New lists analysed before they enter
Each new list is analysed before it joins Warda's: what it really adds, the well-known sites it would block, the names that no longer exist, whether it is still maintained, what its licence allows.
Lists and counter
A counter that says what it counts, and new lists checked before they enter
Warda does not chase the biggest number: it shows a number you can read. Its built-in list is rebuilt every night from public lists of a clear licence, chosen by hand; from now on, a new list is analysed before it enters, and a person of the Warda team decides.
What Warda does
A right number rather than a big one
A counter that says what it counts
One entry of Warda's list also blocks its subdomains: one line stands for many names. The dashboard shows both figures: the entries, and the names of the source lists they cover.
A person decides
A list is admitted by a person of the Warda team. The addresses the team submits for checking are sorted into the protection lists by themselves when a source finds them dangerous, except the very popular sites, which wait for a person; the names Warda’s analysis proposes from the collective base are added or removed for everyone by a person.
Three steps
How a list enters Warda
Warda's lists — the built-in one and those of the categories — are made of more than thirty public lists. Those already in use were chosen by hand, before this analysis existed; every list proposed from now on goes through it.
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1
The list is read as Warda reads it and compared with what is already blocked: is it already a source, or a copy of one? How many names does it really add? A list whose names are almost all blocked already brings nothing.
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2
Its risks are measured: the new names it would block among the most visited sites of a public ranking, the share of its names that no longer exist (on a sample), the date it last changed, and its licence.
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3
A person of the Warda team reads the report and admits or refuses the list. Once admitted, it joins the list rebuilt every night, and each box looks for a new list every hour.
On your box
What this gives you
The built-in list and the figures of the dashboard are in the free plan. The review of names relies on the collective base (subscription, beta), off by default.
- A list rebuilt every night from its sources; your box looks for a new one every hour, and downloads it only when it has changed.
- On the dashboard: the entries of the list, the names of the source lists they cover, the day the list was built and the last time your box looked for a new one.
- Lists of a clear licence only: a list whose licence is unknown, or forbids commercial use or changes, is refused.
- Guards on every nightly build: if a category would lose more than half of its domains, or if a source cannot be downloaded, nothing is published and the boxes keep the list of the day before.
- Doubtful names checked one by one by Warda's analysis service, against free public sources: those sent by the boxes that joined the collective base (subscription, beta), off by default.
- The addresses the Warda team submits are checked with several sources (VirusTotal, urlscan.io, threat feeds) and sorted by themselves into the protection lists, except the very popular sites, which a person reviews; a site blocked by mistake goes on a whitelist, which takes it out of every list. The other additions and removals for everyone are decided by a person of the team.
- A removal only applies to the protection lists (advertising, tracking, phishing, security threats): it never takes a name out of a content category, because harmless does not mean it is not of that kind.
- Nothing to pick, merge or update by hand: the list arrives ready.
Where this checking stops
No list is free of mistakes, and this one is no exception. Here is what the checking does not do.
- A legitimate site can be blocked and a harmful one missed. A blocked name is unblocked in one click in Warda, for the whole network or for one device, and can be reported with the form of the Beta page (“Blocked by mistake”).
- Warda does not review by hand each of the hundreds of thousands of names of its list: lists are analysed as a whole, names one by one only where a doubt is raised.
- The review of names depends on the collective base, which is young (beta): it covers the names the boxes that joined it come across, not the whole list.
- Lists that mix blocking rules with cosmetic rules are not used: Warda does not read them correctly yet. Their DNS editions are.
- Nothing is removed just because a name no longer exists: the share of such names is measured, on a sample, and no more.
- A test bench measures Warda's lists and well-known public lists the same way: the most visited sites each one blocks, its share of recent threat feeds, its names that no longer exist on a sample. These measures serve the decisions of the team: this page publishes no figure and makes no ranking.
Questions
Why does Warda show fewer blocked domains than my Pi-hole?
Because the two figures do not count the same thing. Pi-hole and AdGuard Home let you add lists and show how many domains or rules those lists hold. In Warda's list, one entry also blocks every subdomain of its name, where many public lists write each of them on a line of its own. The dashboard of Warda shows both figures: the entries, and the names of the source lists they cover. The figure is that of the built-in list; the lists of the categories are not in it. To compare with a Pi-hole counter, read the second figure: the names covered.
Does a longer list protect better?
Not by itself. A name given by three lists is blocked once; a name that no longer exists blocks nothing; and a list that blocks well-known legitimate sites breaks things at home. What counts is what a list really adds and what it breaks: this is what Warda measures before admitting one.
Who decides what enters the list?
A person of the Warda team. The analysis writes a report and a recommendation (admit, refuse, or to decide); a person admits or refuses the list. The names Warda’s analysis service proposes from the collective base are decided one by one by a person too. The exception: the addresses the team submits itself are checked with several sources and sorted by themselves into the protection lists as soon as one of them finds them dangerous — never a very popular site, which waits for a person — and a site blocked by mistake goes on a whitelist. The lists already in use were chosen by hand, before this analysis existed.
Can I still add my own lists?
Your own rules: yes, in the interface; they always come before the lists. Other lists: not from the interface. An advanced user can set WARDA_LISTS in the configuration of the box (see the documentation); it replaces the built-in list unless its address is kept. Warda does not check them.
What if a site I need is blocked?
Unblock it: one click on the name in Warda and it is allowed at once, for the whole network or for one device; your own rules always come before the lists. To have it removed for everyone, report it with the form of the Beta page (“Blocked by mistake”): a name blocked by mistake can then be removed for everyone, by a decision of a person of the team.
How often is the list updated?
Warda rebuilds its lists every night from their sources. Each box looks for a new list every hour, and downloads it only when it has changed. The dashboard shows the day the list was built and the last time your box looked for a new one.
Are the figures of the test bench public?
No. They are measured every week and serve the team's decisions: which list to admit, which to leave out. This page therefore gives no figure and makes no ranking.
Try it at home
Warda is in open beta: the subscription is offered to every tester during the beta test period.