🔧 Turning a Nighthawk into a Privacy Beast

My DD-WRT + USB + Adblock Setup by Chr0nicHacker

GitHub Repo: nighthawk-ddwrt-usb-adblock

DD-WRT USB Adblock Setup

Ever wanted your router to stop ads before they even hit your devices? I did. So I took my Netgear Nighthawk R6700v3, gave it a firmware upgrade, bolted on a USB drive, and taught it to block ads like a digital ninja. Here’s how I turned a $60 router into a network guardian.

🧙‍♂️ What I Did

  • Flashed DD-WRT firmware
  • Mounted a USB drive for persistent storage
  • Installed Entware for extra Linux-style packages
  • Set up DNS-based adblocking with Dnsmasq
  • Created auto-start scripts to keep things persistent

🔨 Hardware I Used

  • Router: Netgear Nighthawk R6700v3
  • USB Drive: 8GB formatted as ext4
  • Setup OS: Ubuntu Linux
  • Access: SSH terminal into router

🚀 Key Features

1. DD-WRT Firmware

DD-WRT unlocks powerful features like VPN, custom DNS, firewall rules, and cron jobs for total control.

2. USB + Entware

Using USB storage, I installed Entware, a mini package manager that gives your router command-line power.

3. DNS-Based Adblocking

Ads are dropped before they hit the browser using a trusted hosts file and Dnsmasq configuration.

4. Fully Open Source

Everything is documented in this repo:
github.com/ChronicHacker/nighthawk-ddwrt-usb-adblock

🧠 Why This Setup Rocks

  • Blocks ads on all devices – smart TVs, phones, consoles
  • No browser extensions required
  • Private, fast, and completely customizable

📖 What’s Inside the GitHub Repo?

🧪 Coming Soon

  • Surfshark VPN integration
  • Web-based UI to manage blocklists
  • Real-time DNS logging with visual stats

🕸️ Try It Yourself

Fork, clone, or run it yourself:
github.com/ChronicHacker/nighthawk-ddwrt-usb-adblock

💬 Final Thoughts

This project turned a good router into a great one. It blocks ads, boosts speed, and gives you full control over what enters your digital domain. It’s open-source, easy to follow, and best of all—fun to build.

Give your router a brain.
Give your network a spine.
Build it like a hacker. 💀⚡

Follow me on GitHub for more open-source privacy projects and router hacks.

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