Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker. This will block Ads to all devices connected to your home network without having the need to install ad blocker in each device. Pi-hole can run on multiple devices ranging from Pi Zero to servers. Try to select a device which you can run 24/7, If you are worried about power usage then Pi zero might be the best option. In this article we will see the steps to install Pi-hole in a windows machine. Steps in this article were tested on Hyper-V, but the idea is the same for VM VirtualBox OR VMware Workstation.

Step 01 : Create a virtual machine (VM) with Debian Buster with Raspberry Pi Desktop

• Download ISO for Debian Buster with Raspberry Pi Desktop from https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspberry-pi-desktop/

• Create new virtual machine using the downloaded ISO and Install Debian Buster with Raspberry Pi. Allocate 4GB for memory and 40GB for storage

  

• Start the virtual machine and select Graphical install option and follow the on screen instructions

  

• After Raspberry Pi Desktop installation finishes, pop up will show to configure Raspberry Pi Desktop. Here update the configuration to set up password and enable ssh

  

Step 02 : Install Pi-hole in Raspberry Pi Desktop

• ssh into Debian Buster with Raspberry Pi using putty. User name is pi and password is what you selected during Raspberry Pi Desktop configuration

  

• Install Pi-hole using below command. Refer https://pi-hole.net/ for any additional information

  curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash
  

• Installation will bring up UI with on screen instructions

  • Select Ok as applicable
  • Select your preferred DNS provider. I read good reviews about Quad9 so using it for now as DNS provider
  • Pi-hole needs a static IP, So select Yes to use current network settings as static address
  • Select On for web admin interface, web server and log queries
  • Remember to note down login URL, user name and password for web admin interface
  

Step 03 : Configure your router

• Login into your routers admin console by navigating to http://192.168.1.1 in your browser. Here are some default user name and passwords for common router brands. If you have ever changed the password use the updated password to login

• Navigate to the DNS server in the settings of your router and update it with the static IP of your device with Pi-Hole. This path will vary based on your routers make and model, for netgear devices its Internet –> Domain Name Server (DNS) Address

  

• Save the changes, It may take a minute OR two for your router to apply the new settings

Step 04 : Validate Pi-hole

• Navigate to Pi-hole admin console at http://192.168.x.xxx/admin/. Replace the IP address with the static IP address from your installation.

• Admin console will show details in dashboard as shown below

  

Pi-hole has now been successfully installed in your network. Ads to any devices connected to your network will be automatically blocked by Pi-hole. Remember to block Ads, virtual machine with Pi-hole should be always running.