4 ms·

What do the failure cases look like with Pi Hole? E.g. broken websites, missing (legitimate) content, apps that crash when they can reach their ad server? And

What do the failure cases look like with Pi Hole? E.g. broken websites, missing (legitimate) content, apps that crash when they can reach their ad server? And what kind of workarounds/remediations are available to deal with this, ideally in a user-friendly way for non-technical users?

slenk 8y ago
It really comes down to how many sites you block. It comes with some default blocklists, but wally3k hosts a site tells you the status of different blocklists: https://firebog.net/ https://firebog.net/ As for what is seen when a site fails - well, it could vary. If a JS file fails to load, the site will either look bad or not at all. ANd yeah, some apps may have issues, but pihole comes wiht a built in query log so you can see which devices just made which DNS queries, along with an easy-to-click whitelist button. There are different blocking modes you can choose from that return different response codes, so you can choose what works best for your environment: https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/blockingmode/ https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/blockingmode/ I would recommend checking out the pihole discourse(https://discourse.pi-hole.net/ https://discourse.pi-hole.net/) or subreddit. The community is very active
- pimlottc 8y ago
  Thanks for the links, I’ll check those out! Sounds like it’s pretty well thought-out.
  - slenk 8y ago
    I suppose I should make it known that I am a patreon supporter. I may be a superfan but I love what that team is doing
bytematic 8y ago
I know it's somewhat irrelevant, but, I would like to note that I've never had this happen. I am running an updated raspberry pi 3 b+ and pi-hole + dnscrypt. It blocks something like 30-50% of my requests daily (top domains are windows and my 2 roku tv's). It allows me to visit sites that detect ublock but also block ads.
ryandrake 8y ago
It depends on how closely your definition of legitimate matches the block list you’re using, which is why it’s important to choose the right one. My wife and I occasionally disagree about whether this or that link should be blocked but otherwise I’ve had no problem with legit sites working.
stordoff 8y ago
The best way around this is to pick the right block lists - I can count on one hand the number of times it's blocked legitimate content (and I run rather a long list of block lists). wally3k's list is good for this - https://firebog.net/ https://firebog.net/ - providing you still stick to the ticked lists, you are unlikely to have a problem. For working around it when it does happen, the UI is easy to use - go to http://pi.hole http://pi.hole, login, and then you can disable it for 10s/30s/5m, or whitelist it if it is something you are going to use a lot.
- pimlottc 8y ago
  Thanks, that’s good to know. When you talk about turning it off briefly, is that for all sites and users?
  - crtasm 8y ago
    Yes. It's often pretty easy to look at the query list and just whitelist some obvious domains though, rather than letting everything through temporarily.

slenk 8y ago

It really comes down to how many sites you block. It comes with some default blocklists, but wally3k hosts a site tells you the status of different blocklists: https://firebog.net/ https://firebog.net/ As for what is seen when a site fails - well, it could vary. If a JS file fails to load, the site will either look bad or not at all. ANd yeah, some apps may have issues, but pihole comes wiht a built in query log so you can see which devices just made which DNS queries, along with an easy-to-click whitelist button. There are different blocking modes you can choose from that return different response codes, so you can choose what works best for your environment: https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/blockingmode/ https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/blockingmode/ I would recommend checking out the pihole discourse(https://discourse.pi-hole.net/ https://discourse.pi-hole.net/) or subreddit. The community is very active

pimlottc 8y ago
Thanks for the links, I’ll check those out! Sounds like it’s pretty well thought-out.
- slenk 8y ago
  I suppose I should make it known that I am a patreon supporter. I may be a superfan but I love what that team is doing

bytematic 8y ago

I know it's somewhat irrelevant, but, I would like to note that I've never had this happen. I am running an updated raspberry pi 3 b+ and pi-hole + dnscrypt. It blocks something like 30-50% of my requests daily (top domains are windows and my 2 roku tv's). It allows me to visit sites that detect ublock but also block ads.

ryandrake 8y ago

It depends on how closely your definition of legitimate matches the block list you’re using, which is why it’s important to choose the right one. My wife and I occasionally disagree about whether this or that link should be blocked but otherwise I’ve had no problem with legit sites working.

stordoff 8y ago

The best way around this is to pick the right block lists - I can count on one hand the number of times it's blocked legitimate content (and I run rather a long list of block lists). wally3k's list is good for this - https://firebog.net/ https://firebog.net/ - providing you still stick to the ticked lists, you are unlikely to have a problem. For working around it when it does happen, the UI is easy to use - go to http://pi.hole http://pi.hole, login, and then you can disable it for 10s/30s/5m, or whitelist it if it is something you are going to use a lot.

pimlottc 8y ago
Thanks, that’s good to know. When you talk about turning it off briefly, is that for all sites and users?
- crtasm 8y ago
  Yes. It's often pretty easy to look at the query list and just whitelist some obvious domains though, rather than letting everything through temporarily.