<!entity history SYSTEM "history.sgml">
<!entity copyright SYSTEM "copyright.sgml">
<!entity license SYSTEM "license.sgml">
+<!entity p-authors SYSTEM "p-authors.sgml">
<!entity p-version "2.9.15">
<!entity p-status "beta">
+<!entity % p-authors-formal "INCLUDE"> <!-- include additional text, etc -->
<!entity % p-not-stable "INCLUDE">
<!entity % p-stable "IGNORE">
<!entity % p-text "IGNORE"> <!-- define we are not a text only doc -->
<!entity % p-config "IGNORE">
<!entity % p-supp-userman "IGNORE"> <!-- Omit some from supported.sgml -->
<!entity my-copy "©"> <!-- kludge for docbook2man -->
+<!entity % draft "IGNORE"> <!-- WIP stuff -->
]>
<!--
File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/user-manual.sgml,v $
This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.114 2002/05/16 09:42:50 oes Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.122 2002/05/24 13:24:08 oes Exp $
Copyright (C) 2001, 2002 Privoxy Developers <developers@privoxy.org>
See LICENSE.
</subscript>
</pubdate>
-<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.114 2002/05/16 09:42:50 oes Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.122 2002/05/24 13:24:08 oes Exp $</pubdate>
<!--
]]>
<para>
- The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use
- <ulink
+ The <citetitle>User Manual</citetitle> gives users information on how to
+
install, configure and use <ulink
url="http://www.privoxy.org/"><application>Privoxy</application></ulink>.
</para>
<!-- end privoxy.sgml -->
<para>
- You can find the latest version of the
user manual at <ulink
+ You can find the latest version of the
<citetitle>User Manual</citetitle> at <ulink
url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/">http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/</ulink>.
Please see the <ulink url="contact.html">Contact section</ulink> on how to
contact the developers.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-pack-rpm"><title>Red Hat, SuSE RPMs and Conectiva</title>
+<sect3 id="installation-pack-rpm"><title>Red Hat, SuSE and Conectiva RPMs</title>
<para>
RPMs can be installed with <literal>rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm</literal>,
<para>
If you have problems with failed dependencies, try rebuilding the SRC RPM:
- <literal>rpm --rebuild privoxy-&p-version;-1.src.rpm;</literal>. This
+ <literal>rpm --rebuild privoxy-&p-version;-1.src.rpm</literal>. This
will use your locally installed libraries and RPM version.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 id="installation-deb"><title>Debian</title>
<para>
- FIXME.
+ DEBs can be installed with <literal>dpkg -i
+ privoxy_&p-version;-1.deb</literal>, and will use
+ <filename>/etc/privoxy</filename> for the location of configuration
+ files.
</para>
</sect3>
<listitem>
<para>
-
Install <application>Privoxy</application>. See the <link
- linkend="installation">Installation Section</link> for platform specific
- information.
+ Install <application>Privoxy</application>. See the <link
+ linkend="installation">Installation Section</link> below for platform specific
+ information.
</para>
</listitem>
Advanced users and those who want to offer <application>Privoxy</application>
service to more than just their local machine should check the <link
linkend="config">main config file</link>, especially the <link
- linkend="access-control">security-relevant</link> options.
+ linkend="access-control">security-relevant</link> options. These are
+ off by default.
</para>
- </listitem>
+ </listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
-
Start <application>Privoxy</application>, if the installation program has
- not done this already. See the section <link linkend="startup">Starting
- <application>Privoxy</application></link>.
+ Start <application>Privoxy</application>, if the installation program has
+ not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
+
<link linkend="startup">Starting <application>Privoxy</application></link>.
</para>
- </listitem>
+ </listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Set your browser to use <application>Privoxy</application> as HTTP and HTTPS
- proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of
+ Set your browser to use <application>Privoxy</application> as HTTP and
+ HTTPS proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of
<literal>127.0.0.1</literal> and port <literal>8118</literal>.
(<application>Junkbuster</application> and earlier versions of
<application>Privoxy</application> used port 8000.) See the section <link
- linkend="startup">Starting <application>Privoxy</application></link>.
+ linkend="startup">Starting <application>Privoxy</application></link> below
+ for more details on this.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Flush your browser's caches, to remove any cached ad images.
+ Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
</para>
-</listitem>
+ </listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- Enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy.
+ A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
+ most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
+ configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
+ to no initial configuration is required in most cases.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ See the <link linkend="configuration">Configuration section</link> for more
+ configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
+ <![%draft;[ You might also want to look at the <link
+ linkend="quickstart-ad-blocking">next section</link> for a quick
+ introduction to how <application>Privoxy</application> blocks ads and
+ banners.]]>
</para>
</listitem>
-
+
<listitem>
<para>
If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are
- blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune <application>Privoxy's</application>
- behaviour, take a look at the <link linkend="actions-file">actions files</link>.
- As a quick start, you might find the <link linkend="act-examples">richly
- commented examples</link> helpful. You can also view and edit the actions
- files through the <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org">web-based
- user interface</ulink>. The Appendix <quote><link linkend="actionsanat">Anatomy of
- an Action</link></quote> has hints how to debug actions that <quote>misbehave</quote>.
+ blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
+ <application>Privoxy's</application> behaviour, take a look at the <link
+ linkend="actions-file">actions files</link>. As a quick start, you might
+ find the <link linkend="act-examples">richly commented examples</link>
+ helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <ulink
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org">web-based user interface</ulink>. The
+ Appendix <quote><link linkend="actionsanat">Anatomy of an
+ Action</link></quote> has hints how to debug actions that
+ <quote>misbehave</quote>.
</para>
</listitem>
-
+
<listitem>
<para>
Please see the section <link linkend="contact">Contacting the
help.
</para>
</listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Now enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy!
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ </itemizedlist>
+</para>
+
+
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+
+<sect2 id="quickstart-ad-blocking">
+<title>Quickstart to Ad Blocking</title>
+<!--
+ NOTE: This section is deliberately redundant for those that don't
+ want to read the whole thing (which is getting lengthy).
+-->
+<para>
+ Ad blocking is but one of <application>Privoxy's</application>
+ array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
+ user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.
+</para>
+<para>
+ This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
+ you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
+ information provided below, though this is highly recommended.
+</para>
+<para>
+ First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
+ more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
+ things that were not intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
+ extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
+ <quote>problem</quote> sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
+ configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
+ not an easy way to eliminate <emphasis>all</emphasis> ads. Either take
+ the easy way and settle for <emphasis>most</emphasis> ads blocked with the
+ default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
+ habits and preferences.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Secondly, a brief explanation of <application>Privoxy's </application>
+ <quote>actions</quote>. <quote>Actions</quote> in this context, are
+ the directives we use to tell <application>Privoxy</application> to perform
+ some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
+ <application>Privoxy</application> to take some <quote>action</quote>. Each
+ action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
+ <application>actions</application> in <application>Privoxy's</application>
+ arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <link
+ linkend="actions">Actions</link>, and <link linkend="actions-file">action
+ configuration files</link>, are explained in depth below.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Actions are specified in <application>Privoxy's</application> configuration,
+ followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
+ can actually be URL type <link linkend="af-patterns">patterns</link> that use
+ wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
+ actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.
+</para>
+<para>
+ When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
+ of the sections as defined in <application>Privoxy's</application> configuration,
+ or not. If so, then <application>Privoxy</application> will perform the
+ respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Futhermore, web
+ pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
+ use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
+ original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
+ embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
+ or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
+ such embedded URLs.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: <literal><link
+ linkend="block">block</link></literal>, <literal><link
+ linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image</link></literal>, and
+ <literal><link linkend="set-image-blocker">set-image-blocker</link></literal>:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <literal><link linkend="block">block</link></literal> - this action stops
+ any contact between your browser and any URL patterns that match this
+ action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, but also anything
+ that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any
+ communication with the remote server and sends <application>Privoxy</application>'s
+ own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <literal><link linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image</link></literal> -
+ tells <application>Privoxy</application> to treat this URL as an image.
+ <application>Privoxy</application>'s default configuration already does this
+ for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
+ is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
+ important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
+ some kind, can we replace it with an image of our chosing, instead of the
+ <application>Privoxy</application> BLOCKED page (which would only result in
+ a <quote>broken image</quote> icon). There are some limitations to this
+ though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substituion for
+ an entire HTML page in most situations.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <literal><link
+ linkend="set-image-blocker">set-image-blocker</link></literal> - tells
+ <application>Privoxy</application> what to display in place of an ad image that
+ has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
+ <literal><link linkend="block">block</link></literal> action somewhere in the
+ configuration, <emphasis>and</emphasis>, it must also match an
+ <literal><link linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image</link></literal> action.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
+ </para>
+ <simplelist>
+ <member>
+ <emphasis>pattern</emphasis> - a checkboard pattern, so that an ad
+ replacement is obvious. This is the default.
+ </member>
+ </simplelist>
+ <simplelist>
+ <member>
+ <emphasis>blank</emphasis> - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
+ This is the so-called <quote>invisible</quote> configuration option.
+ </member>
+ </simplelist>
+ <simplelist>
+ <member>
+ <emphasis>http://<URL></emphasis> - A redirect to any image anywhere
+ of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
+ </member>
+ </simplelist>
+ </listitem>
+
+</itemizedlist>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
+ the special <application>Privoxy</application> editor at <ulink
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</ulink>
+ (shortcut: <ulink url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/show-status</ulink>). This
+ is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
+ appropriate <quote>actions</quote> file, and click
+ <quote><guibutton>Edit</guibutton></quote>. It is best to put personal or
+ local preferences in <filename>user.action</filename> since this is not
+ meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
+ other files. Here you can insert new <quote>actions</quote>, and URLs for ad
+ blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
+ <application>Privoxy</application> will detect these changes automatically.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ A quick and simple step by step example:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
+ <quote><guimenuitem>Copy Link Location</guimenuitem></quote> from the
+ pop-up menu.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Set your browser to
+ <ulink
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</ulink>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Find <filename>user.action</filename> in the top section, and click
+ on <quote><guibutton>Edit</guibutton></quote>:
+ </para>
+
+ <!-- image of editor and actions files selections -->
+ <para>
+ <figure pgwide="0" float="0"><title>Actions Files in Use</title>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="../images/files-in-use.jpg" format="jpg">
+ </imageobject>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>[ Screenshot of Actions Files in Use ]</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </figure>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ You should have a section with only
+ <literal><link linkend="block">block</link></literal> listed under
+ <quote>Actions:</quote>.
+ If not, click a <quote><guibutton>Insert new section below</guibutton></quote>
+ button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
+ <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button right under the word <quote>Actions:</quote>.
+ This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
+ <literal><link linkend="block">block</link></literal> near the top, and click
+ in the <quote>Enabled</quote> column, then <quote><guibutton>Submit</guibutton></quote>
+ just below the list.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Now, in the <literal><link linkend="block">block</link></literal> actions section,
+ click the <quote><guibutton>Add</guibutton></quote> button, and paste the URL the
+ browser got from <quote><guimenuitem>Copy Link Location</guimenuitem></quote>.
+ Remove the <literal>http://</literal> at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
+ <quote><guibutton>Submit</guibutton></quote> (or
+ <quote><guibutton>OK</guibutton></quote> if in a pop-up window).
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Now go back to the original page, and press <keycap>SHIFT-Reload</keycap>
+ (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
</itemizedlist>
</para>
+<para>
+ This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
+ wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
+ site. For a more extensive explanation of <quote>patterns</quote>, and
+ the entire actions concept, see <link linkend="actions-file">the Actions
+ section</link>.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
+ to now go to the <link linkend="act-examples">Actions Files Tutorial</link>.
+ The ideas explained thererin also apply to the web-based editor.
+</para>
+
+</sect2>
+
</sect1>
+<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
+
+
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect1 id="startup">
<title>Starting <application>Privoxy</application></title>
127.0.0.1 (or localhost) for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions
used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done!
</para>
+
+ <!-- image of Mozilla Proxy configuration -->
+ <para>
+ <figure pgwide="0" float="0"><title>Proxy Configuration (Mozilla)</title>
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="../images/proxy_setup.jpg" format="jpg">
+ </imageobject>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>[ Screenshot of Mozilla Proxy Configuration ]</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </figure>
+ </para>
<para>
With <application>Netscape</application> (and
- <application>Mozilla</application>), this can be set under <literal>Edit
- -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy</literal>.
- For <application>Internet Explorer</application>: <literal>Tools ->
- Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting</literal>. Then,
- check <quote>Use Proxy</quote> and fill in the appropriate info (Address:
- 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too.
+ <application>Mozilla</application>), this can be set under:
+</para>
+
+<literallayout>
+<!-- Mix ascii and gui art, something for everybody -->
+<!-- spacing on this is tricky -->
+ <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>Preferences</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>Advanced</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>Proxies</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>HTTP Proxy</guibutton>
+</literallayout>
+
+<para>
+ For <application>Internet Explorer</application>:
+</para>
+
+<literallayout>
+<!-- Mix ascii and gui art, something for everybody -->
+<!-- spacing on this is tricky -->
+ <guibutton>Tools</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>Internet Properties</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>Connections</guibutton>
+ |_
+ <guibutton>LAN Settings</guibutton>
+</literallayout>
+
+<para>
+ Then, check <quote>Use Proxy</quote> and fill in the appropriate info
+ (Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include HTTPS (SSL), if you want HTTPS
+ proxy support too.
</para>
<para>
directory. Except on Win32 where it will try <filename>config.txt</filename>.
</para>
-<sect2 id="start-redhatdebian">
-<title>RedHat, Conectiva and Debian</title>
+<sect2 id="start-redhat">
+<title>RedHat and Conectiva</title>
<para>
-We use a script. Note that RedHat does not start Privoxy upon booting per
-default. It will use the file <filename>/etc/privoxy/config</filename> as its
-main configuration file. FIXME: Debian??
+ We use a script. Note that RedHat does not start Privoxy upon booting per
+ default. It will use the file <filename>/etc/privoxy/config</filename> as
+ its main configuration file.
</para>
<para>
<screen>
</para>
</sect2>
+<sect2 id="start-debian">
+<title>Debian</title>
+<para>
+ We use a script. Note that Debian starts Privoxy upon booting per
+ default. It will use the file
+ <filename>/etc/privoxy/config</filename> as its main configuration
+ file.
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ # /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+</screen>
+</para>
+</sect2>
+
<sect2 id="start-suse">
<title>SuSE</title>
<para>
<!-- Needs to be put in a table and colorized -->
<screen>
<msgtext>
- <bridgehead renderas="sect2">Privoxy Menu</bridgehead>
+ <bridgehead renderas="sect2"> Privoxy Menu</bridgehead>
<simplelist>
<member>
<para>
If you leave out the IP address, <application>Privoxy</application> will
bind to all interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable
- from the Internet. In that case, consider using access control lists (ACL's)
- (see <quote>ACLs</quote> below), or a firewall.
+ from the Internet. In that case, consider using <link
+ linkend="acls">access control lists</link> (ACL's, see below), and/or
+ a firewall.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ If you open <application>Privoxy</application> to untrusted users, you will
+ also want to turn off the <literal><link
+ linkend="enable-edit-actions">enable-edit-actions</link></literal> and
+ <literal><link linkend="enable-remote-toggle">enable-remote-toggle</link></literal>
+ options!
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="acls"><title>
ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</title>
-<anchor id="permit-acces">
-<anchor id="deny-acces">
+<anchor id="permit-access">
+<anchor id="deny-access">
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<title>How Actions are Applied to URLs</title>
<para>
Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections,
- like the <quote><link linkend="aliases">alias</link></quote> sections which will be discussed later. For now
- let's concentrate on regular sections: They have a heading line (often split
- up to multiple lines for readability) which consist of a list of actions,
- separated by whitespace and enclosed in curly braces. Below that, there
- is a list of URL patterns, each on a separate line.
+ like the <quote><link linkend="aliases">alias</link></quote> sections which will
+ be discussed later. For now let's concentrate on regular sections: They have a
+ heading line (often split up to multiple lines for readability) which consist
+ of a list of actions, separated by whitespace and enclosed in curly braces.
+ Below that, there is a list of URL patterns, each on a separate line.
</para>
<para>
applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated, using the heading
of the section in which the pattern is located. If multiple matches for
the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins. If not,
- the effects are aggregated (e.g. a URL might match both the
- <ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>
- and <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> actions).
-
+ the effects are aggregated. E.g. a URL might match a regular section with
+ a heading line of <literal>{
+ +<ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">handle-as-image</ulink> }</literal>,
+ then later another one with just <literal>{
+ +<ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</ulink> }</literal>, resulting
+ in <emphasis>both</emphasis> actions to apply.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- Please also note that matching in the path is case
- <emphasis>INSENSITIVE</emphasis> by default, but you can switch to case
- sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the
- <quote>(?-i)</quote> switch:
- <literal>www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.*</literal> will match only
- documents whose path starts with <literal>PaTtErN</literal> in
+ Please also note that matching in the path is <emphasis>CASE INSENSITIVE</emphasis>
+ by default, but you can switch to case sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the
+ <quote>(?-i)</quote> switch: <literal>www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.*</literal> will match
+ only documents whose path starts with <literal>PaTtErN</literal> in
<emphasis>exactly</emphasis> this capitalization.
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="add-header">
-<title><emphasis>add-header</emphasis></title>
+<title>add-header</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="block">
-<title><emphasis>block</emphasis></title>
+<title>block</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="crunch-incoming-cookies">
-<title><emphasis>crunch-incoming-cookies</emphasis></title>
+<title>crunch-incoming-cookies</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="crunch-outgoing-cookies">
-<title><emphasis>crunch-outgoing-cookies</emphasis></title>
+<title>crunch-outgoing-cookies</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="deanimate-gifs">
-<title><emphasis>deanimate-gifs</emphasis></title>
+<title>deanimate-gifs</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="downgrade-http-version">
-<title><emphasis>downgrade-http-version</emphasis></title>
+<title>downgrade-http-version</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="fast-redirects">
-<title><emphasis>fast-redirects</emphasis></title>
+<title>fast-redirects</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="filter">
-<title><emphasis>filter</emphasis></title>
+<title>filter</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="handle-as-image">
-<title><emphasis>handle-as-image</emphasis></title>
+<title>handle-as-image</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-forwarded-for-headers">
-<title><emphasis>hide-forwarded-for-headers</emphasis></title>
+<title>hide-forwarded-for-headers</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-from-header">
-<title><emphasis>hide-from-header</emphasis></title>
+<title>hide-from-header</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-referrer">
-<title><emphasis>hide-referrer</emphasis></title>
+<title>hide-referrer</title>
<anchor id="hide-referer">
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-user-agent">
-<title><emphasis>hide-user-agent</emphasis></title>
+<title>hide-user-agent</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="kill-popups">
-<title><emphasis>kill-popups<anchor id="kill-popup"></emphasis></title>
+<title>kill-popups<anchor id="kill-popup"></title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="limit-connect">
-<title><emphasis>limit-connect</emphasis></title>
+<title>limit-connect</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="prevent-compression">
-<title><emphasis>prevent-compression</emphasis></title>
+<title>prevent-compression</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="send-vanilla-wafer">
-<title><emphasis>send-vanilla-wafer</emphasis></title>
+<title>send-vanilla-wafer</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="send-wafer">
-<title><emphasis>send-wafer</emphasis></title>
+<title>send-wafer</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="session-cookies-only">
-<title><emphasis>session-cookies-only</emphasis></title>
+<title>session-cookies-only</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="set-image-blocker">
-<title><emphasis>set-image-blocker</emphasis></title>
+<title>set-image-blocker</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<para>
The first regular section is probably the most important. It has only
one pattern, <quote><literal>/</literal></quote>, but this pattern
- <link linkend="af-patterns">matches all URLs.</link>. Therefore, the
+ <link linkend="af-patterns">matches all URLs</link>. Therefore, the
set of actions used in this <quote>default</quote> section <emphasis>will
be applied to all requests as a start</emphasis>. It can be partly or
wholly overridden by later matches further down this file, or in user.action,
<para>
Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is
no real need to disable any actions here, but we will do that nonetheless,
- to have a complete listing for your reference. (Remember: A <quote>+</quote>
+ to have a complete listing for your reference. (Remember: a <quote>+</quote>
preceding the action name enables the action, a <quote>-</quote> disables!).
Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into
multiple lines with line continuation.
<para>
So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies,
which would be a reasonable starting point for many people. Now,
- you'd maybe want to be more specific and have customized rules that
+ you might want to be more specific and have customized rules that
are more suitable to your personal habits and preferences. These would
be for narrowly defined situations like your ISP or your bank, and should
be placed in <filename>user.action</filename>, which is parsed after all other
<sect1 id="templates">
<title>Templates</title>
<para>
- When <application>Privoxy</application> displays one of its internal
- pages, such as a <ulink url="http://bogus_404_page.com">404 Not Found error page</ulink>
- (<application>Privoxy</application> must be running for link to work as
- intended), it uses the appropriate template. On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these
- are located in <filename>/etc/privoxy/templates</filename> by default. These
- may be customized, if desired. <filename>cgi-style.css</filename> is used to
- control the HTML attributes (fonts, etc).
+ All <application>Privoxy</application> built-in pages, i.e. error pages such as the
+ <ulink url="http://show-the-404-error.page"><quote>404 - No Such Domain</quote>
+ error page</ulink>, the <ulink
+ url="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html"><quote>BLOCKED</quote>
+ page</ulink>
+ and all pages of its <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/">web-based
+ user interface</ulink>, are generated from <emphasis>templates</emphasis>.
+ (<application>Privoxy</application> must be running for the above links to work as
+ intended.)
</para>
+
<para>
- The default
- <ulink
- url="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html">Blocked
- </ulink> (<application>Privoxy</application> needs to be running for page to
- display) banner page with the bright red top banner, is called just
- <quote><filename>blocked</filename></quote>. This may be customized or
- replaced with something else if desired (not recommended for the casual
- user).
+ These templates are stored in a subdirectory of the <link linkend="confdir">configuration
+ directory</link> called <filename>templates</filename>. On unixish platforms,
+ this is typically
+ <ulink url="file:///etc/privoxy/templates/"><filename>/etc/privoxy/templates/</filename></ulink>.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The templates are basically normal HTML files, but with place-holders (called symbols
+ or exports), which <application>Privoxy</application> fills at run time. You can
+ edit the templates with a normal text editor, should you want to customize them.
+ (<emphasis>Not recommended for the casual user</emphasis>). Note that
+ just like in configuration files, lines starting with <literal>#</literal> are
+ ignored when the templates are filled in.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ The place-holders are of the form <literal>@name@</literal>, and you will
+ find a list of available symbols, which vary from template to template,
+ in the comments at the start of each file. Note that these comments are not
+ always accurate, and that it's probably best to look at the existing HTML
+ code to find out which symbols are supported and what they are filled in with.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ A special application of this substitution mechanism is to make whole
+ blocks of HTML code disappear when a specific symbol is set. We use this
+ for many purposes, one of them being to include the beta warning in all
+ our user interface (CGI) pages when <application>Privoxy</application>
+ in in an alpha or beta development stage:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+<!-- @if-unstable-start -->
+
+ ... beta warning HTML code goes here ...
+
+<!-- if-unstable-end@ --></screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ If the "unstable" symbol is set, everything in between and including
+ <literal>@if-unstable-start</literal> and <literal>if-unstable-end@</literal>
+ will disappear, leaving nothing but an empty comment:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen><!-- --></screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ There's also an if-then-else construct and an <literal>#include</literal>
+ mechanism, but you'll sure find out if you are inclined to edit the
+ templates ;-)
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ All templates refer to a style located at
+ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/send-stylesheet"><literal>http://config.privoxy.org/send-stylesheet</literal></ulink>.
+ This is, of course, locally served by <application>Privoxy</application>
+ and the source for it can be found and edited in the
+ <filename>cgi-style.css</filename> template.
</para>
</sect1>
&history;
<!-- end history -->
</sect2>
+
+<sect2 id="authors"><title>Authors</title>
+<!-- Include p-authors.sgml: -->
+ &p-authors;
+<!-- end authors -->
+</sect2>
+
</sect1>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<sect2 id="regex">
<title>Regular Expressions</title>
<para>
- <application>Privoxy</application> can use <quote>regular expressions</quote>
- in various config files. Assuming support for <quote>pcre</quote> (Perl
- Compatible Regular Expressions) is compiled in, which is the default. Such
- configuration directives do not require regular expressions, but they can be
- used to increase flexibility by matching a pattern with wild-cards against
- URLs.
+ <application>Privoxy</application> uses Perl-style <quote>regular
+ expressions</quote> in its <link linkend="actions-file">actions
+ files</link> and <link linkend="filter-file">filter file</link>,
+ through the <ulink url="http://www.pcre.org/">PCRE</ulink> and
+ <ulink url="http://www.oesterhelt.org/pcrs/">PCRS</ulink> libraries.
</para>
<para>
If you are reading this, you probably don't understand what <quote>regular
expressions</quote> are, or what they can do. So this will be a very brief
- introduction only. A full explanation would require a book ;-)
+ introduction only. A full explanation would require a <ulink
+ url="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/regex/">book</ulink> ;-)
</para>
<para>
- <quote>Regular expressions</quote> is a way of matching one character
- expression against another to see if it matches or not. One of the
- <quote>expressions</quote> is a literal string of readable characters
- (letter, numbers, etc), and the other is a complex string of literal
- characters combined with wild-cards, and other special characters, called
- meta-characters. The <quote>meta-characters</quote> have special meanings and
- are used to build the complex pattern to be matched against. Perl Compatible
- Regular Expressions is an enhanced form of the regular expression language
- with backward compatibility.
+ Regular expressions provide a language to describe patterns that can be
+ run against strings of characters (letter, numbers, etc), to see if they
+ match the string or not. The patterns are themselves (sometimes complex)
+ strings of literal characters, combined with wild-cards, and other special
+ characters, called meta-characters. The <quote>meta-characters</quote> have
+ special meanings and are used to build complex patterns to be matched against.
+ Perl Compatible Regular Expressions are an especially convenient
+ <quote>dialect</quote> of the regular expression language.
</para>
<para>
</member>
</simplelist></para>
-<para><simplelist>
- <member>
- <emphasis>s/string1/string2/g</emphasis> - This is used to rewrite strings of text.
- <quote>string1</quote> is replaced by <quote>string2</quote> in this
- example. There must of course be a match on <quote>string1</quote> first.
- </member>
-</simplelist></para>
-
<para>
These are just some of the ones you are likely to use when matching URLs with
<application>Privoxy</application>, and is a long way from a definitive
in the expression anywhere).
</para>
-<para>
- <emphasis><literal>s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/i</literal></emphasis> - This is
- a substitution. <quote>MicroSuck</quote> will replace any occurrence of
- <quote>microsoft</quote>. The <quote>i</quote> at the end of the expression
- means ignore case. The <quote>(?!.com)</quote> means
- the match should fail if <quote>microsoft</quote> is followed by
- <quote>.com</quote>. In other words, this acts like a <quote>NOT</quote>
- modifier. In case this is a hyperlink, we don't want to break it ;-).
-</para>
-
<para>
We are barely scratching the surface of regular expressions here so that you
can understand the default <application>Privoxy</application>
<ulink url="http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html">http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html</ulink>
</para>
+<para>
+ For information on regular expression based substititions and their applications
+ in filters, please see the <link linkend="filter-file">filter file tutorial</link>
+ in this manual.
+</para>
</sect2>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
</para>
</blockquote>
<para>
- Alternately, this may be reached at <ulink
- url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink>, but this
- variation may not work as reliably as the above in some configurations.
+ There is a shortcut: <ulink url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink> (But it
+ doesn't provide a fallback to a real page, in case the request is not
+ sent through <application>Privoxy</application>)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions','Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Submit Filter Feedback</ulink>
+ <ulink url="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions/index.php?url='+escape(location.href),'Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Submit Actions File Feedback</ulink>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <ulink url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info?url='+escape(location.href),'Why').focus());">Privoxy - Why?</ulink>
</para>
</listitem>
-
</itemizedlist>
</para>
-
-
<para>
- Credit: The site which gave me the general idea for these bookmarklets is
+ Credit: The site which gave us the general idea for these bookmarklets is
<ulink url="http://www.bookmarklets.com">www.bookmarklets.com</ulink>. They
have more information about bookmarklets.
</para>
<para>
The way <application>Privoxy</application> applies
- <link linkend="ACTIONS"><quote>actions</quote></link>
- and <link linkend="FILTER"><quote>filters</quote></link>
+ <link linkend="ACTIONS">actions</link> and <link linkend="FILTER">filters</link>
to any given URL can be complex, and not always so
easy to understand what is happening. And sometimes we need to be able to
<emphasis>see</emphasis> just what <application>Privoxy</application> is
doing. Especially, if something <application>Privoxy</application> is doing
is causing us a problem inadvertently. It can be a little daunting to look at
the actions and filters files themselves, since they tend to be filled with
- <quote>regular expressions</quote> whose consequences are not always
- so obvious.
+ <link linkend="regex">regular expressions</link> whose consequences are not
+ always so obvious.
</para>
<para>
<screen>
Matches for http://google.com:
---- File standard ---
-(no matches in this file)
-
---- File default ---
-
-{ -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs{last} -downgrade-http-version +fast-redirects
- -filter{popups} -filter{fun} -filter{shockwave-flash} -filter{crude-parental}
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{content-cookies}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
- -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -crunch-outgoing-cookies
- -crunch-incoming-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ In file: default.action <guibutton>[ View ]</guibutton> <guibutton>[ Edit ]</guibutton>
+
+{-add-header
+ -block
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ +deanimate-gifs{last}
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ +fast-redirects
+ -filter{popups}
+ -filter{fun}
+ -filter{shockwave-flash}
+ -filter{crude-parental}
+ +filter{html-annoyances}
+ +filter{js-annoyances}
+ +filter{content-cookies}
+ +filter{webbugs}
+ +filter{refresh-tags}
+ +filter{nimda}
+ +filter{banners-by-size}
+ +hide-forwarded-for-headers
+ +hide-from-header{block}
+ +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -handle-as-image
+ -kill-popups
+ -limit-connect
+ +prevent-compression
+ -send-vanilla-wafer
+ -send-wafer
+ +session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker{pattern} }
/
{ -session-cookies-only }
{ -fast-redirects }
.google.com
---- File user ---
+In file: user.action <guibutton>[ View ]</guibutton> <guibutton>[ Edit ]</guibutton>
(no matches in this file)
</screen>
</para>
<screen>
Final results:
- -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs{last} -downgrade-http-version -fast-redirects
- -filter{popups} -filter{fun} -filter{shockwave-flash} -filter{crude-parental}
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{content-cookies}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
- -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression -session-cookies-only -crunch-outgoing-cookies
- -crunch-incoming-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer
+
+ -add-header
+ -block
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ +deanimate-gifs{last}
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ -fast-redirects
+ -filter{popups}
+ -filter{fun}
+ -filter{shockwave-flash}
+ -filter{crude-parental}
+ +filter{html-annoyances}
+ +filter{js-annoyances}
+ +filter{content-cookies}
+ +filter{webbugs}
+ +filter{refresh-tags}
+ +filter{nimda}
+ +filter{banners-by-size}
+ +hide-forwarded-for-headers
+ +hide-from-header{block}
+ +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -handle-as-image
+ -kill-popups
+ -limit-connect
+ +prevent-compression
+ -send-vanilla-wafer
+ -send-wafer
+ -session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker{pattern}
</screen>
</para>
<para>
One last example. Let's try <quote>http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/</quote>.
- This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm...
+ This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm ...
</para>
<para>
Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
- { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade-http-version +fast-redirects
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{kill-popups}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
- +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block}
- +hide-referer{forge} -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{blank}
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -crunch-incoming-cookies
- -crunch-outgoing-cookies +kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ In file: default.action <guibutton>[ View ]</guibutton> <guibutton>[ Edit ]</guibutton>
+
+ {-add-header
+ -block
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ +deanimate-gifs
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ +fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances}
+ +filter{js-annoyances}
+ +filter{kill-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs}
+ +filter{nimda}
+ +filter{banners-by-size}
+ +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun}
+ +hide-forwarded-for-headers
+ +hide-from-header{block}
+ +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -handle-as-image
+ +kill-popups
+ +prevent-compression
+ -send-vanilla-wafer
+ -send-wafer
+ +session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker{blank} }
/
{ +block +handle-as-image }
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 1.122 2002/05/24 13:24:08 oes
+ Added Bookmarklet for one-click pre-filled access to show-url-info
+
+ Revision 1.121 2002/05/23 23:20:17 oes
+ - Changed more (all?) references to actions to the
+ <literal><link> style.
+ - Small fixes in the actions chapter
+ - Small clarifications in the quickstart to ad blocking
+ - Removed <emphasis> from <title>s since the new doc CSS
+ renders them red (bad in TOC).
+
+ Revision 1.120 2002/05/23 19:16:43 roro
+ Correct Debian specials (installation and startup).
+
+ Revision 1.119 2002/05/22 17:17:05 oes
+ Added Security hint
+
+ Revision 1.118 2002/05/21 04:54:55 hal9
+ -New Section: Quickstart to Ad Blocking
+ -Reformat Actions Anatomy to match new CGI layout
+
+ Revision 1.117 2002/05/17 13:56:16 oes
+ - Reworked & extended Templates chapter
+ - Small changes to Regex appendix
+ - #included authors.sgml into (C) and hist chapter
+
+ Revision 1.116 2002/05/17 03:23:46 hal9
+ Fixing merge conflict in Quickstart section.
+
+ Revision 1.115 2002/05/16 16:25:00 oes
+ Extended the Filter File chapter & minor fixes
+
Revision 1.114 2002/05/16 09:42:50 oes
More ulink->link, added some hints to Quickstart section
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff