Pi-hole update

scooobydont · 19-01-2021, 14:46

Not sure if anyone on here is using pi-hole, worth getting the latest update if so:

https://pi-hole.net/2021/01/19/pi-ho.../#page-content

AdamBrunt · 19-01-2021, 16:07

One of the only things I currently have a Pi running for at the moment [ well that and LibreElec

] I am not even running v5 yet mind.

Coincidently I have been looking into it more recently as I am only just starting to learn about Docker - better late than never I suppose - and was going to try setting up on that Pi instead as I saw Pi-hole has been available in Docker container form for a while

GalaxyBlue · 19-01-2021, 20:36

Thanks for this. To be honest, I didn't realise that it didn't auto-update itself.

Edit I've added a daily cron job to check for updates and update if necessary.

Fatbloke · 20-01-2021, 12:16

Me either - how do you do that GalaxyB?

GalaxyBlue · 24-01-2021, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fatbloke

Me either - how do you do that GalaxyB?

Hi Fatbloke,

If you SSH into the Pi, type in crontab -e and it will open a file. Scroll down to the bottom and add the following :

0 7 * * * pihole -up

Save the file and that's it. It will then run the script every day at 7am that checks that Pihole is up to date and if it isn't it will update it.

dunkle · 24-01-2021, 21:48

I swear I looked at setting this up sometime back (I have a few pis no longer used), but if remember correctly, could not be used with BT Smart Hub 2 as can’t change DNS.

Is that the case ?

scoobyood · 24-01-2021, 21:58

If you use the pihole for DHCP and turn off DHCP on the home hub, the pi gives out IP addresses and the network then looks to the pi for DNS. Otherwise you can can set DNS on on a device per device basis.

GalaxyBlue · 01-02-2021, 19:11

There's been an update to PiHole and my cron job didn't work. However, I've made a change yesterday and it updated it this morning at 7am.

Change the line I gave above to :

0 7 * * * /usr/local/bin/pihole -up

and it should work.

I presumed as pihole is in the bin folder (like the PATH in windows) you didn't have to specifically input the full directory path but it seems you do.

scooobydont · 02-02-2021, 08:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBlue

There's been an update to PiHole and my cron job didn't work. However, I've made a change yesterday and it updated it this morning at 7am.

Change the line I gave above to :

0 7 * * * /usr/local/bin/pihole -up

and it should work.

I presumed as pihole is in the bin folder (like the PATH in windows) you didn't have to specifically input the full directory path but it seems you do.

Yup, that worked, thankyou.

AdamBrunt · 15-02-2021, 17:45

On a similar Pi-hole theme ...

Is there anything that you let you block all internet access for specific LAN IPs according to a schedule ? I don't see any sort of scheduling - net alone local IP conditioning - options in Pi Hole.

My router has a whole host of IP specific scheduled access control functionality which was all working fine, until recently, and I have no idea how it has stopped working

EDIT: Just done some more investigating and it looks like the device had a manual DNS entry (not automatic from the DHCP server) so that could explain it.

Stevie G · 24-02-2021, 11:22

How does using Pi-hole affect browsing performance in general? I get fed up with all the adverts breaking up pages when browsing on my phone and tablet and thinking it might be a useful option for our mobile devices at home. Does it slow down having to go through a Rpi? I have an Rpi4 wired to my router so it should be reasonably quick compared to a wireless one. Can it be done by device by setting the Pi-Hole as the DNS server on specific devices? Or is it a bit more complicated than that? Does it need to be the DNS server for your whole network?

And is it fine installed on the normal Raspian (from the NOOBS installer)? Or does it need to run on one of the lighterweight RPi OS's to not cause issues?

fredfox_uk · 24-02-2021, 19:06

Fine installed on normal Pi. I've got one installed on a Pi, another on a Ubuntu VM.
No negative impact on web usage. Seems a bit faster without all the advert crap loading, I did run one of those DNS speed test whatsits and the Pi performed well.

Stevie G · 24-02-2021, 19:39

Thanks. Just installed it and having a look at it. Which Upstream DNS Servers are recommended to use? I followed one setup guide and they said to use Cloudfare, but didn't really explain why!

AdamBrunt · 24-02-2021, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevie G

How does using Pi-hole affect browsing performance in general? I get fed up with all the adverts breaking up pages when browsing on my phone and tablet and thinking it might be a useful option for our mobile devices at home. Does it slow down having to go through a Rpi? I have an Rpi4 wired to my router so it should be reasonably quick compared to a wireless one.

Pihole requires very little processing power/time at all - a bit more if you're connecting to the Pi over WiFi rather than wired. A Pi4 is way overpowered for running PiHole; I have mine running fine - with no noticeable lag - on a model 3 B but it even runs fine, apparently, on a Pi Zero.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevie G

Can it be done by device by setting the Pi-Hole as the DNS server on specific devices? Or is it a bit more complicated than that? Does it need to be the DNS server for your whole network?

For optimal maintenance, you should change your router's DNS servers to point to the Pi (but not all routers let you do that) and it will save you going onto every device on your LAN and changing the settings there

You can even set up Pihole to be the DHCP server for your network but I didn't do that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevie G

And is it fine installed on the normal Raspian (from the NOOBS installer)? Or does it need to run on one of the lighterweight RPi OS's to not cause issues?

The default Raspian OS is fine - if a little OTT if you're just using it for Pihole. Lighter OSes do exists but the sake of simplicity what you have is fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevie G

Thanks. Just installed it and having a look at it. Which Upstream DNS Servers are recommended to use? I followed one setup guide and they said to use Cloudfare, but didn't really explain why!

To not see any differences, compared to your pre-Pihole installation, then the upstream DNS servers (on the Pihole) should be same as what your router had before you changed it to point at the Pihole

The default option, IIRC, is to use Google's servers [ 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 ]

Stevie G · 24-02-2021, 21:18

Ah, ok, great, thanks! All set up, I'll see if my wife notices any difference....! I can certainly see ads being blocked and not showing on my Android phone and tablet!

AdamBrunt · 24-02-2021, 22:19

Also - regardless of whether you do it at router or device level - make sure you only have one primary DNS server set up to point out to pihole ( set any others to 0.0.0.0). Otherwise you'll still see ads coming through.

It certainly is a wonderful/scary thing when your Pihole dashboard shows that 20% of traffic being is blocked