Pi-hole 4.3.2 removes adblock style lists support and implements many core and web interface changes

Last week, Pi-hole, the open-source Linux network-level advertisement and internet tracker blocking application released their latest version Pi-hole 4.3.2. It includes many changes in its core and web interfaces. Users can run pihole -up to update this version from a terminal session.

One of the core contributors to Pi-hole, Adam Warner revealed that the major change in this release is the removal of support for adblock style lists like Easylist/Easyprivacy. He alerted users that this may lead to a reduction in the number of blocked domains by Pi-hole.

Warner also specified the motive behind the removal of adblock support as, “these lists were never designed to be parsed into a HOST formatted file, and while it may catch some domains, there are far too many false positives produced by using them in this way. If you have lists in this format, Pi-hole will now ignore them, and attempts to get around the detection will likely end up with a broken gravity list.”

Pi-hole uses dnsmasq, cURL, lighttpd, PHP, and other tools to block Domain Name System (DNS) requests for known tracking and advertising. Intended for a private network, Pi-hole is implemented on embedded devices with network capabilities like Raspberry Pi. A Pi-hole can also block traditional website adverts in smart TVs, mobile operating systems, and more. If Pi-hole obtains any requests from adverts or tracking domains, it does not resolve the requested domain and responds to the requesting device with a blank webpage.

Users are happy with Pi-hole 4.3.2 release and are all praises for it on Hacker News.

A user said, “I'm a huge fan of this project! I have 3 set-up right now. One as a container on my Nuc at home for myself, and 2 other on old Pi's (one is a 1st gen B model) for family. A simple job to run every 2 months keeps everything up to date. For myself, I use Wireguard to only forward DNS packets to the PiHole when I'm outside the house. If you install a PiHole your help desk calls from family will drop by 90% (personal experience).”

Another user comments, “I have Pi-hole running on my LAN and it's amazing. It also helped me identify that my Amcrest PoE security cameras aggressively phone home, even when no cloud functionality is configured on them. All the reasons to keep them on their own VLAN and off the Internet.”

Another comment read, “One unadvertised advantage of pi-hole is monitoring and blocking sites that you don't want kids to use, such as the thousands of io-games and whatnot.”

Check out the Pi-hole 4.3.2 release notes to know full updates of this release.