OpenEsper Releases an ESP32-Powered, 3D-Printed Ad Blocking Gadget for Your Home Network

Open source gadget, dubbed the Esper, acts as a low-power always-on ad blocker compatible with any device on your network.

Gareth Halfacree
3 years agoCommunication

OpenEsper has released an ESP32-powered gadget it hopes will help users rein in intrusive online advertising, and has released the firmware for others to try on their own ESP32s to boot: the Esper ad blocker.

"Heavily inspired by the Pi-Hole, this open source project aims to bring network wide ad blocking and tracking prevention to another popular device popular among makers and hobbyists, the ESP32," OpenEsper explains. "Esper blocks ads and trackers by filtering the DNS requests that devices on your network are sending. When it detects that a device is trying to connect to a bad domain, such as googleadservices.com, it will send a fake response to the device that prevents it from loading ads or trackers."

While the Esper software itself is technically compatible with any ESP32 board boasting high enough specifications, OpenEsper has gone a step further with the release of a custom ESP32-based board housed in a 3D printed enclosure - complete with diffused LED feedback via the top panel. "Simply power it up, connect to it's temporary Wi-Fi access point, and enter your Wi-Fi credentials," OpenEsper explains. "Once it has connected to your network, simply add it as your DNS server in your router/access-point and you will be done! From now on devices in your network will have to go through the Esper before they can connect to the internet."

The concept is, as OpenEsper readily admits, very similar to the Pi-Hole project designed for the Raspberry Pi but compatible with a range of host devices. "The biggest difference is that Pi-hole is a project intended to run on a Linux machine, meaning you have to have one already set up before our can use it," OpenEsper writes. "For some, this is no problem, but not for everyone. Esper is designed to be quick and easy to setup and to run silently in the background with as few interruptions as possible. There is no command line, SD card, or fiddling with config files needed to get it running."

The Esper is now available to buy on Tindie for $30, while those who would prefer a more DIY approach can find the software and firmware on GitHub under the permissive MIT license.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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