dnsmasq is free software providing Domain Name System (DNS) caching, a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, router advertisement and network boot features, intended for small computer networks.

Consequently, it "is present in a lot of home routers and certain Internet of Things gadgets"[4] and is included in Android.

This also means that records added to your local /etc/hosts file with the format "0.0.0.0 annoyingsite.com" can be used to prevent references to "annoyingsite.com" from being resolved by your browser.

This can quickly evolve to a local ad blocker when combined with adblocking site list providers.

dnsmasq supports modern Internet standards such as IPv6 and Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), network booting with support for Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP), Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) and TFTP and also Lua scripting.