AdGuard Home is a powerful DNS filtering and blocking tool that can effectively protect your devices from online threats. It operates by intercepting DNS requests from your network and filtering them through its own set of rules, blocking access to malicious websites, ads, trackers, and other unwanted content. One common concern users have is whether AdGuard Home continues to work effectively when a device connected to the network is turned off. Let's delve into this topic and see how AdGuard Home functions in such scenarios.
How AdGuard Home Works
AdGuard Home acts as a central point of control for DNS requests within your network. When a device on your network attempts to access a website, it sends a DNS request to AdGuard Home. AdGuard Home then interprets the request and checks it against its configured filter rules. If the request matches a rule designed to block access, AdGuard Home will either block the request entirely or redirect it to a harmless place, like a blank page.
AdGuard Home and Device Power States
The key to understanding how AdGuard Home works with devices that are turned off lies in how DNS requests are handled. When a device is on and actively browsing the internet, it constantly sends DNS requests to resolve website names into IP addresses. AdGuard Home, acting as the DNS server for your network, intercepts and filters these requests.
However, when a device is turned off, it's not actively making any DNS requests. Therefore, AdGuard Home doesn't need to actively filter any requests coming from that device. This means that AdGuard Home's functionality isn't dependent on individual devices being powered on or off.
AdGuard Home's Continued Protection
The fact that AdGuard Home doesn't directly rely on individual devices being online means it can continue to provide protection even when devices are off. Here's why:
- Centralized Filtering: AdGuard Home handles all DNS requests from your network, regardless of the individual devices making the requests. So, even if some devices are off, AdGuard Home continues to filter DNS requests from other devices that are online.
- Persistent Rules: AdGuard Home's filter rules are persistent and apply to all devices on your network. Even when a device is off, its DNS requests will still be subject to the rules configured in AdGuard Home.
The Bottom Line
AdGuard Home provides a robust and effective method for protecting your network from online threats. The good news is that its effectiveness is not impacted by whether individual devices on your network are turned on or off.
In essence, AdGuard Home acts as a protective shield, ensuring your network remains safe even when devices are not in use.
