Check your secondary DNS, eg. on Android if you only assign a primary DNS via DHCP it will use Google DNS as a secondary server. The phone will then randomly use the secondary server (i.e. not just when the primary is unavailable), so sometimes you see ads and sometimes you don’t…
I looked into something like this a couple years ago, my recollection is that YouTube uses HTTPS so ads cannot be blocked externally because the stream cannot be intercepted and modified along the way, part of what https exists to prevent. Blocking of youtube ads has to be done on the device playing the video.
That’s not how AdGuard works anyway. All AdGuard can do is block/not block DNS requests, its got nothing to to with HTTP vs HTTPS. YouTube Ads are served by YouTube from the same servers that serve the content, so you can block YouTube Ads with AdGuard, but you will also block all the content.
Most web sites have their Ads served by 3rd party providers (ie. Different DNS than the content), so this can be blocked. Ads cannot (generally) be blocked where the content provider and advertiser are one in the same e.g. Instagram / Facebook.
I just recently switched from the piHole add-on to the AdGuard add-on and I find that piHole was blocking way more ads. I see lots of ads now on lots of sites. AdGaurd is setup correctly and I do see a lot of blocked requests so I know it is working as it’s supposed to but, like I said, I do see more ads.
Not sure what piHole was doing differently as they are both basically DNS blockers.
I use AdGuard and never see any Ads…, how many of the built in blocklists are you using (you get to choose under Filters -> DNS Blocklists -> Add Blocklist -> Choose from the List)
@fluffierbump I just set the Redddit block on my AdGuard instance and it works fine (looks like your is working fine too…). Most likely the device you are using to access reddit.com is first sending a DNS request to AdGuard, gets blocked, then uses and alternate DNS pathway to resolve the DNS name, possibly local cache or secondary DNS ?
Thank you for your help. So weird that your console output shows very different ad links than mine. For me most links are to https:/www.googleadservicers.com or to youtube. As you say it could be regional differences. I will dig deeper.
Thanks again.
On a different note, I highly recommend it pairing it with NextDNS for even further filtering and to taking some workload off your PiHole. Or you could even migrate altogether to NextDNS if you feel comfortable with it, they have many of the PiHole functionalities and blocklists. Bright side, if you PiHole goes down you still have internet.
