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5 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</TITLE
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33 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</A
43 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/"
45 >Privoxy Developers</A
51 >$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.68 2010/01/30 19:51:28 fabiankeil Exp $<BR></P
61 > This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
63 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/"
67 It is not a substitute for the
69 HREF="../user-manual/index.html"
73 >Privoxy User Manual</I
81 > Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities
82 for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling
83 access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
84 flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes.
85 It has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.</P
87 > Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GPL2.</P
89 > Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public Interest (SPI).
91 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
93 >Donations are welcome</A
96 > Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy represents
97 the state at the release of version 3.0.16.
98 You can find the latest version of the document at <A
99 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/faq/"
101 >http://www.privoxy.org/faq/</A
107 contact the developers.
119 >Table of Contents</B
124 >General Information</A
130 HREF="general.html#WHO-USES"
131 >Who should give <SPAN
138 HREF="general.html#BESTCHOICE"
139 >Is Privoxy the best choice for
144 HREF="general.html#PROXYMORON"
153 HREF="general.html#OTHERSTUFF"
154 >Does Privoxy do anything more than ad blocking?</A
158 HREF="general.html#NEWJB"
159 >What is this new version of
167 HREF="general.html#AEN78"
171 >? Why change the name from
172 Junkbuster at all?</A
176 HREF="general.html#DIFFERS"
177 >How does Privoxy differ
178 from the old Junkbuster?</A
182 HREF="general.html#WHATSANAD"
183 >How does Privoxy know what is
184 an ad, and what is not?</A
188 HREF="general.html#AEN156"
189 >Can Privoxy make mistakes?
190 This does not sound very scientific.</A
194 HREF="general.html#AEN162"
195 >Will I have to configure Privoxy
196 before I can use it?</A
200 HREF="general.html#LAN"
201 >Can Privoxy run as a server on a network?</A
205 HREF="general.html#BROWSERS2"
206 >My browser does the same things as
207 Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</A
211 HREF="general.html#WHYTRUST"
212 >Why should I trust Privoxy?</A
216 HREF="general.html#LICENSE"
217 >Is there is a license or fee? What about a
218 warranty? Registration?</A
222 HREF="general.html#SPYWARE"
223 >Can Privoxy remove spyware? Adware? Viruses?</A
227 HREF="general.html#OTHERADS"
228 >Can I use Privoxy with other ad-blocking software?</A
232 HREF="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS"
233 >I would like to help you, what can I do?</A
239 HREF="general.html#PARTICIPATE"
240 >Would you like to participate?</A
244 HREF="general.html#DONATE"
245 >Would you like to donate?</A
253 HREF="installation.html"
260 HREF="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS"
261 >Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?</A
265 HREF="installation.html#WHICHOS"
266 >Which operating systems are supported?</A
270 HREF="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT"
271 >Can I use Privoxy with my email client?</A
275 HREF="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP"
276 >I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
277 special I have to do now?</A
281 HREF="installation.html#LOCALHOST"
282 >What is the proxy address of Privoxy?</A
286 HREF="installation.html#NOTHING"
287 >I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
288 All the ads are there. What's wrong?</A
292 HREF="installation.html#NOTUSED"
295 >"Privoxy is not being used"</SPAN
296 > dummy page although
297 Privoxy is running and being used.</A
303 HREF="configuration.html"
310 HREF="configuration.html#AEN353"
311 >What exactly is an <SPAN
318 HREF="configuration.html#ACTIONSS"
322 > concept confuses me. Please list
330 HREF="configuration.html#AEN376"
331 >How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
336 HREF="configuration.html#AEN385"
337 >There are several different <SPAN
345 HREF="configuration.html#GETUPDATES"
346 >Where can I get updated Actions Files?</A
350 HREF="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG"
351 >Can I use my old config files?</A
355 HREF="configuration.html#DIFFICULT"
356 >Why is the configuration so complicated?</A
360 HREF="configuration.html#YAHOO"
361 >How can I make my Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</A
365 HREF="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES"
366 >What's the difference between the
380 HREF="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG"
381 >Why can I change the configuration
382 with a browser? Does that not raise security issues?</A
386 HREF="configuration.html#AEN473"
390 > file? What is a <SPAN
397 HREF="configuration.html#LANCONFIG"
398 >How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my
403 HREF="configuration.html#AEN524"
404 >Instead of ads, now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see anything.</A
408 HREF="configuration.html#AEN541"
409 >Why would anybody want to see a checkerboard pattern?</A
413 HREF="configuration.html#AEN547"
414 >I see some images being replaced with text
415 instead of the checkerboard image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</A
419 HREF="configuration.html#SRVANY"
420 >Can Privoxy run as a service
425 HREF="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY"
426 >How can I make Privoxy work with other
427 proxies like Squid or Tor?</A
431 HREF="configuration.html#PORT-80"
432 >Can I just set Privoxy to use port 80
433 and thus avoid individual browser configuration?</A
437 HREF="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT"
438 >Can Privoxy run as a <SPAN
445 HREF="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING"
446 >Can Privoxy run as a <SPAN
448 >"intercepting"</SPAN
453 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK"
454 >How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</A
458 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE"
459 >How can I have separate rules just for HTML mail?</A
463 HREF="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES"
464 >I sometimes notice cookies sneaking through. How?</A
468 HREF="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES"
469 >Are all cookies bad? Why?</A
473 HREF="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES"
474 >How can I allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</A
478 HREF="configuration.html#MULTIPLES"
479 >Can I have separate configurations for different users?</A
483 HREF="configuration.html#WHITELISTS"
484 >Can I set-up Privoxy as a whitelist of
492 HREF="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK"
493 >How can I turn off ad-blocking?</A
497 HREF="configuration.html#TEMPLATES"
498 >How can I have custom template pages, like the
509 HREF="configuration.html#BLOCKALL"
510 >How can I remove the <SPAN
512 >"Go There Anyway"</SPAN
533 HREF="misc.html#AEN721"
534 >How much does Privoxy slow my browsing down? This
535 has to add extra time to browsing.</A
539 HREF="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES"
540 >I notice considerable
541 delays in page requests. What's wrong?</A
545 HREF="misc.html#CONFIGURL"
546 >What are "http://config.privoxy.org/" and
551 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS"
552 >How can I submit new ads, or report
557 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS2"
558 >If I do submit missed ads, will
559 they be included in future updates?</A
563 HREF="misc.html#NOONECARES"
564 >Why doesn't anyone answer my support
570 >How can I hide my IP address?</A
574 HREF="misc.html#AEN786"
575 >Can Privoxy guarantee I am anonymous?</A
579 HREF="misc.html#AEN804"
580 >A test site says I am not using a Proxy.</A
585 >How do I use Privoxy
586 together with Tor?</A
590 HREF="misc.html#AEN860"
591 >Might some things break because header information or
592 content is being altered?</A
596 HREF="misc.html#AEN874"
597 >Can Privoxy act as a <SPAN
601 speed up web browsing?</A
605 HREF="misc.html#AEN884"
606 >What about as a firewall? Can Privoxy protect me?</A
610 HREF="misc.html#AEN889"
611 >I have large empty spaces / a checkerboard pattern now where
612 ads used to be. Why?</A
616 HREF="misc.html#AEN897"
617 >How can Privoxy filter Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</A
621 HREF="misc.html#AEN911"
622 >Privoxy runs as a <SPAN
626 secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?</A
630 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF"
631 >Can I temporarily disable Privoxy?</A
635 HREF="misc.html#REALLYOFF"
640 out of the picture?</A
644 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF2"
645 >How can I tell Privoxy to totally ignore certain sites?</A
649 HREF="misc.html#CRUNCH"
650 >My logs show Privoxy <SPAN
654 ads, but also its own internal CGI pages. What is a <SPAN
661 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS"
662 >Can Privoxy effect files that I download
663 from a webserver? FTP server?</A
667 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2"
668 >I just downloaded a Perl script, and Privoxy
669 altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</A
673 HREF="misc.html#HOSTSFILE"
674 >Should I continue to use a <SPAN
677 > file for ad-blocking?</A
681 HREF="misc.html#SEEALSO"
682 >Where can I find more information about Privoxy
683 and related issues?</A
687 HREF="misc.html#MICROSUCK"
688 >I've noticed that Privoxy changes <SPAN
695 >! Why are you manipulating my browsing?</A
699 HREF="misc.html#VALID"
700 >Does Privoxy produce <SPAN
703 > HTML (or XHTML)?</A
707 HREF="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY"
708 >How did you manage to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</A
721 HREF="trouble.html#AEN1083"
722 >I cannot connect to any websites. Or, I am getting
725 >"connection refused"</SPAN
726 > message with every web page. Why?</A
730 HREF="trouble.html#ERROR503"
731 >Why am I getting a 503 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</A
735 HREF="trouble.html#AEN1106"
736 >I just added a new rule, but the steenkin ad is
737 still getting through. How?</A
741 HREF="trouble.html#BADSITE"
742 >One of my favorite sites does not work with Privoxy.
747 HREF="trouble.html#DUN"
748 >After installing Privoxy, I have to log in
749 every time I start IE. What gives?</A
753 HREF="trouble.html#FTP"
754 >I cannot connect to any FTP sites. Privoxy
759 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXIE"
760 >In Mac OS X, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use
761 Privoxy as the HTTP proxy.</A
765 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL"
766 >In Mac OS X, I dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to
767 uninstall it. Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
772 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES"
773 >In Mac OS X Panther (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I
774 experience random delays in page loading. I'm using
778 > as my browser's proxy setting.</A
782 HREF="trouble.html#BLANKPAGE"
783 >I get a completely blank page at one site. <SPAN
789 ><html><body></body></html></SPAN
791 Privoxy the page loads fine.</A
795 HREF="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME"
796 >My logs show many <SPAN
798 >"Unable to get my own hostname"</SPAN
804 HREF="trouble.html#INUSE"
805 >When I try to launch Privoxy, I get an
808 >"port 8118 is already in use"</SPAN
809 > (or similar wording).
814 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER"
815 >Pages with UTF-8 fonts are garbled.</A
819 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2"
820 >Why are binary files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy
825 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3"
829 > and why is it there?</A
833 HREF="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN"
834 >Why do I keep seeing <SPAN
836 >"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</SPAN
837 > in raw source code?</A
841 HREF="trouble.html#DNSERRORS"
842 >I am getting too many DNS errors like <SPAN
844 >"404 No Such Domain"</SPAN
846 can't Privoxy do this better?</A
850 HREF="trouble.html#ALLCPU"
851 >At one site Privoxy just hangs, and starts taking
852 all CPU. Why is this?</A
856 HREF="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL"
857 >I just installed Privoxy, and all my
858 browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives?</A
862 HREF="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP"
863 >Why do my filters work on some sites but not on others?</A
867 HREF="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS"
868 >On some HTTPS sites my browser warns me about unauthenticated content,
869 the URL bar doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
874 HREF="trouble.html#SE-LINUX"
875 >I get selinux error messages. How can I fix this?</A
879 HREF="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS"
883 > with Gentoo's portage and it appears to be very slow. Why?</A
890 >Contacting the developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests</A
896 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT"
901 HREF="contact.html#REPORTING"
902 >Reporting Problems</A
908 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS"
909 >Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</A
913 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS"
920 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-FEATURE"
921 >Request New Features</A
925 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-OTHER"
932 HREF="copyright.html"
933 >Privoxy Copyright, License and History</A
939 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1454"
944 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1470"
957 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
998 >General Information</TD