AdBlocker using Hosts File

Overview

This project provides a comprehensive solution to block advertisements across various platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android) by leveraging the hosts file. The hosts file is used to map hostnames to IP addresses and can be manipulated to redirect ad-serving domains to a non-existent IP, effectively blocking ads.

Features

• Aggregates hosts from 204+ authoritative sources
• Blocks ads, trackers, malware, phishing, and adult content
• Regular expression and wildcard support
• Automatic deduplication
• Platform-specific deployment scripts
• Supports multiple blocklist categories
• Auto-run check (24-hour throttle)
• Resume capability for interrupted downloads

Blocklist Categories

Category	Description
Ads & Trackers	Main advertising domains
Malware	Known malicious websites
Phishing	Fraud and scam sites
Social Media	Optional social network blocking
Adult	Sexual content filtering
Gambling	Casino and betting sites
Piracy	Torrent and streaming sites
Telemetry	Device tracking domains

Supported Platforms

• macOS
• Windows
• Linux
• Android

Quick Start

1. Generate Hosts File

# Install dependencies
pip install requests tldextract

# Run the aggregator
python3 aggregator.py

This will download and merge all blocklists into a single hosts file.

2. Install on Your Device

Navigate to the appropriate directory for your platform:

Platform	Script	Command
Linux	scripts/block_ads_linux.sh	sudo ./block_ads_linux.sh
macOS	scripts/block_ads_mac.sh	sudo ./block_ads_mac.sh
Windows	scripts/block_ads_windows.bat	Run as Administrator
Android	android-scripts/README.md	See instructions

3. Apply Changes

After running the script, restart your device or networking service:

Linux:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

macOS:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Windows:

ipconfig /flushdns

Usage

Pre-requisites

• Python 3.7+
• requests library
• tldextract library

Running the Aggregator

The aggregator will:

1. Read source URLs from sources.txt
2. Download each blocklist in parallel
3. Parse and extract domains
4. Remove duplicates
5. Generate a unified hosts file

python3 aggregator.py

Resuming Downloads

The aggregator saves progress to cache/state.json. If interrupted, simply run again to resume from where it left off.

Auto-Run Check

The aggregator checks when it was last run:

• If more than 24 hours since last run: automatically processes all URLs
• If less than 24 hours: prompts you to confirm before running again

Configuration

Adding Custom Sources

Edit sources.txt and add your blocklist URLs (one per line, lines starting with # are comments):

# My custom blocklist
https://example.com/my-blocklist.txt

Supported Source Formats

• Standard hosts file format (0.0.0.0 domain.com)
• AdBlock-style domain lists
• Plain domain lists (one per line)

Statistics

Metric	Value
Sources	204 blocklists
Unique Domains	10,036,528
Output File Size	270 MB
Last Updated	March 10, 2026

Troubleshooting

Ads Still Showing

1. Clear your browser cache
2. Flush DNS cache (commands above)
3. Restart your device
4. Check if your browser has built-in ad blocking

Script Errors

• Ensure you run with appropriate permissions (sudo for system hosts)
• Verify the hosts file exists before running deployment scripts
• Check that Python dependencies are installed

Contribution

Contributions are welcome! If you have improvements or additional scripts for other platforms, feel free to fork this repository and submit a pull request.

Disclaimer

Blocking ads using the hosts file can impact the functionality of certain websites and services. Use this script responsibly and be aware of potential side effects. The maintainers of this repository are not responsible for any adverse effects on your system.

This project is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Use it at your own risk.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.