I use Pi-Hole and works great. I’ve heard about AdGuard and seems the same thing as PiHole, but you have to install an app/extension. Everyone in this community recommend NextDNS. Whats the difference between them?
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A firewall that block DNS bypass on kernel-level, remember this.
Read the whole sentence. That “just” belongs to the fact that it’s only available on a few selected OSes and none of them are for mobile devices.
Few OSes? It’s just missing the macOS (and is still free and open source)… and for phones I use https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/advanced_privacy (free and open source, you can enable Tor network to hide your traces completely) … Any app on your phone can use their own DNS to bypass. You need custom ROM that forces a filter.
NextDNS isn’t a Firewall, so what I am saying is superior to your solution, right? Are you even paying for NextDNS?
It’s possible I’m misunderstanding something, I am admittedly a layman when it comes to much of this. That being said, I believe NextDNS is marketed as a DNS level firewall. I do use Postmaster, but for the secure DNS I use a profile on NextDNS so I can implement granular control over what is being blocked on my PCs.
Idk what mobile device you are using, but I know on Android you can use NextDNS by updating your “Private DNS” in the Android settings. If you set it to a NextDNS profile it eliminates the need to install an app, and allows NextDNS to block ads and trackers even while not at home and utilizing your mobile data (or any other network you might need to connect to). Can also be implemented in conjunction with a VPN (if that is something the user is trying to implement based on their threat model) because it is built into the system settings rather than an app using a VPN-esque connection as a sinkhole for trackers. There is also a setting that allows you to prevent bypass if activated. I use that on our router.
Hope this helps! If I am wrong, please feel free to educate me. Always happy to learn more. 🍻
Yeah, what you said is all good, but I was telling them that in my case, I have my SmartPhone OS built-in tools to manage those filters, VPN (It is just Tor network) plus some fake GPS location. Again, all that built-in my OS… and I could even use the NextDNS as I could use any other DNS more private. Read this and you will see what I mean: https://doc.e.foundation/support-topics/advanced_privacy
Then they started to yell at me saying NextDNS rocks 😭, which I neither know it at all because I never used it, I was just saying from the start that the Pi-Hole (or OPNsense) makes no sense because it’s like running two machines for something that your own PC already can do… and I like to turn off all my devices when I go to sleep. I might be too paranoid, but I don’t want to be hacked at night and leak all my data or have a crypto-mining bot (I don’t know what kind of attack I could suffer) while I am sleeping… So when I am out of home or sleeping, I want all off. Unless my server at my cloud provider… hahaha 🤓
Gotcha! My bad, I clearly misinterpreted the discussion. Thank you for the clarification!
Your setup sounds pretty legit. as far as “too paranoid”, I don’t think that’s a factor as long as the effort required to maintain your system is something you’re comfortable with upkeeping and you don’t feel these concerns are getting in the way of your mental well-being. I do more than work probably most of the people I know, but that’s because I like to tinker and this is sort of a hobby for me. My family and partner think it’s extreme, but I feel it’s good to know how to implement different procedures, countermeasures, and security levels. Do I need them all? Definitely not. But there was a situation at work the other day where I was able to consult on remediation because I have exposed myself to a wide array of different tools and methodologies that most people I work with don’t care to bother with. All of that to say, " do you, boo!" Follow your info tech/cyber sec bliss.
NextDNS is cool but it also doesn’t sound necessary for your use case. My primary use for it was because of the limitations of my stock OS when it comes to features like built-in firewalls. Then since I was already using it on my mobile, I just decided to experiment with wrapping it into things like Postmaster and my router to control things like smart TVs.
My goal with my next mobile is a custom ROM where I can implement a setup similar to yours. That day can’t come soon enough! 😂
About my phone… I got a Fairphone because I want something robust that doesn’t break easily, I don’t need curved screens or fancy cameras. And the /e/ OS Project gives “official” support to Fairphone 2 so even if Fairphone stopped supporting the Fairphone 2 OS (official stock image) I still get updates from /e/ project which sounds like I can keep my phone for many more years. So I bought this phone specially for the custom ROM support, and installing my custom ROM was as easy as installing a new app on my system… (download binaries and flash it via ADB which I am already used to)