Maza
A Bash script that blocks ads system-wide by filtering DNS through the hosts file or dnsmasq.
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About Maza
Maza is a local ad blocker along the lines of Pi-hole, except that it runs on your own computer instead of on a separate server. It is a single Bash script. Running sudo maza start adds blocking rules through the hosts file, or through dnsmasq, so ads are blocked in every browser and every other program on the machine without installing any extension.
It works on macOS, Linux, BSD and Windows Subsystem for Linux. The repository also includes a Docker setup.
Strengths
- Blocks ads for every browser and application at once
- Only needs Bash, with no extra services to run
- Works on macOS, Linux, BSD and WSL
- Started and stopped with a single command
Limitations
- Command-line only, with no graphical interface
- Needs root privileges to change system DNS settings
- Protects only the machine it runs on, not the whole network
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree to download and use from GitHub.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- tanrax
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Best suited for
- Blocking ads on a single Mac or Linux machine without running a Pi-hole
- Categories
- CLI tools, DNS filtering
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to Maza
Compare allSoftware that can replace Maza for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
hBlock
A POSIX shell script that builds a hosts file blocking ad, tracking and malware domains.
hBlock is a portable POSIX shell script that writes a hosts file from several blocklist sources, though it is listed as Linux only and not open source.
dnscrypt-proxy
Encrypts your DNS lookups so your internet provider cannot read or tamper with them, and blocks domains while it is there.
dnscrypt-proxy runs as a local proxy on Windows, macOS and Linux, adding encrypted DNS and time-based rules to domain filtering.
SwitchHosts
A cross-platform desktop app for managing several hosts file profiles and switching between them.
SwitchHosts manages hosts file profiles through a desktop app on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can load remote blocklists instead of using the command line.
Pi-hole
A DNS server for your home network that refuses to look up ad and tracker domains, for every device at once.
Pi-hole moves blocking to a Linux server that covers every device on the network, with a web interface instead of a single-machine script.
AdGuard Home
Network-wide ad and tracker blocking in a single binary, with encrypted DNS built in rather than bolted on.
AdGuard Home runs as one binary with a web interface and can protect the whole network, adding encrypted DNS and per-client rules.
AdGuard Ad Blocker
System-wide ad and tracker blocker apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS with DNS filtering.
AdGuard Ad Blocker is a freemium closed source app for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS that filters ads in apps with a graphical interface.
personalDNSfilter
Lightweight Java DNS filter proxy that blocks ad and malware domains on Android and desktops.
personalDNSfilter is a Java DNS filter proxy for desktops and Android with DoH and DoT support, requiring Java on desktop systems.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
dnsmasq
Lightweight DNS forwarder, DHCP server and TFTP server in one.
Acrylic DNS Proxy
A local caching DNS proxy for Windows that blocks unwanted domains with a custom hosts file.
Blocky
Lightweight DNS proxy with blocklists, written for container deployments.
