AdGuard is DNS ad blocking similar to Pi-Hole. It’s a privacy protection software which comprises open-source and shareware products that protect Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, Android and iOS users from unwanted ads, pop-ups, banners, as well as from tracking, obscene content, malware and phishing. Over 5 million people are reported to be using the software in 2018 and 7 million in 2019 with very fast growth. AdGuard is not only an ad blocker, but a whole ad blocking and privacy protection suite, a must-have product if you have a UGREEN NAS device. AdGuard Home intercepts and filters DNS requests. It works as a DNS server and prevents all the devices in a home network from connecting to the servers that track user browsing. In this step by step guide I will teach you how to install AdGuard on your UGREEN NAS device using Docker & Portainer.
STEP 1
Please Support My work by Making a Donation.
STEP 2
ā ļøMandatory Add Read & Write Permissions to the Docker Folder. If you have already added the Read and Write Permissions to the Docker Folder, skip this STEP.
STEP 3
ā ļøMandatory: Update your UGREEN NAS Firmware to the latest version. Go to Control Panel / Update and update your NAS with the latest Firmware.
STEP 4
ā ļøMandatory: Uninstall the Virtual Machine app in App Center. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 5
InstallĀ Portainer using my step by step guide. If you already have Portainer installed on your UGREEN NAS, skip this STEP. Attention: Make sure you have installed the latest Portainer version.
STEP 6
Go toĀ File Manager and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name it adguard. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.
STEP 7
Now create two new foldersĀ inside the adguard folder that you previously created at STEP 6Ā and name them config and data. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.
STEP 8
Log into Portainer using your username and password. On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on StacksĀ thenĀ + Add stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 9
In the Name field type in adguard. Follow the instructions in the image below.
services:
adguard:
image: adguard/adguardhome
container_name: AdGuard
mem_limit: 2g
cpu_shares: 768
security_opt:
- no-new-privileges:true
restart: on-failure:5
network_mode: host
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/adguard/config:/opt/adguardhome/conf:rw
- /volume1/docker/adguard/data:/opt/adguardhome/work:rw
environment:
TZ: Europe/Bucharest
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for TZ.Ā (Select your current Time Zone from this list.)
STEP 10
Scroll down on the page until you see a button namedĀ Deploy the stack. Click on it. Follow the instructions in the image below. The installation process can take up to a few minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection.
STEP 11
If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: āSuccess Stack successfully deployedā.
STEP 12
š¢Please Support My work by Making a Donation. Almost 99,9% of the people that install something using my guidesĀ forget to support my work, or justĀ ignoreĀ STEP 1. Iāve been very honest about this aspect of my work since the beginning: I donāt run any ADS, I donāt require subscriptions, paid or otherwise, I donāt collect IPs, emails, and I donāt have any referral links from Amazon or other merchants. I also donāt have any POP-UPs or COOKIES. I have repeatedly been told over the years how much I have contributed to the community. Itās something I love doing and have been honest about my passion since the beginning. But I also Need The Community to Support me Back to be able to continue doing this work.
STEP 13
The installation process can take up to a few seconds/minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection. Now open your browser and type in http://ugreennas-ip-address:3000 Click Get Started. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 14
Change the default port 80 to 9080 then scroll down the page.Ā Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 15
Click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 16
Add your own Username and Password then click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 17
Click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 18
Click Open Dashboard. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 19
Type in your own Username and Password that you have previously created at STEP 16. Click Sign in. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Your AdGuard Dashboard at a glance!
STEP 20
On your Windows 11 Desktop PC search for Settings. Once you find it, click Open. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 21
On the left sidebar click Network & Internet. Select your Ethernet connection, then click the little arrow. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 22
Scroll down until you find the option “DNS server assignment“. Click Edit. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 23
Edit DNS settings. Instead of Automatic DHCP, choose Manual. Turn ON IPv4. Add your UGREEN NAS local IP then click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 24
From now on your PC will be automatically protected from ads by AdGuard. Start surfing the Internet via a web browser and you will see the number of blocked queries rapidly increasing in the graph. You can also activate Dark Mode on AdGuard. At the end of the page, click the Dark icon to switch the theme to Dark Mode. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Enjoy AdGuard on Your UGREEN NAS!
Note: DNS Server Error message: listen udp 0.0.0.0:53: bind: address already in use. In this scenario, something else is listening on the local DNS port 53, like the Virtual Machine App. Uninstall Virtual Machine as I previously explained at STEP 4.
Note: If you want to run the AdGuard container over HTTPS, check out How to Run Docker Containers Over HTTPS on Your UGREEN NAS.
This post was updated on Wednesday / May 28th, 2025 at 11:59 PM