I’ve been blocking most of it for years. Here’s a (relatively) quick guide on how you can, too. There are two main places where ads and trackers can be blocked: at the DNS level, and in the web browser. The primary difference is that DNS can be used on all devices on your network, while a browser is limited to devices that use a standard web browser (generally, personal computers and mobile phones).

As a note: This post is meant to make your internet browsing experience more pleasant, not as a definitive guide on internet privacy. If you are interested in improving your privacy on the web, you may want to start with The New Oil and EFF.org.

DNS Level

The DNS level is the most comprehensive way to block ads, but also the area with the most choices to make: self-hosted or SaaS? Free or paid? Network-wide or device-specific? There is no wrong answer here, just what works best for your setup.

As mentioned above, both the self-hosted and SaaS versions can be used network-wide by applying DNS settings to your router. That means that your smart TV or PS5 can benefit from many of the same block lists as your PC. Setup for this varies depending on your router and devices, and documentation is available from each service to make that as simple as possible. Because of that, we won’t go into detail here.

Self Hosted

There are three major contenders in the self-hosted space (as far as I am aware): PiHole (with a Docker variant), Adguard Home and Technitium DNS. The feature sets are all slightly different but at their core, they check DNS queries against a combination of block lists to prevent ads and trackers from reaching your devices.

This is the most customizable of the two options. Any block/white list you find can be used, and there are plenty. The downside: you are on the hook for 100% of maintenance and ensuring uptime. If you want to access your DNS blocklists from a mobile connection, you’re also responsible for setting that up and maintaining the connection.

Software as a Service

NextDNS is a service with a handful of the major block lists, which is free for up to 300,000 requests per month, or $20/year for unlimited requests. I have seen mention of Control-D as well, but it appears to be more geared toward large organizations rather than households.

I gave NextDNS a try using the lists below and there was definitely a decrease in the number of ads, but I’d estimate only by 50%. Definitely easier setup and maintenance, but I’ve switched back to Cloudflare’s DNS and will have another run at self-hosting later this year. For many people, though, NextDNS is probably the best balance between effectiveness and convenience.

• NextDNS Ads & Trackers Block List (Default)
• Hagezi’s Multi Pro
• Peter Lowe
• Fanboy’s Enhanced Tracking List
• Dan Pollock
• Adguard DNS Filter

Browser Level

There is only one real choice in the world of browser ad blocking, and it is uBlock Origin. Some might disagree with me, but that’s fine. uBlock Origin works without a hitch on Firefox, Waterfox and Librefox.

The major benefit to having a browser-based blocker is that it picks up blocking where DNS cannot. DNS, for example, cannot block YouTube’s midroll ads; uBlock Origin has no trouble doing so. For that reason alone, I have to recommend it.

A note about these filter lists: this combination does occasionally break websites. Since uBlock Origin has a one-click button to temporarily disable, I am more strict with it, and willing to turn uBlock off when I run into issues. Your mileage may vary.

Included Filter Lists

• uBlock Filters
• Easylist
• AdGuard - Mobile Ads
• EasyPrivacy
• AdGuard/uBO - URL Tracking Protection
• Block Outsider Intrusion into LAN
• Online Malicious URL Blocklist
• Phishing URL Blocklist
• Peter Lowe’s Ad and tracking server list
• Dan Pollock’s hosts file

Recommended additional lists:

• Hagezi’s Multi Pro
• Huge AI Blocklist
• Stevo’s GenAI Blocklist

As of the date of publishing, my uBlock Origin configuration has over 400,000 network filters and 130,000 cosmetic filters. If your computer is older and you notice chugging, there are optimized versions for many of these lists.

Bonus: Dodge the Attention Economy

Two more tools I love are SponsorBlock in browser, and iSponsorBlockTV on my server. The former automatically skips sponsored segments in YouTube videos, using a database reported by a very active community to catch them. iSponsorBlockTV does the same on smart TVs, with an added function: it can mute and skip YouTube ads automatically. Given that YouTube now crams ads into every 10 minutes of a video (based on experience), it’s a huge life improvement.

DeArrow is another app from the same developer, which attempts to de-clickbait titles and thumbnails on YouTube. I haven’t given this a try, but it deserved a mention here.

None of this fixes the current internet landscape; that would require a massive societal overhaul. It’s a quieter version of the internet, though, which demands less brain power with every click.