PiHole is pretty cool, very 'plug n play' which I like. A sufficiently advanced average user can set it up without too much trouble just following on a guide, even a relatively tech savvy 'lay' person can do this.
If you like a more technical solution I prefer something like running a Unbound + NSD server
Here's some great tutorials on that:
(Kudos to the people who write Calomel, i really liked these tutorials, it was a great way for me to get started and look into these services deeper once understanding what was going on here)
I'm really big into having ones own DNS server on the network instead of completely using outside solutions. There is little overhead with a sufficiently modern implementation.
Also, these solutions run on FreeBSD/OpenBSD for those who prefer.
As a complete aside. Aren't most routers, esp. business class routers, running modified Unix/Linux anyway? Why on earth hasn't a reputable company made a guns ready router that lets you have access to the Linux/Unix underpinnings without flashing (albeit awesome) Open Source alternatives? I would think in the 'business/enterprise' class hardware side this would be more prevalent.
Maybe I just don't know of any solutions like that available stateside. I found one in Europe:
I'm actually wondering if they simply didn't repackage this hardware with a better then average design for a case, frankly. The specs are very similar. I think even though these are AMD embedded processors they're ARM, not sure though, it didn't say (or i missed it).
If you like a more technical solution I prefer something like running a Unbound + NSD server
Here's some great tutorials on that:
(Kudos to the people who write Calomel, i really liked these tutorials, it was a great way for me to get started and look into these services deeper once understanding what was going on here)
https://calomel.org/nsd_dns.html
https://calomel.org/unbound_dns.html
Pairing that with squid proxy can be the ultimate win:
https://calomel.org/squid.html
https://calomel.org/squid_adservers.html
https://calomel.org/squid_ua_random.html
and don't forget dnscrypt people!
https://dnscrypt.org/
I'm really big into having ones own DNS server on the network instead of completely using outside solutions. There is little overhead with a sufficiently modern implementation.
Also, these solutions run on FreeBSD/OpenBSD for those who prefer.
As a complete aside. Aren't most routers, esp. business class routers, running modified Unix/Linux anyway? Why on earth hasn't a reputable company made a guns ready router that lets you have access to the Linux/Unix underpinnings without flashing (albeit awesome) Open Source alternatives? I would think in the 'business/enterprise' class hardware side this would be more prevalent.
Maybe I just don't know of any solutions like that available stateside. I found one in Europe:
https://omnia.turris.cz/en/
Can't get it stateside though :(
I instead custom built most of my networking hardware...but still.