Thanks for this overview. Having never used any of these packages, but being familiar with DNS from a carrier background, this was a straight to the point review of key features and differences between the packages. Blocky, here I come :)
I moved from PiHole to AdGuard Home a while ago and I haven't regretted it. I have it running on a lightweight NAS, with hasn't caused us any problems so far, I love the ease of use, filtering, and the ability to forward all local unanswered DNS-requests to one or more DoT, DoH or even DoQ-servers. (I can't believe PiHole lacks this feature.) Although the name is AdGuard 'home', I'd say the app isn't limited to home use. I wouldn't be suprised however if they come with an paid enterprise plan in the freature (shhht). Good to know there's another competitor in the game. I might try out Blocky in the feature.
Thank you for this video! I've been trying to run multiple instances of pihole on kunernetes, it's not fun with a stateful app (sqllite db), and Im not sure I want to set up sync between the instances. I think blocky would be more suitable for my needs with a grafana dashboard to hopefully make up for the lack of web interface. Setting changes will just need to be done via config file! Thanks again
Hey Thanks for the excellent video, I have recently moved to Adguard and it works fine, however the Average processing time is higher, hence what are the best upstream DNS servers ?
Excellent video outlining the different approaches each product has to offer. I guess I'll look into Blocky a bit more. I was always bothered by Pi-Hole's stance on unattended upgrades. You know, that they can break the setup and that I should expect as much, which meant putting it into a Docker and having it auto-update (which sounds like a sound approach to me) was not only not officially endorsed, it was known to be a jank experience. Is Blocky better in this regard?
At the moment, there's no auto upgrade feature in Blocky. So, if I could understand properly, you'd be covered here regarding unattended upgrades. 😊 Whenever there's a new update on Blocky, you can either fire up a new container to check its stability. Or copy the new build inside the container or build your own with a base image like Alpine (Blocky, at least from what I understand from their GitHub repository, will be using 'scratch' as a base) so you'd able to SSH into it and update Blocky. There are many possibilities with containers. I believe, you know better in this regard than me.
Besides constant refinements to all three software, I believe, not that many. I might do a follow up video in the future. However, I believe, currently, it would be way too early.🙂
UA-cam premium.😆 However, on a serious note. UA-cam ads are served from the same hosts which serves you your UA-cam video content. Hence UA-cam ads can’t be blocked either by Blocky, AdGuardHome or Pi-hole.
Thanks Mohammad, I've already made two setup guide on Blocky. Although, I have made this guide on x86 Debian, you will be able to follow this guide till the end. Just download Blocky's arm binary instead of x86. Links: ua-cam.com/video/UjqZPLL0UvM/v-deo.html (Blocky setup guide) ua-cam.com/video/RIh09iHwn1I/v-deo.html (Setting up a Grafana Dashboard for Blocky)
Hi Dimo, the issue is Blocky's container runs with a non-root user called 'blocky.' But all the files on your MikroTik device are owned by the 'root' user (and group) and this too with 660 permission. It means that no user besides 'root' can access any files on your device. This is a major oversight imo that there isn't included any default configuration file in the container. Do you know how to compose yourself a docker container?
thanks a lot for all your advice and video to implement Blocky and grafana, have one bug on my grafana dashboard (the buttons ..)could you help me here?
What drove me away from Adguard was the impossibility of disable safe mode on the UA-cam app. A toggle would be nice here, but that feature is by design... So thanks, but no thanks. PiHole + Unbound ftw.
Zeen, AdGuardHome does have a toggle now for enabling or disabling safe search. However, I'm not certain, if that's what you're looking for? P.S.: Though, if PiHole + unbound meet your expectations that's fine with me as well.
@@PalwinderSingh Not sure... But when I tried Adguard some time ago, the UA-cam app entered in "safe/restricted mode", which completely ruins the experience (for me).
@@PalwinderSingh Indeed. It's been working great so far, and that's what matters in the end. Now I'm just looking to upgrade the Raspberry Pi Zero W I'm using for an OrangePi Zero 2 (to have some headroom for future expandability or to run other things along). Great comparison btw 👌🏼
Thank you for the compliment. Regarding board that seems like a good choice. Has gigabit ethernet, WiFi 5, plus hardware based H.265 decoder. In addition to DNS filtration. It can be a good candidate for running it as multimedia device such as with Kodi. But do your research though, if you’d be interested in this kind of setup.
There's is one frontend available for Blocky, but the project currently is very basic. Link: github.com/Mozart409/blocky-frontend Due to lack of manpower working on the project (a single developer can only do so much) Blocky lacks implementation of plenty of backend APIs to have any meaningful web interface at the moment.
According to Google translate, you’re asking if I can make a video on how to install Blocky, right? Well, I can make a quick video on that just give me some time.🙂
sir can you help me,blocky can't run automatically when restarted,i use openwrt 22.03.3,but if run /opt/./blocky --config config.yml ....will run again.i failed to make startup on openwrt
How are you trying to run Blocky on the boot. Whatever maybe the case, it is very likely that you don't have add that "/./" in the path. It should be /path/to/blocky's/binary also 'config.yml' can't be relative. You need to have a full path here as well. So, the complete command should '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file' If you're trying to run Blocky at boot through (I believe) "System > Startup > Local Startup." Absolutely make sure that you add the and sign (&) at the end of the whole command. Like this '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file &' otherwise, I can't say what functionality you're going to lose on your OpenWRT.😂
@@PalwinderSingh i'm sorry my mistake,but now,i have blocky in my openwrt,i use " /opt/blocky --config /opt/config.yml " on my rc.local,and running perfectly,but i have one question why i can't reboot again sir...?? just unplug the power and blocky can running again (root access)
That's why I told you beforehand that "Absolutely make sure that you add the and sign ( *&* ) at the end of the whole command. Like this '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file &' *otherwise, I can't say what functionality you're going to lose on your OpenWRT."*
I can only try: 1. First of all, download and install GO from go.dev/doc/install 2. Next open Command Prompter with *ADMIN RIGHTS* 3. First paste 'set GOARCH=mipsle' and press enter. 4. Afterwards paste 'set GOOS=linux' and press enter. 5. Go to github.com/0xERR0R/blocky/tree/master 5.1 Click on 'Code' dropdown box (it is in the green color.) 5.2 Click on 'Download ZIP' 5.3 Extract the ZIP file. 6. Back on the Command Prompter type 'cd /path/to/blocky/source/directory' 7. Type 'go build' and press enter. 8. In a few minutes, you'd have your mipsle compatible binary called 'blocky' in the source folder. P.S.: These are instructions for Windows, but the steps are the same. Expect, download and install GO for your OS (Linux or MAC.) And second open shell instead of CMD.
Blocky's author here: thanks for review! Very good comparison and technical explanation!
Congratulations, you've a created a great piece of software. I hope Blocky would achieve the recognition and popularity it truly deserves.❤
If you had a desktop interface i would use it.
Thanks for this video, Palwinder! Regards from Chile!
Thanks for this overview. Having never used any of these packages, but being familiar with DNS from a carrier background, this was a straight to the point review of key features and differences between the packages. Blocky, here I come :)
Thank you for the excellent explanation with comparison on different aspect. Was thinking about to try Blocky.
Great video. Nicely paced and instructive. Subscribed!
Great feature set breakdown and comparison. Maybe I want to check out Blocky!
My pleasure to listen so professional argument. Thank you. My respect.
Thanks for the compliment, Nunzio. However, I’m not a professional.
@@PalwinderSingh For me you are a Master. Believe me.
I moved from PiHole to AdGuard Home a while ago and I haven't regretted it. I have it running on a lightweight NAS, with hasn't caused us any problems so far, I love the ease of use, filtering, and the ability to forward all local unanswered DNS-requests to one or more DoT, DoH or even DoQ-servers. (I can't believe PiHole lacks this feature.) Although the name is AdGuard 'home', I'd say the app isn't limited to home use. I wouldn't be suprised however if they come with an paid enterprise plan in the freature (shhht).
Good to know there's another competitor in the game. I might try out Blocky in the feature.
AdGuard Outside when
Thank you for this video! I've been trying to run multiple instances of pihole on kunernetes, it's not fun with a stateful app (sqllite db), and Im not sure I want to set up sync between the instances. I think blocky would be more suitable for my needs with a grafana dashboard to hopefully make up for the lack of web interface. Setting changes will just need to be done via config file! Thanks again
Gran video, gracias por tu esfuerzo sigue asi!
Thank you for explaining this thoroughly!
Interesting comparison. Thanks for the information!
Good comparion especially in terms of system ressouces usage.
Hey Thanks for the excellent video, I have recently moved to Adguard and it works fine, however the Average processing time is higher, hence what are the best upstream DNS servers ?
Use DNSBench to find out what would be the best upstream DNS servers for you.:
www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm
this is a great video, thanks!!
Have you tried technitium against these?
Excellent video outlining the different approaches each product has to offer. I guess I'll look into Blocky a bit more. I was always bothered by Pi-Hole's stance on unattended upgrades. You know, that they can break the setup and that I should expect as much, which meant putting it into a Docker and having it auto-update (which sounds like a sound approach to me) was not only not officially endorsed, it was known to be a jank experience. Is Blocky better in this regard?
At the moment, there's no auto upgrade feature in Blocky. So, if I could understand properly, you'd be covered here regarding unattended upgrades. 😊
Whenever there's a new update on Blocky, you can either fire up a new container to check its stability. Or copy the new build inside the container or build your own with a base image like Alpine (Blocky, at least from what I understand from their GitHub repository, will be using 'scratch' as a base) so you'd able to SSH into it and update Blocky.
There are many possibilities with containers. I believe, you know better in this regard than me.
Which one can block UA-cam ads?
No, DNS blocker can achieve this. UA-cam Premium could be your solution.
Hey! Thanks so much for this video!
Great content! Thanks for the video!!
Hey, has anything changed in your comparison from the date you upload this video until now? A follow up video would be nice 👍
Besides constant refinements to all three software, I believe, not that many. I might do a follow up video in the future. However, I believe, currently, it would be way too early.🙂
@@PalwinderSingh You are right, it is too early. Thanks for the reply 👍
Oh, please, no need to thank me.😊
Which is best to block youtube ads?
UA-cam premium.😆 However, on a serious note. UA-cam ads are served from the same hosts which serves you your UA-cam video content. Hence UA-cam ads can’t be blocked either by Blocky, AdGuardHome or Pi-hole.
which one can block youtube ads ?
none of them... DNS based blocking is not capable of blocking youtube ads
Thanks for great comparison and explanation!!
How can I install blocky on Raspberry and what’s hardware the requirements?
Thanks Mohammad, I've already made two setup guide on Blocky. Although, I have made this guide on x86 Debian, you will be able to follow this guide till the end. Just download Blocky's arm binary instead of x86.
Links:
ua-cam.com/video/UjqZPLL0UvM/v-deo.html (Blocky setup guide)
ua-cam.com/video/RIh09iHwn1I/v-deo.html (Setting up a Grafana Dashboard for Blocky)
Hello, how to install on a mikrotik container? i get here "cannot read configuration file: open /app/config.yml: permission denied"
Hi Dimo, the issue is Blocky's container runs with a non-root user called 'blocky.' But all the files on your MikroTik device are owned by the 'root' user (and group) and this too with 660 permission. It means that no user besides 'root' can access any files on your device. This is a major oversight imo that there isn't included any default configuration file in the container.
Do you know how to compose yourself a docker container?
@@PalwinderSingh Thanks, I'm fine. Works fine on my HAP AC3.
Thanks for this video.
thanks a lot for all your advice and video to implement Blocky and grafana, have one bug on my grafana dashboard (the buttons ..)could you help me here?
Check this for buttons not working.:
0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/v0.23/prometheus_grafana/#grafana-configuration
Very helpful..thanks a lot.
Brilliant, thanks!
Thank you for this
Good video!
amazing video bro
Good job, dude
What drove me away from Adguard was the impossibility of disable safe mode on the UA-cam app. A toggle would be nice here, but that feature is by design... So thanks, but no thanks. PiHole + Unbound ftw.
Zeen, AdGuardHome does have a toggle now for enabling or disabling safe search. However, I'm not certain, if that's what you're looking for?
P.S.: Though, if PiHole + unbound meet your expectations that's fine with me as well.
@@PalwinderSingh Not sure... But when I tried Adguard some time ago, the UA-cam app entered in "safe/restricted mode", which completely ruins the experience (for me).
That's peculiar. But you have a fine setup now anyway, so no need to think much upon it.
@@PalwinderSingh Indeed. It's been working great so far, and that's what matters in the end. Now I'm just looking to upgrade the Raspberry Pi Zero W I'm using for an OrangePi Zero 2 (to have some headroom for future expandability or to run other things along).
Great comparison btw 👌🏼
Thank you for the compliment. Regarding board that seems like a good choice. Has gigabit ethernet, WiFi 5, plus hardware based H.265 decoder. In addition to DNS filtration. It can be a good candidate for running it as multimedia device such as with Kodi. But do your research though, if you’d be interested in this kind of setup.
you can use unbound in pihole to secure dns
Unbound is recursive dns. It’s not encrypted with only Pihole and unbound .
Nice, Just needs Web Interface for the average user
There's is one frontend available for Blocky, but the project currently is very basic. Link: github.com/Mozart409/blocky-frontend
Due to lack of manpower working on the project (a single developer can only do so much) Blocky lacks implementation of plenty of backend APIs to have any meaningful web interface at the moment.
Podrías hacer un video de como instalar blocky por favor?
According to Google translate, you’re asking if I can make a video on how to install Blocky, right?
Well, I can make a quick video on that just give me some time.🙂
Hey Abraham, Blocky setup video is up:
ua-cam.com/video/UjqZPLL0UvM/v-deo.html
P.S.: Sorry it is not as short of a video as I had expected.
thanks brother for this soft
lmaoooo
sir can you help me,blocky can't run automatically when restarted,i use openwrt 22.03.3,but if run /opt/./blocky --config config.yml ....will run again.i failed to make startup on openwrt
How are you trying to run Blocky on the boot. Whatever maybe the case, it is very likely that you don't have add that "/./" in the path. It should be /path/to/blocky's/binary also 'config.yml' can't be relative. You need to have a full path here as well. So, the complete command should '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file'
If you're trying to run Blocky at boot through (I believe) "System > Startup > Local Startup." Absolutely make sure that you add the and sign (&) at the end of the whole command. Like this '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file &' otherwise, I can't say what functionality you're going to lose on your OpenWRT.😂
@@PalwinderSingh i'm sorry my mistake,but now,i have blocky in my openwrt,i use " /opt/blocky --config /opt/config.yml " on my rc.local,and running perfectly,but i have one question why i can't reboot again sir...??
just unplug the power and blocky can running again (root access)
That's why I told you beforehand that "Absolutely make sure that you add the and sign ( *&* ) at the end of the whole command. Like this '/path/to/blocky's/binary --config /path/to/config/file &' *otherwise, I can't say what functionality you're going to lose on your OpenWRT."*
Your whole command in "rc.local" should be "/opt/blocky --config /opt/config.yml &"
doesn't want to run if you add "&", but if you use "&" in putty, blocky runs normally with the command plus "&"
how to run blocky on mipsle?
I’m afraid you gonna have to compile Blocky yourself for your architecture.
@@PalwinderSingh don't worry if you teach I will try, because adguardhome uses a lot of space from my router, and thank you sir for the reply
I can only try:
1. First of all, download and install GO from go.dev/doc/install
2. Next open Command Prompter with *ADMIN RIGHTS*
3. First paste 'set GOARCH=mipsle' and press enter.
4. Afterwards paste 'set GOOS=linux' and press enter.
5. Go to github.com/0xERR0R/blocky/tree/master
5.1 Click on 'Code' dropdown box (it is in the green color.)
5.2 Click on 'Download ZIP'
5.3 Extract the ZIP file.
6. Back on the Command Prompter type 'cd /path/to/blocky/source/directory'
7. Type 'go build' and press enter.
8. In a few minutes, you'd have your mipsle compatible binary called 'blocky' in the source folder.
P.S.: These are instructions for Windows, but the steps are the same. Expect, download and install GO for your OS (Linux or MAC.) And second open shell instead of CMD.
@@PalwinderSingh can you help me to build it,please