I don't have that github link configured on my pihole (just default) and I have same experience with white screen instead of an ad in browser. I do have ad blocker extensions installed though. What about mobile devices? I still gets ads on the app rather than a white screen.
Setting up Pi-hole
- Thread starter NoNameNoNumber
- Start date
Associate
- Joined
- 4 Dec 2009
- Posts
- 520
PiHole does not block the adds embedded inside youtube videos at all.
The addons/no script extensions in your chosen browsers do this.
Google serves the content you are trying to watch and the adds from the same location, so DNS blocking will not work, this is what pihole uses.
The in browser tools, work at a script level and so can work. They target the frame and block that way. These can also be hit and miss though, in some cases if you restrict too much/the wrong stuff your actual content will not play.
The addons/no script extensions in your chosen browsers do this.
Google serves the content you are trying to watch and the adds from the same location, so DNS blocking will not work, this is what pihole uses.
The in browser tools, work at a script level and so can work. They target the frame and block that way. These can also be hit and miss though, in some cases if you restrict too much/the wrong stuff your actual content will not play.
Soldato
Yeah the ads makers dont stagnate they find ways around blocking. Unfortunately pi-hole was a revelation years back, but now its almost a standard to do but only will 'help' block stuff.
Im not a fan of having to install addons and use browser level as you then need to go to each device and set them individually, so we are moving away from the usefulness of the pihole again.
Im not a fan of having to install addons and use browser level as you then need to go to each device and set them individually, so we are moving away from the usefulness of the pihole again.
Soldato
It's not the ad makers, it's google - their platform is built on advertising so they will of course want to serve ads in the most effective ways possible. It's in their interest to keep up with ad blocking solutions.
Personally, if you're that bothered by youtube ads then just get a Indian sub or whatever the cheapest is these days. It costs peanuts, you're still supporting the platform and you'll see none of those add breaks, on any devices you are signed in to.
Soldato
I was responding to MonkeyBasher's post to be fair, I can live with the ads if anything its other family members on ipads and stuff which makes them glitchy as its expecting ads etc. It is the ad makers as in this context - google is part of that ecosystem and want to ram feeds to you. You dont have to be on YouTube to experience this, be it in a browser, App, platform, OS - you cant evade everything.
Soldato
Right, but i was addressing the point about finding ways around blocking - it's google doing that, not the ad makers. I'm well aware ads are everywhere, i was pointing out that a youtube sub costs peanuts, supports the platform and removes the ads being served on youtube.
While Pi-Hole will not block embedded youtube adverts, it is still a very effective catchall ad-blocker to have on your network. I still run it on mine despite having YT Premium (Indian) as it is very useful for things like IOS based browsers which your wife or kids may be using, etc.
Soldato
Yeah I still use it, in fact I have two instances running off a pi cluster. I am just aware the ads still require more effort to make them become less annoying, I could just subscribe as @james.miller says but thats caving in to their model - OK you have found a loophole - like buying game keys from russia or somewhere cheap but my point is you shouldnt have to and the price should be just reasonable to begin with...
Soldato
I set up Wireguard VPN to my PiHole some time ago, but fudged the bit when I entered the dynamic DNS address. In the wireguard VPN app on my phone it references the external IP of my network and not the dynamic DNS address. Works, but not ideal. Does anyone know where the config file is for wireguard, installed via pivpn? I had a look about and can't find it! Tried uninstalling and reinstalling but it didn't even ask for settings when reinstalling
Soldato
I don't disagree with all of that but it's 2 quid a month mate. for a family sub. with music included. I get it, you shouldn't 'have to' and the UK pricing should be better, but it's literally 4 steps. install VPN. Set VPN to India. create sub. uninstall VPN. It's hardly caving to a model, paying 2 quid a month for an entire family when we use youtube / youtube music more than we do any other streaming services. if you use it at all regularly, then IMO you're not achieving anything by trying to stick it to google and constantly trying to outrun ad servers with blocker plugins and pihole. Been there, done that, got fed up, went YT premium and realised i should have just done that from the start.
Still have a pihole for everything else though.
Last edited:
Soldato
I will consider it as it sounds better, since the lockdown though the family have tried all sorts of services like disney+ etc which I have culled lately so it would be a better time now than in the past!
You'll probably end up importing a lot of publicly maintained lists to your blacklist. Then over time you'll whitelist a lot of stuff they block as they can be quite aggressive. Remember to save your config periodically because you don't want to go through all that again if you have to set it up from scratch again.
Also often I'll find random website X isn't working as it should and as a first port of call disabling the PiHole for a minute will reveal it's the blocking causing problems. Then I can re-enable, query the logs and see if I can pinpoint what is causing the problem and decide if I want to make any exceptions. Not doing this first can result in a lot of wasted time being frustrated not knowing why something isn't behaving as it should.
This is quite a good guide to creating a one touch shortcut on iOS (but since its just a URL could be done on any device) to temporarily disable piHole without going to it's URL, logging in, hitting disable etc. https://www.jackofalladmins.com/hom...text=Tap on the URL action,API key at the end.
Commissario
Yeah, don't get involved with willy waving about the number of domains on your blocklist because as said above, it's far too easy to block too much and spend the next three months whitelisting sites. The stock blocklists are perfectly good.
There are people on the Pihole support site with multiple millions of domains blocked, it's unnecessary and causes problems.
I absolutely agree here. When I first started I got caught up with it and a tonne of sites just broke for me. Ended up starting fresh and have left it like that since.
Much happier.
Started using Tailscale recently, https://tailscale.com/. Works really well, just installed Tailscale to my Pi, setup the pi DNS as the primary name server for all my devices. Basically just means I can install the Tailscale app and immediately all traffic routed via my PiHole. Going to get it setup for my parents etc also, that way I dont need to run a PiHole at their place and also if they ever wanted to access my local Plex etc the VPN is already configured.
Do you mean in Group-Management > Domains? As mine is currently empty on a standard build.
Soldato
That's normal I think. I have one domain listed as a whitelist only. It's the Group Management > Adlists I believe for the actual ad blocking lists. I too have just the 4 default ones and it works fine for my use.
I just have a single one in there:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
That is fine, ive added a few others but entirely up to you.
https://mirror1.malwaredomains.com/files/justdomains
http://sysctl.org/cameleon/hosts
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_tracking.txt
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_ad.txt
https://hosts-file.net/ad_servers.txt
Not run into any issues so far and had to whitelist anything in particular. They probably overlap a fair bit but oh well.