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<h1 class="TITLE"><a name="AEN2" id="AEN2">Privoxy Frequently Asked
Questions</a></h1>
-
- <p class="PUBDATE"><sub><a href="copyright.html">Copyright</a> ©
- 2001-2014 by <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy
+ <p class="PUBDATE"><sub><a href="copyright.html">Copyright</a> �
+ 2001-2016 by <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy
Developers</a></sub><br></p>
-
- <p class="PUBDATE">$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.124 2016/05/22 12:42:29 fabiankeil
+ <p class="PUBDATE">$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.131 2016/08/26 12:27:34 fabiankeil
Exp $<br></p>
-
<div>
<div class="ABSTRACT">
<a name="AEN9" id="AEN9"></a>
-
<p>This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
<a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy</a>. It is
not a substitute for the <a href="../user-manual/index.html"
target="_top"><i class="CITETITLE">Privoxy User Manual</i></a>.</p>
-
<p>What is Privoxy?</p>
-
<p>Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering
capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and
HTTP headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other
can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. It has
application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
networks.</p>
-
<p>Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.</p>
-
<p>Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public
Interest (SPI).</p>
-
<p>Helping hands and donations are welcome:</p>
-
<ul>
<li>
<p><a href=
"https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE" target=
"_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE</a></p>
</li>
-
<li>
<p><a href="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
target=
"_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
-
<p>Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy
- represents the state at the release of version 3.0.25. You can find
+ represents the state at the release of version 3.0.26. You can find
the latest version of the document at <a href=
"https://www.privoxy.org/faq/" target=
"_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/</a>. Please see the <a href=
</div>
<hr>
</div>
-
<div class="TOC">
<dl>
<dt><b>Table of Contents</b></dt>
-
<dt>1. <a href="general.html">General Information</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>1.1. <a href="general.html#WHO-USES">Who should give
<span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> a try?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.2. <a href="general.html#BESTCHOICE">Is Privoxy the best
choice for me?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.3. <a href="general.html#PROXYMORON">What is a <span class=
"QUOTE">"proxy"</span>? How does Privoxy work?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.4. <a href="general.html#OTHERSTUFF">Does Privoxy do
anything more than ad blocking?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.5. <a href="general.html#NEWJB">What is this new version of
<span class="QUOTE">"Junkbuster"</span>?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.6. <a href="general.html#WHYPRIVOXY">Why <span class=
"QUOTE">"Privoxy"</span>? Why change the name from Junkbuster at
all?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.7. <a href="general.html#DIFFERS">How does Privoxy differ
from the old Junkbuster?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.8. <a href="general.html#WHATSANAD">How does Privoxy know
what is an ad, and what is not?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.9. <a href="general.html#MISTAKES">Can Privoxy make
mistakes? This does not sound very scientific.</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.10. <a href="general.html#CONFIGORNOT">Will I have to
configure Privoxy before I can use it?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.11. <a href="general.html#LAN">Can Privoxy run as a server
on a network?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.12. <a href="general.html#BROWSERS2">My browser does the
same things as Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.13. <a href="general.html#WHYTRUST">Why should I trust
Privoxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.14. <a href="general.html#LICENSE">Is there is a license or
fee? What about a warranty? Registration?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.15. <a href="general.html#SPYWARE">Can Privoxy remove
spyware? Adware? Viruses?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.16. <a href="general.html#OTHERADS">Can I use Privoxy with
other ad-blocking software?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.17. <a href="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS">I would like
to help you, what can I do?</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>1.17.1. <a href="general.html#PARTICIPATE">Would you like
to participate?</a></dt>
-
<dt>1.17.2. <a href="general.html#DONATE">Would you like to
donate?</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
+ <dt>1.18. <a href="general.html#SPONSOR">How can I become a
+ sponsor and get my logo or link on privoxy.org?</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>2. <a href="installation.html">Installation</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>2.1. <a href="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS">Which browsers
are supported by Privoxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.2. <a href="installation.html#WHICHOS">Which operating
systems are supported?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.3. <a href="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT">Can I use
Privoxy with my email client?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.4. <a href="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP">I just installed
Privoxy. Is there anything special I have to do now?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.5. <a href="installation.html#LOCALHOST">What is the proxy
address of Privoxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.6. <a href="installation.html#NOTHING">I just installed
Privoxy, and nothing is happening. All the ads are there. What's
wrong?</a></dt>
-
<dt>2.7. <a href="installation.html#NOTUSED">I get a <span class=
"QUOTE">"Privoxy is not being used"</span> dummy page although
Privoxy is running and being used.</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>3. <a href="configuration.html">Configuration</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>3.1. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE">What exactly is
an <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> file?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.2. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSS">The <span class=
"QUOTE">"actions"</span> concept confuses me. Please list some of
these <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span>.</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.3. <a href="configuration.html#ACTCONFIG">How are actions
files configured? What is the easiest way to do this?</a></dt>
-
- <dt>3.4. <a href="configuration.html#AEN393">There are several
+ <dt>3.4. <a href="configuration.html#AEN418">There are several
different <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> files. What are
the differences?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.5. <a href="configuration.html#GETUPDATES">Where can I get
updated Actions Files?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.6. <a href="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG">Can I use my old
config files?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.7. <a href="configuration.html#DIFFICULT">Why is the
configuration so complicated?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.8. <a href="configuration.html#YAHOO">How can I make my
Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.9. <a href="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES">What's the
difference between the <span class="QUOTE">"Cautious"</span>,
<span class="QUOTE">"Medium"</span> and <span class=
"QUOTE">"Advanced"</span> defaults?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.10. <a href="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG">Why can I
change the configuration with a browser? Does that not raise
security issues?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.11. <a href="configuration.html#FILTERFILE">What is the
<tt class="FILENAME">default.filter</tt> file? What is a
<span class="QUOTE">"filter"</span>?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.12. <a href="configuration.html#LANCONFIG">How can I set up
Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.13. <a href="configuration.html#NOSEEUM">Instead of ads,
now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see
anything.</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.14. <a href="configuration.html#WHYSEEUM">Why would anybody
want to see a checkerboard pattern?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.15. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKEDBYTEXT">I see some
images being replaced with text instead of the checkerboard
image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.16. <a href="configuration.html#SRVANY">Can Privoxy run as
a service on Win2K/NT/XP?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.17. <a href="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY">How can I make
Privoxy work with other proxies?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.18. <a href="configuration.html#PORT-80">Can I just set
Privoxy to use port 80 and thus avoid individual browser
configuration?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.19. <a href="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT">Can Privoxy
run as a <span class="QUOTE">"transparent"</span> proxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.20. <a href="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING">Can Privoxy
run as a <span class="QUOTE">"intercepting"</span>
proxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.21. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK">How can I
configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.22. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE">How can I
have separate rules just for HTML mail?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.23. <a href="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES">I sometimes
notice cookies sneaking through. How?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.24. <a href="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES">Are all
cookies bad? Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.25. <a href="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES">How can I
allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.26. <a href="configuration.html#MULTIPLES">Can I have
separate configurations for different users?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.27. <a href="configuration.html#WHITELISTS">Can I set-up
Privoxy as a whitelist of <span class="QUOTE">"good"</span>
sites?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.28. <a href="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK">How can I turn
off ad-blocking?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.29. <a href="configuration.html#TEMPLATES">How can I have
custom template pages, like the <span class="emphasis"><i class=
"EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span> page?</a></dt>
-
<dt>3.30. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKALL">How can I remove
the <span class="QUOTE">"Go There Anyway"</span> link from the
<span class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span>
page?</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>4. <a href="misc.html">Miscellaneous</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>4.1. <a href="misc.html#SLOWSME">How much does Privoxy slow
my browsing down? This has to add extra time to
browsing.</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.2. <a href="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES">I notice considerable
delays in page requests. What's wrong?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.3. <a href="misc.html#CONFIGURL">What are
"http://config.privoxy.org/" and "http://p.p/"?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.4. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS">How can I submit new ads, or
report problems?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.5. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS2">If I do submit missed ads,
will they be included in future updates?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.6. <a href="misc.html#NOONECARES">Why doesn't anyone answer
my support request?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.7. <a href="misc.html#IP">How can I hide my IP
address?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.8. <a href="misc.html#ANONFORSURE">Can Privoxy guarantee I
am anonymous?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.9. <a href="misc.html#PROXYTEST">A test site says I am not
using a Proxy.</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.10. <a href="misc.html#TOR">How do I use Privoxy together
with Tor?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.11. <a href="misc.html#SITEBREAK">Might some things break
because header information or content is being altered?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.12. <a href="misc.html#CACHING">Can Privoxy act as a
<span class="QUOTE">"caching"</span> proxy to speed up web
browsing?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.13. <a href="misc.html#FIREWALL">What about as a firewall?
Can Privoxy protect me?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.14. <a href="misc.html#WASTED">I have large empty spaces /
a checkerboard pattern now where ads used to be. Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.15. <a href="misc.html#SSL">How can Privoxy filter Secure
(HTTPS) URLs?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.16. <a href="misc.html#SECURE">Privoxy runs as a
<span class="QUOTE">"server"</span>. How secure is it? Do I need
to take any special precautions?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.17. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF">Can I temporarily disable
Privoxy?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.18. <a href="misc.html#REALLYOFF">When <span class=
"QUOTE">"disabled"</span> is Privoxy totally out of the
picture?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.19. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF2">How can I tell Privoxy to
totally ignore certain sites?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.20. <a href="misc.html#CRUNCH">My logs show Privoxy
<span class="QUOTE">"crunches"</span> ads, but also its own
internal CGI pages. What is a <span class=
"QUOTE">"crunch"</span>?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.21. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS">Can Privoxy affect files
that I download from a webserver? FTP server?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.22. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2">I just downloaded a Perl
script, and Privoxy altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.23. <a href="misc.html#HOSTSFILE">Should I continue to use
a <span class="QUOTE">"HOSTS"</span> file for
ad-blocking?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.24. <a href="misc.html#SEEALSO">Where can I find more
information about Privoxy and related issues?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.25. <a href="misc.html#MICROSUCK">I've noticed that Privoxy
changes <span class="QUOTE">"Microsoft"</span> to <span class=
"QUOTE">"MicroSuck"</span>! Why are you manipulating my
browsing?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.26. <a href="misc.html#VALID">Does Privoxy produce
<span class="QUOTE">"valid"</span> HTML (or XHTML)?</a></dt>
-
<dt>4.27. <a href="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY">How did you manage
to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>5. <a href="trouble.html">Troubleshooting</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>5.1. <a href="trouble.html#REFUSED">I cannot connect to any
websites. Or, I am getting <span class="QUOTE">"connection
refused"</span> message with every web page. Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.2. <a href="trouble.html#ERROR503">Why am I getting a 503
Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.3. <a href="trouble.html#FLUSHIT">I just added a new rule,
but the steenkin ad is still getting through. How?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.4. <a href="trouble.html#BADSITE">One of my favorite sites
does not work with Privoxy. What can I do?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.5. <a href="trouble.html#DUN">After installing Privoxy, I
have to log in every time I start IE. What gives?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.6. <a href="trouble.html#FTP">I cannot connect to any FTP
sites. Privoxy is blocking me.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.7. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIE">In Mac OS X, I can't
configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use Privoxy as the HTTP
proxy.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.8. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL">In Mac OS X, I
dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to uninstall it.
Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
empty the trash.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.9. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES">In Mac OS X Panther
(10.3), images often fail to load and/or I experience random
delays in page loading. I'm using <tt class=
"LITERAL">localhost</tt> as my browser's proxy setting.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.10. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXACCOUNTDELETION">I just
upgraded to Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and now <span class=
"APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> has stopped working.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.11. <a href="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME">My logs show many
<span class="QUOTE">"Unable to get my own hostname"</span> lines.
Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.12. <a href="trouble.html#INUSE">When I try to launch
Privoxy, I get an error message <span class="QUOTE">"port 8118 is
already in use"</span> (or similar wording). Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.13. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER">Pages with UTF-8
fonts are garbled.</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.14. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2">Why are binary
files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy is used?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.15. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3">What is the
<span class="QUOTE">"demoronizer"</span> and why is it
there?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.16. <a href="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN">Why do I keep seeing
<span class="QUOTE">"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</span> in raw source
code?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.17. <a href="trouble.html#DNSERRORS">I am getting too many
DNS errors like <span class="QUOTE">"404 No Such Domain"</span>.
Why can't Privoxy do this better?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.18. <a href="trouble.html#ALLCPU">At one site Privoxy just
hangs, and starts taking all CPU. Why is this?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.19. <a href="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL">I just installed
Privoxy, and all my browsing has slowed to a crawl. What
gives?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.20. <a href="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP">Why do my filters
work on some sites but not on others?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.21. <a href="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS">On some HTTPS sites
my browser warns me about unauthenticated content, the URL bar
doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
What's going on?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.22. <a href="trouble.html#SE-LINUX">I get selinux error
messages. How can I fix this?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.23. <a href="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS">I compiled
<span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> with Gentoo's portage
and it appears to be very slow. Why?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.24. <a href="trouble.html#TAINTED-SOCKETS">What are tainted
sockets and how do I prevent them?</a></dt>
-
<dt>5.25. <a href="trouble.html#PCRE-STACK-LIMIT">After adding my
custom filters, <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> crashes
when visitting certain websites</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>6. <a href="contact.html">Contacting the developers, Bug
Reporting and Feature Requests</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>6.1. <a href="contact.html#SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION">Please
provide sufficient information</a></dt>
-
<dt>6.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT">Get
Support</a></dt>
-
<dt>6.3. <a href="contact.html#REPORTING">Reporting
Problems</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>6.3.1. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS">Reporting Ads
or Other Configuration Problems</a></dt>
-
<dt>6.3.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS">Reporting
Bugs</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>6.4. <a href="contact.html#SECURITY-CONTACT">Reporting
security problems</a></dt>
-
<dt>6.5. <a href="contact.html#MAILING-LISTS">Mailing
Lists</a></dt>
-
<dt>6.6. <a href="contact.html#SF-TRACKERS">SourceForge support
trackers</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
-
<dt>7. <a href="copyright.html">Privoxy Copyright, License and
History</a></dt>
-
<dd>
<dl>
- <dt>7.1. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1480">License</a></dt>
-
- <dt>7.2. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1489">History</a></dt>
+ <dt>7.1. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1505">License</a></dt>
+ <dt>7.2. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1514">History</a></dt>
</dl>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
</div>
-
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<hr align="left" width="100%">
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cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"> </td>
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<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top"><a href="general.html"
accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
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<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"> </td>
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<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"> </td>
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<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">General Information</td>
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