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Roku OS home screen is getting video ads for the first time
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2024
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Currently, yes and no.
Yes, in that pihole can filter ad servers, but no because backup DNS servers are hard coded in the software; you have to block those too from your router.
Not sure about the new changes planned.
I haven't seen a seen a single home screen Roku ad since I installed Pi-Hole.
This will be my last Roku, it has become such a horrible ad-ridden experience since I first got it years ago.
At first, Pi-hole was enough, but some devices had a software update a year or two ago that used Google (if memory serves) DNS as a backup. It was sneaky, but adding a block rule closed that loophole.
Not all devices had that change though. I'm hoping mine is old enough to be ignored for the new video ads.
I imagine they'll eventually work around block rules with DNS over https.
Then you block that too at the router level (port 853 if my memory is correct)
DNS over TLS (aka DoT) uses port 853. DNS over HTTPS (aka DoH) uses port 443 so that it looks the same as any other web traffic for privacy reasons.
Yeah, that’s going to be an issue.
I’m wondering if they managed to break that, too. I tried forcing my Roku to use my pi-hole by blocking Google DNS (what it seems to be hardcoded with) at my router and the Roku just stops recognizing that it even has an Internet connection.
How can I block their hard coded DNS servers? Is it based on their IP numbers and if so how do we determine what they are?