AdGuard Home is only as good as the blocklists it uses. Out of the box, it uses the standard "AdGuard DNS filter", but adding community-curated lists will block significantly more trackers, malware, and smart TV telemetry.
Overview
A blocklist is simply a text file containing thousands of known malicious or advertising web domains (like ads.doubleclick.net). AdGuard Home downloads these lists daily and uses them to block bad traffic. However, adding too many lists can break legitimate websites, so curating a tight, highly effective list is the best approach.
How to add a blocklist
Log into your AdGuard Home dashboard.
Click Filters > DNS blocklists in the top menu.
Click the green Add blocklist button.
Click Choose from the list to see built-in lists, OR click Add a custom list to paste a URL.
If you only add one list, make it this one. It blocks ads, trackers, telemetry, and malware, but is heavily moderated to ensure it does not break normal websites.
OISD (Big): The absolute best "set it and forget it" blocklist on the internet. It rarely causes false positives. https://big.oisd.nl/
Alternative for aggressive blocking:
StevenBlack's Unified Hosts: Blocks ads, malware, and fake news. It is slightly more aggressive than OISD and might occasionally block a legitimate shopping link. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
💡 Tip: You do not need both OISD and StevenBlack. They overlap significantly. We recommend sticking with OISD for the fewest headaches.
Malware and Phishing Lists
Protect your network from ransomware domains and phishing sites.
Phishing Army: Blocks newly registered domains known to be used in phishing attacks (fake bank login pages). https://phishing.army/download/phishing_army_blocklist_extended.txt
URLHaus: A community-driven project that tracks and blocks malware distribution servers. https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/downloads/hostfile/
Smart TV Tracking Lists
Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Roku, Vizio) are notorious for spying on what you watch and sending telemetry data back to their corporate servers every few seconds.
Perflyst SmartTV Blocklist: Specifically targets domains used by Samsung, LG, and Roku for tracking and displaying home-screen ads. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Perflyst/PiHoleBlocklist/master/SmartTV.txt
⚠️ Warning: Do not fall into the trap of adding 50 different blocklists to get your "Blocked domains" count into the millions. This will absolutely break streaming services (like Hulu) and email links. Stick to the 3 or 4 high-quality lists mentioned above.
