the quantity of CPU used by ad blockers on your devices (again, essentially, phones and tablets). - Also nice for visitors in your network ;)
SpikeDad 8y ago
A nice alternative which allows you to keep using your router's own software or routers not compatible with open source software is PI-HOLE (https://pi-hole.net https://pi-hole.net). Provides the same DNS level blocking with a lot more information and features.
- neilsimp1 8y ago
  I've been thinking of getting a Pi-Hole for a while, but also have a router running OpenWRT. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using a Pi-Hole vs. using an AdBlock package on the router?
  - wincy 8y ago
    Off the top of my head the Adblock might use up CPU cycles on the router, which could cause slower throughput and shorten the lifespan of your router.
  - SpikeDad 8y ago
    You get a lot more info from Pi-Hole about what IPs and URLs your devices are accessing. Lots of good information outside the ad blocking realm - which devices are phoning home and where and how often is just one example.
  - LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
    I used an adblock package in pfSense but not OpenWRT. The issues I had with pfSense's package was it wasn't nearly as configurable as pi-hole and it used up a bit too many resources on the Soekris 5505 box. I had to uninstall it because it took too many resources. I ended up installing Docker on my laptop, grabbing the Pi-Hole container, and configuring my laptop to use the docker container as the DNS server. So far this has worked very well. Wherever I go, I have pihole running in the background. I can access the web interface and do everything I could do on the rasp pi-hole, without the extra hardware. It does take a minute or two to start up in the background after logging in though.

fuzzy2 8y ago

> significantly faster than blocking in browser. Also significantly less effective. It’s nice for devices/cases where you cannot have an adblocker in your browser. It is unnecessary otherwise.

tecleandor 8y ago
Yep, that's true, not fully effective but: - Nice for TVs and other devices where you can't control the apps - Or even in phones or tablets, if you don't have root access , you can block lots of ads in browser or even in apps - Also, you can reduce the quantity of CPU used by ad blockers on your devices (again, essentially, phones and tablets). - Also nice for visitors in your network ;)

SpikeDad 8y ago

A nice alternative which allows you to keep using your router's own software or routers not compatible with open source software is PI-HOLE (https://pi-hole.net https://pi-hole.net). Provides the same DNS level blocking with a lot more information and features.

neilsimp1 8y ago
I've been thinking of getting a Pi-Hole for a while, but also have a router running OpenWRT. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using a Pi-Hole vs. using an AdBlock package on the router?
- wincy 8y ago
  Off the top of my head the Adblock might use up CPU cycles on the router, which could cause slower throughput and shorten the lifespan of your router.
- SpikeDad 8y ago
  You get a lot more info from Pi-Hole about what IPs and URLs your devices are accessing. Lots of good information outside the ad blocking realm - which devices are phoning home and where and how often is just one example.
- LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
  I used an adblock package in pfSense but not OpenWRT. The issues I had with pfSense's package was it wasn't nearly as configurable as pi-hole and it used up a bit too many resources on the Soekris 5505 box. I had to uninstall it because it took too many resources. I ended up installing Docker on my laptop, grabbing the Pi-Hole container, and configuring my laptop to use the docker container as the DNS server. So far this has worked very well. Wherever I go, I have pihole running in the background. I can access the web interface and do everything I could do on the rasp pi-hole, without the extra hardware. It does take a minute or two to start up in the background after logging in though.