Ubuntu 21.04. Linux newbie here. For a few months I’ve been thinking about setting up a pi-hole to block ads. But a few days ago I read about just adding a block list to the hosts file. I wasn’t aware of this option. It sounds a lot easier than setting up a pi-hole.
When the block list is added to the hosts file, is that about the same as having a pi-hole? What is the advantage of a pi-hole over a block list in the hosts file?
Looks like adding the list to the hosts file is pretty easy. But I’m a newbie, so there may be some important things I don’t know. What do I need to know/do before adding a block list to my hosts file?
Yes, I’ll make a copy of my original hosts file before editing.
If you are working with a single computer, the results may be similar. However, pi-hole is a DNS server that combines many other features, internal DNS, obvisously, and DHCP. Keep in mind that pi-hole is network-wide (if configured appropriately) so it will block ads for all devices on your network, not just a single computer.
For me, pi-hole blocks ads for all computers, mobile phones, streaming TV devices, and tablets.
It also depends on what you want to achieve. If you only use one computer or laptop you can also just go with a regular ad blocker like uBlock from the browser.
I’m working on a single pc. No network. I did some more research and added the https://someonewhocares.org/hosts/zero/hosts block list to my hosts file, rebooted my pc and it seems to be working great. Wow! The internet is a lot different without all the ads.
In the future I may try the “pi-hole in a VM” solution here Pi-hole in Canonical LXD container