concerning upcoming pihole video guide

[JohnDoeVolvo]

so it was announced that there will be a video guide coming up for pi hole, i am requesting that you also dive deeply into youtube ad blocking through pihole, and not just half ass the video and say it its not possible.

[vanished]

Fear not, despite their initial concerns, it actually ends up working well.  But, you can always just run ublock Origin or something like that in your browser if you specifically want to target youtube ads (but of course it will handle more than that too)

[cluelessgenius]

im also very interested in the whole pi-hole topic. network wide would mean also no ads on the android tv youtubes? i think i need to also read up on how a dns server works EXACTLY. wouldnt all traffic have to go through the pi then? probably not but again i think i need to refresh my knowledge on that again.

[JohnDoeVolvo]

6 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

im also very interested in the whole pi-hole topic. network wide would mean also no ads on the android tv youtubes? i think i need to also read up on how a dns server works EXACTLY. wouldnt all traffic have to go through the pi then? probably not but again i think i need to refresh my knowledge on that again.

yes

[JohnDoeVolvo]

16 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Fear not, despite their initial concerns, it actually ends up working well.  But, you can always just run ublock Origin or something like that in your browser if you specifically want to target youtube ads (but of course it will handle more than that too)

yeah  just trying to get no ads on youtube on the tvs and no youtube ads on kids ps3 

[vanished]

1 minute ago, JohnDoeVolvo said:

yeah  just trying to get no ads on youtube on the tvs and no youtube ads on kids ps3 

9 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

im also very interested in the whole pi-hole topic. network wide would mean also no ads on the android tv youtubes? i think i need to also read up on how a dns server works EXACTLY. wouldnt all traffic have to go through the pi then? probably not but again i think i need to refresh my knowledge on that again.

It works by just intercepting the DNS requests, not getting in the way of all traffic. I suspect it would massively slow down the network if they tried that, unless you did the same concept using a more powerful PC instead, but then that somewhat defeats the whole purpose because then you could just use that as an HTPC for games, browsing, etc. and not worry about having to bring in external devices to get control over a locked down system that they didn't want you to control.

 

[cluelessgenius]

3 minutes ago, JohnDoeVolvo said:

yes

ugh rough. all traffic through the pi? that sounds bad. maybe if i could only put the tv through the pi and everything else can stay.

[Automobili3XF]

Even uBlock Origin can manage Youtube ads, it would be easy with a PiHole.

[LAwLz]

1 hour ago, cluelessgenius said:

im also very interested in the whole pi-hole topic. network wide would mean also no ads on the android tv youtubes? i think i need to also read up on how a dns server works EXACTLY. wouldnt all traffic have to go through the pi then? probably not but again i think i need to refresh my knowledge on that again. 

No, the traffic doesn't have to go through the Pi. Only DNS traffic and a tiny amount of web traffic.

 

In simple terms, it works like this:

1) You type in a website like youtube.com

2) Your computer has no idea what IP the website youtube.com has so it asks a DNS.

3) Your DNS tells you "youtube.com has the IP 216.58.192.5" and your computer now tries to connect to 216.58.192.5 to go to the website. Your computer now directly connects to 216.58.192.5 to fetch the data. The actual video data does not go through the DNS.

4) When you go to youtube.com, the website also tells you that some content on the website is on another server, let's say it's called ads.google.com.

5) Your computer doesn't know the IP of ads.google.com, so it once again asks your DNS.

6) If your DNS is a Pi-Hole, it will recognize that ads.google.com hosts ads. It does this by constantly updating a list of domains that are used to host ads.

7) Instead of providing your computer with the actual IP of ads.google.com, it tells your computer "the IP for ads.google.com is 192.168.1.2, use that IP to fetch that data".

8 ) 192.168.1.2 is the IP if the Hi-Hole itself, and it has its own "ad" server which provides blank data.

9) Your computer will now think that it fetched the actual data for ads.google.com, and that it just so happened that the data was blank, thus not showing any ads.

 

 

 

 

Edit:
Another thing worth mentioning is that DNS based adblockers like Pi-Hole can not be as granular as browser based ones.

Browser based adblockers like uBlock Origin will check all the requests in full. For example it will know that for example https://linustechtips.com/ads/AdBanner.png is an ad because that exact URL is in the list. uBlock Origin will also know that https://linustechtips.com/LAwLz/Avatar.gif is not an ad because it is not in the list of known ads.

 

DNS only deals with the full domain name.

That means that it does not check anything after the first / in the URL.

If you ask a DNS server for the address to these two addresses:

https://linustechtips.com/ads/AdBanner.png

and

https://linustechtips.com/LAwLz/Avatar.gif

both of them will return the same thing, the IP to the computer named https://linustechtips.com.

DNS is only for finding the IP address to a given host. Everything after the / is a search path to a specific file on a computer, and DNS is not involved in that process at all. That means that if you try to block AdBanner.png with Pi-Hole, you will also block LAwLz/Avatar.gif.

 

So Pi-Hole works well, but I wouldn't say it's a replacement to browser adblockers. Pi-Hole should only be seen as used as a filter for some ads. It's better to filter too little with it than too much in my opinion.

[JohnDoeVolvo]

i think i should of adding a * saying how to network wide youtube ads

[AngryBeaver]

12 hours ago, LAwLz said:

No, the traffic doesn't have to go through the Pi. Only DNS traffic and a tiny amount of web traffic.

 

In simple terms, it works like this:

1) You type in a website like youtube.com

2) Your computer has no idea what IP the website youtube.com has so it asks a DNS.

3) Your DNS tells you "youtube.com has the IP 216.58.192.5" and your computer now tries to connect to 216.58.192.5 to go to the website. Your computer now directly connects to 216.58.192.5 to fetch the data. The actual video data does not go through the DNS.

4) When you go to youtube.com, the website also tells you that some content on the website is on another server, let's say it's called ads.google.com.

5) Your computer doesn't know the IP of ads.google.com, so it once again asks your DNS.

6) If your DNS is a Pi-Hole, it will recognize that ads.google.com hosts ads. It does this by constantly updating a list of domains that are used to host ads.

7) Instead of providing your computer with the actual IP of ads.google.com, it tells your computer "the IP for ads.google.com is 192.168.1.2, use that IP to fetch that data".

8 ) 192.168.1.2 is the IP if the Hi-Hole itself, and it has its own "ad" server which provides blank data.

9) Your computer will now think that it fetched the actual data for ads.google.com, and that it just so happened that the data was blank, thus not showing any ads.

 

 

 

 

Edit:
Another thing worth mentioning is that DNS based adblockers like Pi-Hole can not be as granular as browser based ones.

Browser based adblockers like uBlock Origin will check all the requests in full. For example it will know that for example https://linustechtips.com/ads/AdBanner.png is an ad because that exact URL is in the list. uBlock Origin will also know that https://linustechtips.com/LAwLz/Avatar.gif is not an ad because it is not in the list of known ads.

 

DNS only deals with the full domain name.

That means that it does not check anything after the first / in the URL.

If you ask a DNS server for the address to these two addresses:

https://linustechtips.com/ads/AdBanner.png

and

https://linustechtips.com/LAwLz/Avatar.gif

both of them will return the same thing, the IP to the computer named https://linustechtips.com.

DNS is only for finding the IP address to a given host. Everything after the / is a search path to a specific file on a computer, and DNS is not involved in that process at all. That means that if you try to block AdBanner.png with Pi-Hole, you will also block LAwLz/Avatar.gif.

 

So Pi-Hole works well, but I wouldn't say it's a replacement to browser adblockers. Pi-Hole should only be seen as used as a filter for some ads. It's better to filter too little with it than too much in my opinion.

I wouldn't say it is more granular. All of those ads on their make a redirect/dns request. If the domain is in the blacklist then it sinkholes that traffic.

 

 

[LAwLz]

5 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

I wouldn't say it is more granular. All of those ads on their make a redirect/dns request. If the domain is in the blacklist then it sinkholes that traffic.

It is more granular. Checking the full URL is more granular than just checking the domain.

If an ad is hosted on the same domain as the website you want to visit then Pi-Hole can either block the entire website (so that you can't visit it at all), or you have to let the ad through. That is not a problem with browser based adblockers.

[AngryBeaver]

7 hours ago, LAwLz said:

It is more granular. Checking the full URL is more granular than just checking the domain.

If an ad is hosted on the same domain as the website you want to visit then Pi-Hole can either block the entire website (so that you can't visit it at all), or you have to let the ad through. That is not a problem with browser based adblockers.

The thing is most ad sources share a very specific location. That is just how it is best for serving them up and tracking them. So they will either come from a common ad serving site or be setup In a way you can block just their sub domain while allowing the rest of the site to function. 

 

So you might be on say forums.linustechtips.com and the adds are located at ad.linustechtips.com. You can block one an not the other 

[LAwLz]

7 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

The thing is most ad sources share a very specific location. That is just how it is best for serving them up and tracking them. So they will either come from a common ad serving site or be setup In a way you can block just their sub domain while allowing the rest of the site to function.  

  

So you might be on say forums.linustechtips.com and the adds are located at ad.linustechtips.com. You can block one an not the other  

I don't really get your point.

Just because you don't find the lack of granularity an issue doesn't mean browser based ones aren't more granular. They are.

In most cases this won't be an issue, but it will be in some situations (like whenever ads are not hosted on their own domain).

[AngryBeaver]

24 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

I don't really get your point.

Just because you don't find the lack of granularity an issue doesn't mean browser based ones aren't more granular. They are.

In most cases this won't be an issue, but it will be in some situations (like whenever ads are not hosted on their own domain).

I guess my point is how many times have you actually seen that to be the case. 

 

Also this device can be PAIRED with a browser extension for more complete coverage. The thing you are missing is there is a lot of internet usage outside of just a browser. A pihole server stops all of that phoning home. It also works on all traffic not just that on a device with a compatible browser.

[TempestCatto]

What happens when you want to enter or use a website that is broken by the ad blocking? At least that happens with the browser extensions. Sometimes a site has widgets, click-throughs, etc that inadvertently get blocked by an adblocking extension thus making the site unusable. You're forced to at least white list that website. Which in a browser extension is one click of a button and you're good. Could this same issue not occur with the pi-hole? If it does, how does one remedy that without disabling the whole thing?

[LAwLz]

47 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

I guess my point is how many times have you actually seen that to be the case. 

A few times but not that often.

I have used Pi-hole rather conservatively though. I'd rather it let some stuff through than block too much.

 

48 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

Also this device can be PAIRED with a browser extension for more complete coverage.

Absolutely. I use it this way myself. That's why I said Pi-Hole should not be seen as a replacement for browser based adblockers. I didn't say browser based adblockers was a replacement for Pi-Hole either. They complement each other in different ways, as you said.

 

48 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

The thing you are missing is there is a lot of internet usage outside of just a browser. A pihole server stops all of that phoning home. It also works on all traffic not just that on a device with a compatible browser. 

No I am not missing that.

It's great for blocking ads on for example my Android TV, where I don't have adblocking.

I think you misunderstood what I meant. What I meant was that you should not view Pi-Hole as a replacement for a browser based adblocker because they are more capable. That does not mean Pi-Hole shouldn't be used though. Like you said, it works on things that aren't browsers, which is a huge plus.

[PianoPlayer88Key]

You might want to check out their YT channel a week after the date in this screenshot.

 

 

Or subscribe to.

 

[Tsuki]

pihole can NOT block youtube ads.

 

it works by blocking dns requests.  youtube ads go through the same dns servers as their videos. so if you want to block the ads, you wont be able to watch videos either.

 

it also wont slow down your network speed. as its only the dns inquiries going through it, not literally all your traffic.

 

ive been using it for over 2 years on my network. and it blocks about 30% of the dns requests on my network. 

[vanished]

1 hour ago, Tsuki said:

pihole can NOT block youtube ads.

Well they got it to work in the video

[Fortekko]

35 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Well they got it to work in the video

Are youtube ads even hosted on the same domain as youtube? A quick google search shows the domain list being primarily of xx.googlevideo.com

Source: https://github.com/anudeepND/youtubeadsblacklist/blob/master/domainlist.txt 

[vanished]

2 minutes ago, Fortekko said:

Are youtube ads even hosted on the same domain as youtube? A quick google search shows the domain list being primarily of xx.googlevideo.com

Source: https://github.com/anudeepND/youtubeadsblacklist/blob/master/domainlist.txt 

no idea, I've not looked into the details myself before

[Tsuki]

59 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Well they got it to work in the video

i havent seen the video yet. but its like a shitty game of whack-a-mole.

the domains are constantly changing, and sometimes they will work for some users and not others. 

https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/how-do-i-block-ads-on-youtube/253

this is a really good thread, that has been open for a couple years with tons of information about the whole thing.

 

getting it to block ads isnt the problem.   the problem is that a week later, it starts blocking videos too because everything that could run an ad on youtube, can also run a video..  if you want to actively keep up on it, you'll be changing the regex on a weekly basis. 

[Arika]

On 8/20/2019 at 8:54 PM, JohnDoeVolvo said:

I am requesting that you also dive deeply into youtube ad blocking through pihole

Why would they do that?....they make money off youtube ads.

[Shur]

What I'd like to know is how to tune pihole to better block in-app adds on my phone/tablet