Building a Cryptographically Strong Router to Block YouTube Ads

The author built a FreeBSD and pfSense-based router to completely block YouTube ads. Exploiting a flaw in Google's Protocol Buffer format, a man-in-the-middle proxy decrypts HTTPS traffic, allowing modification of a single byte to eliminate ads. Beyond YouTube, the router uses blocklists to protect all networked devices from malicious ads, trackers, clickbait, and more. Ultimately, the author opted to pay for YouTube Premium, acknowledging the ethical considerations of circumventing ads.