In today’s hyper-connected world, ads have become nearly impossible to escape. From phones and laptops to smart TVs, every screen you own is constantly serving you promotional content. And while most ads are simply irritating, some can be genuinely harmful. A single malicious advertisement can expose your device to malware or ransomware — a nightmare for anyone who has experienced it firsthand.

Browser extensions like uBlock Origin can help, but they only work on specific devices and compatible browsers. Your TV, your secondary phone, or a browser without extension support won’t benefit from them. So the real question becomes: how do you block ads everywhere, all at once?

The answer is to block ads across your entire home network, so every device connected to your Wi-Fi automatically gains protection. Below are two effective ways to make that happen.

1. Switch to Ad-Blocking DNS on Your Router

For most people, this is the easiest and fastest solution. Home routers typically assign IP addresses and DNS settings through DHCP. By default, these DNS servers often come from your ISP — and they usually offer no security or privacy enhancements.

By changing the DNS settings in your router, you can route all traffic through ad-blocking DNS servers instead. Popular options include:

• AdGuard DNS: Blocks ads, trackers and malicious domains. Family-safe filters (including adult-content restrictions) are also available.

• NextDNS: Highly customizable, allowing advanced filtering and custom blocklists.

• ControlD: Offers personalized DNS profiles with built-in ad blocking.

NextDNS: 45.90.28.152 and 45.90.30.152

ControlD: 76.76.2.2 and 76.76.10.2

To apply this, log into your router (usually at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.254), find the DNS section, and replace your existing DNS entries with the ones above. Ensure all devices are set to use DHCP, so they automatically pick up the new ad-blocking DNS settings.

If you prefer configuring individual devices instead of your entire network, you can manually set these DNS servers on your phone, laptop, or tablet.

2. Install a Dedicated Network-Wide Ad Blocker

If you want stronger filtering and more control, consider running a dedicated ad-blocking system using a spare computer or a Raspberry Pi. The two most trusted tools for this are Pi-hole and AdGuard Home.

Here’s a quick overview of installing AdGuard Home:

You can install it manually or in a container, but the manual method is beginner-friendly:

1. Download the latest AdGuard Home release for your operating system from the official GitHub page.

2. Extract the ZIP file.

3. Windows users: Open a terminal as administrator, navigate to the folder using cd, and run:
   AdGuardHome.exe -s install

4. Linux/macOS users: Navigate to the extracted directory and run:
   sudo ./AdGuardHome -s install

http://SERVER:3000

If you want instant results with minimal effort, start by switching your router to ad-blocking DNS. If you need deeper protection and detailed customization, a dedicated blocker like Pi-hole or AdGuard Home delivers far more power.

Either way, these methods can dramatically reduce ads across your home network — and make every device you own safer and cleaner to use.