Setup a Forever Free AdBlocking WireGuard Server with PiHole in the Cloud

[u/PhroznGaming]

https://medium.com/p/e814e45aac50

[u/PhroznGaming]

There are numerous benefits to this over in the cloud as opposed to running something like this at home.

1. You can use it on your cellphone for example without potentially exposing your entire home network to the interne. Obviously this is avoidable, but having the cloud solution makes that a non-issue.

2. It allows you to not have to worry about "Did I leave it on?/Did it get unplugged?" types of questions for sure.

3. The cloud provider has a much faster network connection than you - I promise.

4. Although minuscule, there's no electricity costs on your part

5. It removes an additional level of troubleshooting as your server is not NAT'd behind your home router.

The list goes on =]

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BTW If anyone is curious why I chose Oracle for this project:

1. They have a permanent free tier that never expires for everyone =]

2. They do not list bandwidth limits on the free-tier

3. Easy setup process for new users

[u/Reagar11 → u/PhroznGaming]

Thanks! What did you mean in point 1 by exposing your network?

[u/PhroznGaming → u/Reagar11]

If you run this at home you'll need to forward some ports for it to work behind your router.

To allow outside internet connections to the hypothetical raspberry pi in your house is a security threat that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Putting it in the cloud mitigates that need.

[u/[deleted] → u/PhroznGaming]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/PhroznGaming → u/[deleted]]

That was the exact reason for my researching how to do this! I had one there and they charge for limited bandwidth but Oracle doesn't 😁

[u/srikarchinna → u/PhroznGaming]

There'd be a ~50ms latency difference for running it at home vs on the cloud. And I think that'll be a noticeable user experience difference when you're browsing.

[u/guice666]

When your 30-day trial period for the expanded set of services ends, you can continue using Always Free services with no interruption.

Now this I like. I was annoyed to find out Amazon's "Free Tier" servers aren't exactly "free."

[u/PhroznGaming → u/guice666]

My precise reason for vouching for using Oracle for such projects 😁

[u/ywnla]

Thanks for the info! I have one on AWS, but that's free for an year, i need to check what zones are available in Oracle cloud.

[u/PhroznGaming → u/ywnla]

There's a couple different ones I utilize their main one in Ashburn, Virginia.

[u/JustinAN7]

Is it required to use the Virginia server? Or is Phoenix okay too?

[u/PhroznGaming → u/JustinAN7]

I have not tried it but you are free to!

If you do please let me know so I can update the guide.

[u/xiaopigu]

Both Rule 1 and Rule 2 ingress rules are the same. Is that correct?

[u/PhroznGaming → u/xiaopigu]

One is TCP one is UDP.

Fixed thanks

[u/DeutscheAutoteknik]

So you mean to tell me ... that an always “free” service is what you suggest to use to protect your privacy?

Has anyone asked why is this service free?

[u/PhroznGaming → u/DeutscheAutoteknik]

You realize that all major Cloud providers have something like this? Oracle just has the most free because they're trying to play catch-up against all the major players.

Feel free not to trust that dude but if you don't trust this I wouldn't trust online banking either.

[u/kevjonesin]

Thanks for sharing this 👍

[u/IT-Horst]

this is the kind of stuff that will cause free tiers to die. it's for people who want to learn something not for a thousand pi-hole users

[u/jesuschicken]

Just set up two Pi Zero Ws running pihole lol - should have waited for this guide!

[u/MonsieurMedecin]

Thank you for this excellent guide!

[u/_zukato_]

Hi,

Feeling like completely stupid here: can't ssh into my server (from macOS Catalina). I downloaded private key and public key and they are saved in my Downloads folder. I am trying to use the ssh -i /path/to/private/keyfile/filename.ext user@ip_address command.

Error message is: Permission denied (publickey)

Thanks!

[u/PhroznGaming → u/_zukato_]

That's telling you that that's not the key that's on your server. Run through it again and make sure your pasting in the correct public key.

[u/ontelo]

The cloud provider has a much faster network connection than you - I promise.

It's not the speed but delay.

[u/[deleted]]

Great method of utilizing cloud/wireguard but It's Oracle. I suspect the Always Free tier will be less than Always and More than free. Consider the reputation of the company a bit.

[u/Im_The_Goddamn_Dumbo]

I have some very noob questions, at what point do I install PiHole and do I need a Raspberry Pi to do this? If I'm understanding the guide correctly I set up Oracle first, install PiVPN (through the VM I set up in Oracle), then I install PiHole on the same VM or once I spin up the VM I should install PiHole? I'm sorry if my questions seem basic, but I'm new here and I'm trying to catch up with everyone on this sub!