Haven't seen you around lately here or on IRC. You alright? Doing well?
On topic, Pi-hole is awesome.
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Do you have Pi-Hole installed?
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On topic, Pi-hole is awesome.
Hey SbG! Fany seeing you here
I deprecated a server and never got back to re-adding myself. Might reconnect and have a chat there?
I have 3! Different vLans on my home network for different things. At the moment all have the same block list but that will change (kids vs adult vLans will have different blocks for example)
I'm not exactly sure how they would combine multiple user types into 1 server, but I wish it was a feature. Running and operating say 3xPiHole systems isn't a lot of work, more time wasted though.
They are all running in Docker containers. Setting up the Docker networks (and the lower level Linux virtual network adaptors) was a little hassle but once done it doesn't take a lot of maintenance
In theory not so much, but you combine that with everything else on your network and that can end up being a lot of time to maintain things.
For me, working in the IT industry, I really do not have much spare time to take care of my own 'home' networks as it's always spent on the customers! #slightvent.
I am like PiHole expert now. What are you trying to do?
There is adguard home which is basically the same thing made by a business, adguard, free and open source I believe. I never tried it.
There is PiHole which is a community driven open source and donationware. I like PiHole because of the support and the community, you should check out reddit.com/r/pihole .
There is also ProtonVPN which has a service called "NetShield" which blocks ads for you so you have to do nothing more than install the app and switch on NetShield. Costs $60/y I believe.
PiHole shines that it blocks system wide on all devices connected to the same network/Wifi. They key to it is which blocklist you should choose, because if you use a lot or bad blocklist you will probably break something on the internet(stuff stops working).
I'm still using Pi-Hole and have not found a better solution for network wide ad and tracking blocking. You don't really need a modern R-Pi though... the older and cheaper versions will run Pi-Hole just fine.
Thanks. I'll look into those options as well.
Thanks for your reply and recommendation as well.
So, I like the idea of having a dedicated box for it that I own, and am more than happy to get a more powerful R-Pi since I might decide to use it for other things down the line (e.g., VPN I can use when we're outside of the home, running Homebridge for some non-HomeKit devices, etc.).
Although I'm a software developer by trade and enjoy tinkering with things, I also don't mind paying a bit to get an R-Pi that's pre-built (and maybe even pre-configured with some of this software and/or has some sort of "app store" for more easily adding these apps, if such a thing exists). Can you/anyone point me to some recommendations in that regard?
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit - 4GB RAM
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit - 4GB RAM
www.amazon.com
If you want to spend a little more and get the latest Pi 4, the easiest way is buy one of the Canakits off Amazon. Has all you need, including an SD card with the OS and everything already installed.
Thanks again! That looks great. I'll read up more on it. I'm a little disappointed, though, to see that it includes (needs) a fan. I thought one of the neat things about these R-Pi's were that they were so tiny and fan-less. But I imagine that's because this one is more powerful than the fan-less options? And/or perhaps there are kits that have heat sinks or heat sink cases? What are your thoughts on this? I don't necessarily mind having a fan if it's quiet enough and works better than a heat sink approach, but my old PC desktop fans always seemed to end up getting dusty/noisy down the line for me.CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit - 4GB RAM
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit - 4GB RAMwww.amazon.com
If you want to spend a little more and get the latest Pi 4, the easiest way is buy one of the Canakits off Amazon. Has all you need, including an SD card with the OS and everything already installed.
Update: And, of course, after a bit of poking around I see that CanaKit sells a fan-less aluminum case model, so now I'll dig into the reviews to see what people think about that.
I have the older Pi 3B+ that has just heatsinks and no fan, and it works perfectly. I have never used the newer 4, so cannot comment on fan noise. I think you are right why the fan is needed on the 4.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (B Plus) with Premium Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (B Plus) with Premium Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply
www.amazon.com
Oh, I did think of another important question. I work from home and my company-owned MBP connects to work via a work VPN. Can I easily bypass the pi-hole for my work computer or is there something special I need to do to make sure the pi-hole doesn't negatively impact my work MBP in any way?
It depends on how the work VPN is configured, but when I am connected on the work VPN, the Pi-hole is bypassed automatically.
Yes, DietPi
My Understanding all current raspberry pis work without the need for a fan although the Pi4 is specifically runs hotter, it is said Pi's will throttle at 80C/176F . I believe Pi3 should do everything you want but the choice is yours.
There are cases where the case itself work as a heat sink or you can add a heat sink, others say heat sinks are placebo and they do not really do anything on the RPis.
VPN should override PiHole. VPN ON = PiHole OFF
I'm back but I haven't made any progress yet. If I'm remembering correctly, I first posted here because I was having some really weird and significant in-home network issues and when trying to eliminate potential causes, and one of them was some sort of malware or virus, which led me to thinking about using an ad blocker, which then led me here. Anyway, my network issues turned out to be something else entirely and that's now resolved.
Nevertheless, I'm still interested in pi-hole and obtaining a modern RPi.
But I'm back now with a non-pi-hole (I think) question, but posting it here since several of you are clearly: a) RPi owners, and b) Apple users.
So my network gear essentially consists of hard-wired Cat5e/6 AirPort Extreme units which are obviously older gear, but they work well and so I'd like to stick with them for a while longer until some Wi-Fi 6 routers with support for Apple HomeKit Accessory Security:
support.apple.com
I'd really like some of the smarter app-controlled features that a lot of these routers/services offer like eero Secure:
Features such as:
1) Monitoring usage of all devices (wired or wireless) - including what sites/IP addresses they're accessing and how much bandwidth they're using. Of course, I'd like to be able to assign friendly names (e.g., Sue's iPhone) to network mac addresses.
2) Blocking certain websites (aka content filtering aka parental controls)
Is there any sort of RPi app that can accomplish what I'm after? I would think that pi-hole's ad-blocking blacklist could be leveraged for #2, but that would impact all users/devices, right?
If not RPi, if there's some other device that can be inserted after my primary AirPort Extreme that accomplishes this (and ideally doesn't involve a monthly subscription) I'm open to that, too.
Edit: I have found the Fingbox (not sure why it's capitalized since their company name isn't). I've used the Fing app (free version) on my iPhone on occasion. It looks like the Fingbox is $99 and does much (all?) of what I'm after, but I'll have to read up more on it. But if I can find something (with a nice UX) to add to a RPi, I'd prefer that.
Nevertheless, I'm still interested in pi-hole and obtaining a modern RPi.
But I'm back now with a non-pi-hole (I think) question, but posting it here since several of you are clearly: a) RPi owners, and b) Apple users.
So my network gear essentially consists of hard-wired Cat5e/6 AirPort Extreme units which are obviously older gear, but they work well and so I'd like to stick with them for a while longer until some Wi-Fi 6 routers with support for Apple HomeKit Accessory Security:
Use routers secured with HomeKit - Apple Support
Add even more protection to your home accessories with secure routers compatible with HomeKit.
I'd really like some of the smarter app-controlled features that a lot of these routers/services offer like eero Secure:
Features such as:
1) Monitoring usage of all devices (wired or wireless) - including what sites/IP addresses they're accessing and how much bandwidth they're using. Of course, I'd like to be able to assign friendly names (e.g., Sue's iPhone) to network mac addresses.
2) Blocking certain websites (aka content filtering aka parental controls)
Is there any sort of RPi app that can accomplish what I'm after? I would think that pi-hole's ad-blocking blacklist could be leveraged for #2, but that would impact all users/devices, right?
If not RPi, if there's some other device that can be inserted after my primary AirPort Extreme that accomplishes this (and ideally doesn't involve a monthly subscription) I'm open to that, too.
Edit: I have found the Fingbox (not sure why it's capitalized since their company name isn't). I've used the Fing app (free version) on my iPhone on occasion. It looks like the Fingbox is $99 and does much (all?) of what I'm after, but I'll have to read up more on it. But if I can find something (with a nice UX) to add to a RPi, I'd prefer that.
Last edited:
bI'm back but I haven't made any progress yet. If I'm remembering correctly, I first posted here because I was having some really weird and significant in-home network issues and when trying to eliminate potential causes, and one of them was some sort of malware or virus, which led me to thinking about using an ad blocker, which then led me here. Anyway, my network issues turned out to be something else entirely and that's now resolved.
Nevertheless, I'm still interested in pi-hole and obtaining a modern RPi.
But I'm back now with a non-pi-hole (I think) question, but posting it here since several of you are clearly: a) RPi owners, and b) Apple users.
So my network gear essentially consists of hard-wired Cat5e/6 AirPort Extreme units which are obviously older gear, but they work well and so I'd like to stick with them for a while longer until some Wi-Fi 6 routers with support for Apple HomeKit Accessory Security:
Use routers secured with HomeKit - Apple Support
Add even more protection to your home accessories with secure routers compatible with HomeKit.
I'd really like some of the smarter app-controlled features that a lot of these routers/services offer like eero Secure:
Features such as:
1) Monitoring usage of all devices (wired or wireless) - including what sites/IP addresses they're accessing and how much bandwidth they're using. Of course, I'd like to be able to assign friendly names (e.g., Sue's iPhone) to network mac addresses.
2) Blocking certain websites (aka content filtering aka parental controls)
Is there any sort of RPi app that can accomplish what I'm after? I would think that pi-hole's ad-blocking blacklist could be leveraged for #2, but that would impact all users/devices, right?
If not RPi, if there's some other device that can be inserted after my primary AirPort Extreme that accomplishes this (and ideally doesn't involve a monthly subscription) I'm open to that, too.
Edit: I have found the Fingbox (not sure why it's capitalized since their company name isn't). I've used the Fing app (free version) on my iPhone on occasion. It looks like the Fingbox is $99 and does much (all?) of what I'm after, but I'll have to read up more on it. But if I can find something (with a nice UX) to add to a RPi, I'd prefer that.
PiHole can do all of this except monitor bandwidth. Of course you don't get nice graphs and data analytics like Fingbox. I wouldn't use Eero its an Amazon company if you care for your privacy.
heads up, if you plan to install PiHole on RPi, the cheap Pi Zero W is more than capable of doing that but you also need mini-USB to Ethernet adapter , or get any RPI that has built in ethernet. Don't get RPi4 , thats a total overkill like dicing strawberries with a chainsaw.