X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Ffaq.sgml;h=b84c590f39e953d5625082a20818226abdbb5b4d;hb=78a42c0e70b960a696ca76466f975df6bcc20c3f;hp=6c257f7ddf5bcb95373db20e3523340debd819d7;hpb=a35d1d6bdc57b5242a6c6739ed7584eebd90a63f;p=privoxy.git
diff --git a/doc/source/faq.sgml b/doc/source/faq.sgml
index 6c257f7d..b84c590f 100644
--- a/doc/source/faq.sgml
+++ b/doc/source/faq.sgml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: faq.sgml,v 1.8 2002/03/09 15:55:48 swa Exp $
+ $Id: faq.sgml,v 1.15 2002/03/17 07:25:59 hal9 Exp $
Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
IJBSWA team. http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
Junkbuster Frequently Asked Questions
-$Id: faq.sgml,v 1.8 2002/03/09 15:55:48 swa Exp $
+$Id: faq.sgml,v 1.15 2002/03/17 07:25:59 hal9 Exp $
@@ -32,45 +32,331 @@
- The FAQ document gives users and developers alike answers to frequently
-asked questions about the Internet Junkbuster. The Internet Junkbuster is an application
-that provides privacy and security to the user of the world wide web.
+The FAQ document gives users and developers alike answers to frequently asked
+questions about the Internet Junkbuster. Internet
+Junkbuster is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities
+for protecting privacy, filtering web page content, managing cookies,
+controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious
+Internet Junk. Junkbuster has a very flexible configuration and can be
+customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Internet
+Junkbuster has application for both stand-alone systems and
+multi-user networks.
You can find the latest version of the document at http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/faq/.
Please see the Contact section in the user-manual if you want to contact the developers.
-
- Feel free to send a note to the developers at ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net.
-
+
+
+
+
+
Frequently Asked Questions
+
+
+General Information
+
+What is this new version of <application>Junkbuster</application>?
+
+ The original Internet Junkbuster (tm) is a
+ coyrighted product of Junkbusters
+ Corporation. Development of this effort stopped some time ago as of
+ version 2.0.2. Stefan Walherr started the ijbswa project on Sourceforge to rekindle
+ development. Other developers subsequently joined with Stefan, and have
+ since added many new features, refinements and enhancements.
+
+
+ The new Junkbuster started with the same
+ code base, but has changed significantly at this point.
+
+
+
+
+How does it differ from the old <application>Junkbuster?</application>
+
+ All the old features remain. The new Junkbuster
+ 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.
+
+
+ The configuration has changed significantly as well. This is something that
+ users will notice right off the bat. The blocklist
file does
+ not exist any more. This is replaced by actions
files, such
+ as ijb.actions. This is where most of the per site
+ configuration is now.
+
+
+
+
+What are some of the new features?
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Integrated browser based configuration and control utility (http://i.j.b). Browser-based tracing of rule
+ and filter effects.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Blocking of annoying pop-up browser windows.
+
+
+
+
+
+ HTTP/1.1 compliant (most, but not all 1.1 features are supported).
+
+
+
+
+
+ Support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions in the configuration files, and
+ generally a more sophisticated and flexible configuration syntax over
+ previous versions.
+
+
+
+
+
+ GIF de-animation.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Web page content filtering (removes banners based on size,
+ invisible web-bugs
, JavaScript, pop-ups, status bar abuse,
+ etc.)
+
+
+
+
+
+ Bypass many click-tracking scripts (avoids script redirection).
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Multi-threaded (POSIX and native threads).
+
+
+
+
+
+ Auto-detection and re-reading of config file changes.
+
+
+
+
+
+ User-customizable HTML templates (e.g. 404 error page).
+
+
+
+
+
+ Improved cookie management features (e.g. session based cookies).
+
+
+
+
+
+ Builds from source on most UNIX-like systems. Packages available for: Linux
+ (RedHat, SuSE, or Debian), Windows, Sun Solaris, Mac OSX, OS/2, HP-UX 11 and AmigaOS.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ In addition, the configuration is much more powerful and versatile over-all.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+What is a <quote>proxy</quote>? How does
+<application>Junkbuster</application> work?
+
+ When you connect to a web site with Junkbuster,
+ you are really connecting to your locally running version of
+ Junkbuster. Junkbuster
+ intercepts your requests for the web page, and relays that to the
+ real
web site. The web site sends the HTTP data stream
+ back to Junkbuster, where
+ Junkbuster can work its magic before it
+ relays this data back to your web browser.
+
+
+
+
+ Since Junkbuster sits between you and the
+ WWW, it is in a position to intercept and completely manage all web traffic and
+ HTTP content before it gets to your browser.
+ Junkbuster uses various programming methods to do
+ this, all of which is under your control via the various configuration
+ files and options.
+
+
+
+
+My browser does the same things as
+Junkbuster. Why should I use Junkbuster at all?
+
+ Modern browsers do indeed have some of the same
+ functionality as Junkbuster. Maybe this is
+ adequate for you. But Junkbuster is much more
+ verstatile and powerful, and can do a number of things that browsers just can't.
+
+
+ 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Is there is a license or fee? What about a
+warranty? Registration?
+
+ Junkbuster is licensed under the
+ GNU General Public License (GPL). It is free to use, copy,
+ modify or distribute as you wish under the terms of this license.
+ See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
+ for specifics.
+
+
+ There is no warranty of any kind, expressed, implied or otherwise. That is
+ something that would cost real money ;-) There is no registration either.
+ Junkbuster really is free
+ in every respect!
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Installation
+Can I install the new
+ <application>Junkbuster</application> over the old one?
- Fillme.
+ We recommend you uninstall the old Junkbuster
+ first to minimize conflicts and confusion. You may want to
+ save your old configuration files for future reference. The configuration
+ is substantially changed.
+
+
+ See the user-manual for platform specific installation instructions.
+ [FIXME: This is meant for after the name change!]
+
+
+
+
+
+I just installed Junkbuster, and nothing is happening.
+All the ads are there. What's wrong?
+
+
+ Did you configure your browser to use Junkbuster
+ as a proxy? It does not sound like it. See below. You might also try flushing
+ the browser's caches to force a full re-reading of pages.
+
+
+
+
+
+What is the proxy address of Junkbuster?
+
+ If you set up the Junkbuster 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 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 told the Internet
+ Junkbuster to run on a different port with the
+ listen-address config option).
+
+
+ When configuring your browser's proxy settings you typically enter
+ the word localhost
in the boxes next to HTTP
+ and Secure
(HTTPS) and then the number 8118
+ for port
. This tells your browser to send all web
+ requests to Junkbuster
instead of directly to the
+ Interenet.
+
+
+ Junkbuster 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 Junkbuster
+ is running, or the equivalent hostname. Port assignment would be
+ same as above.
+
+ Junkbuster does not currently handle
+ protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, or other Internet
+ protocols.
+
+
+
+
Configuration
+Can I use my old config files?
+
+ No. These will not work. You will need to re-enter your old
+ data into the new configuration structure.
+
+
+
+
What are the differences between
-ijb-intermediate.action, ijb-basci.action, etc.?
+ijb-intermediate.action, ijb-basic.action, etc.?
Configuring the Internet Junkbuster is not easy. To help you get started, we
provide you with three different default configurations. The following table
@@ -392,10 +679,246 @@ more through Google.
+
+Can Junkbuster guarantee I am anonymous?
+
+ No. Your chances of remaining anonymous are greatly improved, but unless you
+ are an expert on Internet security it would be safest to assume that
+ everything you do on the Web can be traced back to you.
+
+
+ Junkbuster can remove various information about you,
+ and allows you more freedom to decide which sites
+ you can trust. But it's still possible that web sites can find out who you
+ are. Here's one way this can happen.
+
+
+ A few browsers disclose the user's email address in certain situations, such
+ as when transferring a file by FTP. Junkbuster
+ does not filter FTP. If you need this feature, or are concerned about the
+ mail handler of your browser disclosing your email address, you might
+ consider products such as NSClean.
+
+
+ Browsers available only as binaries could use non-standard headers to give
+ out any information they can have access to: see the manufacturer's license
+ agreement. It's impossible to anticipate and prevent every breach of privacy
+ that might occur. The professionally paranoid prefer browsers available as
+ source code, because anticipating their behavior is easier. Trust the source,
+ Luke!
+
+
+
+
+
+Might some things break because header information is
+being altered?
+
+
+ Definitely. More and more sites use HTTP header content to decide what to
+ display and how to display it. There is many ways that this can be handled,
+ so having hard and fast rules, is tricky.
+
+
+
+ USER AGENT
in particular is often used in this way to identify
+ the browser, and adjust content accordingly. Changing this now is not
+ recommended, since so many sites do look for this. You may get undesirable
+ results by changing this.
+
+
+
+ For instance, different browsers use different encodings of Russian and Czech
+ characters, certain web servers convert pages on-the-fly according to the
+ User Agent header. Giving a User Agent
with the wrong
+ operating system or browser manufacturer causes some sites in these languages
+ to be garbled; Surfers to Eastern European sites should change it to
+ something closer. And then some page access counters work by looking at the
+ REFERER
header; they may fail or break if unavailable. The
+ weather maps of Intellicast have been blocked by their server when no
+ REFERER
or cookie is provided, is another example. There are
+ many, many other ways things can go wrong when trying to fool a web server.
+
+
+
+ If you have problems with a site, you will have to adjust your configuration
+ accordingly. Cookies are probably the most likely adjustment that may
+ be required, but by no means the only one.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Can Junkbuster act as a <quote>caching</quote> proxy to
+speed up web browsing?
+
+ No, it does not have this ability at all. You want something like
+ Squid for this. And, yes,
+ before you ask, Junkbuster can co-exist
+ with other kinds of proxies like Squid
.
+
+
+
+
+
+The Junkbuster logo that replaces ads is very blocky
+and ugly looking. Can't a better font be used?
+
+
+ This is not a font problem. The logo is an image that is created by
+ Junkbuster on the fly. So as to not waste
+ memory, the image is rather small. The blockiness comes when the
+ image is scaled to fill a largish area. There is not much to be done
+ about this, other than to use one of the other
+ imageblocker
directives: pattern,
+ blank, or a URL of your chosing.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+I have large empty spaces now where ads used to be.
+Why does Junkbuster leave these large gaps?
+
+ It would be easy enough to just eliminate this space altogether, rather than
+ fill it with blank space. But, this would create problems with many pages
+ that use the overall size of the ad to help organize the page layout and
+ hold the various components of the page where they were intended to be. It is
+ best left this way.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Junkbuster runs as a <quote>server</quote>. How
+secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?
+
+ There are no known exploits that might effect
+ Junkbuster. On Unix-like systems,
+ Junkbuster can run as a non-privileged
+ user, which is how we recommend it be run. Also, by default
+ Junkbuster only listens to requests
+ from localhost
. It is not itself directly exposed to the
+ Internet in this configuration. If you want to have
+ Junkbuster serve as a LAN proxy, this will have to
+ be opened up to allow for external requests. In this case, we'd recommend
+ that the port used by Junkbuster (default is
+ 8118), be firewalled from outside (Internet) connections. Better safe than
+ sorry.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Troubleshooting
+
+
+I just upgraded and am getting <quote>connection refused</quote>
+with every web page?
+
+ Either Junkbuster is not running, or your
+ browser is configured for a different port than what
+ Junkbuster is using.
+
+
+
+ The old Junkbuster used port 8000 by
+ default. This has been changed to port 8118 now, due to a conflict
+ with NAS (Network Audio Service), which uses port 8000. If you haven't,
+ you need to change your browser to the new port number, or alternately
+ change Junkbuster's listen-address
+ setting in the config file used to start
+ Junkbuster.
+
+
+
+
+
+I just added a new rule, but the steenkin ad is
+still getting through. How?
+
+ If the ad had been displayed before you added its URL, it will probably be
+ held in the browser's cache for some time, so it will be displayed without
+ the need for any request to the server. The best thing to do is try flusing
+ the browser's caches. And then try again.
+
+
+
+ If this doesn't help, you probably have an error in the rule you
+ applied. Try pasting the full URL of the offending ad into http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-url-info
+ and see if any actions match your new rule.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+One of my favorite sites does not work with Junkbuster.
+What can I do?
+
+
+ First verify that it is indeed a Junkbuster problem,
+ by disabling Junkbuster filtering and blocking.
+ Go to http://i.j.b/ and click on
+ Toggle Junkbuster On or Off
, then disable it. Now try that
+ page again.
+
+
+
+ If still a problem, go to Show which actions apply to a URL and
+ why
from http://i.j.b/ and
+ paste the full URL of the page in question into the prompt. See which
+ actions are being applied to the URL. Now, armed with this information,
+ go to Edit the actions list
. Here you should see various
+ sections that have various Junkbuster
features disabled
+ for specific sites. Disabled actions
will have a
+ -
(minus sign) in front of them. Add your problem page
+ URL to one of these sections that looks like it is disabling the feature that
+ is causing the problem. Re-try the page. There might be some trial and error
+ involved.
+
+
+
+
+ Alternately, if you are comfortable with a text editor, you can accomplish
+ the same thing by editing the appropriate actions
file.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Known Issues
+
+ Fillme.
+
+
+
Contact the developers
Please see the user manual for information on how to contact the developers.
@@ -439,6 +962,27 @@ more through Google.
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: faq.sgml,v $
+Revision 1.15 2002/03/17 07:25:59 hal9
+Correcting some of my typos, and some additions.
+
+Revision 1.14 2002/03/17 02:39:13 hal9
+A little more added ...
+
+Revision 1.13 2002/03/17 00:22:20 hal9
+Adding new stuff, and trying to incorporate stuff from old faq.
+
+Revision 1.12 2002/03/11 20:13:21 swa
+typo
+
+Revision 1.11 2002/03/11 18:42:27 swa
+new section
+
+Revision 1.10 2002/03/11 13:13:27 swa
+correct feedback channels
+
+Revision 1.9 2002/03/10 23:34:04 swa
+more info on not hiding ip address
+
Revision 1.8 2002/03/09 15:55:48 swa
added default config section