Poll AdGuard Public DNS vs Control D: Ads & Tracking

VPN and DNS
38 Replies 3,075 Views

AdGuard Public DNS or Control D Ads & Trackers?

  • Total voters
    22
Templarware said:
Obviously there isn't any direct competition, but both are security solutions and both block malicious domains and trackers. The VPN includes its own DNS, the filtering is done by the antivirus and the browser extension.
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Technically, Control D isn't here to protect anyone from malicious domains and trackers. They are just customizable DNS service and give users ability to decide how they want to surf the web. Same cannot be said for Avast DNS. Now... I'm not sure if it's completely uncensored or does it block anything, but in order to be Control D's (real) competitor they'd have to offer more. Customization for start.
Templarware said:
You tell me why Control D is blocking some Avast and AVG domains, even after it being reported. I was just throwing it into the air.
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If you're alluding that Control D is blocking Avast and AVG domains on purpose, I am 100% sure that isn't the case. If it was the case, then they would rather block AdGuard DNS, NextDNS and Quad9 considering they are their competitors.

It's more likely domains are part of some kind of blocklist they use rather them blocking the domains on purpose (no reason for that). Feel free to share which Avast and AVG domains are blocked and by which Control D DNS server. Thanks!
 
lokamoka820 said:
These might be known tracking domains by Avast/Avg. In the past, Protmaster blocked many of my software's own domains because they were tracking domains; perhaps ControlD does the same.
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Ads & Tracking is blocking AVG Account , you can't login and access your account, purchased products, etc. The email check for breached passwords and personal information feature is also not working because it's unable to connect to the internet. It gives me concerns about what else inside the software can also have its effectiveness compromised.
 
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hamdimnftl said:
Both are solid, but Control D's anycast network has been surprisingly snappy in my testing lately. AdGuard has the legacy trust and great blocklists, but Control D's dashboard feels a bit more modern. You can't really go wrong with either, though
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This is about the free options, there's no dashboard.
 
NextDNS not an option? I have zero experience with ControlD but for $2 a month for NextDNS the price is right. Works well on iOS and Android.

The only issue with AdGuard is last time I used it on Android it needs to create a VPN tunnel to work. Is this still he case?
 
Zero Knowledge said:
The only issue with AdGuard is last time I used it on Android it needs to create a VPN tunnel to work. Is this still he case?
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Yes. In fact, all ad blockers on Android work the same way, by creating VPN server on device and routing all traffic through it. The reason for that is Android doesn't allow apps to intercept any kind of traffic. You can avoid using local VPN method, but you will have to root the device.
 
Templarware said:
Talking about the free tiers here. Free NextDNS has a 30000 queries monthly limit, which makes it useless for a home router.
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Templarware said:
Right. Yeah, 300k, I remember. But it wasn't enough for my router.
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Jesus⛪ What do you browse? I never reach the limit even with paid and I have iOS/Android/Tablets/Laptops all connected.
 
Zero Knowledge said:
Jesus⛪ What do you browse? I never reach the limit even with paid and I have iOS/Android/Tablets/Laptops all connected.
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Do you live alone? It only takes two people in the same house, doing some light or moderate browsing to reach the 300k limit in around 20+ days. It's not just browsing, it's background stuff, the router itself, PCs, phones, TVs, boxes, IoT devices.
 
Templarware said:
Do you live alone? It only takes two people in the same house, doing some light or moderate browsing to reach the 300k limit in around 20+ days. It's not just browsing, it's background stuff, the router itself, PCs, phones, TVs, boxes, IoT devices.
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Alone with light/moderate browsing: 150 k
with heavy browsing: 200+
So if tow persons with heavy browsing, they will exceed the 300 k limit by all means.
 
I’m not sure if everyone knows this about NextDNS, but the query data shown on the analytics page is completely different from what counts toward your free quota on the account page. Here’s my usage for this month:

1790175413315.png1790175453556.png
 
Regarding the query count (many of you probably know this already), there’s a small setting in NextDNS that helped me make the monthly quota last a bit longer: ‘Cache Boost’.

It basically sets a minimum TTL for DNS responses, so some lookups don’t get repeated as often.

It doesn’t change anything in day‑to‑day use, but it does make the overall consumption more stable. Just sharing it in case it’s helpful to anyone. 🧩🔧
 
Templarware said:
Do you live alone? It only takes two people in the same house, doing some light or moderate browsing to reach the 300k limit in around 20+ days. It's not just browsing, it's background stuff, the router itself, PCs, phones, TVs, boxes, IoT devices.
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No, I'm online 18 hours a day, household using all manor of devices and I struggle to get to 300K. Wife on social media 24/7.

Anyway I pay $2 a month because I like to support good cheap accessible software. Just like VPNs $5 a month is worth it. Put your 💰 where your 👄 is etc....
 
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