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A while ago I uninstalled uBO/PrivacyBadger and switched to using a combination of NextDNS [0] and Brave for daily driving (Firefox for work because FF containe

A while ago I uninstalled uBO/PrivacyBadger and switched to using a combination of NextDNS [0] and Brave for daily driving (Firefox for work because FF containers) and the adblocking + browsing experience has been nothing short of stellar. NextDNS takes the load off outside the network perimeter and concatenates all the many lists and trackers in one dashboard. I'm free to use other gentler add-ons in the browser if I so desire, rather than have the DOM split apart and my local machine do all the heavy lifting. The best thing about using DNS-level blocking is that it's an elegant solution across all my devices, especially when paired with a VPN that enforces those resolvers. [0] https://nextdns.io https://nextdns.io

viraptor 7y ago
Where that fails though is exceptions. Do you want to block ads, but follow that one link you're really interested in? Sorry, it redirects via a doubleclick site and you can't allow just that one entry. You also need to leave your browser environment to find and unblock it.
- dspillett 7y ago
  That irritated me once or twice at first, after setting PiHole to implement DNS based ad blocking at the network level. It hasn't bothered me long term though. If that happens and I care enough about what made me follow the link then a quick search has always brought up another route to that content or equivalent content. Often I don't care even that much in which case I click the back button or close the tab and get on with something else. In fact this "problem" might be saving me wasted time that I can use/waste elsewhere. It might even be saving money by reducing impulse purchases, if the links are ones I've followed to see what the sales pitch is for a product/service that has been mentioned in an article!
  - viraptor 7y ago
    For me it's the opposite. Not being able to bypass that doubleclick block would mean that I lose the deal I'm trying to get and would lose money on something I'm actually planning to pay for.
    - dspillett 7y ago
      I've never come across a product or offer I really wanted, that I couldn't easily get to by other means. It is occasionally an extra couple of clicks or a little typing to search, but that is a small price to pay for all the junk (sometimes actively malicious junk, not just tracking stuff and irritations like auto-playing video) that PiHole blocks. Heck, it has at least once saved me money, and not just because I gave up trying to get information on how to spend it: searching for the product when following the "direct" link didn't work found a better offer from another source (in that case if was an offer on the particular variety of running shoes that I currently prefer).
- oedmarap 7y ago
  I actually come across that use case ever so often. My solution is to right-click the link in Brave and choose "Open link in private window with Tor" and it loads without any issue; since the exit node performs the DNS resolution.
- danShumway 7y ago
  It also doesn't allow contextual blocking. You can't, for example, block all Twitter/Youtube requests on third-party pages, but allow them on first-party pages. Firefox containers help a little bit with this, but only for cookies/session data -- not for blocking scripts outright.
samstave 7y ago
On mobile ormachine?
samstave 7y ago
May you please do a howto post on this?
- oedmarap 7y ago
  I posted a howto specifically for combining a self-hosted WireGuard VPN with NextDNS for adblocking while on the VPN itself, and you can find that here: https://blog.paramdeo.com/2019/07/03/setup-an-adblocking-vpn-using-wireguard-and-nextdns.html https://blog.paramdeo.com/2019/07/03/setup-an-adblocking-vpn... However, if you're just trying to setup NextDNS you can signup for free on their website and within the account dashboard you'll find instructions for configuring your desktop and mobile OS, DoH in Firefox, router, etc. (screenshots of what this dashboard looks like are in the blog post if you're curious).
pcr910303 7y ago
The worst thing about DNS based filtering is that it can’t block same domain based ads. For example, YouTube servers ads on the same domain, which totally makes DNS based blocking useless. I moved on to Safari content blockers for this reason, from the hosts file based ad blocking.

viraptor 7y ago

Where that fails though is exceptions. Do you want to block ads, but follow that one link you're really interested in? Sorry, it redirects via a doubleclick site and you can't allow just that one entry. You also need to leave your browser environment to find and unblock it.

dspillett 7y ago
That irritated me once or twice at first, after setting PiHole to implement DNS based ad blocking at the network level. It hasn't bothered me long term though. If that happens and I care enough about what made me follow the link then a quick search has always brought up another route to that content or equivalent content. Often I don't care even that much in which case I click the back button or close the tab and get on with something else. In fact this "problem" might be saving me wasted time that I can use/waste elsewhere. It might even be saving money by reducing impulse purchases, if the links are ones I've followed to see what the sales pitch is for a product/service that has been mentioned in an article!
- viraptor 7y ago
  For me it's the opposite. Not being able to bypass that doubleclick block would mean that I lose the deal I'm trying to get and would lose money on something I'm actually planning to pay for.
  - dspillett 7y ago
    I've never come across a product or offer I really wanted, that I couldn't easily get to by other means. It is occasionally an extra couple of clicks or a little typing to search, but that is a small price to pay for all the junk (sometimes actively malicious junk, not just tracking stuff and irritations like auto-playing video) that PiHole blocks. Heck, it has at least once saved me money, and not just because I gave up trying to get information on how to spend it: searching for the product when following the "direct" link didn't work found a better offer from another source (in that case if was an offer on the particular variety of running shoes that I currently prefer).
oedmarap 7y ago
I actually come across that use case ever so often. My solution is to right-click the link in Brave and choose "Open link in private window with Tor" and it loads without any issue; since the exit node performs the DNS resolution.
danShumway 7y ago
It also doesn't allow contextual blocking. You can't, for example, block all Twitter/Youtube requests on third-party pages, but allow them on first-party pages. Firefox containers help a little bit with this, but only for cookies/session data -- not for blocking scripts outright.

samstave 7y ago

On mobile ormachine?

samstave 7y ago

May you please do a howto post on this?

oedmarap 7y ago
I posted a howto specifically for combining a self-hosted WireGuard VPN with NextDNS for adblocking while on the VPN itself, and you can find that here: https://blog.paramdeo.com/2019/07/03/setup-an-adblocking-vpn-using-wireguard-and-nextdns.html https://blog.paramdeo.com/2019/07/03/setup-an-adblocking-vpn... However, if you're just trying to setup NextDNS you can signup for free on their website and within the account dashboard you'll find instructions for configuring your desktop and mobile OS, DoH in Firefox, router, etc. (screenshots of what this dashboard looks like are in the blog post if you're curious).

pcr910303 7y ago

The worst thing about DNS based filtering is that it can’t block same domain based ads. For example, YouTube servers ads on the same domain, which totally makes DNS based blocking useless. I moved on to Safari content blockers for this reason, from the hosts file based ad blocking.