Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters DNS Domain Name Service/System PiHole Network-wide ad-blocker (DNS sinkhole) VPN Virtual Private Network
3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 8 acronyms.
[Thread #134 for this comm, first seen 17th Oct 2026, 01:50] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
What is a DNS sinkhole and how is it related to the content of the article? Didn’t seem to mention DNS
The last time I opened the Wired site was like 10 years ago, it’s still telling me “You’ve read your last free article.” See you in 2036 ig
“You’ve read your last free article.”
Do they know how ominous that sounds? It reads like they got mad at my freeloading and sent out a hitman.
Ha. Here’s the direct source: https://citizenlab.ca/research/how-discover-tech-turned-targeted-ads-into-a-pipeline-for-spyware/
Wow they gave you a time to come back, they have just said I have surpassed my 5 free articles for years now, I think it is because I am using a “DNS sink hole”/adblocker I do not care enough to turn my pihole off just to try and read it.
I have gotten a static IP, and clear my cache regularly since my last attempt to read a wired article so it is not that they are using anything to see that I have tried them before.
Na I have regular DNS and I can’t read from wired for years too
Love blocky. Seems like it flies under the radar.
I like technitium. Way better than pi hole.
In what way(s)?
It’s a more complete dns server. You can more easily do dns over https, set up zones, and custom dns entries are a lot easier imo.
In summary it’s more focused on being dns, the ad blocking is a feature on top. You also don’t have to manually configure unbound for recursive dns like you do pi hole. Etc etc
Oh. I guess if you just want dead simple ad blocking, pi hole is still the way
I’d prefer Adguard Home. Does the same thing but also supports encrypted DoT/DoQ/DoH upstreams. And the UI looks a bit neater for me
AdGuard looks like a paid SaaS service though? No way am I paying for someone else running a device on my network, no friggin way
AdGuard Home is free. I’m running 2 redundant docker containers on separate hosts with adguard sync all for free.
An ONT failure has me fiddling with my network this weekend and I might do this. Pihole is okay but having more power would be great.
Pi-hole
If you cannot do pi-hole setup a dns service like NextDNS. (There are a number of options out there I have just personally used NextDNS)
I have a finally tuned pihole that offers different blocking for different vLANs on my home network and VPNs, I would not trust a third party for ad blocking. However you do you.
I was watching SomeOrdanryGamers video on this and his pihole did not block all the ads on an ad infected site, but mine could. I have used canyoublockit many times to stress test my system, wish there was something newer though.
Trust it, no.
Is it better than nothing, yes.
Listen, some folks can afford to build and dedicate time and resources to making a pi-hole for their network.
Those who can’t need to know there are alternatives, some are better than others, I’m just sharing information.
Thanks for the tip. I can’t find pricing on the NextDNS site. Is it free?
Don’t think I have the spoons for things like PiHole.
Edit: found it via web search https://nextdns.io/pricing
It’s free for a limited number of queries per month. Generally enough for one device (depending on personal usage, obviously). Edit: It’ll still function as DNS after that limit, you just won’t get ad blocking and whatnot.
Mullvad has a free ad-blocking DNS you can use, too. I recommend the “base” version: https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls
Thanks very much for the explanation. I’ve installed NextDNS in my phone now and will do other devices as I get to them.
I don’t recommend Mullvad, and I appeal to everyone to stop recommending them. The monies they receive directly funds fascism and is responsible for serious harm to society and erosion of democracy.
Please know this service will be ending next month.
Well crud. Thanks for the heads-up. First I’ve heard.
Sounds like Quad9 doesn’t actually do ad blocking, so that’s not much of a replacement.
Quad9 is a crap choice though 😥
Is Adguard Home still a good option for this kind of thing?
Yes, from what I understand. They are using ad services from the big ad companies, and because capitalism sucks they are completely fine with selling the spots.
if you do not have a system to VPN into your home I would suggest get a firewall (preferably one you can install openWRT of opnSense on) and VPN into your LAN when away from home.
