Create your own secure Home Network using Pi-hole and Docker

Pi-hole is a Linux based web application, which is used as a shield from the unwanted advertisement in your network and also block the internet tracking system. This is very simple to use and best for home and small office networks. This is totally free and open-source. It also allows you to manage your accessibility and blocklist as well. It has a very decent graphical way of showing the network queries. Docker is a tool that works on containerization technology. This is used to launch containers for different requirements like a webserver, a DNS and many more. To know more about docker you check it out here on GeeksForGeeks and for launching your own web server on docker you could see it here. 

Architecture

How to setup pi-hole and Docker?

Step 1 
Open your terminal and Start docker 
 

sudo systemctl start docker

Enter the command to download pihole from docker hub 
 

sudo docker pull pihole/pihole

Step 2: Skip this if you are not using Ubuntu 
 

sudo systemctl stop systemd-resolved.service

sudo systemctl disable systemd-resolved.service 

Step 3 
Change the DNS to something else like google 
 

sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

set DNS 8.8.8.8 and save. 

Step 4 
Copy this code 
 

version: "3"

services:
  pihole:
    container_name: pihole
    image: pihole/pihole:latest
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "67:67/udp"
      - "80:80/tcp"
      - "443:443/tcp"
    environment:
      TZ: 'Asia/Kolkata' #this is the time zone
    volumes:
       - './etc-pihole/:/etc/pihole/'
       - './etc-dnsmasq.d/:/etc/dnsmasq.d/'
    dns:
      - 127.0.0.1
      - 1.1.1.1
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    restart: unless-stopped

Open a File 
 

sudo nano docker-compose.yml

copy paste the above code here and save the file. 

Step4 
Run the compose file to launch pihole
 

sudo docker-compose up -d

Step5 
Move inside pihole container 
 

sudo docker exec -it pihole bash

Change pihole password 
 

pihole -a -p

exit

Step7 
Go to browser and search 
 

http://localhost/admin/

OR 
Use IP and copy-paste the IP to browser 
 

ifconfig

Ip in browser pihole

Step8 
Login with the password 
 

That’s it all set. 
 

Now use the pihole as your DNS instead of any other.

Go to dns setting in your windows… 
settings –> Network and Internet –> Ethernet (if you are connected to ethernet) or WiFi ( if your laptop connected to wifi) –> change adapter options –>right click on wifi or ethernet and go to properties –> select ipv4 –> properties –> change the DNS to the IP of pihole. 
WIFI settings 
 

Select IPv4 
 

Change the DNS from obtain DNS automatically to Use following dns server and write the ip the box. In second you could write any dns like 8.8.8.8 
 

Same Pi-hole IP can be used in the home router as DNS.