Research Review on an Ad Blocking System with Tailscale VPN Integration on ARM-Based Single-Board Computers

Internet advertising is intrusive, exposes users to security threats, and slows down devices and networks. A popular countermeasure is a network-wide ad blocker hosted on a compact computer such as the Raspberry Pi. Pi-hole filters ad-serving domains through DNS for every device connected to the home network, yet its coverage ends where that network ends. Tailscale, a VPN built on the secure WireGuard protocol, closes this gap by linking roaming devices back to the Raspberry Pi wherever they are. Because blocked content is never fetched, bandwidth is saved as well. This paper surveys recent studies (2022–2026) that combine Pi-hole and Tailscale on ARM-based single-board computers. The reviewed work indicates that these setups stop most ad requests, speed up page loads, cost less than a hundred dollars and draw little power. Open issues, chiefly the circumvention of filtering through DNS-over-HTTPS, are examined together with directions for future research.