I can't recommend AdGuard enough. It works across devices, and just does all the DNS level blocking everywhere. I've been able to install it on my parents' devices, my siblings' devices, and more places. They have apps for just about any device. On top of that, you can install user scripts and use them on your mobile phones even if your browser doesn't support them (does require a CA cert being trusted).
My biggest issue is I can't use it while I'm connected to Tailscale, but my plan is to install AdGuard Home on my homelab and have that take over instead. It does remove many of the functions, but it's better than the alternative
Whenever I'm out and about I connect to my home system via wireguard VPN, and all DNS traffic through my home system is funneled into PiHole. I also have a healthy collection of DNS block lists setup on the PiHole (which I'm currently setting up a site to explain/share).
I also have a VPS setup in a similar fashion in case my home connection fails for one of many reasons.
I try to only practice safe internet. Raw-dog the internet and you're asking for an infection.
Another famous one is DNS66 but it's sadly unmaintained. Avoid apps with the word "ad" in their name, they are usually semi commercial and can't be trusted.
Do note all of these methods can be overridden on the app level e.g. a lot of browsers come bundled with first party VPNs or use their own built-in resolvers.
If you want something more reliable, Firefox on Android with the UBlock Origin and Sponsorblock extensions is still the gold standard. Though do note the Android Firefox is extremely slow compared to the Chromium based browsers.
For app level ads, use an app patcher like https://github.com/morpheapp which can remove all in-app advertisements and inject sponsor blocking code.
What evidence supports the link referenced being an advertisement? I'm not seeing any referral, tracking, or any URI parameter data at all that would support the claim, and this seems to be their only instance of referring to it — where, in this 'state of the union' helpdesk-style article, one or more such 'VPN provider' links seems particularly relevant to visitors. (I do not use whatever this company's products are and have no opinion either way on them aside from mistrusting the claim presented here.)
One time I saw someone trying to hide an Amazon affiliate link in a post by putting the link text as amazon.com/dp/12345 but the link was amazon.com/dp/12345/ref=tracking. There's no affiliate link for Nord here but it's weird to use it as an example over better options: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
Amazon's `ref` parameter isn't used for affiliate codes. It's certainly used for something, but given that internal links have it (eg. the logo in the top left has `/ref=nav_logo`), I wouldn't immediately conclude it's an affiliate link just because it has ref. Actual affiliate links are through the `tag` parameter.
So if I'm supposed to pay for ad blocking, I might as well read the article and use one of the other methods[1] instead :)
[1] I was trying Rethink several times, but WG Tunnel with ad-- and tracker-blocking service works best for me.
My biggest issue is I can't use it while I'm connected to Tailscale, but my plan is to install AdGuard Home on my homelab and have that take over instead. It does remove many of the functions, but it's better than the alternative
I also have a VPS setup in a similar fashion in case my home connection fails for one of many reasons.
I try to only practice safe internet. Raw-dog the internet and you're asking for an infection.
And then add lists.
And add your own constantly when they miss
I wonder how old it is and what their motivation is/was. Maybe to offer something comparable to Apple Private Browsing?
In Android you can either set your DNS server in the system settings or via the VPN API.
Sample code here https://github.com/t895/DNSNet/blob/a-couple-updates/service...
They both do the same thing. There are local device-only resolver apps like
https://rethinkdns.com/
https://github.com/m66b/netguard
Another famous one is DNS66 but it's sadly unmaintained. Avoid apps with the word "ad" in their name, they are usually semi commercial and can't be trusted.
Do note all of these methods can be overridden on the app level e.g. a lot of browsers come bundled with first party VPNs or use their own built-in resolvers.
If you want something more reliable, Firefox on Android with the UBlock Origin and Sponsorblock extensions is still the gold standard. Though do note the Android Firefox is extremely slow compared to the Chromium based browsers.
For app level ads, use an app patcher like https://github.com/morpheapp which can remove all in-app advertisements and inject sponsor blocking code.
I also prefer replacing uBlock Origin with Ad Nauseum which is built on top of ubo.
What evidence supports the link referenced being an advertisement? I'm not seeing any referral, tracking, or any URI parameter data at all that would support the claim, and this seems to be their only instance of referring to it — where, in this 'state of the union' helpdesk-style article, one or more such 'VPN provider' links seems particularly relevant to visitors. (I do not use whatever this company's products are and have no opinion either way on them aside from mistrusting the claim presented here.)
Amazon's `ref` parameter isn't used for affiliate codes. It's certainly used for something, but given that internal links have it (eg. the logo in the top left has `/ref=nav_logo`), I wouldn't immediately conclude it's an affiliate link just because it has ref. Actual affiliate links are through the `tag` parameter.