B. Common Regex Patterns

Here are some useful regex patterns commonly used with Pi-hole for domain blocking:

# Block all subdomains
^(.*\.)?example\.com$

# Block specific file types
.*\.(exe|mp4|zip)$

# Block domains starting with specific words
^(ad|ads|banner|pop|popup).*

# Block tracking domains
^track(er|ing)?\.

# Block analytics domains
^analytics?\.

# Block specific URL parameters
.*(\?|&)(utm_|fb_|ga_).*

# Block domains containing specific words
.*(stats|metric|telemetry).*

# Block domains ending with specific TLDs
.*\.(xyz|top|click)$

# Block numeric domains (often used by malware)
^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$

A few tips for using these patterns:

1. Always test new regex patterns on a small scale first to avoid accidentally blocking legitimate domains
2. The ^ and $ anchors are important - they ensure you match the entire domain
3. Remember that Pi-hole matches against the full domain name, so patterns need to account for that
4. Use .* sparingly as it can be resource-intensive

Would you like me to explain how any of these patterns work in more detail?