Can hookprobe co-exist with pihole on a RPi 4b?

[kd4e]

I have pihole running on a RPi 4b.

Can hookprobe co-exist with pihole or will they collide, somehow?

Thanks!

[homepods]

Hello - I never tested the two together.

hookprobe uses containers and networking, dns, to filter ads with AI/ML and known lists.

Hookprobe attaches to the network it creates - the Wifi dongle as lan. So you connect to wifi to use and access the server.
for that you need a wifi-usb (dedicated) as hookprobe code uses the internal rpi wifi as wan.

what you can do, you have to modify the hookprobe code to

1. keep the WAN eth0 as wan
2. use internal rpi wifi as station 1 for your pihole
3. use external usb wifi as station 2 for hookprobe

this way you can have side by side both of them

[homepods]

but why would you need to have both? One isnt enough? do you want to compare them? let me know.

[kd4e]

When I researched them it appeared that they perform some very different functions. The Brave AI-critter just responded with this: ```Pi-hole and HookProbe serve fundamentally different purposes within a network infrastructure, with Pi-hole acting as a DNS-based ad and tracker blocker and HookProbe functioning as an AI-native Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for security monitoring.

Core Functionality and Detection Methods
Pi-hole operates as a DNS sinkhole that blocks entire domains from resolving. It is effective for blocking advertisements, trackers, and malicious domains listed in blocklists across an entire network. However, it cannot block content embedded within allowed domains (such as ads on cnn.com or yahoo.com) because it only sees the domain name, not the webpage content. It relies on signature-based domain blocking.
HookProbe uses Neural Packet Analysis and AI to inspect network traffic flows. Instead of matching specific strings or domain names, it identifies anomalous behavior and zero-day threats by analyzing the structure of packets. This allows it to detect threats that have not yet been cataloged in a signature database.
Resource Usage and Hardware Fit
Pi-hole is lightweight and designed to run efficiently on low-power hardware like the Raspberry Pi. It has a minimal memory footprint and is easy to configure for home or small office networks.
HookProbe is also optimized for edge environments and ARM devices like the Raspberry Pi, offering a fraction of the memory footprint of traditional legacy IDS platforms like Suricata. It is designed for zero-touch operations, automatically building a baseline of normal activity without manual rule tuning.
Security Scope
Pi-hole provides basic security by blocking known malicious domains and reducing attack surfaces related to ads and trackers. It does not inspect packet content for exploits or lateral movement within the network.
HookProbe provides advanced security visibility at the edge, detecting lateral movement, IoT-specific exploits, and zero-day patterns. It is suited for organizations needing enterprise-grade visibility without the high resource costs of traditional IDS solutions.
Summary Comparison
Feature Pi-hole HookProbe
Primary Purpose Ad blocking, DNS filtering, tracker prevention Intrusion Detection, Anomaly Detection, Zero-day protection
Detection Method Domain-based DNS blocking (Signature-based) Neural Packet Analysis (AI-driven)
Content Inspection No (Only sees domain names) Yes (Analyzes packet structure and flow)
Resource Usage Very Low Low (Optimized for Edge/ARM)
Best For Home networks, small offices, general ad-free browsing SMB edge networks, IoT security, advanced threat detection
For comprehensive protection, many users run both: Pi-hole handles general ad and domain blocking, while HookProbe provides deeper security monitoring for anomalous network behavior.```

[homepods]

Hookprobe has dnsXai .never benchmarked against pihole to see which is better

[homepods]

Pi-hole and HookProbe DNSxAi solve different problems.

• Pi-hole = DNS ad-blocker
  • Uses blocklists
  • Stops ads, trackers, known bad domains
  • If it’s not on a list → it passes
• HookProbe DNSxAi = AI-based DNS security
  • Analyzes behavior (not just lists)
  • Can detect unknown or zero-day threats
  • Makes decisions based on patterns and anomalies

They’re not direct competitors—you can even run them together.

Hookprobe has also block lists and AI to learn from what you block to enhance the discovery of potential sites you want to block. Work in progress but great tool