Which ad blocker are you using on Safari?

[vjl323]

Do these ad-blockers conflict when installed on the Mac? While Adguard seems quite effective for Safari M1 Pro, along with the DNS server 1.1.1.1 setting, NextDNS (the app) sounds like an excellent approach, according to the above postings. Would these two apps work well together or better off staying with one or the other? I assume NextDNS would reset the DNS server to other than 1.1.1.1.

A quick glance at NextDNS' web page shows it is a paid service. Both Pi Hole and AdGuard Home provide the same thing, but installed locally. You can point the upstream DNS in both Pi Hole and AdGuard to any DNS server you want, but the ad blocking is done locally, and domain lookups are cached locally, which offers a faster response time. I've been spoiled, as I've always used a locally installed DNS on my networks [usually TinyDNS aka djbdns]. A few years ago I migrated my home network to a combination of the 2, as I use AdGuard Home as my DNS server that all my clients are pointed to, as that does the ad blocking and uses another physical server running TinyDNS to do the "upstream" lookups. Most people will probably use 1.1.1.1 as the upstream, but I like having more control, and being able to do encrypted DNS helps keep the MIM DNS attacks that have recently plagued macOS and Windows [even when people are using 1.1.1.1 - there's a great article at https://apple.news/AN04Ij3FwSua6UqhRhZCNjg which talks about how an unmanned ISP was hacked an updates that OS' do in the background became comprised - another ISP is also having the issue but has not yet been corrected].

It is my understanding AdGuard's premium product takes the place of NextDNS as they do their own DNS as well. I again, just use their free products, paired with the User Script Extras and their open source AdGuard Home installed on a Raspberry Pi. I use https://apps.apple.com/us/app/adguard-home/id1667119601 on my iPhone/iPad to administer AdGuard Home but you can also use Safari as AdGuard Home has a nice web interface. AdGuard Home does more than just block ads - you can restrict access to certain websites, etc.

NextDNS is a paid [after a certain number of queries] DNS service that would replace any external DNS you have your clients pointing to. If you use 1.1.1.1, and are happy with it, then I would keep that. But if you're looking to block ads for free, using AdGuard Home or Pi Hole, and 1.1.1.1 as the upstream DNS defined in Pi Hole's or AdGuard Home's config, would be the best of both worlds.

 

[vjl323]

This. There's a lifetime subscription for only 11 dollars right now over at Stack Social. There is no better ad blocker than the AdGuard desktop extension. @bingefeller



DNS blocking is limited to what it can block. I use Pi-Hole myself, but again with the limitations.

I may buy the $11 just to support them! And correct - DNS blocking is not as good as native web browser blocking, but it does prevent ads in some 3rd party Apps. I use Apple News a lot, and it blocks ads there. I also am an active subscriber to the Washington Post and New York Times and using their apps, if AdGuard Home is disabled, I will see ads; when I enable it, I just see WaPo and NYT banners in place of where the ads would go [it is sad that paying a monthly fee for a newspaper doesn't prevent annoying ads, but paying for a physical newspaper - those have ads in them too, so it does make sense].

Pi-Hole and AdGuard Home are very similar in what they offer - both are free and pretty simple to install, so testing them out on a Raspberry Pi [or even an older Mac - AdGuard Home installs nicely on old Macs and I believe Pi-Hole does too], would be a fun way to figure out which you like better. I've used both, and decided to go with AdGuard Home.

EDIT [before posting]: Pi-Hole can not easily be installed on an older Mac - it supports Linux-based OSes, both x86_64 and ARM, so someone may have ported it to the macOS.

 

[Bruh Bear]

I may buy the $11 just to support them! And correct - DNS blocking is not as good as native web browser blocking, but it does prevent ads in some 3rd party Apps. I use Apple News a lot, and it blocks ads there. I also am an active subscriber to the Washington Post and New York Times and using their apps, if AdGuard Home is disabled, I will see ads; when I enable it, I just see WaPo and NYT banners in place of where the ads would go [it is sad that paying a monthly fee for a newspaper doesn't prevent annoying ads, but paying for a physical newspaper - those have ads in them too, so it does make sense].

Pi-Hole and AdGuard Home are very similar in what they offer - both are free and pretty simple to install, so testing them out on a Raspberry Pi [or even an older Mac - AdGuard Home installs nicely on old Macs and I believe Pi-Hole does too], would be a fun way to figure out which you like better. I've used both, and decided to go with AdGuard Home.

EDIT [before posting]: Pi-Hole can not easily be installed on an older Mac - it supports Linux-based OSes, both x86_64 and ARM, so someone may have ported it to the macOS.

I have Pi-Hole installed on a Raspberry Pi connected to my router so it filters ads across my entire network, so it shouldn't matter how old your computer is.

You shouldn't be seeing blank ad placements where ads should be with AdGuard. You need to enable the more strict mode and also enable all the filters in the filter settings. You can also add custom filters to it as well, such as paywall bypass so you can see news articles without having to pay for them.

 

[gilby101]

I've been spoiled, as I've always used a locally installed DNS on my networks [usually TinyDNS aka djbdns]. A few years ago I migrated my home network to a combination of the 2, as I use AdGuard Home as my DNS server that all my clients are pointed to, as that does the ad blocking and uses another physical server running TinyDNS to do the "upstream" lookups. Most people will probably use 1.1.1.1 as the upstream, but I like having more control, and being able to do encrypted DNS helps keep the MIM DNS attacks that have recently plagued macOS and Windows [even when people are using 1.1.1.1 - there's a great article at https://apple.news/AN04Ij3FwSua6UqhRhZCNjg which talks about how an unmanned ISP was hacked an updates that OS' do in the background became comprised - another ISP is also having the issue but has not yet been corrected].

AdGuard Home connects to a wide range of upstream encrypted DNS resolvers. I don't see a need for another server to do that.

 

[vjl323]

I have Pi-Hole installed on a Raspberry Pi connected to my router so it filters ads across my entire network, so it shouldn't matter how old your computer is.

You shouldn't be seeing blank ad placements where ads should be with AdGuard. You need to enable the more strict mode and also enable all the filters in the filter settings. You can also add custom filters to it as well, such as paywall bypass so you can see news articles without having to pay for them.

Oh, I meant installing Pi-Hole on an older Mac [in case the OP didn't want to buy a Raspberry Pi, but had access to an older Mac - AdGuard Home has native macOS installers, but it doesn't appear that Pi-Hole has a supported macOS installer].

For the WaPo iOS app I do see their "thanks for reading WaPo" graphics in place of ads. For NYT app, I am ad free. I will double check my filters - thought I had them all turned on. Paywall bypass filter sounds interesting! I need to do some research on that one!

 

[Bruh Bear]

For the WaPo iOS app I do see their "thanks for reading WaPo" graphics in place of ads. For NYT app, I am ad free. I will double check my filters - thought I had them all turned on. Paywall bypass filter sounds interesting! I need to do some research on that one!

There's many extra filters you can enable and there is also "Paranoid" mode.

 

[vjl323]

AdGuard Home connects to a wide range of upstream encrypted DNS resolvers. I don't see a need for another server to do that.

I think 1.1.1.1 didn't, until more recently, ever offer DoH, as I setup my TinyDNS server 10+ years ago. I'll have to look at AdGuard Home's config to see if it support DoH to an upstream provider.

EDIT before posting... just looked and doh, I have one of the DNS providers commented out, but using https [dns10.quad9.net]. Honestly it's been years since I set this all up, and definitely need to take a look at what AdGuard Home can do now [the TinyDNS server is on a machine that does lots of other things for the home - Plex, VPN, NextCloud, etc]

 

[vjl323]

There's many extra filters you can enable and there is also "Paranoid" mode.

Aaaah, you are talking about the AdGuard for Mac app, not AdGuard Home? That, IIRC, has a paranoid mode and such. AdGuard Home has DNS blocklists/allowlists/rewrites and also custom filtering rules, which I do use because there's 2 iOS apps that I use at home that AdGuard blocks out of the box, so I allow queries from those 2 apps to poke through.

 

[vjl323]

There's many extra filters you can enable and there is also "Paranoid" mode.

Where exactly is this? What product and platform is this? [for me, using the free AdGuard Home on a Raspberry Pi, blocks ads in the WaPo newspaper app on my iPhone, though the ad areas in the app are filled in with 'thanks for reading the Washington Post' banners instead of ad banners

 

[boss.king]

Get the full version of AdGuard for macOS vs just the Safari extension. You can find solid deals for a lifetime license and it’s totally worth. You can use the license on iOS and iPadOS as well.

I second this. StackSocial often has great deals. I've got AdGuard on all devices in my house, it even blocks in-app ads on iOS and iPadOS if you set up DNS-level blocking.

 

[antiprotest]

Do you use the AdGuard Extras script too?

Tbh I don't know what those are. But I use "block elements" to block annoying items/sections of some web sites, if that's what you're talking about. Like thick floating headers, pop ups in your face, video players in the corner, etc. That works pretty well too, but not perfectly.

 

[vjl323]

Tbh I don't know what those are. But I use "block elements" to block annoying items/sections of some web sites, if that's what you're talking about. Like thick floating headers, pop ups in your face, video players in the corner, etc. That works pretty well too, but not perfectly.

AdGuard Extras is here: https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdGuardExtra

and with Safari, you can use AdGuardExtra by downloading the free UserScripts extension here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/userscripts/id1463298887

 

[ritmomundo]

I've been using Wipr for Safari macOS for a few years now. It doesn't work perfectly with YouTube ads anymore, but well enough; I don't get ads there but I do need to click the "skip" button before videos.

 

[Bruh Bear]

Where exactly is this? What product and platform is this? [for me, using the free AdGuard Home on a Raspberry Pi, blocks ads in the WaPo newspaper app on my iPhone, though the ad areas in the app are filled in with 'thanks for reading the Washington Post' banners instead of ad banners

It’s only for the paid desktop app.

 

[aries81]

Brave browser blocks youtube ads just fine.

 

[ForkHandles]

I love the selfish irony.

You’re all sharing details on how to block ads on one of your goto forums whose revenue, the cash that pays the writers, is derived mainly from advertising to its visitors.

Ads are there so content creators can get paid. If you don’t like the ads, don’t go to those websites.

 

[arinamichel911]

AdGuard is the best, especially with YouTube.

 

[Bruh Bear]

I love the selfish irony.

You’re all sharing details on how to block ads on one of your goto forums whose revenue, the cash that pays the writers, is derived mainly from advertising to its visitors.

Ads are there so content creators can get paid. If you don’t like the ads, don’t go to those websites.

Nobody cares. As for MacRumors, many of us have ad blocking disabled for this website. I disable ads for anyone I want to support, unless the ads are so invasive that it makes their content unusable.

Brave browser blocks youtube ads just fine.

Yes, it does. And you can add your own custom filters.

 

[SomeSoftwareGuy]

I've been using 1Blocker for a few years now. I bought a lifetime subscription some time ago and it works on my laptop and iPhone. I'm happy with it. I also use a pihole and OpenDNS for blocking ads and "other" sites as well but that's for the entire network.

 

[vjl323]

I love the selfish irony.

You’re all sharing details on how to block ads on one of your goto forums whose revenue, the cash that pays the writers, is derived mainly from advertising to its visitors.

Ads are there so content creators can get paid. If you don’t like the ads, don’t go to those websites.

For most YouTube content creators, ads barely bring in any revenue. Unless you're someone with a zillion subscribers, the return is not the best. I have a friend who has over 1 million subscribers and is a full time content creator and you'd be surprised by the lack of income from YouTube ads. As a result, I support content creators that I like via Patreon and other means.

But those that don't want to do that can always whitelist websites, and pause AdGuard when visiting channels you wish to watch ads on. Just because commenters in this thread do not like to view ads does not mean we do not support the hard work of people producing content we enjoy. I pay for newspapers [real, and digital], and give more to YouTube content creators than I do monthly to the streaming services I subscribe to.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

Been using Ghostery on Safari for the past few months and so far, so good.

 

[bingefeller]

Been using Ghostery on Safari for the past few months and so far, so good.

I was under the impression Ghostery is only a tracker blocker, and not an ad blocker?

 

[jedimasterkyle]

I was under the impression Ghostery is only a tracker blocker, and not an ad blocker?

It does both and so far, it's worked really well. I almost like it better than some of the dedicated Ad blocking apps.

 

[Queen6]

AdGuard extension on Safari & UBlock Origin on FireFox, DNS is manually set on all systems & router to OpenDNS, never see an ad unless I whitelist the site.

Q-6

 

[Bustycat]

Wipr is featureless— all customisations handled by Safari. It should satisfy normal users like me well.