X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;ds=sidebyside;f=doc%2Fsource%2Ffaq.sgml;h=e7f71018b272de1d7f9f01f2bb4128c566735bbf;hb=979620bb4c7aaaeb96f07b73b823c686d83cf14c;hp=715e623bec1cae5bbde242592c9359cd792ff27c;hpb=246bf1c2f242117ff4722491dd2dd1ff57fb929d;p=privoxy.git
diff --git a/doc/source/faq.sgml b/doc/source/faq.sgml
index 715e623b..e7f71018 100644
--- a/doc/source/faq.sgml
+++ b/doc/source/faq.sgml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
+
@@ -8,25 +8,24 @@
-
-
+
+
-
+
+
+
+Privoxy">
]>
- Copyright &my-copy; 2001, 2002 by
- Privoxy Developers
+ Copyright &my-copy; 2001-2020 by
+ Privoxy Developers
-$Id: faq.sgml,v 1.64 2002/06/09 16:37:31 hal9 Exp $
-
- &p-intro;
+ What is Privoxy? &p-intro;
+ Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy represents
+ the state at the release of version &p-version;.
You can find the latest version of the document at http://www.privoxy.org/faq/.
+ url="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/.
Please see the Contact section if you want to
- contact the developers.
+ contact the developers.
-
-
-
@@ -136,8 +137,84 @@ Hal.
General Information
+Who should give &my-app; a try?
+
+ Anyone who is interested in security, privacy, or in
+ finer-grained control over their web and Internet experience.
+
+
+
+Is Privoxy the best choice for
+me?
+
+ &my-app; is certainly a good choice, especially for those who want more
+ control and security. Those with the willingness to read the documentation
+ and the ability to fine-tune their installation will benefit the most.
+
+
+ One of Privoxy's
+ strengths is that it is highly configurable giving you the ability to
+ completely personalize your installation. Being familiar with, or at least
+ having an interest in learning about HTTP and other networking
+ protocols, HTML, and
+ Regular
+ Expressions
+ will be a big plus and will help you get the most out of &my-app;.
+ A new installation just includes a very basic configuration. The user
+ should take this as a starting point only, and enhance it as he or she
+ sees fit. In fact, the user is encouraged, and expected to, fine-tune the
+ configuration.
+
+
+ Much of Privoxy's configuration can be done
+ with a Web browser.
+ But there are areas where configuration is done using a
+ text editor
+ to edit configuration files. Also note that the web-based action editor
+ doesn't use authentication and should only be enabled in environments
+ where all clients with access to &my-app; listening port can be trusted.
+
+
+
+What is a proxy? How does
+Privoxy work?
+
+ A web proxy
+ is a service, based on a software such as &my-app;, that clients
+ (i.e. browsers) can use instead of connecting to web servers directly.
+ The clients then ask the proxy to request objects (web pages, images, movies etc)
+ on their behalf and to forward the data to the clients.
+ It is a go-between. For details, see
+ Wikipedia's proxy definition.
+
+
+ There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security (firewalling),
+ efficiency (caching) and others, and there are any number of proxies
+ to accommodate those needs.
+
+
+ &my-app; is a proxy that is primarily focused on
+ privacy enhancement, ad and junk elimination and freeing the user from
+ restrictions placed on his activities. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet,
+ it is in a perfect position to filter outbound personal information that your
+ browser is leaking, as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do
+ this, all of which are under your complete control via the various configuration
+ files and options. Being a proxy also makes it easier to share
+ configurations among multiple browsers and/or users.
+
+
+
+
+Does Privoxy do anything more than ad blocking?
+
+ Yes, ad blocking is but one possible use. There are many, many ways &my-app;
+ can be used to sanitize and customize web browsing.
+
+
-What is this new version of Privoxy?
+What is this new version of
+Junkbuster?
&history;
@@ -146,94 +223,60 @@ Hal.
-
-Why Privoxy? Why a name change at all?
+
+Why Privoxy? Why change the name from
+Junkbuster at all?
- Privoxy is the
- Privacy Enhancing Proxy. Also, its content
- modification and junk suppression allow you to browse your
- private edition of the web.
+ Though outdated, Junkbusters Corporation continued to offer their original
+ version of the Internet Junkbuster for a while,
+ so publishing our Junkbuster-derived software
+ under the same name would have led to confusion.
- Junkbusters Corporation
- continues to offer their original version of the Internet
- Junkbuster, so publishing our
- Junkbuster-derived software under the same name
- led to confusion.
+ There were also potential legal reasons not to use the
+ Junkbuster name, as it was (and maybe still is)
+ a registered trademark of Junkbusters Corporation.
+ There were, however, no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the
+ Privoxy project itself, and they, in fact,
+ shared our ideals and goals.
- There are also potential legal complications from the continued use of the
- Junkbuster name, which is a registered trademark of
- Junkbusters Corporation.
- There are, however, no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the
- Privoxy project itself, and they, in fact, still
- share our ideals and goals.
+ The Privoxy developers also believed that there were so many improvements
+ over the original code, that it was time to make a clean break from the past
+ and make a name in their own right.
- The developers also believed that there are so many changes from the original
- code, that it was time to make a clean break from the past and make
- a name in their own right.
+ Privoxy is the
+ Privacy Enhancing Proxy. Also, its content
+ modification and junk suppression gives you, the user, more
+ control, more freedom, and allows you to browse your personal and
+ private edition of the web.
-
-How does Privoxy differ
-from the old Junkbuster?
+How does Privoxy differ
+from the old Junkbuster?Privoxy picks up where
- Junkbuster left off. All the old features remain.
- The new Privoxy still blocks ads and banners,
- still manages cookies, and still helps protect your privacy. But, these are
- all enhanced, and many new features have been added, all in the same vein.
+ Junkbuster left off.
+ Privoxy still blocks ads and banners,
+ still manages cookies, and still
+ helps protect your privacy. But, most of these features have been enhanced,
+ and many new ones have been added, all in the same vein.
-
- The configuration has changed significantly as well. This is something that
- users will notice right off the bat if upgrading from
- Junkbuster 2.0.x. The blocklist
- cookielist, imagelist and much more has been
- combined into the actions files, with a completely different
- syntax. See the note to
- upgraders for details.
-Privoxy's new features include:
-
+
&newfeatures;
-What is a proxy? How does
-Privoxy work?
-
- A web proxy is a service, based on a software such as Privoxy,
- that clients (i.e. browsers) can use instead of connecting directly to the web
- servers on the Internet. The clients then ask the proxy to fetch the objects
- they need (web pages, images, movies etc) on their behalf, and when the proxy
- has done so, it hands the results back to the client.
-
-
- There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security (firewalling),
- efficiency (caching) and others, and there are just as many different proxies
- to accommodate those needs.
-
-
- Privoxy is a proxy that is solely focused on privacy
- protection and junk elimination. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet,
- it is in a perfect position to filter outbound personal information that your
- browser is leaking, as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do
- this, all of which are under your control via the various configuration
- files and options.
-
-
-
-
-How does Privoxy know what is
-an ad, and what is not?
+How does Privoxy know what is an ad, and what is not?Privoxy's approach to blocking ads is twofold:
@@ -244,7 +287,8 @@ an ad, and what is not?
and the host (blocking the big banner hosting services like doublecklick.net
already helps a lot). Privoxy takes advantage of this
fact by using URL
- patterns to sort out and block the requests for banners.
+ patterns to sort out and block the requests for things that sound
+ like they would be ads or banners.
Second, banners tend to come in certain sizes. But you
@@ -256,17 +300,17 @@ an ad, and what is not?
Both of this involves a certain amount of guesswork and is, of course, freely
- configurable.
+ and readily configurable.
-
-Can Privoxy make mistakes?
+
+Can Privoxy make mistakes?
This does not sound very scientific.
Actually, it's a black art ;-) And yes, it is always possible to have a broad
- rule accidentally block or change something by mistake. There is a good chance
- you may run into such a situation at some point. It is tricky writing rules to
+ rule accidentally block or change something by mistake. You will almost surely
+ run into such situations at some point. It is tricky writing rules to
cover every conceivable possibility, and not occasionally get false positives.
@@ -280,82 +324,248 @@ This does not sound very scientific.
+
+Will I have to configure Privoxy
+ before I can use it?
+
+ That depends on your expectations.
+ The default installation should give you a good starting
+ point, and block most ads and unwanted content,
+ but many of the more advanced features are off by default, and require
+ you to activate them.
+
+
+ You do have to set up your browser to use
+ Privoxy (see the Installation section below).
+
+
+ And you will certainly run into situations where there are false positives,
+ or ads not being blocked that you may not want to see. In these cases, you
+ would certainly benefit by customizing Privoxy's
+ configuration to more closely match your individual situation. And we
+ encourage you to do this. This is where the real power of
+ Privoxy lies!
+
+
+
+
+
+Can Privoxy run as a server on a network?
+
+ Yes, &my-app; runs as a server already, and can easily be configured to
+ serve more than one client. See
+ How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN below.
+
+My browser does the same things as
-Privoxy. Why should I use
-Privoxy at all?
+Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?
Modern browsers do indeed have some of the same
functionality as Privoxy. Maybe this is
- adequate for you. But Privoxy is much more
- versatile and powerful, and can do a number of things that browsers just can't.
+ adequate for you. But Privoxy is very
+ versatile and powerful, and can probably do a number of things
+ your browser just can't.
+
+
+ In addition, a proxy is good choice if you use multiple browsers, or
+ have a LAN with multiple computers since &my-app; can run as a server
+ application. This way all the configuration is in one place, and you don't
+ have to maintain a similar configuration for possibly many browsers or
+ users.
- In addition, a proxy is good choice if you use multiple browsers, or
- have a LAN with multiple computers. This way all the configuration
- is in one place, and you don't have to maintain a similar configuration
- for possibly many browsers.
+ Note, however, that it's recommended to leverage both your browser's
+ and Privoxy's privacy enhancing features
+ at the same time. While your browser probably lacks some features
+ &my-app; offers, it should also be able to do some things more
+ reliably, for example restricting and suppressing JavaScript.
+Why should I trust Privoxy?
+
+ The most important reason is because you have access to
+ everything, and you can control everything. You can
+ check every line of every configuration file yourself. You can check every
+ last bit of source code should you desire. And even if you can't read code,
+ there should be some comfort in knowing that other people can,
+ and do read it. You can build the software from scratch, if you want,
+ so that you know the executable is clean, and that it is
+ yours. In fact, we encourage this level of scrutiny. It
+ is one reason we use &my-app; ourselves.
+
+
-
-Is there is a license or fee? What about a
+Is there is a license or fee? What about a
warranty? Registration?
- Privoxy is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
+ Privoxy is free software and licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.
It is free to use, copy, modify or distribute as you wish under the terms of this
license. Please see the Copyright section for more
- information on the license and copyright. Or the LICENSE file
+ information on the license and copyright. Or the LICENSE file
that should be included.
There is no warranty of any kind, expressed, implied or otherwise.
That is something that would cost real money ;-) There is no registration either.
- Privoxy really is free
- in every respect!
-I would like to help you, what do I do?
+
+Can Privoxy remove spyware? Adware? Viruses?
+
+ No, at least not reliably enough to trust it. &my-app; is not designed to be
+ a malware removal tool and the default configuration doesn't even try to
+ filter out any malware.
+
+
+ &my-app; could help prevent contact from (known) sites that use such
+ tactics with appropriate configuration rules, and thus could conceivably
+ prevent contamination from such sites. However, keeping such a configuration
+ up to date would require a lot of time and effort that would be better spend
+ on keeping your software itself up to date so it doesn't have known
+ vulnerabilities.
+
+
+
-Money Money Money
+
+Can I use Privoxy with other ad-blocking software?
- We, of course, welcome donations and could use money for domain registering,
- buying software to test Privoxy with, and, of course,
- for regular world-wide get-togethers (hahaha). If you enjoy the software and feel
- like helping us with a donation, just drop us a note.
+ &my-app; should work fine with other proxies and other software in general.
-
+
+ But it is probably not necessary to use &my-app; in conjunction with other
+ ad-blocking products, and this could conceivably cause undesirable results.
+ It might be better to choose one software or the other and work a little to
+ tweak its configuration to your liking.
+
+
+ Note that this is an advice specific to ad blocking.
+
+
+
+I would like to help you, what can I do?
-Software
+Would you like to participate?
+
+ Well, we always need help. There is something for
+ everybody who wants to help us. We welcome new developers, packagers,
+ testers, documentation writers or really anyone with a desire to help in
+ any way. You DO NOT need to be a
+ programmer. There are many other tasks available. In fact,
+ the programmers often can't spend as much time programming because of some
+ of the other, more mundane things that need to be done, like checking the
+ Tracker feedback sections or responding to user questions on the mailing
+ lists.
+
+
+ So first thing, subscribe to the Privoxy Users
+ or the Privoxy
+ Developers mailing list, join the discussion, help out other users, provide general
+ feedback or report problems you noticed.
+
+
+ If you intend to help out with the trackers, you also might want to get an account on SourceForge.net
+ so we don't confuse you with the other name-less users.
+
+
+ We also have a Developer's Manual.
+ While it is partly out of date, it's still worth reading.
+
- If you are a vendor of a web-related software like a browser, web server
- or proxy, and would like us to ensure that Privoxy
- runs smoothly with your product, you might consider supplying us with a
- copy or license. We can't, however, guarantee that we will fix all potential
- compatibility issues as a result.
+ Our TODO list
+ may be of interest to you as well.
+ Please let us know if you want to work on one of the items listed.
-You want to work with us?
+Would you like to donate?
- Well, helping the team is always a good idea. We welcome new developers,
- packaging gurus or documentation writers. Simply get an account on SourceForge.net
- and mail your id to the developers
- mailing list. Then read the Developer's Manual.
+ Donations are welcome. Our
+ TODO list
+ is rather long and being able to pay one (or more) developers to work on Privoxy
+ would make a huge difference, even if it was only for a couple of weeks. Donations may
+ also be used for Privoxy-related travel expenses (for example to attend conferences),
+ for hardware used for Privoxy development and for hosting expenses etc.
+
+
+
+ Privoxy is an associated
+ project of Software
+ in the Public Interest (SPI), which allows us to receive
+ tax-deductible donations in the United States.
+ You can donate via Paypal
+ and Click & Pledge.
+ For details, please have a look at
+ SPI's general donation page.
+
- Once we have added you to the team, you'll have write access to the CVS repository, and
- together we'll find a suitable task for you.
+ If you have any questions regarding donations please mail to either the
+ public user mailing list or, if it's a private matter, to
+ Fabian Keil (Privoxy's SPI liaison)
+ directly.
+
+How can I become a sponsor and get my logo or link on privoxy.org?
+
+ We are currently offering the following sponsor levels as an experiment:
+
+
+
+ Gold (12000 USD/year)
+
+
+ Logo or text link shown at the bottom of the
+ Privoxy homepage.
+ Logo, link and self description on the
+ sponsor page.
+
+
+
+
+ Silver (1200 USD/year)
+
+
+ Logo or text link shown at the bottom of the
+ Privoxy homepage.
+ Logo, link and self description on the
+ sponsor page.
+
+
+
+
+ Bronze (600 USD/year)
+
+
+ Logo and link on the sponsor page.
+
+
+
+
+
+ The logo sizes depend on the sponsor level. Logos are served from
+ our server, no requests are made to the sponsor website unless
+ the links are being used.
+
+
+ The details may change over time but changes will only affect new sponsors
+ (or existing sponsors that explicitly agreed to the changes).
+
+
+ If you want to become a sponsor, please contact
+ Fabian Keil.
+ New sponsors are only accepted if no developer objects.
+
@@ -367,12 +577,16 @@ warranty? Registration?Installation
-Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?
-
- Any browser that can be configured to use a proxy, which
- should be virtually all browsers. Direct browser support is not necessary
- since Privoxy runs as a separate application and
- talks to the browser in the standardized HTTP protocol, just like a web server
+Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?
+
+ Any browser that can be configured to use a proxy, which
+ should be virtually all browsers, including
+ Firefox, Internet
+ Explorer, Opera, and
+ Safari among others.
+ Direct browser support is not an absolute requirement since
+ Privoxy runs as a separate application and talks
+ to the browser in the standardized HTTP protocol, just like a web server
does.
@@ -385,16 +599,36 @@ Include supported.sgml here:
&supported;
-Can I install
- Privoxy over Junkbuster?
+
+Can I use Privoxy with my email client?
+
+ As long as there is some way to set a HTTP proxy for the client, then yes,
+ any application can be used, whether it is strictly speaking a
+ browser or not. Though this may not be the best approach for
+ dealing with some of the common abuses of HTML in email. See How can I configure Privoxy
+ with Outlook? below for more on
+ this.
+
+
+ Be aware that HTML email presents a number of unique security and privacy
+ related issues, that can require advanced skills to overcome. The developers
+ recommend using email clients that can be configured to convert HTML to plain
+ text for these reasons.
+
+
+
+
-
-I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
+
+I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
special I have to do now?
- All browsers must be told to use Privoxy
- as a proxy by specifying the correct proxy address and port number
- in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. See below.
- You should also flush your browser's memory and disk cache to get rid of any
- cached junk items.
-
+ All browsers should be told to use Privoxy
+ as a proxy by specifying the correct proxy address and port number
+ in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. It's possible
+ to combine &my-app; with a packet filter to intercept HTTP requests
+ even if the client isn't explicitly configured to use &my-app;,
+ but where possible, configuring the client is recommended. See
+ the User Manual for more
+ details. You should also flush your browser's memory and disk
+ cache to get rid of any cached junk items, and remove any stored
+ cookies.
-
-What is the proxy address of Privoxy?
+What is the proxy address of Privoxy?
If you set up the Privoxy to run on
the computer you browse from (rather than your ISP's server or some
- networked computer on a LAN), the proxy will be on 127.0.0.1
+ networked computer on a LAN), the proxy will be on 127.0.0.1
(sometimes referred to as localhost,
which is the special name used by every computer on the Internet to refer
- to itself) and the port will be 8118 (unless you have Privoxy
- to run on a different port with the listen-address config option).
+ to itself) and the port will be 8118 (unless you used the listen-address
+ config option to tell Privoxy to run on
+ a different port).
When configuring your browser's proxy settings you typically enter
the word localhost or the IP address 127.0.0.1
in the boxes next to HTTP and Secure (HTTPS) and
- then the number 8118 for port.
+ then the number 8118 for port.
This tells your browser to send all web requests to Privoxy
instead of directly to the Internet.
- Privoxy can also be used to proxy for
- a Local Area Network. In this case, your would enter either the IP
- address of the LAN host where Privoxy
- is running, or the equivalent hostname. Port assignment would be
- same as above. Note that Privoxy doesn't
- listen on any LAN interfaces by default.
+ Privoxy can also be used to proxy for
+ a Local Area Network. In this case, your would enter either the IP
+ address of the LAN host where Privoxy
+ is running, or the equivalent hostname, e.g. 192.168.1.1.
+ Port assignment would be same as above. Note that
+ Privoxy doesn't listen on any LAN interfaces by
+ default.
Privoxy does not currently handle
- protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, or other Internet
- protocols.
+ any other protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, etc.
-
-I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
+
+I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
All the ads are there. What's wrong?
- Did you configure your browser to use Privoxy
+ Did you configure your browser to use Privoxy
as a proxy? It does not sound like it. See above. You might also try flushing
- the browser's caches to force a full re-reading of pages. You can verify
- that Privoxy is running, and your browser
- is correctly configured by entering the special URL:
- http://config.privoxy.org/.
+ the browser's caches to force a full re-reading of pages. You can verify
+ that Privoxy is running, and your browser
+ is correctly configured by entering the special URL:
+ http://p.p/.
+
This should take you to a page titled This is Privoxy.. with
access to Privoxy's internal configuration.
- If you see this, then you are good to go. If you receive a page saying
+ If you see this, then you are good to go. If you receive a page saying
Privoxy is not running, then the browser is not set up to use
your Privoxy installation.
If you receive anything else (probably nothing at all), it could either
be that the browser is not set up correctly, or that
Privoxy is not running at all. Check the log file.
+ url="../user-manual/config.html#LOGFILE">log file. For instructions
+ on starting Privoxy and browser configuration,
+ see the chapter
+ on starting Privoxy in the
+ User Manual.
+
+
+
+
+
+I get a Privoxy is not being used dummy page although
+Privoxy is running and being used.
+
+ First, make sure that Privoxy is really running and
+ being used by visiting http://p.p/. You
+ should see the Privoxy main page. If not, see
+ the chapter
+ on starting Privoxy in the
+ User Manual.
+
+
+ Now if http://p.p/ works for you, but
+ other parts of Privoxy's web interface show
+ the dummy page, your browser has cached a redirection it encountered before
+ Privoxy was being used. You need to clear your
+ browser's cache. Note that shift-reloading the dummy page won't help, since
+ that'll only refresh the dummy page, not the redirection that lead you there.
+
+ The procedure for clearing the cache varies from browser to browser. For
+ example, Mozilla/Netscape users would click
+ Edit --> Preferences -->
+ Advanced --> Cache and
+ then click both Clear Memory Cache
+ and Clear Disk Cache.
+ In some Firefox versions it's
+ Tools --> Options -->
+ Privacy --> Cache and
+ then click Clear Cache Now.
+
+
@@ -486,52 +766,44 @@ All the ads are there. What's wrong?
Configuration
-
-Can I use my old config files?
-
- The syntax, number, and purpose of configuration files has substantially
- changed from Junkbuster and earlier versions
- of Privoxy. The old files, like blocklist
- will not work at all. If you are upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will
- need to port your configuration data to the new format. Note that even the
- pattern syntax has changed! Even configuration files from the 2.9.x versions
- will need to be adapted, as configuration syntax has been very much in flow
- in the 2.9.x series.
-
-
-
-
-What is an actions file?
+
+What exactly is an actions file?
+ &my-app; utilizes the concept of
+ actions
+ that are used to manipulate and control web page data.
Actions files
- are where various actions
- that Privoxy might take while processing a certain
+ are where these actions
+ that Privoxy could take while processing a certain
request, are configured. Typically, you would define a set of default actions
- that apply to all URLs, then add exceptions to these defaults where needed.
+ that apply globally to all URLs, then add exceptions to these defaults where needed.
+ There is a wide array of actions available that give the user a high degree
+ of control and flexibility on how to process each and every web page.
-
+
Actions can be defined on a URL pattern basis, i.e.
for single URLs, whole web sites, groups or parts thereof etc. Actions can also be
grouped together and then applied to requests matching one or more patterns.
There are many possible actions that might apply to any given site. As an example,
- if you are blocking cookies as one of your default actions, but need to accept
- cookies from a given site, you would need to define an exception for this
- site in one of your actions files, preferably in user.action
+ if you are blocking cookies
+ as one of your default actions, but need to accept cookies from a given site,
+ you would need to define an exception for this site in one of your actions
+ files, preferably in user.action.
-The actions concept confuses me. Please list
+The actions concept confuses me. Please list
some of these actions.
For a comprehensive discussion of the actions concept, please refer
to the actions file
- chapter in the user
- manual. It includes a in the User
+ Manual. It includes a list of all actions
and an actions
file tutorial to get you started.
@@ -539,63 +811,123 @@ some of these actions.
-
-How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
-way to do this?
+
+How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
+way to do this?
Actions files are just text files in a special syntax and can be edited
- with a text editor. The probably easiest way is to access
+ with a text editor. But probably the easiest way is to access
Privoxy's user interface with your web browser
at http://config.privoxy.org/
(Shortcut: http://p.p/) and then select
View &
- change the current configuration from the menu.
+ change the current configuration from the menu. Note
+ that this feature must be explicitly enabled in the main config file
+ (see enable-edit-actions).
-
There are several different actions files. What are
the differences?
- As of Privoxy v2.9.15, three actions files
- are being included, to be used for
- different purposes: These are
- default.action, the main actions file
- which is actively maintained by the Privoxy
- developers, user.action, where users are encouraged
- to make their private customizations, and standard.action,
- which is for internal Privoxy use only.
- Please see the actions chapter
- in the user manual for a more
- detailed explanation.
+ Please have a look at the the actions chapter
+ in the User Manual for a detailed explanation.
-
- Earlier versions included three different versions of the
- default.action file. The new scheme allows for
- greater flexibility of local configuration, and for browser based
- selection of pre-defined aggressiveness levels.
-
+
+
+Where can I get updated Actions Files?
+
+ Based on your feedback and the continuing development, updates of
+ default.action will be
+ made available from time to time on the files section of
+ our project page.
+
+
+
+ If you wish to receive an email notification whenever we release updates of
+ Privoxy or the actions file, subscribe
+ to our announce mailing list, privoxy-announce@lists.privoxy.org.
+
+
+
+
+Can I use my old config files?
+
+ The syntax and purpose of configuration files has remained roughly the
+ same throughout the 3.x series, but backwards compatibility is not guaranteed.
+ Also each release contains updated, improved versions and it is
+ therefore strongly recommended to install the newer configuration files
+ and merge back your modifications.
+
+
+
+Why is the configuration so complicated?
+
+ Complicated is in the eye of the beholder.
+
+
+ Privoxy is currently mainly written by and for people who are already
+ familiar with the underlying concepts like regular expressions, HTTP and HTML,
+ or are willing to become familiar with them to be able to get the most
+ out of a powerful and flexible tool such as Privoxy.
+
+
+ While everybody is expected to be able to get a Privoxy default installation
+ up and running, fine-tuning requires a certain amount of background
+ information and Privoxy's documentation mainly concentrates on the
+ Privoxy-specific parts while only providing references to the rest.
+
+
+ If you or anyone you know has the skills, time and energy to
+ reduce the barrier of entry, please get involved.
+
-How can I make my Yahoo/Hotmail/GMX account work?
+How can I make my Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?
The default configuration shouldn't impact the usability of any of these services.
- It will, however, make all cookies temporary, so that your browser will forget your
+ It may, however, make all cookies
+ temporary, so that your browser will forget your
login credentials in between browser sessions. If you would like not to have to log
in manually each time you access those websites, simply turn off all cookie handling
for them in the user.action file. An example for yahoo might
look like:
- # Allow all cookies for Yahoo login:
#
{ -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies -session-cookies-only }
.login.yahoo.com
+
+ These kinds of sites are often quite complex and heavy with
+ Javascript and
+ thus fragile. So if still a problem,
+ we have an alias just for such
+ sticky situations:
+
+ # Gmail is a _fragile_ site:
+#
+{ fragile }
+ # Gmail is ...
+ mail.google.com
+
+ Be sure to flush your browser's caches whenever making these kinds of
+ changes, just to make sure the changes take.
+
+
+ Make sure the domain, host and path are appropriate as well. Your browser can
+ tell you where you are specifically and you should use that information for
+ your configuration settings. Note that above it is not referenced as
+ gmail.com, which is a valid domain name.
@@ -603,131 +935,36 @@ the differences?
What's the difference between the
Cautious, Medium and Advanced defaults?
- Configuring Privoxy is not entirely trivial. To help you get
- started, we provide you with three different default action packages in
- the web based actions file editor at Privoxy is not entirely trivial. To
+ help you get started, we provide you with three different default action
+ profiles in the web based actions file editor at http://config.privoxy.org/show-status.
- The following table shows you, which of the most important features are enabled in each
- configuration:
+ See the User
+ Manual for a list of actions, and how the default
+ profiles are set.
-
-