How to set up your network protection with Pi-hole
Learn how to use Pi-hole for remote network protection over Meshnet.
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Learn how to use Pi-hole for remote network protection over Meshnet.
Last updated
Was this helpful?
These days, the internet is full of advertisements and malicious websites. Due to this, many people resort to using third-party tools, such as or , to overcome the sheer amount of danger online. One such tool that enthusiasts tend to use more than others is Pi-hole.
allows you to transform your device to a local , which can be used as a network-wide ad blocker. While advertisement blocking is Pi-hole’s main purpose, you can use it for a variety of other options, such as local DNS mapping and website blacklisting.
On its own, Pi-hole only functions on the (LAN). However, with the power of , you can use Pi-hole on your devices remotely. Meshnet allows you to establish a secure and encrypted connection between your end device and the Pi-hole server.
While you can deploy a on Windows and macOS, this guide will walk you through the standard installation on Linux. It will also show how to configure your devices for remote use by setting the Pi-hole Meshnet IP address as your DNS address.
See the following overview video for additional information and instructions for the Pi-hole setup.
Alternatively, proceed with the detailed text-based instructions provided on this page.
Ensure that the machine you will use for Pi-hole meets the following criteria:
Linux distribution using Systemd or SysVinit
2 GB of free disk space or more
512 MB RAM or more
Static LAN IP address
Open Terminal and run the following command to download and execute the Pi-hole installation script:
Enter the sudo password of your Linux machine.
In the installation dialog, select OK until you reach the Static IP needed window. If your device already has a static LAN IP address configured, select Continue. Otherwise, complete the necessary IP adjustments in your network.
Choose the network interface that your device is using (for example, eth0, wlan0, enp0s3) and then choose Select.
Select your preferred upstream DNS provider and select OK.
Complete the installation process by choosing the blocklist, installing the Admin Web Interface with the required modules, and configuring the query logging settings.
In the Installation complete window, note down the address and password for the Pi-hole web interface and select OK.
Tip
Make sure to change the password of your Pi-hole web interface to a unique and secure one. You can do so by executing the following command in the terminal:
Default Pi-hole settings allow requests only from the same local subnet of the host device (for example, 192.168.1.0/24). Since Meshnet IP addresses use a different subnet, Pi-hole will ignore all queries to the server.
To allow remote Meshnet connections to your Pi-hole, complete the following steps:
Open your browser, enter the URL of the Pi-hole web interface that was provided in the Installation complete window, and log in.
If you are accessing the web interface from the host device directly, you can use this URL:
http://localhost/admin
Otherwise, use the device’s local IP address instead of the localhost part.
Go to Settings and select the DNS tab.
Click Save.
Alternatively, you can run the following command in Terminal to enable listening on all network interfaces:
Tip
If you want to change the upstream DNS addresses for your Pi-hole in the future, you can do so on the same DNS tab, under Upstream DNS servers.
Pi-hole is now installed and prepared for use via Meshnet.
With the additional features Pi-hole offers, you can further enhance your network security. One example is to import custom website blocklists to protect your devices from malicious and dangerous URLs or phishing domains.
To add blocklist URLs to Pi-hole:
Open your Pi-hole web interface.
Select Adlists.
In the Address field, enter your preferred blocklist URL. Click Add.
You will see the newly added blocklist in the List of adlists section.
Open Pi-hole’s web interface and expand Tools.
In the new window, press Update and wait for the process to finish.
Once done, you will see a success message.
Alternatively, you can run the following command in Terminal:
The Pi-hole configuration is now finished. However, to use Pi-hole and all of its features, you need to set up its Meshnet IP address as the DNS server on each of your client devices.
Choose the network type your device is using (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
Find the DNS server assignment option and click Edit.
Choose Manual from the dropdown menu and enable IPv4.
Fill in the DNS fields.
Preferred DNS server: the Meshnet IP of the Pi-hole device
Alternate DNS server: the DNS address of another provider
Click Save.
Select Change adapter options.
Right-click your current network adapter (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and choose Properties.
In the new window, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
Select Use the following DNS server addresses and fill in the fields underneath.
Preferred DNS server: the Meshnet IP of the Pi-hole device
Alternate DNS server: the DNS address of another provider
Click OK twice to apply the changes.
Meshnet allows you to use your custom, self-hosted DNS server alongside a VPN connection via the NordVPN app. Follow these steps to use your Pi-hole DNS when connected to a VPN server:
Open the NordVPN app.
Select the Connection section.
Turn on the Use custom DNS toggle and click the dropdown arrow.
In the first field, paste the copied Meshnet IP address.
Click the Save checkmark.
Now, when you establish a VPN connection to a NordVPN server, the DNS addresses that you specified will be used for the connection.
Tip
If you're looking for alternate DNS addresses, here are some of the most popular free DNS providers:
Google — 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
Cloudflare — 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
AdGuard — 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15
Quad9 — 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112
OpenDNS — 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
You can also use the same upstream DNS addresses from the Pi-hole configuration.
After changing the DNS server to the Pi-hole’s Meshnet IP address, the setup is finished. Now you can safely use Pi-hole’s protection features while being away from your home network.
machine and all client devices that will be using Pi-hole
For more detailed information, refer to the documentation.
Changing DNS addresses while using cellular data and keeping the Meshnet connection active is not possible. If you are using a mobile device with a cellular connection, you will need to use Pi-hole .
For alternative installation methods, refer to the page.
In the Interface section, select the Permit all origins option.
For this guide, blocklists from the website will be used.
To start using the newly imported blocklists, update Pi-hole’s .
Click Update gravity.
Right-click Start and select Network connections.
Right-click Start and select Network connections.
Tap Wi-Fi, find your current network and tap the Info button.
Navigate to the Devices in Meshnet tab and copy the Meshnet IP address of your Pi-hole device.
In the lower-left corner, click Settings .
In Threat protection pro > Advanced browsing protection, ensure that the DNS filtering toggle is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
Navigate to Profile > Meshnet > Manage devices and copy the Meshnet IP address of your Pi-hole device.
Go back to the Profile menu, and then select Settings .
Select Custom, paste the copied Meshnet IP address, and tap Add.
On the Threat protection tab, ensure that the Use threat protection option is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
Navigate to Profile > Meshnet > Manage devices and copy the Meshnet IP address of your Pi-hole device by tapping it.
Go back to the Profile menu and select Settings .
On the Threat protection tab, ensure that threat protection is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
The custom DNS feature is available only on the version of the NordVPN app.
Navigate to the Meshnet tab and copy the Meshnet IP address of your Pi-hole device.
In the lower-left corner, click Settings .
In Threat protection pro > Overview, ensure that the DNS filtering toggle is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
Make sure that Threat protection lite is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
Navigate to the Settings tab.
On the Settings tab, under App settings, ensure that the Threat protection lite option is turned off. Otherwise, the will overwrite the custom DNS change.
