Articles

Guide to Build a Secured Raspberry Pi Home Network Content Filter

by Bella James Writer

With an increase in internet usage, threats have also increased. Digital security has become a major concern. Our screens are always full of irrelevant ads, pop-ups, notifications, banner ads, etc. and these things carry harmful malware which you might not know. It also possesses the power to threaten a person’s digital security and device health. It also results in poor browsing experience. Fortunately, some tweaks can resolve the errors and issues, and one such foolproof method is to program a cheap Raspberry Pi computer. It will block any irrelevant thing popping up on your screen, check all the incoming data against blacklists of your choice, and decide if it should pass on the packets to your device.


It is more than just an ad blocker. It will ensure the security filtering of all your devices connected to a similar network. Along with ad blocking, it can dismiss ads, trackers, hackers, etc. from all the devices, including smartphones, gaming consoles, and smart TVs. If you’re determined to get it on your devices, then you’ll require the following things before getting started with the procedure:

  • Raspberry Pi with the free Raspberry Pi OS software installed in it.
  • A home network router or the one provided by your ISP.
  • Computer (Mac or Windows) to get hold of the Pi-hole
  • Comfort typing into a command-line interface

After getting all the prerequisites ready, use the following step by step guide to building a secured Raspberry Pi home network filter.

Install the Software

Following the prerequisite have got your computer and Pi on the same network connection. Now, follow the steps below:

  • Start by opening the terminal window. Mac users have to use the Terminal, and Windows users have to open Command Prompt.
  • Then, use a Secure Shell (SSH) to connect the terminal window with Pi. This protocol will send commands from one computer to another. If you’re unsure about this step, then visit Raspberrypi.org to find instructions.
  • Now, type the command to install Pi-hole.
  • Select the default option and write any network info you see: curl -SSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

Make a List

Now, you can close the terminal window as you’re finished with the command line. Now, open a web browser and visit http://pi.hole. This site will let you control the Pi-hole, and you can also check the permissions and decide what you want to allow or block. You will find some default options that can block the most harmful hackers and trackers on the internet. You can always tweak the options according to your requirements by adding the web addresses to a specific service. It also enables you to tweak the ads in Twitch and block ads from your smart speakers to prevent others from using your gadgets without your permission. If you’re looking for web addresses that should be on your blacklist, then Pi-hole.net and the r/pihole subreddit are great platforms to start looking for them.

Reroute the Traffic

Turn on the Pi-hole and connect it to your home network by plugging it directly to your router (if possible). Then, open the control panel of your router on any browser and check your network’s DHCP/DNS Settings for your LAN. Punch in the IP address of your Raspberry Pi in the DNS section. This step will ensure that all your inbound data gets checked against your list before reaching your devices. Once that’s done, restart all your devices connected to a similar network. Do not restart all the devices all at once; restart them one-by-one. This step will force them to reconnect via Pi-hole.

Follow this guide carefully, and don’t forget to check the mentioned links and pages to get a better idea. We’d recommend you to go through the entire guide before you start following the steps. Also, note down the IP address of your Raspberry Pi as it will be required during the procedure.

Mia Watson is an avid technical blogger, a magazine contributor, a publisher of guides at Blogs Book, and a professional cyber security analyst. Through her writing, she aims to educate people about the dangers and threats lurking in the digital world. Visit My Site, yexter.uk.com

Source: Pi Home Network Content Filter


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About Bella James Innovator   Writer

1 connections, 0 recommendations, 57 honor points.
Joined APSense since, August 4th, 2020, From California, United States.

Created on Sep 25th 2020 02:33. Viewed 295 times.

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