AdguardBrowserExtension VS nextdns

Tip: I use Adblock Plus on desktop, and AdGuard on iPhone and iPad.

I've used the AdGuard browser extension for a long time, and like it a lot, but I was browsing the AdGuard website (adguard.com, the official one) and when scrolling through the welcome page, I found a button labeled "Download" instead of "Install" the the rest, now, I have Firefox set to always ask when a website tries to download something, and it's the official AdGuard website, so I figured it was safe to satisfy my curiosity

AdGuard DNS - I found the filtering ability of Covenant Eyes somewhat underwhelming, so instead I use AdGuard DNS. In case you don't know, DNS (Domain Name Server) filtering is incredibly useful for blocking porn. Furthermore, if you pay for AdGuard VPN, you get AdGuard DNS thrown in for free (so you get privacy AND web filtering). AdGuard has other products as well that can be used in conjunction with the VPN and DNS servers. (adguard.com)

I use Firefox with uBlock Origin on the Mac and it works great, but for Safari the best option I've found is AdGuard (https://adguard.com). However, it is nowhere near as effective as uBlock Origin since Safari did the Manifest V3 thing.

Adguard: https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardBrowserExtension/blob/master/README.md

There's nothing that offers all these features and is free. But if you'd like to try Orion browser by Kagi [1], you can install uBlock Origin and many other web extensions for it on Mac, iOS and iPadOS. A paid alternative that is similar (at least for blocking specific elements) is AdGuard [2].

[1]: https://browser.kagi.com/

[2]: https://adguard.com/

Please don't! But if you do decide to use other websites, ensure you have an adblocker/anti-malware protection installed like AdGuard, uBlock Origin, or MalwareBytes, or access the websites via a free VM like VirtualBox, Microsoft's Application Guard, or iOS Safari on iPhone.

I use this, works for apps as well. Never showed an ad on apps. Enjoy ad free streaming. https://adguard.com

If you would like to do the same, install TamperMonkey for Chrome, GreaseMonkey for Firefox, NinjaKit for Safari, Violent Monkey for Opera, or AdGuard for Internet Explorer (in Advanced Mode), then add this GreaseMonkey script.

I've tried hosted Pi-Hole and AdGuard Home. They are good as long as I'm around to fix stuffs. Then I tested something which can be global (home) and also for individual devices -- Control-D, NextDNS, and Adguard DNS. All of them works pretty well. If I really have to choose, then it would be in the order of NextDNS > Control-D > AdGuard DNS. Affiliated with none, and have decided to subscribe to all three to further test them for this year.

https://controld.com

https://nextdns.io

https://adguard-dns.io

Okay but NextDNS' own homepage says it "blocks ads and trackers on websites and in apps" - https://nextdns.io

I first used Safari on Windows around 2006. Put me off forever.

You just need Firefox and the extensions that mean ads are never seen.

That said, take a look at https://nextdns.io

just run snort and get nextdns.io account and use those DNS servers to control your DNS.

I'm using NextDNS which can be integrated into TailScale MagicDNS. It works seamlessly. You may need to pay if you have a high usage rate. I pay for the Pro version but that's less than $30 CAD a year. I did have in house Raspberry PI and Pi-Hole DNS but it was a lot of work.

pretty much to the same effect of a pihole, yet you can get up and running in minutes. You can then configure wherever you please: your browser, your laptop, your phone, or even your router.

[0]: https://nextdns.io

Check out NextDNS. You can set recreation time and block things like YouTube and Instagram at all times of the day except during your recreation time. Mine for instance is between 6pm and 9pm. At all other times, I can have it blocked. They market this feature to parents, which I think is short sighted because it’s great for productivity and works much more effectively at the network level compared to blocking apps which, at least on iOS, are limited in their capabilities.

Update: So I can see in https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/wiki that the nextdns CLI I set up in opnsense is DOH, but I swear this wouldn’t work the first time I installed it, hence why I set up DOT. So confused now lol!