AdTrap - the internet is yours again

[oj88]

Another Kiskstarter success story. It carries a rather steep price tag but.... hmmm.

Anyway, AdTrap is a plug-n-play device that sits between your modem and router that reportedly blocks any kind of advertisement from ever reaching all your connected devices. It promises faster browser loading times, protection from malware borne from accidentally or deliberately clicking on questionable ads, removes pre-roll ads from Youtube, and banner ads from Android and iOS games, among others.

 

URL: AdTrap - the internet is yours again

 

There's a flip side to this, unfortunately. Ad placements has, for the most part, allowed the sharing of internet content that would've otherwise not been free. Ad-supported apps and games also makes it possible for the public to get these programs at no cost. I personally don't know how this device will affect the internet as a whole in the long run. What do you think?

 

Are there alternatives to this solution that I can deploy at home for free or cheap?

 

 

[ikon]

There certainly are ad blocking (I wouldn't search for 'ad trapping'; that's something else) programs you can get for your computers. A quick search will turn up plenty.

[pcdoc]

Untangle.  Basic ad blocking is built in and it is "tuneable".  Software is free but you have to BYOB...

[Jason]

Any ad blocking for pfsense? Or is that snort?

[Drashna Jaelre]

pfBlocker can theoretically do that. You just need to find a good list. And set to "Deny Outbound".

[Jason]

Good to know. Any known sources of good lists? Been considering building a test untangle box to compare to pfsense but only have overpowered old hardware. For example an EP45-UD3P w Q9550 quad core CPU and dual NIC motherboard that would require a video card. My pfsense machine is on an extremely energy efficient supermicro atom build.

[ikon]

Q9550? Untangle should run great on that

 

Seriously, for testing/comparison purposes it might be worthwhile using that board.

[Jason]

Ikon, ok - now you have me curious. That CPU, board and RAM are collecting dust. Just need to throw into a case. Unfortunately it doesn't have onboard video so I'd need to pop in an ATI 4550 low watt card just to admin the box. For some reason I thought a q9550 quad core proc would be too power hungry for a router box?

pfBlocker can theoretically do that. You just need to find a good list. And set to "Deny Outbound".

Thanks! I had overlooked this feature in of blocker all this time. Have since a added the ad and spyware lists in gzip format from the iblocklist web site. Will be curious whether I notice any reduction in ads with toys enabled. Not quite sure how to test.

[Drashna Jaelre]

That would be the lists I would have recommended.

 

If you find any others, let me know. 

[oj88]

Thanks for the suggestions. This has ignited my curiousity to setup my own "Super Router" running pfSense and Untangle Lite in ESXi VMs, based on this great article from 2 years ago: http://homeservershow.com/building-your-own-super-router-with-pfsense-and-untangle.html

 

This is a rather big undertaking for me as it's my first time working with either security products, including ESXi. Being an IT guy for 15 years working on Windows predominantly, I'm almost embarrassed to say that.