I use the wonderful MVP HOSTS file for blocking a lot of online advertising and popups. Works really well and very lightweight - does not take a lot of my computer's power to run.
This approach looks really good - it requires a stand-alone system based on the Raspberry Pi but would make an excellent portable unit and it covers a lot of what the HOSTS file cannot. Check out Pi-Hole. From their DOCUMENTS page:
Network-wide ad blocking via your own Linux hardware
The Pi-hole® is a DNS sinkhole that protects your devices from unwanted content, without installing any client-side software.
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- Easy-to-install: our versatile installer walks you through the process, and takes less than ten minutes
- Resolute: content is blocked in non-browser locations, such as ad-laden mobile apps and smart TVs
- Responsive: seamlessly speeds up the feel of everyday browsing by caching DNS queries
- Lightweight: runs smoothly with minimal hardware and software requirements
- Robust: a command line interface that is quality assured for interoperability
- Insightful: a beautiful responsive Web Interface dashboard to view and control your Pi-hole
- Versatile: can optionally function as a DHCP server, ensuring all your devices are protected automatically
- Scalable: capable of handling hundreds of millions of queries when installed on server-grade hardware
- Modern: blocks ads over both IPv4 and IPv6
- Free: open source software which helps ensure you are the sole person in control of your privacy
What's not to love. Will be trying it out when I have some spare time. The beauty here is that it can also run as the primary internet access point so it will block ads and popups on my phone as well as my machines.
Stuff that in your Pi-Hole...
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