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max2

macrumors 603
May 31, 2015
6,421
2,044
It can block it partially. DNS blocking is limited to blocking ad servers, we cannot apply cosmetic filters to remove ad placeholders and such.

Ok. That sucks.

Right now I am using AdBlock and that is what it does.
 

funkymonkeyboy

macrumors regular
Aug 17, 2010
195
59
Northern Scotland
Ping times are slow but expected if my nearest server is in Russia. I'm in the United Kingdom.
Looking forward to closer servers.

PING 176.103.130.130 (176.103.130.130): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 176.103.130.130: icmp_seq=0 ttl=55 time=79.335 ms
64 bytes from 176.103.130.130: icmp_seq=1 ttl=55 time=78.426 ms
64 bytes from 176.103.130.130: icmp_seq=2 ttl=55 time=76.794 ms

--- 176.103.130.130 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 76.794/78.185/79.335/1.051 ms



PING 176.103.130.131 (176.103.130.131): 56 data bytes

64 bytes from 176.103.130.131: icmp_seq=0 ttl=55 time=77.934 ms
64 bytes from 176.103.130.131: icmp_seq=1 ttl=55 time=76.844 ms
64 bytes from 176.103.130.131: icmp_seq=2 ttl=55 time=75.474 ms

--- 176.103.130.131 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 75.474/76.751/77.934/1.006 ms
 

max2

macrumors 603
May 31, 2015
6,421
2,044
I have one question about VPNs. Can you use a VPN with Adguard Pro unlike AdBlock ?
[doublepost=1469599205][/doublepost]I just saw this: "it is impossible to configure DNS for mobile networks" does that mean wireless internet connections on my iPhone can't use Adguard DNS ? :(
 

daleski75

macrumors 68000
Dec 10, 2008
1,992
473
Northampton, UK
I have one question about VPNs. Can you use a VPN with Adguard Pro unlike AdBlock ?
[doublepost=1469599205][/doublepost]I just saw this: "it is impossible to configure DNS for mobile networks" does that mean wireless internet connections on my iPhone can't use Adguard DNS ? :(

Wireless is fine mobile internet is 3g/4g
 

ganja24

macrumors 6502
Jan 9, 2009
346
87
Hi all!

I have an important announcement. Today we have started beta testing of our new product - Adguard DNS.

Here is a post about it in our blog:
https://blog.adguard.com/en/adguard-news/adguard-dns-beta.html

What it does:
* Blocks ads, trackers, malware and phishing and adult websites (optionally)
* It does not track you (unlike OpenDns and Google DNS)
* It is completely free

Ok, so, what does it have to do with Adguard for iOS you may ask?

The very first version of Adguard Pro will allow you to use Adguard DNS on your device. Therefore, advertising and tracking servers will be blocked system wide. You will not need to set it up manually, just turn it on in Adguard Pro app. What's important: Adguard is the only way to change your DNS settings when you're on cellular data. For those familiar with Android: this approach is similar to the hosts-file ad blocking (adaway and such).

First screenshot:
View attachment 641901

Adguard Pro beta test starts in the end of this week. I'll make an announcement when it's ready.

And one more thing: this is just a beginning, we have a huge todo list. So, let's hope AG Pro passes the AppStore review, this will be a sign that we can proceed with system wide ad blocking.
Finally 2 words ...Thank You!
 

janezblond

macrumors regular
May 15, 2013
143
84
To the adguard team: any plans to introduce user block/whitelist syncing across devices? This is honestly the one thing that is missing for this to become a perfect blocker
 

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
@avatar-adg I was reading through the link you posted... few questions - can Adguard DNS work in conjunction with Adguard content blocker which has filters for blocking ads? If so then this could be useful for blocking ads on sites like Facebook which use same domain names for content and ads.

Also, is Adguad DNS similar to installing a VPN profile where your traffic is redirected through its server? Normally it's advised against installing VPN profile for ad blocking for security reasons.
 

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
To the adguard team: any plans to introduce user block/whitelist syncing across devices? This is honestly the one thing that is missing for this to become a perfect blocker

Yep, we have already started working on this.

Let me just explain why it takes so much time. The problem is that we support a lot of products: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, browsers extension. Each one is slightly different from another. So the most difficult thing is to develop a protocol supporting all of them.
[doublepost=1469708513][/doublepost]
few questions - can Adguard DNS work in conjunction with Adguard content blocker which has filters for blocking ads? If so then this could be useful for blocking ads on sites like Facebook which use same domain names for content and ads.

Content blocker will be applied to Safari only. Adguard DNS has it's own filters (composed and transformed from other filters used by Adguard). For now there is no other link between them.

Also, is Adguad DNS similar to installing a VPN profile where your traffic is redirected through its server? Normally it's advised against installing VPN profile for ad blocking for security reasons.

Indeed we use the VPN API.

But there are some important differences:
1. No VPN profile required.
2. Traffic is not redirected through any remote server. The only thing why we use VPN API is to change DNS servers.
 
Last edited:

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
Thanks for the clarification!
I would like to beta test Adguard DNS when available

Indeed we use the VPN API.

But there are some important differences:
1. No VPN profile required.
2. Traffic is not redirected through any remote server. The only thing why we use VPN API is to change DNS servers.
 

Haribokart

Suspended
Sep 4, 2010
328
387
UK
Would love to try adguard DNS. In theory, once it has been setup you can delete the app off the phone and the DNS adblocker will still work in the background, right?
 

RamGuy

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,362
1,922
Norway
Adguard Pro beta test starts in the end of this week. I'll make an announcement when it's ready.

And one more thing: this is just a beginning, we have a huge todo list. So, let's hope AG Pro passes the AppStore review, this will be a sign that we can proceed with system wide ad blocking.


How do I sign up for the BETA? I currently have a lifetime Adguard (Standard?) license that covers both my own and my girlfriends desktop's and MacBook's and we are really liking it. And we are currently using Adguard DNS on our local network and Adguard on our iOS devices.

Would love to BETA test Adguard Pro. One different question though, when we are using Adguard (Full/Standard) on our Windows desktops and MacBook's. Should we still be using Adblock Add-on/Extensions for browsers like Safari and Chrome on these systems? Or would that be considered bloated and overkill considering Adguard Full seems to have the same filters?
 

macpanzer

macrumors 6502
Sep 1, 2010
270
471
Is there currently some other iOS content blocker available which has an option to subscribe to regional or otherwise specific blocklists?
Adguard has that possibility, but is it really the only one?
 

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
Hey guys,

we have finally started Adguard Pro beta test!

Here is a blog post about it:
https://blog.adguard.com/en/ios-app/adguard-pro.html

Brief description
Actually, Adguard PRO is not something revolutionary new (yet :)). It is the same Adguard for iOS, but with new possibilities. PRO features are accessible from the main screen and can be found under the ‘PRO’ tab. Currently you will only find Adguard DNS there. To get the general idea about how blocking by DNS works, you can check out the respective blog article.

Why not the full-scaled filtering yet (like in Android version)?
1. We want to be sure that the app won't be blocked by AppStore reviewers. So we've started with the feature which is relatively easy to implement.
2. It appears that Apple's VPN API has some restrictions which makes this task much more complicated. For instance, VPN extension (this is a separate process doing all the magic) must use less than 5MB RAM.

So, if you want to participate in the beta test, read this thread first:
https://forum.adguard.com/index.php?threads/adguard-for-ios-beta-test.6344/
[doublepost=1470058169][/doublepost]
Should we still be using Adblock Add-on/Extensions for browsers like Safari and Chrome on these systems? Or would that be considered bloated and overkill considering Adguard Full seems to have the same filters?

It makes sense for Chrome as in this case extension will be in the integration mode:
https://adguard.com/en/adguard-adblock-browser-extension/integration-mode.html

Safari extension cannot yet do it.
 

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,435
249
What's the difference between Adguard DNS and Adguard Pro? Brief info will users to decide between the two.
 

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
What's the difference between Adguard DNS and Adguard Pro? Brief info will users to decide between the two.

Adguard Pro allows you to use DNS for both Wi-Fi and cellular data (which is impossible otherwise).
It also has a "requests log" feature which allows you to see which hosts are actually used or blocked.
 
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