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38 >Privoxy 2.9.20 User Manual</TH
59 HREF="filter-file.html"
76 > The actions files are used to define what actions
80 > takes for which URLs, and thus determine
81 how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and
82 transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts thereof). There
83 are three such files included with <SPAN
87 version 2.9.15), with differing purposes:
98 > - is the primary action file
99 that sets the initial values for all actions. It is intended to
100 provide a base level of functionality for
104 > array of features. So it is
105 a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well for users everywhere.
106 This is the file that the developers are keeping updated, and <A
107 HREF="installation.html#INSTALLATION-KEEPUPDATED"
108 >making available to users</A
117 > - is intended to be for local site
118 preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or your bank
119 has specific requirements, and need special handling, this kind of
120 thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
128 > - is used by the web based editor,
129 to set various pre-defined sets of rules for the default actions section
133 >. These have increasing levels of
136 >and have no influence on your browsing unless
137 you select them explicitly in the editor</I
138 >. It is not recommend
146 > The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main configuration
147 file, and are processed in the order they are defined. The content of these
148 can all be viewed and edited from <A
149 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
151 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
154 > An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use
158 > in an actions file, you have to place the (optional)
160 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
162 > at the top of that file.
163 Then comes the default set of rules which will apply universally to all
164 sites and pages (be <I
171 > or any other actions file after
175 >, because it will override the result
176 from consulting any previous file). And then below that,
177 exceptions to the defined universal policies. You can regard
181 > as an appendix to <TT
185 with the advantage that is a separate file, which makes preserving your
186 personal settings across <SPAN
189 > upgrades easier.</P
192 Actions can be used to block anything you want, including ads, banners, or
193 just some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted
194 or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not
195 written to disk), content can be modified, JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking
196 fooled, and much more. See below for a <A
197 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
207 >8.1. Finding the Right Mix</A
211 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
213 >, like cookie suppression
214 or script disabling, may render some sites unusable that rely on these
215 techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix of actions is not always easy and
216 certainly a matter of personal taste. In general, it can be said that the more
220 > your default settings (in the top section of the
221 actions file) are, the more exceptions for <SPAN
225 will have to make later. If, for example, you want to kill popup windows per
226 default, you'll have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you
227 regularly use and that require popups for actually useful content, like maybe
228 your bank, favorite shop, or newspaper.</P
230 > We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in the
231 distribution actions files. But there is no general rule of thumb on these
232 things. There just are too many variables, and sites are constantly changing.
233 Sooner or later you will want to change the rules (and read this chapter again :).</P
244 > The easiest way to edit the actions files is with a browser by
245 using our browser-based editor, which can be reached from <A
246 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
248 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
250 The editor allows both fine-grained control over every single feature on a
251 per-URL basis, and easy choosing from wholesale sets of defaults like
263 > If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit the
264 the actions files. Look at <TT
276 >8.3. How Actions are Applied to URLs</A
279 > Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections,
283 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
286 > sections which will
287 be discussed later. For now let's concentrate on regular sections: They have a
288 heading line (often split up to multiple lines for readability) which consist
289 of a list of actions, separated by whitespace and enclosed in curly braces.
290 Below that, there is a list of URL patterns, each on a separate line.</P
292 > To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is
293 compared to all patterns in each action file file. Every time it matches, the list of
294 applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated, using the heading
295 of the section in which the pattern is located. If multiple matches for
296 the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins. If not,
297 the effects are aggregated. E.g. a URL might match a regular section with
298 a heading line of <TT
302 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
306 then later another one with just <TT
310 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
317 > actions to apply.</P
319 > You can trace this process for any given URL by visiting <A
320 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info"
322 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info</A
325 > More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, <A
326 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
327 > Anatomy of an Action</A
339 > Generally, a pattern has the form <TT
341 ><domain>/<path></TT
345 ><domain></TT
350 are optional. (This is why the pattern <TT
353 > matches all URLs).</P
362 >www.example.com/</TT
366 > is a domain-only pattern and will match any request to <TT
370 regardless of which document on that server is requested.
380 > means exactly the same. For domain-only patterns, the trailing <TT
390 >www.example.com/index.html</TT
394 > matches only the single document <TT
411 > matches the document <TT
414 >, regardless of the domain,
428 > matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name and
429 there is no top-level domain called <TT
443 >8.4.1. The Domain Pattern</A
446 > The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the
447 domain starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end.
461 > matches any domain that <I
478 > matches any domain that <I
495 > matches any domain that <I
502 (Correctly speaking: It matches any FQDN that contains <TT
511 > Additionally, there are wild-cards that you can use in the domain names
512 themselves. They work pretty similar to shell wild-cards: <SPAN
516 stands for zero or more arbitrary characters, <SPAN
520 any single character, you can define character classes in square
521 brackets and all of that can be freely mixed:</P
536 >"adserver.example.com"</SPAN
540 >"ads.example.com"</SPAN
543 >"sfads.example.com"</SPAN
550 >*ad*.example.com</TT
554 > matches all of the above, and then some.
570 >pictures.epix.com</TT
573 >a.b.c.d.e.upix.com</TT
580 >www[1-9a-ez].example.c*</TT
586 >www1.example.com</TT
597 >wwwz.example.com</TT
604 >wwww.example.com</TT
617 >8.4.2. The Path Pattern</A
623 > uses Perl compatible regular expressions
625 HREF="http://www.pcre.org/"
629 matching the path.</P
632 HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
634 > with a brief quick-start into regular
635 expressions, and full (very technical) documentation on PCRE regex syntax is available on-line
637 HREF="http://www.pcre.org/man.txt"
639 >http://www.pcre.org/man.txt</A
641 You might also find the Perl man page on regular expressions (<TT
645 useful, which is available on-line at <A
646 HREF="http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html"
648 >http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html</A
651 > Note that the path pattern is automatically left-anchored at the <SPAN
655 i.e. it matches as if it would start with a <SPAN
658 > (regular expression speak
659 for the beginning of a line).</P
661 > Please also note that matching in the path is <I
665 by default, but you can switch to case sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the
671 >www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.*</TT
673 only documents whose path starts with <TT
680 > this capitalization.</P
692 > All actions are disabled by default, until they are explicitly enabled
693 somewhere in an actions file. Actions are turned on if preceded with a
697 >, and turned off if preceded with a <SPAN
706 >"do that action"</SPAN
713 >"please block URLs that match the
714 following patterns"</SPAN
721 block URLs that match the following patterns, even if <TT
725 previously applied."</SPAN
729 Again, actions are invoked by placing them on a line, enclosed in curly braces and
730 separated by whitespace, like in
733 >{+some-action -some-other-action{some-parameter}}</TT
735 followed by a list of URL patterns, one per line, to which they apply.
736 Together, the actions line and the following pattern lines make up a section
737 of the actions file. </P
740 There are three classes of actions:</P
748 Boolean, i.e the action can only be <SPAN
771 > # enable action <TT
782 > # disable action <TT
804 Parameterized, where some value is required in order to enable this type of action.
826 >} # enable action and set parameter to <TT
832 # overwriting parameter from previous match if necessary
838 > # disable action. The parameter can be omitted</PRE
845 > Note that if the URL matches multiple positive forms of a parameterized action,
846 the last match wins, i.e. the params from earlier matches are simply ignored.
852 >+hide-user-agent{ Mozilla 1.0 }</TT
859 Multi-value. These look exactly like parameterized actions,
860 but they behave differently: If the action applies multiple times to the
861 same URL, but with different parameters, <I
868 > matches are remembered. This is used for actions
869 that can be executed for the same request repeatedly, like adding multiple
870 headers, or filtering through multiple filters. Syntax:
891 >} # enable action and add <TT
896 > to the list of parameters
907 >} # remove the parameter <TT
912 > from the list of parameters
913 # If it was the last one left, disable the action.
919 > # disable this action completely and remove all parameters from the list</PRE
929 >+add-header{X-Fun-Header: Some text}</TT
933 >+filter{html-annoyances}</TT
940 > If nothing is specified in any actions file, no <SPAN
944 taken. So in this case <SPAN
948 normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must specifically enable the
949 privacy and blocking features you need (although the provided default actions
950 files will give a good starting point).</P
952 > Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions
953 to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file (or
954 in a file that is processed later when using multiple actions files). For
955 multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified.
956 Actions files are processed in the order they are defined in
960 > (the default installation has three actions
961 files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to match more than
962 one pattern and thus more than one set of actions!</P
964 > The list of valid <SPAN
974 >8.5.1. add-header</A
985 >Confuse log analysis, custom applications</P
991 > Sends a user defined HTTP header to the web server.
1004 > Any string value is possible. Validity of the defined HTTP headers is not checked.
1005 It is recommended that you use the <SPAN
1019 > This action may be specified multiple times, in order to define multiple
1020 headers. This is rarely needed for the typical user. If you don't know what
1023 >"HTTP headers"</SPAN
1024 > are, you definitely don't need to worry about this
1040 >+add-header{X-User-Tracking: sucks}</PRE
1061 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1067 >Block ads or other obnoxious content</P
1073 > Requests for URLs to which this action applies are blocked, i.e. the requests are not
1074 forwarded to the remote server, but answered locally with a substitute page or image,
1075 as determined by the <TT
1078 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
1085 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
1086 >set-image-blocker</A
1110 > sends a special <SPAN
1114 for requests to blocked pages. This page contains links to find out why the request
1115 was blocked, and a click-through to the blocked content (the latter only if compiled with the
1116 force feature enabled). The <SPAN
1119 > page adapts to the available
1120 screen space -- it displays full-blown if space allows, or miniaturized and text-only
1121 if loaded into a small frame or window. If you are using <SPAN
1125 right now, you can take a look at the
1127 HREF="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html"
1138 A very important exception occurs if <I
1148 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
1152 apply to the same request: it will then be replaced by an image. If
1156 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
1157 >set-image-blocker</A
1160 (see below) also applies, the type of image will be determined by its parameter,
1161 if not, the standard checkerboard pattern is sent.
1164 > It is important to understand this process, in order
1165 to understand how <SPAN
1169 ads and other unwanted content.
1175 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1179 action can perform a very similar task, by <SPAN
1183 banner images and other content through rewriting the relevant URLs in the
1184 document's HTML source, so they don't get requested in the first place.
1185 Note that this is a totally different technique, and it's easy to confuse the two.
1189 >Example usage (section):</DT
1200 >{+block} # Block and replace with "blocked" page
1201 .nasty-stuff.example.com
1203 {+block +handle-as-image} # Block and replace with image
1220 NAME="CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
1221 >8.5.3. crunch-incoming-cookies</A
1226 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1232 > Prevent the web server from setting any cookies on your system
1241 >"Set-Cookie:"</SPAN
1242 > HTTP headers from server replies.
1262 > This action is only concerned with <I
1273 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
1274 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
1280 > to disable cookies completely.
1286 > to use this action in conjunction
1290 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
1291 >session-cookies-only</A
1294 since it would prevent the session cookies from being set.
1309 >+crunch-incoming-cookies</PRE
1324 NAME="CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
1325 >8.5.4. crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
1330 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1336 > Prevent the web server from reading any cookies from your system
1346 > HTTP headers from client requests.
1366 > This action is only concerned with <I
1377 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
1378 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
1384 > to disable cookies completely.
1390 > to use this action in conjunction
1394 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
1395 >session-cookies-only</A
1398 since it would prevent the session cookies from being read.
1413 >+crunch-outgoing-cookies</PRE
1428 NAME="DEANIMATE-GIFS"
1429 >8.5.5. deanimate-gifs</A
1434 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1440 >Stop those annoying, distracting animated GIF images.</P
1446 > De-animate GIF animations, i.e. reduce them to their first or last image.
1472 > This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If
1476 > is given, the first frame of the animation
1477 is used as the replacement. If <SPAN
1480 > is given, the last
1481 frame of the animation is used instead, which probably makes more sense for
1482 most banner animations, but also has the risk of not showing the entire
1483 last frame (if it is only a delta to an earlier frame).
1486 > You can safely use this action with patterns that will also match non-GIF
1487 objects, because no attempt will be made at anything that doesn't look like
1503 >+deanimate-gifs{last}</PRE
1518 NAME="DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"
1519 >8.5.6. downgrade-http-version</A
1524 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1530 >Work around (very rare) problems with HTTP/1.1</P
1536 > Downgrades HTTP/1.1 client requests and server replies to HTTP/1.0.
1556 > This is a left-over from the time when <SPAN
1560 didn't support important HTTP/1.1 features well. It is left here for the
1561 unlikely case that you experience HTTP/1.1 related problems with some server
1562 out there. Not all (optional) HTTP/1.1 features are supported yet, so there
1563 is a chance you might need this action.
1567 >Example usage (section):</DT
1578 >{+downgrade-http-version}
1579 problem-host.example.com</PRE
1594 NAME="FAST-REDIRECTS"
1595 >8.5.7. fast-redirects</A
1600 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1606 >Fool some click-tracking scripts and speed up indirect links</P
1612 > Cut off all but the last valid URL from requests.
1633 Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they
1634 will link to some script on their own servers, giving the destination as a
1635 parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs
1636 resulting from this scheme typically look like:
1639 >http://some.place/click-tracker.cgi?target=http://some.where.else</I
1643 > Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the
1644 URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable,
1645 since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go
1646 to. Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your
1647 browser ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds
1651 > This feature is currently not very smart and is scheduled for improvement.
1652 It is likely to break some sites. You should expect to need possibly
1653 many exceptions to this action, if it is enabled by default in
1657 >. Some sites just don't work without
1673 >{+fast-redirects}</PRE
1694 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1700 >Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), do fun text replacements, etc.</P
1706 > Text documents, including HTML and JavaScript, to which this action
1707 applies, are filtered on-the-fly through the specified regular expression
1708 based substitutions.
1721 > The name of a filter, as defined in the <A
1722 HREF="filter-file.html"
1732 HREF="config.html#FILTERFILE"
1740 can be completely disabled without the use of parameters.
1747 > For your convenience, there are a number of pre-defined filters available
1748 in the distribution filter file that you can use. See the examples below for
1752 > This is potentially a very powerful feature! But <SPAN
1754 >"rolling your own"</SPAN
1756 filters requires a knowledge of regular expressions and HTML.
1759 > Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to
1760 slow down page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has
1761 passed the filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way
1762 since the page is not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more
1763 noticeable on slower connections.
1766 > The amount of data that can be filtered is limited to the
1770 HREF="config.html#BUFFER-LIMIT"
1774 option in the main <A
1778 default is 4096 KB (4 Megs). Once this limit is exceeded, the buffered
1779 data, and all pending data, is passed through unfiltered. Inappropriate
1780 MIME types are not filtered.
1783 > At this time, <SPAN
1786 > cannot (yet!) uncompress compressed
1787 documents. If you want filtering to work on all documents, even those that
1788 would normally be sent compressed, use the
1792 HREF="actions-file.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
1793 >prevent-compression</A
1796 action in conjunction with <TT
1802 > Filtering can achieve some of the same effects as the
1806 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
1810 action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners. But the mechanism
1811 works quite differently. One effective use, is to block ad banners
1812 based on their size (see below), since many of these seem to be somewhat
1819 > with suggestions for new or
1820 improved filters is particularly welcome!
1824 >Example usage (with filters from the distribution <TT
1831 NAME="FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES"
1842 >+filter{html-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse.</PRE
1850 NAME="FILTER-JS-ANNOYANCES"
1861 >+filter{js-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse</PRE
1869 NAME="FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
1880 >+filter{banners-by-size} # Kill banners based on their size for this page (<I
1891 NAME="FILTER-BANNERS-BY-LINK"
1902 >+filter{banners-by-link} # Kill banners based on the link they are contained in (experimental)</PRE
1910 NAME="FILTER-IMG-REORDER"
1921 >+filter{img-reorder} # Reorder attributes in <img> tags to make the banners-by-* filters more effective</PRE
1929 NAME="FILTER-CONTENT-COOKIES"
1940 >+filter{content-cookies} # Kill cookies that come sneaking in the HTML or JS content</PRE
1948 NAME="FILTER-POPUPS"
1959 >+filter{popups} # Kill all popups in JS and HTML</PRE
1967 NAME="FILTER-WEBBUGS"
1978 >+filter{webbugs} # Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking)</PRE
1997 >+filter{fun} # Text replacements for subversive browsing fun!</PRE
2005 NAME="FILTER-FRAMESET-BORDERS"
2016 >+filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizeable</PRE
2024 NAME="FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS"
2035 >+filter{refresh-tags} # Kill automatic refresh tags (for dial-on-demand setups)</PRE
2054 >+filter{nimda} # Remove Nimda (virus) code.</PRE
2062 NAME="FILTER-SHOCKWAVE-FLASH"
2073 >+filter{shockwave-flash} # Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects</PRE
2081 NAME="FILTER-CRUDE-PARENTAL"
2092 >+filter{crude-parental} # Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez"</PRE
2100 NAME="FILTER-JS-EVENTS"
2111 >+filter{js-events} # Kill all JS event bindings (<I
2113 >Radically destructive!</I
2114 > Only for extra nasty sites) </PRE
2129 NAME="HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
2130 >8.5.9. handle-as-image</A
2135 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2141 >Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by images <I
2143 >if they get blocked</I
2150 > This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs as images.
2154 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2161 the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML <SPAN
2165 page, or a replacement image (as determined by the <TT
2168 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
2169 >set-image-blocker</A
2171 > action) will be sent to the
2172 client as a substitute for the blocked content.
2192 > The below generic example section is actually part of <TT
2196 It marks all URLs with well-known image file name extensions as images and should
2200 > Users will probably only want to use the handle-as-image action in conjunction with
2204 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2207 >, to block sources of banners, whose URLs don't
2208 reflect the file type, like in the second example section.
2211 > Note that you cannot treat HTML pages as images in most cases. For instance, (in-line) ad
2212 frames require an HTML page to be sent, or they won't display properly.
2215 >handle-as-image</TT
2216 > in this situation will not replace the
2217 ad frame with an image, but lead to error messages.
2221 >Example usage (sections):</DT
2232 ># Generic image extensions:
2235 /.*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp|ico)$
2237 # These don't look like images, but they're banners and should be
2238 # blocked as images:
2240 {+block +handle-as-image}
2241 some.nasty-banner-server.com/junk.cgi?output=trash
2243 # Banner source! Who cares if they also have non-image content?
2244 ad.doubleclick.net </PRE
2259 NAME="HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS"
2260 >8.5.10. hide-forwarded-for-headers</A
2265 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2271 >Improve privacy by hiding the true source of the request</P
2277 > Deletes any existing <SPAN
2279 >"X-Forwarded-for:"</SPAN
2280 > HTTP header from client requests,
2281 and prevents adding a new one.
2301 > It is fairly safe to leave this on.
2304 > This action is scheduled for improvement: It should be able to generate forged
2307 >"X-Forwarded-for:"</SPAN
2308 > headers using random IP addresses from a specified network,
2309 to make successive requests from the same client look like requests from a pool of different
2310 users sharing the same proxy.
2325 >+hide-forwarded-for-headers</PRE
2340 NAME="HIDE-FROM-HEADER"
2341 >8.5.11. hide-from-header</A
2346 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2352 >Keep your (old and ill) browser from telling web servers your email address</P
2358 > Deletes any existing <SPAN
2361 > HTTP header, or replaces it with the
2378 >, or any user defined value.
2388 > will completely remove the header
2389 (not to be confused with the <TT
2392 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2399 > Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to be sent to the web
2400 server. If you do, it is a matter of fairness not to use any address that
2401 is actually used by a real person.
2404 > This action is rarely needed, as modern web browsers don't send
2423 >+hide-from-header{block}</PRE
2436 >+hide-from-header{spam-me-senseless@sittingduck.example.com}</PRE
2451 NAME="HIDE-REFERRER"
2452 >8.5.12. hide-referrer</A
2460 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2466 >Conceal which link you followed to get to a particular site</P
2475 > (sic) HTTP header from the client request,
2476 or replaces it with a forged one.
2496 > to delete the header completely.</P
2503 > to pretend to be coming from the homepage of the server we are talking to.</P
2507 >Any other string to set a user defined referrer.</P
2518 > is the preferred option here, since some servers will
2519 not send images back otherwise, in an attempt to prevent their valuable
2520 content from being embedded elsewhere (and hence, without being surrounded
2531 > is an alternate spelling of
2535 > and the two can be can be freely
2536 substituted with each other. (<SPAN
2540 correct English spelling, however the HTTP specification has a bug - it
2541 requires it to be spelled as <SPAN
2559 >+hide-referrer{forge}</PRE
2572 >+hide-referrer{http://www.yahoo.com/}</PRE
2587 NAME="HIDE-USER-AGENT"
2588 >8.5.13. hide-user-agent</A
2593 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2599 >Conceal your type of browser and client operating system</P
2605 > Replaces the value of the <SPAN
2607 >"User-Agent:"</SPAN
2609 in client requests with the specified value.
2622 > Any user-defined string.
2647 > This breaks many web sites that depend on looking at this header in order
2648 to customize their content for different browsers (which, by the
2653 HREF="http://www.javascriptkit.com/javaindex.shtml"
2664 > Using this action in multi-user setups or wherever different types of
2665 browsers will access the same <SPAN
2672 >. In single-user, single-browser
2673 setups, you might use it to delete your OS version information from
2674 the headers, because it is an invitation to exploit known bugs for your
2675 OS. It is also occasionally useful to forge this in order to access
2676 sites that won't let you in otherwise (though there may be a good
2677 reason in some cases). Example of this: some MSN sites will not
2681 > enter, yet forging to a
2685 > user-agent works just fine.
2686 (Must be just a silly MS goof, I'm sure :-).
2689 > This action is scheduled for improvement.
2704 >+hide-user-agent{Netscape 6.1 (X11; I; Linux 2.4.18 i686)}</PRE
2720 >8.5.14. kill-popups<A
2728 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2734 >Eliminate those annoying pop-up windows</P
2740 > While loading the document, replace JavaScript code that opens
2741 pop-up windows with (syntactically neutral) dummy code on the fly.
2761 > This action is easily confused with the built-in, hardwired <TT
2764 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2768 action, but there are important differences: For <TT
2772 the document need not be buffered, so it can be incrementally rendered while
2773 downloading. But <TT
2776 > doesn't catch as many pop-ups as
2780 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2792 > Think of it as a fast and efficient replacement for a filter that you
2793 can use if you don't want any filtering at all. Note that it doesn't make
2794 sense to combine it with any <TT
2797 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2801 since as soon as one <TT
2804 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2808 the whole document needs to be buffered anyway, which destroys the advantage of
2812 > action over its filter equivalent.
2815 > Killing all pop-ups is a dangerous business. Many shops and banks rely on
2816 pop-ups to display forms, shopping carts etc, and killing only the unwanted pop-ups
2817 would require artificial intelligence in <SPAN
2821 If the only kind of pop-ups that you want to kill are exit consoles (those
2825 > windows that appear when you close an other
2826 one), you might want to use
2830 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2868 NAME="LIMIT-CONNECT"
2869 >8.5.15. limit-connect</A
2874 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2880 >Prevent abuse of <SPAN
2883 > as a TCP proxy relay</P
2889 > Specifies to which ports HTTP CONNECT requests are allowable.
2902 > A comma-separated list of ports or port ranges (the latter using dashes, with the minimum
2903 defaulting to 0 and the maximum to 65K).
2910 > By default, i.e. if no <TT
2917 > only allows HTTP CONNECT
2918 requests to port 443 (the standard, secure HTTPS port). Use
2922 > if more fine-grained control is desired
2923 for some or all destinations.
2926 > The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites
2930 > URLs) through proxies. It works very simply:
2931 the proxy connects to the server on the specified port, and then
2932 short-circuits its connections to the client and to the remote server.
2933 This can be a big security hole, since CONNECT-enabled proxies can be
2934 abused as TCP relays very easily.
2937 > If you don't know what any of this means, there probably is no reason to
2938 change this one, since the default is already very restrictive.
2942 >Example usages:</DT
2953 >+limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need not be specified.
2954 +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK.
2955 +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Ports less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 and above 500 are OK.
2956 +limit-connect{-} # All ports are OK (gaping security hole!)</PRE
2971 NAME="PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
2972 >8.5.16. prevent-compression</A
2977 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2983 > Ensure that servers send the content uncompressed, so it can be
2987 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2997 > Adds a header to the request that asks for uncompressed transfer.
3017 > More and more websites send their content compressed by default, which
3018 is generally a good idea and saves bandwidth. But for the <TT
3021 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
3027 HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
3034 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
3041 > needs access to the uncompressed data.
3042 Unfortunately, <SPAN
3045 > can't yet(!) uncompress, filter, and
3046 re-compress the content on the fly. So if you want to ensure that all websites, including
3047 those that normally compress, can be filtered, you need to use this action.
3050 > This will slow down transfers from those websites, though. If you use any of the above-mentioned
3051 actions, you will typically want to use <TT
3053 >prevent-compression</TT
3058 > Note that some (rare) ill-configured sites don't handle requests for uncompressed
3059 documents correctly (they send an empty document body). If you use <TT
3061 >prevent-compression</TT
3063 per default, you'll have to add exceptions for those sites. See the example for how to do that.
3067 >Example usage (sections):</DT
3080 {+prevent-compression}
3083 # Make exceptions for ill sites:
3085 {-prevent-compression}
3087 www.pclinuxonline.com</PRE
3102 NAME="SEND-VANILLA-WAFER"
3103 >8.5.17. send-vanilla-wafer</A
3108 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3114 > Feed log analysis scripts with useless data.
3121 > Sends a cookie with each request stating that you do not accept any copyright
3122 on cookies sent to you, and asking the site operator not to track you.
3142 > The vanilla wafer is a (relatively) unique header and could conceivably be used to track you.
3145 > This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration.
3160 >+send-vanilla-wafer</PRE
3176 >8.5.18. send-wafer</A
3181 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3187 > Send custom cookies or feed log analysis scripts with even more useless data.
3194 > Sends a custom, user-defined cookie with each request.
3207 > A string of the form <SPAN
3227 > Being multi-valued, multiple instances of this action can apply to the same request,
3228 resulting in multiple cookies being sent.
3231 > This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration.
3235 >Example usage (section):</DT
3246 >{+send-wafer{UsingPrivoxy=true}}
3247 my-internal-testing-server.void</PRE
3262 NAME="SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
3263 >8.5.19. session-cookies-only</A
3268 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3274 > Allow only temporary <SPAN
3277 > cookies (for the current browser session <I
3292 >"Set-Cookie:"</SPAN
3294 Most browsers will not store such cookies permanently and forget them in between sessions.
3314 > This is less strict than <TT
3317 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
3318 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
3324 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
3325 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
3327 > and allows you to browse
3328 websites that insist or rely on setting cookies, without compromising your privacy too badly.
3331 > Most browsers will not permanently store cookies that have been processed by
3334 >session-cookies-only</TT
3335 > and will forget about them between sessions.
3336 This makes profiling cookies useless, but won't break sites which require cookies so
3337 that you can log in for transactions. This is generally turned on for all
3338 sites, and is the recommended setting.
3346 >session-cookies-only</TT
3351 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
3352 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
3358 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
3359 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
3361 >. If you do, cookies
3362 will be plainly killed.
3365 > Note that it is up to the browser how it handles such cookies without an <SPAN
3369 field. If you use an exotic browser, you might want to try it out to be sure.
3384 >+session-cookies-only</PRE
3399 NAME="SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
3400 >8.5.20. set-image-blocker</A
3405 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3411 >Choose the replacement for blocked images</P
3417 > This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. If <I
3424 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
3433 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
3440 apply, i.e. if the request is to be blocked as an image,
3444 > the parameter of this action decides what will be
3445 sent as a replacement.
3465 > to send a built-in checkerboard pattern image. The image is visually
3466 decent, scales very well, and makes it obvious where banners were busted.
3474 > to send a built-in transparent image. This makes banners disappear
3475 completely, but makes it hard to detect where <SPAN
3479 images on a given page and complicates troubleshooting if <SPAN
3483 has blocked innocent images, like navigation icons.
3497 send a redirect to <TT
3503 to any image anywhere, even in your local filesystem (via <SPAN
3509 > A good application of redirects is to use special <SPAN
3513 URLs, which send the built-in images, as <TT
3519 This has the same visual effect as specifying <SPAN
3526 the first place, but enables your browser to cache the replacement image, instead of requesting
3527 it over and over again.
3536 > The URLs for the built-in images are <SPAN
3538 >"http://config.privoxy.org/send-banner?type=<TT
3559 > There is a third (advanced) type, called <SPAN
3568 >set-image-blocker</TT
3569 >, but meant for use from <A
3570 HREF="filter-file.html"
3573 Auto will select the type of image that would have applied to the referring page, had it been an image.
3591 >+set-image-blocker{pattern}</PRE
3598 > Redirect to the BSD devil:
3609 >+set-image-blocker{http://www.freebsd.org/gifs/dae_up3.gif}</PRE
3616 > Redirect to the built-in pattern for better caching:
3627 >+set-image-blocker{http://config.privoxy.org/send-banner?type=pattern}</PRE
3646 > Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to
3647 misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways
3648 a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header
3649 content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way to have hard
3650 and fast rules for all sites. See the <A
3651 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
3653 > for a brief example on troubleshooting
3676 >, can be defined by combining other actions.
3677 These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in actions.
3678 Currently, an alias name can contain any character except space, tab,
3693 > that you only use <SPAN
3713 Alias names are not case sensitive, and are not required to start with a
3720 > sign, since they are merely textually
3723 > Aliases can be used throughout the actions file, but they <I
3726 defined in a special section at the top of the file!</I
3728 And there can only be one such section per actions file. Each actions file may
3729 have its own alias section, and the aliases defined in it are only visible
3730 within that file.</P
3732 > There are two main reasons to use aliases: One is to save typing for frequently
3733 used combinations of actions, the other one is a gain in flexibility: If you
3734 decide once how you want to handle shops by defining an alias called
3738 >, you can later change your policy on shops in
3742 > place, and your changes will take effect everywhere
3743 in the actions file where the <SPAN
3746 > alias is used. Calling aliases
3747 by their purpose also makes your actions files more readable.</P
3749 > Currently, there is one big drawback to using aliases, though:
3753 >'s built-in web-based action file
3754 editor honors aliases when reading the actions files, but it expands
3755 them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are of course preserved,
3756 but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit sections that use aliases
3758 This is likely to change in future versions of <SPAN
3763 > Now let's define some aliases...</P
3773 > # Useful custom aliases we can use later.
3775 # Note the (required!) section header line and that this section
3776 # must be at the top of the actions file!
3780 # These aliases just save typing later:
3781 # (Note that some already use other aliases!)
3783 +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies
3784 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
3785 block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image
3786 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
3788 # These aliases define combinations of actions
3789 # that are useful for certain types of sites:
3791 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
3792 shop = -crunch-all-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups
3794 # Short names for other aliases, for really lazy people ;-)
3796 c0 = +crunch-all-cookies
3797 c1 = -crunch-all-cookies</PRE
3803 > ...and put them to use. These sections would appear in the lower part of an
3804 actions file and define exceptions to the default actions (as specified further
3818 > # These sites are either very complex or very keen on
3819 # user data and require minimal interference to work:
3822 .office.microsoft.com
3823 .windowsupdate.microsoft.com
3827 # Allow cookies (for setting and retrieving your customer data)
3831 .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
3834 # These shops require pop-ups:
3836 {shop -kill-popups -filter{popups}}
3838 .overclockers.co.uk</PRE
3844 > Aliases like <SPAN
3850 > are often used for
3854 > sites that require some actions to be disabled
3855 in order to function properly.</P
3863 >8.7. Actions Files Tutorial</A
3866 > The above chapters have shown <A
3867 HREF="actions-file.html"
3868 >which actions files
3869 there are and how they are organized</A
3870 >, how actions are <A
3871 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
3874 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS-APPLY"
3878 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3882 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
3884 >. Now, let's look at an
3892 file and see how all these pieces come together:</P
3899 >8.7.1. default.action</A
3902 >Every config file should start with a short comment stating its purpose:</P
3912 ># Sample default.action file <developers@privoxy.org></PRE
3918 >Then, since this is the <TT
3922 first section is a special section for internal use that you needn't
3923 change or worry about:</P
3933 >##########################################################################
3934 # Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY.
3935 ##########################################################################
3938 for-privoxy-version=3.0</PRE
3944 >After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example
3945 section from the above <A
3946 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
3947 >chapter on aliases</A
3949 that also explains why and how aliases are used:</P
3959 >##########################################################################
3961 ##########################################################################
3964 # These aliases just save typing later:
3965 # (Note that some already use other aliases!)
3967 +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies
3968 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
3969 block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image
3970 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
3972 # These aliases define combinations of actions
3973 # that are useful for certain types of sites:
3975 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
3976 shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups</PRE
3982 > Now come the regular sections, i.e. sets of actions, accompanied
3983 by URL patterns to which they apply. Remember <I
3986 are disabled when matching starts</I
3987 >, so we have to explicitly
3988 enable the ones we want.</P
3990 > The first regular section is probably the most important. It has only
3999 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
4000 >matches all URLs</A
4002 set of actions used in this <SPAN
4008 be applied to all requests as a start</I
4009 >. It can be partly or
4010 wholly overridden by later matches further down this file, or in user.action,
4011 but it will still be largely responsible for your overall browsing
4014 > Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is
4015 no real need to disable any actions here, but we will do that nonetheless,
4016 to have a complete listing for your reference. (Remember: a <SPAN
4020 preceding the action name enables the action, a <SPAN
4024 Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into
4025 multiple lines with line continuation.</P
4035 >##########################################################################
4036 # "Defaults" section:
4037 ##########################################################################
4040 HREF="actions-file.html#ADD-HEADER"
4044 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4048 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
4049 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
4052 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
4053 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
4056 HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
4060 HREF="actions-file.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"
4061 >downgrade-http-version</A
4064 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4068 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES"
4069 >filter{html-annoyances}</A
4072 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-JS-ANNOYANCES"
4073 >filter{js-annoyances}</A
4076 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-CONTENT-COOKIES"
4077 >filter{content-cookies}</A
4080 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4084 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-WEBBUGS"
4088 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS"
4089 >filter{refresh-tags}</A
4092 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-FUN"
4096 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-NIMDA"
4100 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
4101 >filter{banners-by-size}</A
4104 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-LINK"
4105 >filter{banners-by-link}</A
4108 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-IMG-REORDER"
4109 >filter{img-reorder}</A
4112 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-SHOCKWAVE-FLASH"
4113 >filter{shockwave-flash}</A
4116 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-CRUDE-PARENTAL"
4117 >filter{crude-parental}</A
4120 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-JS-EVENTS"
4121 >filter{js-events}</A
4124 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4128 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS"
4129 >hide-forwarded-for-headers</A
4132 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-FROM-HEADER"
4133 >hide-from-header{block}</A
4136 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-REFERER"
4137 >hide-referrer{forge}</A
4140 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT"
4144 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4148 HREF="actions-file.html#LIMIT-CONNECT"
4152 HREF="actions-file.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
4153 >prevent-compression</A
4156 HREF="actions-file.html#SEND-VANILLA-WAFER"
4157 >send-vanilla-wafer</A
4160 HREF="actions-file.html#SEND-WAFER"
4164 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
4165 >session-cookies-only</A
4168 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4169 >set-image-blocker{pattern}</A
4172 / # forward slash will match *all* potential URL patterns.</PRE
4178 > The default behavior is now set. Note that some actions, like not hiding
4179 the user agent, are part of a <SPAN
4181 >"general policy"</SPAN
4183 universally and won't get any exceptions defined later. Other choices,
4184 like not blocking (which is <I
4188 default!) need exceptions, i.e. we need to specify explicitly what we
4189 want to block in later sections.
4190 We will also want to make exceptions from our general pop-up-killing,
4191 and use our defined aliases for that.</P
4193 > The first of our specialized sections is concerned with <SPAN
4197 sites, i.e. sites that require minimum interference, because they are either
4198 very complex or very keen on tracking you (and have mechanisms in place that
4199 make them unusable for people who avoid being tracked). We will simply use
4203 > alias instead of stating the list
4204 of actions explicitly:</P
4214 >##########################################################################
4215 # Exceptions for sites that'll break under the default action set:
4216 ##########################################################################
4218 # "Fragile" Use a minimum set of actions for these sites (see alias above):
4221 .office.microsoft.com # surprise, surprise!
4222 .windowsupdate.microsoft.com</PRE
4228 > Shopping sites are not as fragile, but they typically
4229 require cookies to log in, and pop-up windows for shopping
4230 carts or item details. Again, we'll use a pre-defined alias:</P
4244 .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
4252 > Then, there are sites which rely on pop-up windows (yuck!) to work.
4253 Since we made pop-up-killing our default above, we need to make exceptions
4255 HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/"
4259 can turn on smart handling of unwanted pop-ups in their browsers, can
4264 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4271 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4275 and hence don't need this section. Anyway, disabling an already disabled
4276 action doesn't hurt, so we'll define our exceptions regardless of what was
4277 chosen in the defaults section:</P
4287 ># These sites require pop-ups too :(
4290 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4293 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4298 .deutsche-bank-24.de</PRE
4307 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4311 action, which we enabled per default above, breaks some sites. So disable
4312 it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves:</P
4323 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4329 .altavista.com/.*(like|url|link):http
4330 .altavista.com/trans.*urltext=http
4337 > It is important that <SPAN
4341 URLs belong to images, so that <I
4345 be blocked, a substitute image can be sent, rather than an HTML page.
4346 Contacting the remote site to find out is not an option, since it
4347 would destroy the loading time advantage of banner blocking, and it
4348 would feed the advertisers (in terms of money <I
4352 information). We can mark any URL as an image with the <TT
4355 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4359 and marking all URLs that end in a known image file extension is a
4370 >##########################################################################
4372 ##########################################################################
4374 # Define which file types will be treated as images, in case they get
4375 # blocked further down this file:
4378 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4381 /.*\.(gif|jpe?g|png|bmp|ico)$</PRE
4387 > And then there are known banner sources. They often use scripts to
4388 generate the banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the
4389 request is for an image. Hence we block them <I
4393 mark them as images in one go, with the help of our
4397 > alias defined above. (We could of
4398 course just as well use <TT
4401 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4405 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4409 Remember that the type of the replacement image is chosen by the
4413 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4414 >set-image-blocker</A
4417 action. Since all URLs have matched the default section with its
4421 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4422 >set-image-blocker</A
4425 action before, it still applies and needn't be repeated:</P
4435 ># Known ad generators:
4440 .ad.*.doubleclick.net
4441 .a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
4442 .a[0-9].yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
4451 > One of the most important jobs of <SPAN
4455 is to block banners. A huge bunch of them are already <SPAN
4462 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4464 >{banners-by-size}</TT
4466 action, which we enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner
4467 images from the pages while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't request
4468 them anymore, and hence they don't need to be blocked here. But this naturally
4469 doesn't catch all banners, and some people choose not to use filters, so we
4470 need a comprehensive list of patterns for banner URLs here, and apply the
4474 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4477 > action to them.</P
4479 > First comes a bunch of generic patterns, which do most of the work, by
4480 matching typical domain and path name components of banners. Then comes
4481 a list of individual patterns for specific sites, which is omitted here
4482 to keep the example short:</P
4492 >##########################################################################
4493 # Block these fine banners:
4494 ##########################################################################
4496 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4506 /.*count(er)?\.(pl|cgi|exe|dll|asp|php[34]?)
4507 /(?:.*/)?(publicite|werbung|rekla(ma|me|am)|annonse|maino(kset|nta|s)?)/
4509 # Site-specific patterns (abbreviated):
4517 > You wouldn't believe how many advertisers actually call their banner
4523 >.com, or call the directory
4524 in which the banners are stored simply <SPAN
4528 generic patterns are surprisingly effective.</P
4530 > But being very generic, they necessarily also catch URLs that we don't want
4531 to block. The pattern <TT
4540 >.nasty-corp.com"</SPAN
4547 >.sourcefroge.net"</SPAN
4554 >l.some-provider.net."</SPAN
4556 well-known exceptions to the <TT
4559 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4565 > Note that these are exceptions to exceptions from the default! Consider the URL
4568 >"downloads.sourcefroge.net"</SPAN
4569 >: Initially, all actions are deactivated,
4570 so it wouldn't get blocked. Then comes the defaults section, which matches the
4571 URL, but just deactivates the <TT
4574 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4578 action once again. Then it matches <TT
4581 >, an exception to the
4582 general non-blocking policy, and suddenly
4586 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4589 > applies. And now, it'll match
4596 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4600 applies, so (unless it matches <I
4603 > further down) it ends up
4607 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4610 > action applying.</P
4620 >##########################################################################
4621 # Save some innocent victims of the above generic block patterns:
4622 ##########################################################################
4627 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4630 adv[io]*. # (for advogato.org and advice.*)
4631 adsl. # (has nothing to do with ads)
4632 ad[ud]*. # (adult.* and add.*)
4633 .edu # (universities don't host banners (yet!))
4634 .*loads. # (downloads, uploads etc)
4642 www.globalintersec.com/adv # (adv = advanced)
4643 www.ugu.com/sui/ugu/adv</PRE
4649 > Filtering source code can have nasty side effects,
4650 so make an exception for our friends at sourceforge.net,
4651 and all paths with <SPAN
4654 > in them. Note that
4658 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4665 > filters in one fell swoop!</P
4675 ># Don't filter code!
4678 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4682 .sourceforge.net</PRE
4692 comprehensive, but we hope this example made clear how it works.</P
4700 >8.7.2. user.action</A
4703 > So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies,
4704 which would be a reasonable starting point for many people. Now,
4705 you might want to be more specific and have customized rules that
4706 are more suitable to your personal habits and preferences. These would
4707 be for narrowly defined situations like your ISP or your bank, and should
4711 >, which is parsed after all other
4712 actions files and hence has the last word, over-riding any previously
4713 defined actions. <TT
4720 > place for your personal settings, since
4724 > is actively maintained by the
4728 > developers and you'll probably want
4729 to install updated versions from time to time.</P
4731 > So let's look at a few examples of things that one might typically do in
4745 ># My user.action file. <fred@foobar.com></PRE
4752 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
4754 > are local to the actions
4755 file that they are defined in, you can't use the ones from
4759 >, unless you repeat them here:</P
4769 ># (Re-)define aliases for this file:
4772 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
4773 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
4774 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
4775 shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups
4776 allow-ads = -block -filter{banners-by-size} # (see below)</PRE
4783 > Say you have accounts on some sites that you visit regularly, and
4784 you don't want to have to log in manually each time. So you'd like
4785 to allow persistent cookies for these sites. The
4788 >mercy-for-cookies</TT
4789 > alias defined above does exactly
4790 that, i.e. it disables crunching of cookies in any direction, and
4791 processing of cookies to make them temporary.</P
4801 >{ mercy-for-cookies }
4812 > Your bank needs popups and is allergic to some filter, but you don't
4813 know which, so you disable them all:</P
4824 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4827 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4830 .your-home-banking-site.com</PRE
4836 > While browsing the web with <SPAN
4840 noticed some ads that sneaked through, but you were too lazy to
4841 report them through our fine and easy <A
4845 system, so you have added them here:</P
4856 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4859 www.a-popular-site.com/some/unobvious/path
4860 another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/</PRE
4866 > Note that, assuming the banners in the above example have regular image
4867 extensions (most do),
4871 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4875 need not be specified, since all URLs ending in these extensions will
4876 already have been tagged as images in the relevant section of
4882 > Then you noticed that the default configuration breaks Forbes Magazine,
4883 but you were too lazy to find out which action is the culprit, and you
4884 were again too lazy to give <A
4888 you just used the <TT
4891 > alias on the site, and
4892 -- whoa! -- it worked:</P
4909 > You like the <SPAN
4912 > text replacements in <TT
4916 but it is disabled in the distributed actions file. (My colleagues on the team just
4917 don't have a sense of humour, that's why! ;-). So you'd like to turn it on in your private,
4918 update-safe config, once and for all:</P
4929 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-FUN"
4932 / # For ALL sites!</PRE
4938 > Note that the above is not really a good idea: There are exceptions
4939 to the filters in <TT
4943 really shouldn't be filtered, like code on CVS->Web interfaces. Since
4947 > has the last word, these exceptions
4948 won't be valid for the <SPAN
4951 > filtering specified here.</P
4953 > Finally, you might think about how your favourite free websites are
4954 funded, and find that they rely on displaying banner advertisements
4955 to survive. So you might want to specifically allow banners for those
4956 sites that you feel provide value to you:</P
4978 > has been aliased to
4982 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4989 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
4990 >filter{banners-by-size}</A
5028 HREF="filter-file.html"
5037 >The Main Configuration File</TD
5047 >The Filter File</TD