Technitium DNS Server is a cross-platform DNS server solution that we can use to block ads and malware on our network.
It is a solid alternative to other well-known solutions such as Pi-hole, often used on Raspberry Pi, with the advantage that we can use it on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Basically, instead of using public DNS, we will configure our devices to use Technitium DNS Server, which we will have installed on our computer.
The installation is simple, and we can use it from minute zero without the need for additional configurations.
For this, Technitium DNS Server has a list of servers that are kept updated, and that are blacklisted for containing ads or malware.
When the computers on our network query the address to Technitium, it will verify that the requested address is blocked, and simply will not return anything. This prevents ads from appearing or, in the case of malware, from being downloaded.
By installing our own DNS, we are protecting all devices on the network. Even mobile devices. In addition, in general, we may even notice an improvement in the speed of our network.
Technitium focuses its strengths on being cross-platform and on security. It supports DNSSEC validation and can also act as an encrypted DNS server using DNS over TLS.
In addition, it has the ability to log all received DNS queries, which is very interesting for generating graphs and statistics of the number of ad or malware requests that we have blocked with its use.
Technitium DNS Server is Open Source, and all documentation and code are available on the project page at https://technitium.com/dns/ and in its repository at https://github.com/TechnitiumSoftware/DnsServer