nogo

What?

nogo blocks access to various sites (ads, tracking, porn, gambling, etc) by acting as a DNS proxy server with host blacklist support.

It requires minimal setup, and includes a simple web control panel for managing the host blacklist.

Why?

I wanted an open source ad blocker solution that was more universal than a browser plugin, and:

Was easy to utilize with unrooted mobile devices (so that battery life could be conserved).
Had a basic web control panel and API for adding, removing, and "pausing" hosts.
Provided straightforward cross-platform support and acceptable performance (so that I could run it from my Raspberry Pi).
Could be used as a master host "blacklist" service for network-wide ad blocking (e.g. by configuring the DNS on my router to point to nogo).

How?

Simply download a binary release for your platform. Or, if you already have Go v1.8 or later installed you can run: go get github.com/seedifferently/nogo

Note:

Be sure to read the Important post-install steps outlined below.
Since nogo binds to the DNS port 53 by default, it must be given access to "privileged" ports (e.g. via setcap or sudo).
Run with the -help switch for information on additional runtime options (such as disabling or password protecting the web control panel).

For those who would rather clone the repo and build from source:

Install Go (requires v1.8 or later).
Clone the repo, then cd into it.
Install the dependencies by running make deps. Or if you don't have make:
- go get github.com/miekg/dns
- go get github.com/boltdb/bolt
- go get github.com/pressly/chi
Build the app by running make. Or if you don't have make: go build
Run the app: sudo ./nogo

Important post-install steps:

1. You must add hosts to the blacklist.

nogo doesn't ship with a built-in blacklist, so it won't block any hosts until you add them.

There are currently two methods for adding hosts to the blacklist:

Navigate to the web control panel (default: http://localhost:8080/) and add a host using the form.
Download a popular hosts list file (e.g. pick one from the list at https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts), and execute nogo with the -import switch on its first run.

2. You must reconfigure your DNS.

Your computer/mobile device/etc is probably set up by default to utilize a DNS server which allows connections to any host. Unless you update your DNS configuration to point to nogo (and only to nogo), nothing will change.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with how to update your DNS configuration, check out Google's guide for their DNS service here: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using

You can follow their instructions, but don't forget to substitute their DNS service IP addresses with the sole IP address of the machine running nogo.

Known Issues and Limitations

The DNS proxy server utilizes a fairly basic configuration, so advanced features such as EDNS and DNSSEC are not currently supported.
Due to the fact that the web control panel utilizes a few modern techniques (such as flexbox and the Fetch API), you may experience some issues with its interface on non-current browsers.

Who?

My name is Seth and I've been talking to machines in various languages since the early 90s. If you find this useful and want to say thanks, feel free to tweet me. If you'd prefer to give back in some way, you could buy me a beer, share some Satoshi, or pass my resume on to someone you know who is tackling interesting problems using technology.