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45 >Privoxy 3.0.16 User Manual</TH
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67 HREF="actions-file.html"
82 >7. The Main Configuration File</A
85 > Again, the main configuration file is named <TT
89 Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and <TT
93 Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of
94 values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For
100 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
105 >confdir /etc/privoxy</I
112 > Assigns the value <TT
119 > and thus indicates that the configuration
120 directory is named <SPAN
122 >"/etc/privoxy/"</SPAN
125 > All options in the config file except for <TT
132 > are optional. Watch out in the below description
133 for what happens if you leave them unset.</P
135 > The main config file controls all aspects of <SPAN
139 operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter
140 where you may be surfing). Like the filter and action files, the config file is
141 a plain text file and can be modified with a text editor like emacs, vim or
149 >7.1. Local Set-up Documentation</A
152 > If you intend to operate <SPAN
156 than just yourself, it might be a good idea to let them know how to reach
157 you, what you block and why you do that, your policies, etc.
165 >7.1.1. user-manual</A
176 > Location of the <SPAN
186 >A fully qualified URI</P
201 >Effect if unset:</DT
205 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/"
207 >http://www.privoxy.org/<TT
214 will be used, where <TT
229 > The User Manual URI is the single best source of information on
233 >, and is used for help links from some
234 of the internal CGI pages. The manual itself is normally packaged with the
235 binary distributions, so you probably want to set this to a locally
242 > The best all purpose solution is simply to put the full local
261 >  user-manual  /usr/share/doc/privoxy/user-manual</PRE
268 > The User Manual is then available to anyone with access to
272 >, by following the built-in URL:
275 >http://config.privoxy.org/user-manual/</TT
277 (or the shortcut: <TT
279 >http://p.p/user-manual/</TT
283 > If the documentation is not on the local system, it can be accessed
284 from a remote server, as:
295 >  user-manual  http://example.com/privoxy/user-manual/</PRE
320 > If set, this option should be <SPAN
324 >the first option in the config
327 >, because it is used while the config file is being read
343 NAME="TRUST-INFO-URL"
344 >7.1.2. trust-info-url</A
355 > A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an untrusted page is denied.
377 >Effect if unset:</DT
380 > No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page.
387 > The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism has been
389 HREF="config.html#TRUSTFILE"
400 > If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line
401 documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here.
402 Use multiple times for multiple URLs.
405 > The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up
406 locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first place!
418 >7.1.3. admin-address</A
429 > An email address to reach the <SPAN
454 >Effect if unset:</DT
457 > No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
471 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
483 NAME="PROXY-INFO-URL"
484 >7.1.4. proxy-info-url</A
495 > A URL to documentation about the local <SPAN
499 configuration or policies.
521 >Effect if unset:</DT
524 > No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
538 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
542 > This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-)
555 >7.2. Configuration and Log File Locations</A
561 > can (and normally does) use a number of
562 other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
563 This section of the configuration file tells <SPAN
567 where to find those other files. </P
569 > The user running <SPAN
573 permission for all configuration files, and write permission to any files
574 that would be modified, such as log files and actions files.</P
592 >The directory where the other configuration files are located.</P
604 >/etc/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
613 > installation dir (Windows) </P
616 >Effect if unset:</DT
660 >An alternative directory where the templates are loaded from.</P
675 >Effect if unset:</DT
678 >The templates are assumed to be located in confdir/template.</P
687 > original templates are usually
688 overwritten with each update. Use this option to relocate customized
689 templates that should be kept. As template variables might change
690 between updates, you shouldn't expect templates to work with
694 > releases other than the one
695 they were part of, though.
718 > The directory where all logging takes place
735 >/var/log/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
744 > installation dir (Windows) </P
747 >Effect if unset:</DT
780 >7.2.4. actionsfile</A
783 NAME="DEFAULT.ACTION"
786 NAME="STANDARD.ACTION"
801 HREF="actions-file.html"
810 >Complete file name, relative to <TT
826 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
827 > match-all.action # Actions that are applied to all sites and maybe overruled later on.</P
834 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
835 > default.action # Main actions file</P
842 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
843 > user.action # User customizations</P
853 >Effect if unset:</DT
856 > No actions are taken at all. More or less neutral proxying.
866 > lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended!
870 The default values are <TT
877 > actions file maintained by the developers, and
881 >, where you can make your personal additions.
885 Actions files contain all the per site and per URL configuration for
886 ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc.
887 There is no point in using <SPAN
891 least one actions file.
894 > Note that since Privoxy 3.0.7, the complete filename, including the <SPAN
898 extension has to be specified. The syntax change was necessary to be consistent
899 with the other file options and to allow previously forbidden characters.
911 >7.2.5. filterfile</A
914 NAME="DEFAULT.FILTER"
926 HREF="filter-file.html"
935 >File name, relative to <TT
944 >default.filter (Unix) <SPAN
950 > default.filter.txt (Windows)</P
953 >Effect if unset:</DT
956 > No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all
960 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
969 actions in the actions files are turned neutral.
979 > lines are permitted.
983 HREF="filter-file.html"
985 > contain content modification
987 HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
988 >regular expressions</A
989 >. These rules permit
990 powerful changes on the content of Web pages, and optionally the headers
991 as well, e.g., you could try to disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances,
992 re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some fun
993 playing buzzword bingo with web pages.
1000 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1009 actions rely on the relevant filter (<TT
1015 to be defined in a filter file!
1018 > A pre-defined filter file called <TT
1022 a number of useful filters for common problems is included in the distribution.
1023 See the section on the <TT
1026 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1033 > It is recommended to place any locally adapted filters into a separate
1054 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1060 > The log file to use
1067 >File name, relative to <TT
1080 >Unset (commented out)</I
1082 >. When activated: logfile (Unix) <SPAN
1088 > privoxy.log (Windows).</P
1091 >Effect if unset:</DT
1094 > No logfile is written.
1101 > The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level
1102 of detail and number of messages are set with the <TT
1106 option (see below). The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with
1110 > (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you
1111 think it should block) and it can help you to monitor what your browser
1115 > Depending on the debug options below, the logfile may be a privacy risk
1116 if third parties can get access to it. As most users will never look
1120 > 3.0.7 and later only log fatal
1124 > For most troubleshooting purposes, you will have to change that,
1125 please refer to the debugging section for details.
1128 > Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to
1129 periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job
1133 >). For Red Hat based Linux distributions, a
1137 > script has been included.
1140 > Any log files must be writable by whatever user <SPAN
1144 is being run as (on Unix, default user id is <SPAN
1159 >7.2.7. trustfile</A
1164 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1170 > The name of the trust file to use
1177 >File name, relative to <TT
1190 >Unset (commented out)</I
1192 >. When activated: trust (Unix) <SPAN
1198 > trust.txt (Windows)</P
1201 >Effect if unset:</DT
1204 > The entire trust mechanism is disabled.
1211 > The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and should
1212 be used with care. It is <SPAN
1218 > recommended for the casual user.
1221 > If you specify a trust file, <SPAN
1225 access to sites that are specified in the trustfile. Sites can be listed
1232 > character limits access to this site
1233 only (and any sub-paths within this site), e.g.
1236 >~www.example.com</TT
1240 >~www.example.com/features/news.html</TT
1244 > Or, you can designate sites as <SPAN
1248 >trusted referrers</I
1251 prepending the name with a <TT
1254 > character. The effect is that
1255 access to untrusted sites will be granted -- but only if a link from this
1256 trusted referrer was used to get there. The link target will then be added
1260 > so that future, direct accesses will be
1261 granted. Sites added via this mechanism do not become trusted referrers
1262 themselves (i.e. they are added with a <TT
1266 There is a limit of 512 such entries, after which new entries will not be
1270 > If you use the <TT
1273 > operator in the trust file, it may grow
1274 considerably over time.
1277 > It is recommended that <SPAN
1283 >--disable-force</TT
1286 >--disable-toggle</TT
1290 > --disable-editor</TT
1291 > options, if this feature is to be
1295 > Possible applications include limiting Internet access for children.
1311 > These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem.
1312 Note that you might also want to invoke
1320 command line option when debugging.
1333 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1339 > Key values that determine what information gets logged.
1352 >0 (i.e.: only fatal errors (that cause Privoxy to exit) are logged)</P
1355 >Effect if unset:</DT
1358 > Default value is used (see above).
1365 > The available debug levels are:
1375 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1376 > debug 1 # Log the destination for each request <SPAN
1379 > let through. See also debug 1024.
1380 debug 2 # show each connection status
1381 debug 4 # show I/O status
1382 debug 8 # show header parsing
1383 debug 16 # log all data written to the network into the logfile
1384 debug 32 # debug force feature
1385 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
1386 debug 128 # debug redirects
1387 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
1388 debug 512 # Common Log Format
1389 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests <SPAN
1392 > didn't let through, and the reason why.
1393 debug 2048 # CGI user interface
1394 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
1395 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors</PRE
1402 > To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use
1409 > A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request
1410 as it happens. <SPAN
1414 >1, 1024, 4096 and 8192 are recommended</I
1417 so that you will notice when things go wrong. The other levels are
1418 probably only of interest if you are hunting down a specific problem.
1419 They can produce a hell of an output (especially 16).
1426 > used to ship with the debug levels recommended above enabled by
1427 default, but due to privacy concerns 3.0.7 and later are configured to
1428 only log fatal errors.
1431 > If you are used to the more verbose settings, simply enable the debug lines
1435 > If you want to use pure CLF (Common Log Format), you should set <SPAN
1445 > and not enable anything else.
1451 > has a hard-coded limit for the
1452 length of log messages. If it's reached, messages are logged truncated
1453 and marked with <SPAN
1455 >"... [too long, truncated]"</SPAN
1459 > Please don't file any support requests without trying to reproduce
1460 the problem with increased debug level first. Once you read the log
1461 messages, you may even be able to solve the problem on your own.
1472 NAME="SINGLE-THREADED"
1473 >7.3.2. single-threaded</A
1478 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1484 > Whether to run only one server thread.
1512 >Effect if unset:</DT
1515 > Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability to
1516 serve multiple requests simultaneously.
1523 > This option is only there for debugging purposes.
1528 >It will drastically reduce performance.</I
1547 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1553 > The hostname shown on the CGI pages.
1575 >Effect if unset:</DT
1578 > The hostname provided by the operating system is used.
1585 > On some misconfigured systems resolving the hostname fails or
1586 takes too much time and slows Privoxy down. Setting a fixed hostname
1587 works around the problem.
1590 > In other circumstances it might be desirable to show a hostname
1591 other than the one returned by the operating system. For example
1592 if the system has several different hostnames and you don't want
1593 to use the first one.
1596 > Note that Privoxy does not validate the specified hostname value.
1608 NAME="ACCESS-CONTROL"
1609 >7.4. Access Control and Security</A
1612 > This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects
1623 NAME="LISTEN-ADDRESS"
1624 >7.4.1. listen-address</A
1629 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1635 > The IP address and TCP port on which <SPAN
1639 listen for client requests.
1665 >Effect if unset:</DT
1668 > Bind to 127.0.0.1 (IPv4 localhost), port 8118. This is suitable and
1669 recommended for home users who run <SPAN
1673 the same machine as their browser.
1680 > You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port.
1683 > If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to
1684 serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you
1685 will need to override the default.
1688 > IPv6 addresses containing colons have to be quoted by brackets.
1691 > If you leave out the IP address, <SPAN
1695 bind to all IPv4 interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable
1696 from the Internet. In that case, consider using <A
1697 HREF="config.html#ACLS"
1698 >access control lists</A
1699 > (ACL's, see below), and/or
1706 > to untrusted users, you will
1707 also want to make sure that the following actions are disabled: <TT
1710 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
1711 >enable-edit-actions</A
1717 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1718 >enable-remote-toggle</A
1727 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1731 a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network
1732 (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address.
1733 You want it to serve requests from inside only:
1743 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1744 > listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118</PRE
1751 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1755 IPv6-capable machine and you want it to listen on the IPv6 address
1756 of the loopback device:
1766 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1767 > listen-address [::1]:8118</PRE
1788 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1794 > Initial state of "toggle" status
1810 >Effect if unset:</DT
1813 > Act as if toggled on
1820 > If set to 0, <SPAN
1826 >"toggled off"</SPAN
1827 > mode, i.e. mostly behave like a normal,
1828 content-neutral proxy with both ad blocking and content filtering
1831 >enable-remote-toggle</TT
1835 > The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray
1836 if this option is present.
1847 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1848 >7.4.3. enable-remote-toggle</A
1853 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1859 > Whether or not the <A
1860 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle"
1880 >Effect if unset:</DT
1883 > The web-based toggle feature is disabled.
1890 > When toggled off, <SPAN
1893 > mostly acts like a normal,
1894 content-neutral proxy, i.e. doesn't block ads or filter content.
1897 > Access to the toggle feature can <SPAN
1904 controlled separately by <SPAN
1907 > or HTTP authentication,
1908 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
1919 toggle it for all users. So this option is <SPAN
1926 for multi-user environments with untrusted users.
1929 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
1930 capable of using this option.
1937 documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
1940 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
1944 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
1955 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-HTTP-TOGGLE"
1956 >7.4.4. enable-remote-http-toggle</A
1961 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1967 > Whether or not Privoxy recognizes special HTTP headers to change its behaviour.
1983 >Effect if unset:</DT
1986 > Privoxy ignores special HTTP headers.
1993 > When toggled on, the client can change <SPAN
1997 behaviour by setting special HTTP headers. Currently the only supported
1998 special header is <SPAN
2000 >"X-Filter: No"</SPAN
2001 >, to disable filtering for
2002 the ongoing request, even if it is enabled in one of the action files.
2005 > This feature is disabled by default. If you are using
2009 > in a environment with trusted clients,
2010 you may enable this feature at your discretion. Note that malicious client
2011 side code (e.g Java) is also capable of using this feature.
2014 > This option will be removed in future releases as it has been obsoleted
2015 by the more general header taggers.
2026 NAME="ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
2027 >7.4.5. enable-edit-actions</A
2032 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2038 > Whether or not the <A
2039 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
2059 >Effect if unset:</DT
2062 > The web-based actions file editor is disabled.
2069 > Access to the editor can <SPAN
2076 controlled separately by <SPAN
2079 > or HTTP authentication,
2080 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
2091 modify its configuration for all users.
2094 > This option is <SPAN
2101 with untrusted users and as a lot of <SPAN
2105 users don't read documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
2108 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
2109 capable of using the actions editor and you shouldn't enable
2110 this options unless you understand the consequences and are
2111 sure your browser is configured correctly.
2114 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
2118 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
2129 NAME="ENFORCE-BLOCKS"
2130 >7.4.6. enforce-blocks</A
2135 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2141 > Whether the user is allowed to ignore blocks and can <SPAN
2143 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2172 >Effect if unset:</DT
2175 > Blocks are not enforced.
2185 > is mainly used to block and filter
2186 requests as a service to the user, for example to block ads and other
2187 junk that clogs the pipes. <SPAN
2191 isn't perfect and sometimes innocent pages are blocked. In this situation it
2192 makes sense to allow the user to enforce the request and have
2199 > In the default configuration <SPAN
2206 > page contains a <SPAN
2208 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2210 link to adds a special string (the force prefix) to the request URL.
2211 If that link is used, <SPAN
2215 detect the force prefix, remove it again and let the request pass.
2221 > can also be used to enforce
2222 a network policy. In that case the user obviously should not be able to
2223 bypass any blocks, and that's what the <SPAN
2225 >"enforce-blocks"</SPAN
2227 option is for. If it's enabled, <SPAN
2233 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2234 > link. If the user adds the force
2235 prefix by hand, it will not be accepted and the circumvention attempt
2255 >7.4.7. ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</A
2258 NAME="PERMIT-ACCESS"
2266 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2272 > Who can access what.
2324 > are IPv4 addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid
2342 > are subnet masks in CIDR notation, i.e. integer
2343 values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole
2344 destination part are optional.
2347 > If your system implements
2349 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
2363 > can be IPv6 addresses delimeted by
2370 or a service name, and
2404 any port will match. If no <TT
2415 > is given, the complete IP
2416 address has to match (i.e. 32 bits for IPv4 and 128 bits for IPv6).
2420 >Effect if unset:</DT
2423 > Don't restrict access further than implied by <TT
2433 > Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems
2434 administrators, and <SPAN
2438 >are not usually needed by individual users</I
2441 For a typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that
2445 > only listens on the localhost
2446 (127.0.0.1) or internal (home) network address by means of the
2448 HREF="config.html#LISTEN-ADDRESS"
2460 > Please see the warnings in the FAQ that <SPAN
2464 is not intended to be a substitute for a firewall or to encourage anyone
2465 to defer addressing basic security weaknesses.
2468 > Multiple ACL lines are OK.
2469 If any ACLs are specified, <SPAN
2473 to IP addresses that match at least one <TT
2477 and don't match any subsequent <TT
2480 > line. In other words, the
2481 last match wins, with the default being <TT
2490 > is using a forwarder (see <TT
2494 for a particular destination URL, the <TT
2500 that is examined is the address of the forwarder and <SPAN
2507 of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local
2511 > to determine the IP address of the
2512 ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for).
2515 > You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address lookups take
2516 time. All DNS names must resolve! You can <SPAN
2522 > use domain patterns
2526 > or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to multiple
2527 IP addresses, only the first one is used.
2530 > Some systems allows IPv4 client to connect to IPv6 server socket.
2531 Then the client's IPv4 address will be translated by system into
2532 IPv6 address space with special prefix ::ffff:0:0/96 (so called IPv4
2533 mapped IPv6 address). <SPAN
2537 and maps such ACL addresses automatically.
2540 > Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects
2541 if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other sites
2549 > Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and
2557 is OK. The absence of a <TT
2569 > destination addresses are OK:
2580 > permit-access localhost</PRE
2587 > Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to
2588 nothing but www.example.com (or other domains hosted on the same system):
2599 > permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32</PRE
2606 > Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere,
2607 with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access the IP address behind
2608 www.dirty-stuff.example.com:
2619 > permit-access 192.168.45.64/26
2620 deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com</PRE
2627 > Allow access from the IPv4 network 192.0.2.0/24 even if listening on
2628 an IPv6 wild card address (not supported on all platforms):
2638 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2639 > permit-access 192.0.2.0/24</PRE
2646 > This is equivalent to the following line even if listening on an
2647 IPv4 address (not supported on all platforms):
2657 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2658 > permit-access [::ffff:192.0.2.0]/120</PRE
2674 >7.4.8. buffer-limit</A
2679 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2685 > Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering.
2701 >Effect if unset:</DT
2704 > Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit.
2711 > For content filtering, i.e. the <TT
2718 > actions, it is necessary that
2722 > buffers the entire document body.
2723 This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending
2724 data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust -- with nasty consequences.
2728 > When a document buffer size reaches the <TT
2732 flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to
2733 filter the rest of the document is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads
2734 running, which might require up to <TT
2744 >, unless you have enabled <SPAN
2746 >"single-threaded"</SPAN
2764 > This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of
2765 multiple proxies.</P
2767 > Forwarding can be used to chain Privoxy with a caching proxy to speed
2768 up browsing. Using a parent proxy may also be necessary if the machine
2772 > runs on has no direct Internet access.</P
2774 > Note that parent proxies can severely decrease your privacy level.
2775 For example a parent proxy could add your IP address to the request
2776 headers and if it's a caching proxy it may add the <SPAN
2780 header to revalidation requests again, even though you configured Privoxy
2781 to remove it. It may also ignore Privoxy's header time randomization and use the
2782 original values which could be used by the server as cookie replacement
2783 to track your steps between visits.</P
2785 > Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. <SPAN
2789 supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols.</P
2801 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2807 > To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed.
2839 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
2842 that specifies to which requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
2861 is the DNS name or IP address of the parent HTTP proxy through which the requests should be forwarded,
2862 optionally followed by its listening port (default: 8000).
2863 Use a single dot (<TT
2868 >"no forwarding"</SPAN
2885 >Effect if unset:</DT
2888 > Don't use parent HTTP proxies.
2903 >, then requests are not
2904 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers.
2913 numerical IPv6 address (if
2915 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
2919 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
2920 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
2925 > containing an IPv6 address
2926 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
2927 regular expressions already).
2930 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
2937 > Everything goes to an example parent proxy, except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle):
2948 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8080
2956 > Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests
2957 to that ISP's sites:
2968 > forward / caching-proxy.isp.example.net:8000
2969 forward .isp.example.net .</PRE
2976 > Parent proxy specified by an IPv6 address:
2986 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2987 > foward / [2001:DB8::1]:8000</PRE
2994 > Suppose your parent proxy doesn't support IPv6:
3004 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
3005 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8000
3006 forward ipv6-server.example.org .
3007 forward <[2-3][0-9a-f][0-9a-f][0-9a-f]:*> .</PRE
3023 >7.5.2. forward-socks4, forward-socks4a and forward-socks5</A
3026 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4"
3029 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4A"
3034 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3040 > Through which SOCKS proxy (and optionally to which parent HTTP proxy) specific requests should be routed.
3084 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3086 > that specifies to which
3087 requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
3106 are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names
3118 >"no HTTP forwarding"</SPAN
3119 >), and the optional
3125 > parameters are TCP ports,
3126 i.e. integer values from 1 to 65535
3142 >Effect if unset:</DT
3145 > Don't use SOCKS proxies.
3152 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
3155 > The difference between <TT
3160 >forward-socks4a</TT
3162 is that in the SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the SOCKS
3163 server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally.
3169 > the DNS resolution will happen on the remote server as well.
3184 numerical IPv6 address (if
3186 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
3190 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
3191 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
3196 > containing an IPv6 address
3197 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
3198 regular expressions already).
3209 >, then requests are not
3210 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through
3218 > From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all
3222 > domains, but everything outbound goes through
3223 their ISP's proxy by way of example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to
3235 > forward-socks4a / socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.isp.example.net:8080
3236 forward .example.com .</PRE
3243 > A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this:
3254 > forward-socks4 / socks-gw.example.com:1080 .</PRE
3261 > To chain Privoxy and Tor, both running on the same system, you would use
3273 > forward-socks5 / 127.0.0.1:9050 .</PRE
3283 > network can't be used to
3284 reach your local network, if you need to access local servers you
3285 therefore might want to make some exceptions:
3296 > forward 192.168.*.*/ .
3298 forward 127.*.*.*/ .</PRE
3305 > Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will
3306 be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is that you
3307 can't reach the local network through <SPAN
3311 at all. Of course this may actually be desired and there is no reason
3312 to make these exceptions if you aren't sure you need them.
3315 > If you also want to be able to reach servers in your local network by
3316 using their names, you will need additional exceptions that look like
3328 > forward localhost/ .</PRE
3343 NAME="ADVANCED-FORWARDING-EXAMPLES"
3344 >7.5.3. Advanced Forwarding Examples</A
3347 > If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content
3348 only to their subscribers, you can configure multiple <SPAN
3352 which have connections to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that
3359 > users can see the internal content of all ISPs.</P
3361 > Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.example.net. And host-b has a PPP connection to
3362 isp-b.example.org. Both run <SPAN
3366 configuration can look like this:</P
3379 forward .isp-b.example.net host-b:8118</PRE
3396 forward .isp-a.example.org host-a:8118</PRE
3402 > Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either
3403 host-a or host-b and be able to browse the internal content
3404 of both isp-a and isp-b.</P
3406 > If you intend to chain <SPAN
3413 > locally, then chaining as
3416 >browser -> squid -> privoxy</TT
3417 > is the recommended way. </P
3419 > Assuming that <SPAN
3426 run on the same box, your <SPAN
3429 > configuration could then look like this:</P
3439 > # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP)
3440 cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query
3442 # Define ACL for protocol FTP
3445 # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy
3446 always_direct allow ftp
3448 # Forward all the rest to Privoxy
3449 never_direct allow all</PRE
3455 > You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to <SPAN
3458 >'s address and port.
3459 Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult <TT
3467 > You could just as well decide to only forward requests you suspect
3468 of leading to Windows executables through a virus-scanning parent proxy,
3471 >antivir.example.com</TT
3483 forward /.*\.(exe|com|dll|zip)$ antivir.example.com:8010</PRE
3494 NAME="FORWARDED-CONNECT-RETRIES"
3495 >7.5.4. forwarded-connect-retries</A
3500 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3506 > How often Privoxy retries if a forwarded connection request fails.
3516 >Number of retries.</I
3534 >Effect if unset:</DT
3537 > Connections forwarded through other proxies are treated like direct connections and no retry attempts are made.
3547 >forwarded-connect-retries</I
3549 > is mainly interesting
3550 for socks4a connections, where <SPAN
3553 > can't detect why the connections failed.
3554 The connection might have failed because of a DNS timeout in which case a retry makes sense,
3555 but it might also have failed because the server doesn't exist or isn't reachable. In this
3556 case the retry will just delay the appearance of Privoxy's error message.
3559 > Note that in the context of this option, <SPAN
3561 >"forwarded connections"</SPAN
3562 > includes all connections
3563 that Privoxy forwards through other proxies. This option is not limited to the HTTP CONNECT method.
3566 > Only use this option, if you are getting lots of forwarding-related error messages
3567 that go away when you try again manually. Start with a small value and check Privoxy's
3568 logfile from time to time, to see how many retries are usually needed.
3571 > Due to a bug, this option currently also causes Privoxy to
3572 retry in case of certain problems with direct connections.
3579 > forwarded-connect-retries 1
3592 >7.6. Miscellaneous</A
3599 NAME="ACCEPT-INTERCEPTED-REQUESTS"
3600 >7.6.1. accept-intercepted-requests</A
3605 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3611 > Whether intercepted requests should be treated as valid.
3639 >Effect if unset:</DT
3642 > Only proxy requests are accepted, intercepted requests are treated as invalid.
3649 > If you don't trust your clients and want to force them
3654 option and configure your packet filter to redirect outgoing
3655 HTTP connections into <SPAN
3661 > Make sure that <SPAN
3665 aren't redirected as well. Additionally take care that
3669 > can't intentionally connect
3670 to itself, otherwise you could run into redirection loops if
3674 > listening port is reachable
3675 by the outside or an attacker has access to the pages you visit.
3682 > accept-intercepted-requests 1
3693 NAME="ALLOW-CGI-REQUEST-CRUNCHING"
3694 >7.6.2. allow-cgi-request-crunching</A
3699 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3705 > Whether requests to <SPAN
3708 > CGI pages can be blocked or redirected.
3736 >Effect if unset:</DT
3742 > ignores block and redirect actions for its CGI pages.
3752 > ignores block or redirect actions
3753 for its CGI pages. Intercepting these requests can be useful in multi-user
3754 setups to implement fine-grained access control, but it can also render the complete
3755 web interface useless and make debugging problems painful if done without care.
3758 > Don't enable this option unless you're sure that you really need it.
3765 > allow-cgi-request-crunching 1
3776 NAME="SPLIT-LARGE-FORMS"
3777 >7.6.3. split-large-forms</A
3782 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3788 > Whether the CGI interface should stay compatible with broken HTTP clients.
3816 >Effect if unset:</DT
3819 > The CGI form generate long GET URLs.
3829 > CGI forms can lead to
3830 rather long URLs. This isn't a problem as far as the HTTP
3831 standard is concerned, but it can confuse clients with arbitrary
3832 URL length limitations.
3835 > Enabling split-large-forms causes <SPAN
3839 to divide big forms into smaller ones to keep the URL length down.
3840 It makes editing a lot less convenient and you can no longer
3841 submit all changes at once, but at least it works around this
3845 > If you don't notice any editing problems, there is no reason
3846 to enable this option, but if one of the submit buttons appears
3847 to be broken, you should give it a try.
3854 > split-large-forms 1
3865 NAME="KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
3866 >7.6.4. keep-alive-timeout</A
3871 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3877 > Number of seconds after which an open connection will no longer be reused.
3887 >Time in seconds.</I
3899 >Effect if unset:</DT
3902 > Connections are not kept alive.
3909 > This option allows clients to keep the connection to <SPAN
3913 alive. If the server supports it, <SPAN
3917 the connection to the server alive as well. Under certain
3918 circumstances this may result in speed-ups.
3924 > will close the connection to the server if
3925 the client connection gets closed, or if the specified timeout
3926 has been reached without a new request coming in. This behaviour
3927 can be changed with the <A
3928 HREF="#CONNECTION-SHARING"
3930 >connection-sharing</A
3934 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
3938 has been compiled without keep-alive support.
3941 > Note that a timeout of five seconds as used in the default
3942 configuration file significantly decreases the number of
3943 connections that will be reused. The value is used because
3944 some browsers limit the number of connections they open to
3945 a single host and apply the same limit to proxies. This can
3946 result in a single website <SPAN
3950 connections the browser allows, which means connections to
3951 other websites can't be opened until the connections currently
3955 > Several users have reported this as a Privoxy bug, so the
3956 default value has been reduced. Consider increasing it to
3957 300 seconds or even more if you think your browser can handle
3958 it. If your browser appears to be hanging it can't.
3965 > keep-alive-timeout 300
3976 NAME="DEFAULT-SERVER-TIMEOUT"
3977 >7.6.5. default-server-timeout</A
3982 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3988 > Assumed server-side keep-alive timeout if not specified by the server.
3998 >Time in seconds.</I
4010 >Effect if unset:</DT
4013 > Connections for which the server didn't specify the keep-alive
4014 timeout are not reused.
4021 > Enabling this option significantly increases the number of connections
4022 that are reused, provided the <A
4023 HREF="#KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
4025 >keep-alive-timeout</A
4030 > While it also increases the number of connections problems
4034 > tries to reuse a connection that already has
4035 been closed on the server side, or is closed while <SPAN
4039 is trying to reuse it, this should only be a problem if it
4040 happens for the first request sent by the client. If it happens
4041 for requests on reused client connections, <SPAN
4045 close the connection and the client is supposed to retry the
4046 request without bothering the user.
4049 > Enabling this option is therefore only recommended if the
4051 HREF="#CONNECTION-SHARING"
4053 >connection-sharing</A
4058 > It is an error to specify a value larger than the <A
4059 HREF="#KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
4061 >keep-alive-timeout</A
4065 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4069 has been compiled without keep-alive support.
4076 > default-server-timeout 60
4087 NAME="CONNECTION-SHARING"
4088 >7.6.6. connection-sharing</A
4093 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4099 > Whether or not outgoing connections that have been kept alive
4100 should be shared between different incoming connections.
4122 >Effect if unset:</DT
4125 > Connections are not shared.
4132 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4136 has been compiled without keep-alive support, or if it's disabled.
4143 > Note that reusing connections doesn't necessary cause speedups.
4144 There are also a few privacy implications you should be aware of.
4147 > If this option is effective, outgoing connections are shared between
4148 clients (if there are more than one) and closing the browser that initiated
4149 the outgoing connection does no longer affect the connection between <SPAN
4153 and the server unless the client's request hasn't been completed yet.
4156 > If the outgoing connection is idle, it will not be closed until either
4160 > or the server's timeout is reached.
4161 While it's open, the server knows that the system running <SPAN
4168 > If there are more than one client (maybe even belonging to multiple users),
4169 they will be able to reuse each others connections. This is potentially
4170 dangerous in case of authentication schemes like NTLM where only the
4171 connection is authenticated, instead of requiring authentication for
4175 > If there is only a single client, and if said client can keep connections
4176 alive on its own, enabling this option has next to no effect. If the client
4177 doesn't support connection keep-alive, enabling this option may make sense
4181 > to keep outgoing connections alive even if the client
4182 itself doesn't support it.
4185 > You should also be aware that enabling this option increases the likelihood
4186 of getting the "No server or forwarder data" error message, especially if you
4187 are using a slow connection to the Internet.
4190 > This option should only be used by experienced users who
4191 understand the risks and can weight them against the benefits.
4198 > connection-sharing 1
4209 NAME="SOCKET-TIMEOUT"
4210 >7.6.7. socket-timeout</A
4215 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4221 > Number of seconds after which a socket times out if
4222 no data is received.
4232 >Time in seconds.</I
4244 >Effect if unset:</DT
4247 > A default value of 300 seconds is used.
4254 > For SOCKS requests the timeout currently doesn't start until
4255 the SOCKS server accepted the request. This will be fixed in
4263 > socket-timeout 300
4274 NAME="MAX-CLIENT-CONNECTIONS"
4275 >7.6.8. max-client-connections</A
4280 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4286 > Maximum number of client connections that will be served.
4296 >Positive number.</I
4308 >Effect if unset:</DT
4311 > Connections are served until a resource limit is reached.
4321 > creates one thread (or process) for every incoming client
4322 connection that isn't rejected based on the access control settings.
4325 > If the system is powerful enough, <SPAN
4328 > can theoretically deal with
4329 several hundred (or thousand) connections at the same time, but some
4330 operating systems enforce resource limits by shutting down offending
4331 processes and their default limits may be below the ones <SPAN
4335 require under heavy load.
4341 > to enforce a connection limit below the thread
4342 or process limit used by the operating system makes sure this doesn't
4343 happen. Simply increasing the operating system's limit would work too,
4347 > isn't the only application running on the system,
4348 you may actually want to limit the resources used by <SPAN
4357 > is only used by a single trusted user, limiting the
4358 number of client connections is probably unnecessary. If there
4359 are multiple possibly untrusted users you probably still want to
4360 additionally use a packet filter to limit the maximal number of
4361 incoming connections per client. Otherwise a malicious user could
4362 intentionally create a high number of connections to prevent other
4363 users from using <SPAN
4369 > Obviously using this option only makes sense if you choose a limit
4370 below the one enforced by the operating system.
4377 > max-client-connections 256
4388 NAME="HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOC-RETURNS-OK"
4389 >7.6.9. handle-as-empty-doc-returns-ok</A
4394 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4400 > This is a work-around for Firefox bug 492459:
4403 >" Websites are no longer rendered if SSL requests for JavaScripts are blocked by a proxy.
4407 HREF="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=492459"
4409 >https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=492459</A
4417 > The status code Privoxy returns for pages blocked with
4422 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
4424 >+handle-as-empty-document</A
4448 >Effect if unset:</DT
4451 > Privoxy returns a status 403(forbidden) for all blocked pages.
4458 > Privoxy returns a status 200(OK) for pages blocked with +handle-as-empty-document
4459 and a status 403(Forbidden) for all other blocked pages.
4472 >7.7. Windows GUI Options</A
4478 > has a number of options specific to the
4479 Windows GUI interface:</P
4481 NAME="ACTIVITY-ANIMATION"
4486 >"activity-animation"</SPAN
4491 > icon will animate when
4495 > is active. To turn off, set to 0.</P
4500 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4505 >activity-animation 1</I
4508 </P
4518 >"log-messages"</SPAN
4523 > will log messages to the console
4529 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4537 </P
4542 NAME="LOG-BUFFER-SIZE"
4548 >"log-buffer-size"</SPAN
4549 > is set to 1, the size of the log buffer,
4550 i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the
4551 console window, will be limited to <SPAN
4553 >"log-max-lines"</SPAN
4556 > Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and
4557 eat up all your memory!</P
4562 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4567 >log-buffer-size 1</I
4570 </P
4575 NAME="LOG-MAX-LINES"
4580 >log-max-lines</SPAN
4581 > is the maximum number of lines held
4582 in the log buffer. See above.</P
4587 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4592 >log-max-lines 200</I
4595 </P
4600 NAME="LOG-HIGHLIGHT-MESSAGES"
4605 >"log-highlight-messages"</SPAN
4610 > will highlight portions of the log
4611 messages with a bold-faced font:</P
4616 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4621 >log-highlight-messages 1</I
4624 </P
4629 NAME="LOG-FONT-NAME"
4632 > The font used in the console window:</P
4637 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4642 >log-font-name Comic Sans MS</I
4645 </P
4650 NAME="LOG-FONT-SIZE"
4653 > Font size used in the console window:</P
4658 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4666 </P
4671 NAME="SHOW-ON-TASK-BAR"
4677 >"show-on-task-bar"</SPAN
4678 > controls whether or not
4682 > will appear as a button on the Task bar
4688 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4693 >show-on-task-bar 0</I
4696 </P
4701 NAME="CLOSE-BUTTON-MINIMIZES"
4706 >"close-button-minimizes"</SPAN
4707 > is set to 1, the Windows close
4708 button will minimize <SPAN
4711 > instead of closing
4712 the program (close with the exit option on the File menu).</P
4717 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4722 >close-button-minimizes 1</I
4725 </P
4735 >"hide-console"</SPAN
4736 > option is specific to the MS-Win console
4740 >. If this option is used,
4744 > will disconnect from and hide the
4750 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4758 </P
4769 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
4780 HREF="configuration.html"
4798 HREF="actions-file.html"
4808 >Privoxy Configuration</TD