X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Fuser-manual.sgml;h=189aae047d788a9736a61e7db2c1d2a0aebea9da;hb=4932ae61ae408803210af44070ab7b0cd37d8014;hp=faac158fa990170f6e21a51679fde759b785e343;hpb=4a5121c3b907c377584ac09d4e5401c4107eaf5a;p=privoxy.git diff --git a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml index faac158f..189aae04 100644 --- a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml +++ b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml @@ -1,4 +1,23 @@ - + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +]> -
Privoxy User Manual -$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.52 2002/03/24 11:01:06 swa Exp $ +$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.90 2002/04/23 21:41:25 hal9 Exp $ @@ -39,20 +57,32 @@ Hal Burgiss + - The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use - Privoxy. Privoxy 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. Privoxy has a very flexible configuration - and can be customized to suit individual needs and - tastes. Privoxy has application for both - stand-alone systems and multi-user networks. + + This is here to keep vim syntax file from breaking :/ + If I knew enough to fix it, I would. + PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE! HB: hal@foobox.net + +]]> + -You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/user-manual/. - + The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use + Privoxy. + + + + &p-intro; + + + + You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/. + Please see the Contact section on how to + contact the developers. + @@ -61,151 +91,50 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at + + + + -Introduction - - Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced - filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, filtering and modifying web - page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and removing ads, - banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet Junk. - Privoxy has a very flexible configuration and - can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and - multi-user networks. - + +Introduction - This documentation is included with the current BETA version of - Privoxy and is mostly complete at this - point. The most up to date reference for the time being is still the comments - in the source files and in the individual configuration files. Development - of version 3.0 is currently nearing completion, and includes many significant - changes and enhancements over earlier versions. The target release date for - stable v3.0 is soon ;-) + This documentation is included with the current &p-status; version of + Privoxy, v.&p-version;soon ;-)]]>. + + - Since this is a BETA version, not all new features are well tested. This + Since this is a &p-status; version, not all new features are well tested. This documentation may be slightly out of sync as a result (especially with CVS sources). And there may be bugs, though hopefully not many! - +]]> - + New Features In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional - feature of ad and banner blocking and cookie management, - Privoxy provides new features, some of them - currently under development: - - - - - - - - - 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. - - - - + features of ad and banner blocking and cookie management, + Privoxy provides new features: + + &newfeatures; + @@ -215,249 +144,503 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at Installation + + + Privoxy is available both in convenient pre-compiled + packages for a wide range of operating systems, and as raw source code. + For most users, we recommend using the packages, which can be downloaded from our + Privoxy Project Page. + + - Privoxy is available as raw source code, or - pre-compiled binaries. See the Privoxy Home Page - for binaries and current release info. Privoxy - is also available via CVS. - This is the recommended approach at this time. But please be aware that CVS - is constantly changing, and it may break in mysterious ways. + If you like to live on the bleeding edge and are not afraid of using + possibly unstable development versions, you can check out the up-to-the-minute + version directly from the + CVS repository or simply download the nightly CVS + tarball. + + &supported; + + -Source +Binary Packages + - For gzipped tar archives, unpack the source: + Note: If you have a previous Junkbuster or + Privoxy installation on your system, you + will need to remove it. Some platforms do this for you as part + of their installation procedure. (See below for your platform). - - tar xzvf ijb_source_* [.tgz or .tar.gz] - cd ijb_source_2.9.11_beta - + In any case be sure to backup your old configuration + if it is valuable to you. See the + note to upgraders. - For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need the CVS - package installed first. To download CVS source: + How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system: + +Red Hat and SuSE RPMs + - - cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login - cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current - cd current - + RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm, + and will use /etc/privoxy for the location + of configuration files. - This will create a directory named current/, which will - contain the source tree. + Note that on Red Hat, Privoxy will not be + automatically started on system boot. You will need to enable that using + chkconfig, ntsysv, or similar method. - Then, in either case, to build from tarball/CVS source: + If you have problems with failed dependencies, try rebuilding the SRC RPM: + rpm --rebuild privoxy-&p-version;-1.src.rpm;. This + will use your locally installed libraries and RPM version. - - ./configure (--help to see options) - make (the make from gnu, gmake for *BSD) - su - make -n install (to see where all the files will go) - make install (to really install) - + Also note that if you have a Junkbuster RPM installed + on your system, you need to remove it first, because the packages conflict. + Otherwise, RPM will try to remove Junkbuster + automatically, before installing Privoxy. + + +Debian - For Redhat and SuSE Linux RPM packages, see below. + FIXME. + - + +Windows + + Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through + the installation process. + + -Red Hat +Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX + - To build Redhat RPM packages, install source as above. Then: + Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and + untar the archive. For the most part, you'll have to figure out where + things go. FIXME. + + + +OS/2 - - autoheader [suggested for CVS source] - autoconf [suggested for CVS source] - ./configure - make redhat-dist - + First, make sure that no previous installations of + Junkbuster and / or + Privoxy are left on your + system. You can do this by - This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example: + Then, just double-click the WarpIN self-installing archive, which will + guide you through the installation process. A shadow of the + Privoxy executable will be placed in your + startup folder so it will start automatically whenever OS/2 starts. -    /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm + The directory you choose to install Privoxy + into will contain all of the configuration files. - -    /usr/src/redhat/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.11-1.src.rpm + + + +Max OSX + + Unzip the downloaded package (you can either double-click on the file + in the finder, or on the desktop if you downloaded it there). Then, + double-click on the package installer icon and follow the installation + process. + Privoxy will be installed in the subdirectory + /Applications/Privoxy.app. + Privoxy will set itself up to start + automatically on system bringup via + /System/Library/StartupItems/Privoxy. + + +AmigaOS - To install, of course: + Copy and then unpack the lha archive to a suitable location. + All necessary files will be installed into Privoxy + directory, including all configuration and log files. To uninstall, just + remove this directory. + + Start Privoxy (with RUN <>NIL:) in your + startnet script (AmiTCP), in + s:user-startup (RoadShow), as startup program in your + startup script (Genesis), or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx). + Privoxy will automatically quit when you quit your + TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that + Privoxy is still running). + + + + + +Building from Source + + +&buildsource; + + + + + + + + + +Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application> + + + + +Note to Upgraders - - rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm - + There are very significant changes from older versions of + Junkbuster to the current + Privoxy. Configuration is substantially + changed. Junkbuster 2.0.x and earlier + configuration files will not migrate. The functionality of the old + blockfile, cookiefile and + imagelist, are now combined into the + actions file (default.action + for most installations). + + + A filter file (typically default.filter) + is new as of Privoxy 2.9.x, and provides some + of the new sophistication (explained below). config is + much the same as before. + + + If upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will have to use the new config + files, and possibly adapt any personal rules from your older files. + When porting personal rules over from the old blockfile + to the new actions file, please note that even the pattern syntax has + changed. If upgrading from 2.9.x development versions, it is still + recommended to use the new configuration files. + + + A quick list of things to be aware of before upgrading: - This will place the Privoxy configuration - files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files in - /var/log/privoxy/. + + + + + The default listening port is now 8118 due to a conflict with another + service (NAS). + + + + + Some installers may remove earlier versions completely. Save any + important configuration files! + + + + + Privoxy is controllable with a web browser + at the special URL: http://config.privoxy.org/ + (Shortcut: http://p.p/). Many + aspects of configuration can be done here, including temporarily disabling + Privoxy. + + + + + The primary configuration file for cookie management, ad and banner + blocking, and many other aspects of Privoxy + configuration is default.action. It is strongly + recommended to become familiar with the new actions concept below, + before modifying this file. + + + + + + + Some installers may not automatically start + Privoxy after installation. + + + + -SuSE + +Starting <application>Privoxy</application> - To build SuSE RPM packages, install source as above. Then: + Before launching Privoxy for the first time, you + will want to configure your browser(s) to use Privoxy + as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is localhost for the proxy address, + and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 8000). This is the one + configuration step that must be done! + + + + With Netscape (and + Mozilla), this can be set under Edit + -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy. + For Internet Explorer: Tools -> + Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then, + check Use Proxy and fill in the appropriate info (Address: + localhost, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too. - - autoheader [suggested for CVS source] - autoconf [suggested for CVS source] - ./configure - make suse-dist - + After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a + re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. You + are now ready to start enjoying the benefits of using + Privoxy! + - This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example: + Privoxy is typically started by specifying the + main configuration file to be used on the command line. Example Unix startup + command: -    /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm + + + # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config + + + -    /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.11-1.src.rpm + See below for other command line options. - To install, of course: + An init script is provided for SuSE and Red Hat. - - rpm -Uvv /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm - + For for SuSE: rcprivoxy start - This will place the Privoxy configuration - files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files in - /var/log/privoxy/. + For Red Hat and Debian: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start - - - -OS/2 + + If no configuration file is specified on the command line, + Privoxy will look for a file named + config in the current directory. Except on Win32 where + it will try config.txt. If no file is specified on the + command line and no default configuration file can be found, + Privoxy will fail to start. + - - Privoxy is packaged in a WarpIN self- - installing archive. The self-installing program will be named depending - on the release version, something like: - ijbos2_setup_1.2.3.exe. In order to install it, simply - run this executable or double-click on its icon and follow the WarpIN - installation panels. A shadow of the Privoxy - executable will be placed in your startup folder so it will start - automatically whenever OS/2 starts. + The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting + point. Most of the per site configuration is done in the + actions files. These are where various cookie actions are + defined, ad and banner blocking, and other aspects of + Privoxy configuration. There are several such + files included, with varying levels of aggressiveness. - The directory you choose to install Privoxy - into will contain all of the configuration files. + You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent + cookies, and add these to default.action as needed. By + default, most of these will be accepted only during the current browser + session (aka session cookies), until you add them to the + configuration. If you want the browser to handle this instead, you will need + to edit default.action and disable this feature. If you + use more than one browser, it would make more sense to let + Privoxy handle this. In which case, the + browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies. - If you would like to build binary images on OS/2 yourself, you will need - a few Unix-like tools: autoconf, autoheader and sh. These tools will be - used to create the required config.h file, which is not part of the - source distribution because it differs based on platform. You will also - need a compiler. - The distribution has been created using IBM VisualAge compilers, but you - can use any compiler you like. GCC/EMX has the disadvantage of needing - to be single-threaded due to a limitation of EMX's implementation of the - select() socket call. + Another feature where you will probably want to define exceptions for trusted + sites is the popup-killing (through the +popup and + +filter{popups} actions), because your favorite shopping, + banking, or leisure site may need popups. - In addition to needing the source code distribution as outlined earlier, - you will want to extract the os2seutp directory from CVS: - - cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login - cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co os2setup - - This will create a directory named os2setup/, which will contain the - Makefile.vac makefile and os2build.cmd - which is used to completely create the binary distribution. The sequence - of events for building the executable for yourself goes something like this: - - cd current - autoheader - autoconf - sh configure - cd ..\os2setup - nmake -f Makefile.vac - - You will see this sequence laid out in os2build.cmd. + Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all of + the optional 1.1 features are as yet supported. In the unlikely event that + you experience inexplicable problems with browsers that use HTTP/1.1 per default + (like Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.), you might + try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For Mozilla, look under Edit -> + Preferences -> Debug -> Networking. + Alternatively, set the +downgrade config option in + default.action which will downgrade your browser's HTTP + requests from HTTP/1.1 to HTTP/1.0 before processing them. - + + After running Privoxy for a while, you can + start to fine tune the configuration to suit your personal, or site, + preferences and requirements. There are many, many aspects that can + be customized. Actions (as specified in default.action) + can be adjusted by pointing your browser to + http://config.privoxy.org/ + (shortcut: http://p.p/), + and then follow the link to edit the actions list. + (This is an internal page and does not require Internet access.) + + + In fact, various aspects of Privoxy + configuration can be viewed from this page, including + current configuration parameters, source code version numbers, + the browser's request headers, and actions that apply + to a given URL. In addition to the default.action file + editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also + be turned on and off (toggled) from this page. + - -Windows -Click-click. (I need help on this. Not a clue here. Also for -configuration section below. HB.) + + If you encounter problems, try loading the page without + Privoxy. If that helps, enter the URL where + you have the problems into the browser + based rule tracing utility. See which rules apply and why, and + then try turning them off for that site one after the other, until the problem + is gone. When you have found the culprit, you might want to turn the rest on + again. - - -Other - Some quick notes on other Operating Systems. + If the above paragraph sounds gibberish to you, you might want to read more about the actions concept + or even dive deep into the Appendix + on actions. - For FreeBSD (and other *BSDs?), the build will require gmake - instead of the included make. gmake is - available from http://www.gnu.org. - The rest should be the same as above for Linux/Unix. + If you can't get rid of the problem at all, think you've found a bug in + Privoxy, want to propose a new feature or smarter rules, please see the + chapter "Contacting the Developers, .." below. - - + + +Command Line Options + + Privoxy may be invoked with the following + command-line options: + + + + + + + + --version + + + Print version info and exit. Unix only. + + + + + --help + + + Print short usage info and exit. Unix only. + + + + + --no-daemon + + + Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group + leader, and don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. + + + + + --pidfile FILE + + + + On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the + FILE on exit. Failure to create or delete the + FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE + option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. + + + + + --user USER[.GROUP] + + + + After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of + USER, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the + privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only. + + + + + configfile + + + If no configfile is included on the command line, + Privoxy will look for a file named + config in the current directory (except on Win32 + where it will look for config.txt instead). Specify + full path to avoid confusion. If no config file is found, + Privoxy will fail to start. + + + + + + + + + + + <application>Privoxy</application> Configuration - All Privoxy configuration is kept + All Privoxy configuration is stored in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor. Many important aspects of Privoxy can also be controlled easily with a web browser. @@ -470,10 +653,11 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Controlling <application>Privoxy</application> with Your Web Browser - Privoxy can be reached by the special - URL http://i.j.b/ (or alternately - http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/), - which is an internal page. You will see the following section: + Privoxy's user interface can be reached through the special + URL http://config.privoxy.org/ + (shortcut: http://p.p/), + which is a built-in page and works without Internet access. + You will see the following section: @@ -482,9 +666,10 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Please choose from the following options: + * Privoxy main page * Show information about the current configuration * Show the source code version numbers - * Show the client's request headers. + * Show the request headers. * Show which actions apply to a URL and why * Toggle Privoxy on or off * Edit the actions list @@ -499,17 +684,17 @@ Please choose from the following options: Privoxy. This is an easy way to adjust various aspects of Privoxy configuration. The actions file, and other configuration files, are explained in detail below. - Privoxy will automatically detect any changes - to these files. Toggle Privoxy On or Off is handy for sites that might - have problems with your current actions and filters, or just to test if - a site misbehaves, whether it is Privoxy + have problems with your current actions and filters. You can in fact use + it as a test to see whether it is Privoxy causing the problem or not. Privoxy continues - to run as a proxy in this case, but all filtering is disabled. - + to run as a proxy in this case, but all filtering is disabled. There + is even a toggle Bookmarklet offered, so + that you can toggle Privoxy with one click from + your browser. @@ -527,15 +712,15 @@ Please choose from the following options: For Unix, *BSD and Linux, all configuration files are located in /etc/privoxy/ by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and AmigaOS these are all in the same directory as the - Privoxy executable. The name and number of - configuration files has changed from previous versions, and is subject to - change as development progresses. + Privoxy executable. The installed defaults provide a reasonable starting point, though possibly aggressive by some standards. For the time being, there are only three - default configuration files (this will change in time): + default configuration files (this may change in time): @@ -551,44 +736,63 @@ Please choose from the following options: - The default.action file is used to define various - actions relating to images, banners, pop-ups, access - restrictions, banners and cookies. There is a CGI based editor for this - file that can be accessed via http://i.j.b. (Other actions - files are included as well with differing levels of filtering - and blocking, e.g. ijb-basic.action.) + default.action (the actions file) is used to define + which of a set of various actions relating to images, banners, + pop-ups, access restrictions, banners and cookies are to be applied, and where. + There is a web based editor for this file that can be accessed at http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions/ + (Shortcut: http://p.p/edit-actions/). + (Other actions files are included as well with differing levels of filtering + and blocking, e.g. basic.action.) - The default.filter file can be used to re-write the raw + default.filter (the filter file) can be used to re-write the raw page content, including viewable text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript, - and whatever else lurks on any given web page. + and whatever else lurks on any given web page. The filtering jobs are only + pre-defined here; whether to apply them or not is up to the actions file. + + All files use the # character to denote a + comment (the rest of the line will be ignored) and understand line continuation + through placing a backslash ("\") as the very last character + in a line. If the # is preceded by a backslash, it looses + its special function. Placing a # in front of an otherwise + valid configuration line to prevent it from being interpreted is called "commenting + out" that line. + + default.action and default.filter - can use Perl style regular expressions for maximum flexibility. All files use - the # character to denote a comment. Such - lines are not processed by Privoxy. After - making any changes, there is no need to restart + can use Perl style regular expressions for + maximum flexibility. + + + + After making any changes, there is no need to restart Privoxy in order for the changes to take - effect. Privoxy should detect such changes - automatically. + effect. Privoxy detects such changes + automatically. Note, however, that it may take one or two additional + requests for the change to take effect. When changing the listening address + of Privoxy, these wake up requests + must obviously be sent to the old listening address. + While under development, the configuration content is subject to change. The below documentation may not be accurate by the time you read this. Also, what constitutes a default setting, may change, so please check all your configuration files on important issues. +]]> @@ -608,571 +812,1375 @@ Please choose from the following options: - blockfile blocklist.ini + confdir /etc/privoxy - - - - - - Indicates that the blockfile is named blocklist.ini. (A - default installation does not use this.) - - - - A # indicates a comment. Any part of a - line following a # is ignored, except if - the # is preceded by a - \. + + - Thus, by placing a # at the start of an - existing configuration line, you can make it a comment and it will be treated - as if it weren't there. This is called commenting out an - option and can be useful to turn off features: If you comment out the - logfile line, Privoxy will not - log to a file at all. Watch for the default: section in each - explanation to see what happens if the option is left unset (or commented - out). + Assigns the value /etc/privoxy to the option + confdir and thus indicates that the configuration + directory is named /etc/privoxy/. - Long lines can be continued on the next line by using a - \ as the very last character. + All options in the config file except for confdir and + logdir are optional. Watch out in the below description + for what happens if you leave them unset. - There are various aspects of Privoxy behavior - that can be tuned. + The main config file controls all aspects of Privoxy's + operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter + where you may be surfing). -Defining Other Configuration Files +Configuration and Log File Locations - Privoxy can use a number of other files to tell it - what ads to block, what cookies to accept, etc. This section of the - configuration file tells Privoxy where to find - all those other files. + Privoxy can (and normally does) use a number of + other files for additional configuration and logging. + This section of the configuration file tells Privoxy + where to find those other files. - - On Windows and AmigaOS, - Privoxy looks for these files in the same - directory as the executable. On Unix and OS/2, - Privoxy looks for these files in the current - working directory. In either case, an absolute path name can be used to - avoid problems. - - - When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and - per-user config will be stored in subdirectories of confdir. - For now, only confdir/templates is used for storing HTML - templates for CGI results. - +confdir - - The location of the configuration files: - + + + Specifies: + + The directory where the other configuration files are located + + + + Type of value: + + Path name + + + + Default value: + + /etc/privoxy (Unix) or Privoxy installation dir (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + Mandatory + + + + Notes: + + + No trailing /, please + + + When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and + per-user config will be stored in subdirectories of confdir. + For now, the configuration directory structure is flat, except for + confdir/templates, where the HTML templates for CGI + output reside (e.g. Privoxy's 404 error page). + + + + + - - - - - confdir /etc/privoxy # No trailing /, please. - - - - - - The directory where all logging (i.e. logfile and - jarfile) takes place. No trailing - /, please: - +logdir - - - - - logdir /var/log/privoxy - - - - + + + Specifies: + + + The directory where all logging takes place (i.e. where logfile and + jarfile are located) + + + + + Type of value: + + Path name + + + + Default value: + + /var/log/privoxy (Unix) or Privoxy installation dir (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + Mandatory + + + + Notes: + + + No trailing /, please + + + + + - - Note that all file specifications below are relative to - the above two directories! - +actionsfile - - The default.action file contains patterns to specify the actions - to apply to requests for each site. Default: Cookies to and from all - destinations are kept only during the current browser session (i.e. they are - not saved to disk). Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are - filtered through selected sections of default.filter. No sites - are blocked. The Privoxy logo is displayed for - filtered ads and other images. The syntax of this file is explained in detail - below. Other actions files - are included, and you are free to use any of them. They have varying degrees - of aggressiveness. - + + + Specifies: + + + The actions file to use + + + + + Type of value: + + File name, relative to confdir + + + + Default value: + + default.action (Unix) or default.action.txt (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No action is taken at all. Simple neutral proxying. + + + + + Notes: + + + There is no point in using Privoxy without + an actions file. There are three different actions files included in the + distribution, with varying degrees of aggressiveness: + default.action, intermediate.action and + advanced.action. + + + + + - - - - - actionsfile default.action - - - - +filterfile - - The default.filter file contains content modification rules - that use regular expressions. These rules permit powerful - changes on the content of Web pages, e.g., you could disable your favorite - JavaScript annoyances, re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some - fun replacing Microsoft with MicroSuck wherever - it appears on a Web page. Default: whatever the developers are playing with - :-/ - + + + Specifies: + + + The filter file to use + + + + + Type of value: + + File name, relative to confdir + + + + Default value: + + default.filter (Unix) or default.filter.txt (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all + +filter{name} + actions in the actions file are turned off + + + + + Notes: + + + The default.filter file contains content modification rules + that use regular expressions. These rules permit powerful + changes on the content of Web pages, e.g., you could disable your favorite + JavaScript annoyances, re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some + fun replacing Microsoft with MicroSuck wherever + it appears on a Web page. + + + + + - - Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to slow down - page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has passed - the filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way since - the page is not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more noticeable - on slower connections. +logfile - + + + Specifies: + + + The log file to use + + + + + Type of value: + + File name, relative to logdir + + + + Default value: + + logfile (Unix) or privoxy.log (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No log file is used, all log messages go to the console (stderr). + + + + + Notes: + + + The windows version will additionally log to the console. + + + The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level + of detail and number of messages are set with the debug + option (see below). The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with + Privoxy (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you + think it should block) but in most cases you probably will never look at it. + + + Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to + periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job + (see man cron). For Red Hat, a logrotate + script has been included. + + + On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like /var/log/privoxy.* + +1024k 644 nobody.nogroup in /etc/logfiles, with + the effect that cron.daily will automatically archive, gzip, and empty the + log, when it exceeds 1M size. + + + + + - - - - - filterfile default.filter - - - - +jarfile - - The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The logfile - can be useful for tracking down a problem with - Privoxy (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you - think it should block) but in most cases you probably will never look at it. - + + + Specifies: + + + The file to store intercepted cookies in + + + + + Type of value: + + File name, relative to logdir + + + + Default value: + + jarfile (Unix) or privoxy.jar (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Intercepted cookies are not stored at all. + + + + + Notes: + + + The jarfile may grow to ridiculous sizes over time. + + + + + - - Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to - periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job - (see man cron). For Redhat, a logrotate - script has been included. - +trustfile - - On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like /var/log/privoxy.* - +1024k 644 nobody.nogroup in /etc/logfiles, with - the effect that cron.daily will automatically archive, gzip, and empty the - log, when it exceeds 1M size. - + + + Specifies: + + + The trust file to use + + + + + Type of value: + + File name, relative to confdir + + + + Default value: + + Unset (commented out). When activated: trust (Unix) or trust.txt (Windows) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + The whole trust mechanism is turned off. + + + + + Notes: + + + The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and should + be used with care. It is NOT recommended for the casual user. + + + If you specify a trust file, Privoxy will only allow + access to sites that are named in the trustfile. + You can also mark sites as trusted referrers (with +), with + the effect that access to untrusted sites will be granted, if a link from a + trusted referrer was used. + The link target will then be added to the trustfile. + Possible applications include limiting Internet access for children. + + + If you use + operator in the trust file, it may grow considerably over time. + + + + + - - Default: Log to the a file named logfile. - Comment out to disable logging. - + - - - - - logfile logfile - - - - + - - The jarfile defines where - Privoxy stores the cookies it intercepts. Note - that if you use a jarfile, it may grow quite large. Default: - Don't store intercepted cookies. - - - - - - #jarfile jarfile - - - - - - If you specify a trustfile, - Privoxy will only allow access to sites that - are named in the trustfile. You can also mark sites as trusted referrers, - with the effect that access to untrusted sites will be granted, if a link - from a trusted referrer was used. The link target will then be added to the - trustfile. This is a very restrictive feature that typical - users most probably want to leave disabled. Default: Disabled, don't use the - trust mechanism. - + - - - - - #trustfile trust - - - - - - - If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line - documentation about your blocking policy and to specify the URL(s) here. They - will appear on the page that your users receive when they try to access - untrusted content. Use multiple times for multiple URLs. Default: Don't - display links on the untrusted info page. - + +Local Set-up Documentation - - - - - trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/why_we_block.html - trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/what_we_allow.html - - - - + + If you intend to operate Privoxy for more users + that just yourself, it might be a good idea to let them know how to reach + you, what you block and why you do that, your policies etc. + - +trust-info-url - + + + Specifies: + + + A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an untrusted page is denied. + + + + + Type of value: + + URL + + + + Default value: + + Two example URL are provided + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page. + + + + + Notes: + + + The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism has been + activated. (See trustfile above.) + + + If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line + documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here. + Use multiple times for multiple URLs. + + + The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up + locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first place! + + + + + +admin-address + + + + Specifies: + + + An email address to reach the proxy administrator. + + + + + Type of value: + + Email address + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface. + + + + + Notes: + + + If both admin-address and proxy-info-url + are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will + not be shown. + + + + + + +proxy-info-url + + + + Specifies: + + + A URL to documentation about the local Privoxy setup, + configuration or policies. + + + + + Type of value: + + URL + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface. + + + + + Notes: + + + If both admin-address and proxy-info-url + are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will + not be shown. + + + This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-) + + + + + + + -Other Configuration Options +Debugging - - This part of the configuration file contains options that control how - Privoxy operates. - + + These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem. + Note that you might also want to invoke + Privoxy with the --no-daemon + command line option when debugging. + - - Admin-address should be set to the email address of the proxy - administrator. It is used in many of the proxy-generated pages. Default: - fill@me.in.please. - +debug - - - - - #admin-address fill@me.in.please - - - - + + + Specifies: + + + Key values that determine what information gets logged. + + + + + Type of value: + + Integer values + + + + Default value: + + 12289 (i.e.: URLs plus informational and warning messages) + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Nothing gets logged. + + + + + Notes: + + + The available debug levels are: + + + + debug 1 # show each GET/POST/CONNECT request + debug 2 # show each connection status + debug 4 # show I/O status + debug 8 # show header parsing + debug 16 # log all data into the logfile + debug 32 # debug force feature + debug 64 # debug regular expression filter + debug 128 # debug fast redirects + debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation + debug 512 # Common Log Format + debug 1024 # debug kill pop-ups + debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings. + debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors + + + + To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use + multiple debug lines. + + + A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request + as it happens. 1, 4096 and 8192 are highly recommended + so that you will notice when things go wrong. The other levels are probably + only of interest if you are hunting down a specific problem. They can produce + a hell of an output (especially 16). + + + + The reporting of fatal errors (i.e. ones which crash + Privoxy) is always on and cannot be disabled. + + + If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set debug + 512 ONLY and not enable anything else. + + + + + - - Proxy-info-url can be set to a URL that contains more info - about this Privoxy installation, it's - configuration and policies. It is used in many of the proxy-generated pages - and its use is highly recommended in multi-user installations, since your - users will want to know why certain content is blocked or modified. Default: - Don't show a link to on-line documentation. - +single-threaded - - - - - proxy-info-url http://www.your-site.com/proxy.html - - - - + + + Specifies: + + + Whether to run only one server thread + + + + + Type of value: + + None + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability to + serve multiple requests simultaneously. + + + + + Notes: + + + This option is only there for debug purposes and you should never + need to use it. It will drastically reduce performance. + + + + + - - Listen-address specifies the address and port where - Privoxy will listen for connections from your - Web browser. The default is to listen on the localhost port 8118, and - this is suitable for most users. (In your web browser, under proxy - configuration, list the proxy server as localhost and the - port as 8118). - + - - If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to - serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you - will need to override the default. The syntax is - listen-address [<ip-address>]:<port>. If you leave - out the IP address, Privoxy 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 - aclfile above), or a firewall. - + - - For example, suppose you are running Privoxy on - a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network - (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address. - You want it to serve requests from inside only: - + +Access Control and Security - - - - - listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118 - - - - + + This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects + of Privoxy's configuration. + - - If you want it to listen on all addresses (including the outside - connection): - +listen-address - - - - - listen-address :8118 - - - - + + + Specifies: + + + The IP address and TCP port on which Privoxy will + listen for client requests. + + + + + Type of value: + + [IP-Address]:Port + + + + Default value: + + localhost:8118 + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Bind to localhost (127.0.0.1), port 8118. This is suitable and recommended for + home users who run Privoxy on the same machine as + their browser. + + + + + Notes: + + + You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port. + + + If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to + serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you + will need to override the default. + + + If you leave out the IP address, Privoxy 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 ACLs below), or a firewall. + + + + + Example: + + + Suppose you are running Privoxy on + a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network + (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address. + You want it to serve requests from inside only: + + + + listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118 + + + + + + - - If you do this, consider using ACLs (see aclfile above). Note: - you will need to point your browser(s) to the address and port that you have - configured here. Default: localhost:8118 (127.0.0.1:8118). - +toggle - - The debug option sets the level of debugging information to log in the - logfile (and to the console in the Windows version). A debug level of 1 is - informative because it will show you each request as it happens. Higher - levels of debug are probably only of interest to developers. - + + + Specifies: + + + Initial state of "toggle" status + + + + + Type of value: + + 1 or 0 + + + + Default value: + + 1 + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Act as if toggled on + + + + + Notes: + + + If set to 0, Privoxy will start in + toggled off mode, i.e. behave like a normal, content-neutral + proxy. See enable-remote-toggle + below. This is not really useful anymore, since toggling is much easier + via the web + interface then via editing the conf file. + + + The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray + if this option is present. + + + + + - - - - - debug 1 # GPC = show each GET/POST/CONNECT request - debug 2 # CONN = show each connection status - debug 4 # IO = show I/O status - debug 8 # HDR = show header parsing - debug 16 # LOG = log all data into the logfile - debug 32 # FRC = debug force feature - debug 64 # REF = debug regular expression filter - debug 128 # = debug fast redirects - debug 256 # = debug GIF de-animation - debug 512 # CLF = Common Log Format - debug 1024 # = debug kill pop-ups - debug 4096 # INFO = Startup banner and warnings. - debug 8192 # ERROR = Non-fatal errors - - - - - - It is highly recommended that you enable ERROR - reporting (debug 8192), at least until v3.0 is released. - +enable-remote-toggle + + + Specifies: + + + Whether or not the web-based toggle + feature may be used + + + + + Type of value: + + 0 or 1 + + + + Default value: + + 1 + + + + Effect if unset: + + + The web-based toggle feature is disabled. + + + + + Notes: + + + When toggled off, Privoxy acts like a normal, + content-neutral proxy, i.e. it acts as if none of the actions applied to + any URL. + + + For the time being, access to the toggle feature can not be + controlled separately by ACLs or HTTP authentication, + so that everybody who can access Privoxy (see + ACLs and listen-address above) can + toggle it for all users. So this option is not recommended + for multi-user environments with untrusted users. + + + Note that you must have compiled Privoxy with + support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. + + + + + - - The reporting of FATAL errors (i.e. ones which crash - Privoxy) is always on and cannot be disabled. - - - If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set debug - 512 ONLY, do not enable anything else. - +enable-edit-actions + + + Specifies: + + + Whether or not the web-based actions + file editor may be used + + + + + Type of value: + + 0 or 1 + + + + Default value: + + 1 + + + + Effect if unset: + + + The web-based actions file editor is disabled. + + + + + Notes: + + + For the time being, access to the editor can not be + controlled separately by ACLs or HTTP authentication, + so that everybody who can access Privoxy (see + ACLs and listen-address above) can + modify its configuration for all users. So this option is not + recommended for multi-user environments with untrusted users. + + + Note that you must have compiled Privoxy with + support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. + + + + + + +ACLs: permit-access and deny-access + + + Specifies: + + + Who can access what. + + + + + Type of value: + + + src_addr[/src_masklen] + [dst_addr[/dst_masklen]] + + + Where src_addr and + dst_addr are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid + DNS names, and src_masklen and + dst_masklen are subnet masks in CIDR notation, i.e. integer + values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole + destination part are optional. + + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Don't restrict access further than implied by listen-address + + + + + Notes: + + + Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems + administrators, and are not usually needed by individual users. + For a typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that + Privoxy only listens on the localhost or internal (home) + network address by means of the listen-address option. + + + Please see the warnings in the FAQ that this proxy is not intended to be a substitute + for a firewall or to encourage anyone to defer addressing basic security + weaknesses. + + + Multiple ACL lines are OK. + If any ACLs are specified, then the Privoxy + talks only to IP addresses that match at least one permit-access line + and don't match any subsequent deny-access line. In other words, the + last match wins, with the default being deny-access. + + + If Privoxy is using a forwarder (see forward below) + for a particular destination URL, the dst_addr + that is examined is the address of the forwarder and NOT the address + of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local + Privoxy to determine the IP address of the + ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for). + + + You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address lookups take + time. All DNS names must resolve! You can not use domain patterns + like *.org or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to multiple + IP addresses, only the first one is used. + + + Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects + if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other sites. + + + + + Examples: + + + Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and + listen-address are set: localhost + is OK. The absence of a dst_addr implies that + all destination addresses are OK: + + + + permit-access localhost + + + + Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to + nothing but www.example.com: + + + + permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32 + + + + Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere, + with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access www.dirty-stuff.example.com: + + + + permit-access 192.168.45.64/26 + deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com + + + + + + - - Multiple debug directives, are OK - they're logical-OR'd - together. - +buffer-limit - - - - - debug 15 # same as setting the first 4 listed above - - - - + + + Specifies: + + + Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering. + + + + + Type of value: + + Size in Kbytes + + + + Default value: + + 4096 + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit. + + + + + Notes: + + + For content filtering, i.e. the +filter and + +deanimate-gif actions, it is necessary that + Privoxy buffers the entire document body. + This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending + data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust -- with nasty consequences. + Hence this option. + + + When a document buffer size reaches the buffer-limit, it is + flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to + filter the rest of the document is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads + running, which might require up to buffer-limit Kbytes + each, unless you have enabled single-threaded + above. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Forwarding - Default: + This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of + multiple proxies. + It can be used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when + accessing specific domains by routing requests to those domains + through an anonymous public proxy (see e.g. http://www.multiproxy.org/anon_list.htm) + Or to use a caching proxy to speed up browsing. Or chaining to a parent + proxy may be necessary because the machine that Privoxy + runs on has no direct Internet access. - - - - debug 1 # URLs - debug 4096 # Info - debug 8192 # Errors - *we highly recommended enabling this* - - - + Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Privoxy + supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols. +forward + + + Specifies: + + + To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed. + + + + + Type of value: + + + target_domain[:port] + http_parent[/port] + + + Where target_domain is a domain name pattern (see the + chapter on domain matching in the actions file), + http_parent is the address of the parent HTTP proxy + as an IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or as a valid DNS name (or . to denote + no forwarding, and the optional + port parameters are TCP ports, i.e. integer + values from 1 to 64535 + + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Don't use parent HTTP proxies. + + + + + Notes: + + + If http_parent is ., then requests are not + forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers. + + + Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins. + + + + + Examples: + + + Everything goes to an example anonymizing proxy, except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle): + + + + forward .* anon-proxy.example.org:8080 + forward :443 . + + + + Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests + to that ISP's sites: + + + + forward .*. caching-proxy.example-isp.net:8000 + forward .example-isp.net . + + + + + + + +forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a + + + Specifies: + + + Through which SOCKS proxy (and to which parent HTTP proxy) specific requests should be routed. + + + + + Type of value: + + + target_domain[:port] + socks_proxy[/port] + http_parent[/port] + + + Where target_domain is a domain name pattern (see the + chapter on domain matching in the actions file), + http_parent and socks_proxy + are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names (http_parent + may be . to denote no HTTP forwarding), and the optional + port parameters are TCP ports, i.e. integer values from 1 to 64535 + + + + + Default value: + + Unset + + + + Effect if unset: + + + Don't use SOCKS proxies. + + + + + Notes: + + + Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins. + + + The difference between forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a + is that in the SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the SOCKS + server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally. + + + If http_parent is ., then requests are not + forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through + a SOCKS proxy. + + + + + Examples: + + + From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all + internal domains, but everything outbound goes through + their ISP's proxy by way of example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to + the Internet. + + + + forward-socks4a .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.example-isp.net:8080 + forward .example.com . + + + + A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this: + + + + forward-socks4 .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 . + + + + + + + +Advanced Forwarding Examples + - Privoxy normally uses - multi-threading, a software technique that permits it to - handle many different requests simultaneously. In some cases you may wish to - disable this -- particularly if you're trying to debug a problem. The - single-threaded option forces - Privoxy to handle requests sequentially. - Default: Multi-threaded mode. + If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content + only to their subscribers, you can configure multiple Privoxies + which have connections to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that + your users can see the internal content of all ISPs. - - - - #single-threaded - - - + Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.net. And host-b has a PPP connection to + isp-b.net. Both run Privoxy. Their forwarding + configuration can look like this: - toggle allows you to temporarily disable all - Privoxy's filtering. Just set toggle - 0. + host-a: - The Windows version of Privoxy puts an icon in - the system tray, which also allows you to change this option. If you - right-click on that icon (or select the Options menu), one - choice is Enable. Clicking on enable toggles - Privoxy on and off. This is useful if you want - to temporarily disable Privoxy, e.g., to access - a site that requires cookies which you would otherwise have blocked. This can also - be toggled via a web browser at the Privoxy - internal address of http://i.j.b on - any platform. + + forward .*. . + forward .isp-b.net host-b:8118 + - toggle 1 means Privoxy runs - normally, toggle 0 means that - Privoxy becomes a non-anonymizing non-blocking - proxy. Default: 1 (on). + host-b: - - - - toggle 1 - - - + + forward .*. . + forward .isp-a.net host-a:8118 + - For content filtering, i.e. the +filter and - +deanimate-gif actions, it is necessary that - Privoxy buffers the entire document body. - This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending - data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust. With nasty consequences. + Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either + host-a or host-b and be able to browse the internal content + of both isp-a and isp-b. - The buffer-limit option lets you set the maximum - size in Kbytes that each buffer may use. When the documents buffer exceeds - this size, it is flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to - filter the rest of it is made. Remember that there may multiple threads - running, which might require increasing the buffer-limit - Kbytes each, unless you have enabled - single-threaded above. + If you intend to chain Privoxy and + squid locally, then chain as + browser -> squid -> privoxy is the recommended way. - - - - buffer-limit 4069 - - - + Assuming that Privoxy and squid + run on the same box, your squid configuration could then look like this: - To enable the web-based default.action file editor set - enable-edit-actions to 1, or 0 to disable. Note - that you must have compiled Privoxy with - support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. This - internal page can be reached at http://i.j.b. - + + # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP) + cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query - - Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy - can edit the actions file, and their changes will affect all users. - For shared proxies, you probably want to disable this. Default: enabled. - + # Define ACL for protocol FTP + acl ftp proto FTP - - - - - enable-edit-actions 1 - - - - + # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy + always_direct allow ftp - - Allow Privoxy to be toggled on and off - remotely, using your web browser. Set enable-remote-toggleto - 1 to enable, and 0 to disable. Note that you must have compiled - Privoxy with support for this feature, - otherwise this option has no effect. + # Forward all the rest to Privoxy + never_direct allow all + - Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy can toggle - it on or off (see http://i.j.b), and - their changes will affect all users. For shared proxies, you probably want to - disable this. Default: enabled. + You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to squid's address and port. + Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult http_port in squid.conf. - - - - - enable-remote-toggle 1 - - - - + @@ -1182,1463 +2190,1860 @@ Please choose from the following options: -Access Control List (ACL) - - Access controls are included at the request of some ISPs and systems - administrators, and are not usually needed by individual users. Please note - the warnings in the FAQ that this proxy is not intended to be a substitute - for a firewall or to encourage anyone to defer addressing basic security - weaknesses. - - - - If no access settings are specified, the proxy talks to anyone that - connects. If any access settings file are specified, then the proxy - talks only to IP addresses permitted somewhere in this file and not - denied later in this file. - - +Windows GUI Options - Summary -- if using an ACL: + Privoxy has a number of options specific to the + Windows GUI interface: - - - Client must have permission to receive service. - - - - - LAST match in ACL wins. - - - - - Default behavior is to deny service. - - - - The syntax for an entry in the Access Control List is: + If activity-animation is set to 1, the + Privoxy icon will animate when + Privoxy is active. To turn off, set to 0. - ACTION SRC_ADDR[/SRC_MASKLEN] [ DST_ADDR[/DST_MASKLEN] ] + activity-animation 1 - Where the individual fields are: + If log-messages is set to 1, + Privoxy will log messages to the console + window: - ACTION = permit-access or deny-access - - SRC_ADDR = client hostname or dotted IP address - SRC_MASKLEN = number of bits in the subnet mask for the source - - DST_ADDR = server or forwarder hostname or dotted IP address - DST_MASKLEN = number of bits in the subnet mask for the target + log-messages 1 - - The field separator (FS) is whitespace (space or tab). + If log-buffer-size is set to 1, the size of the log buffer, + i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the + console window, will be limited to log-max-lines (see below). - IMPORTANT NOTE: If Privoxy is using a - forwarder (see below) or a gateway for a particular destination URL, the - DST_ADDR that is examined is the address of the forwarder - or the gateway and NOT the address of the ultimate - target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local - Privoxy to determine the address of the - ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for). + Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and + eat up all your memory! - Here are a few examples to show how the ACL features work: + + + + log-buffer-size 1 + + + - localhost is OK -- no DST_ADDR implies that - ALL destination addresses are OK: + log-max-lines is the maximum number of lines held + in the log buffer. See above. - permit-access localhost + log-max-lines 200 - A silly example to illustrate permitting any host on the class-C subnet with - Privoxy to go anywhere: + If log-highlight-messages is set to 1, + Privoxy will highlight portions of the log + messages with a bold-faced font: - permit-access www.privoxy.com/24 + log-highlight-messages 1 - Except deny one particular IP address from using it at all: + The font used in the console window: - deny-access ident.privoxy.com + log-font-name Comic Sans MS - You can also specify an explicit network address and subnet mask. - Explicit addresses do not have to be resolved to be used. + Font size used in the console window: - permit-access 207.153.200.0/24 + log-font-size 8 - - A subnet mask of 0 matches anything, so the next line permits everyone. + + show-on-task-bar controls whether or not + Privoxy will appear as a button on the Task bar + when minimized: - permit-access 0.0.0.0/0 + show-on-task-bar 0 - Note, you cannot say: + If close-button-minimizes is set to 1, the Windows close + button will minimize Privoxy instead of closing + the program (close with the exit option on the File menu). - permit-access .org + close-button-minimizes 1 - to allow all *.org domains. Every IP address listed must resolve fully. - - - - An ISP may want to provide a Privoxy that is - accessible by the world and yet restrict use of some of their - private content to hosts on its internal network (i.e. its own subscribers). - Say, for instance the ISP owns the Class-B IP address block 123.124.0.0 (a 16 - bit netmask). This is how they could do it: + The hide-console option is specific to the MS-Win console + version of Privoxy. If this option is used, + Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the + command console. - permit-access 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 # other clients can go anywhere - # with the following exceptions: - - deny-access 0.0.0.0/0 123.124.0.0/16 # block all external requests for - # sites on the ISP's network - - permit 0.0.0.0/0 www.my_isp.com # except for the ISP's main - # web site - - permit 123.124.0.0/16 0.0.0.0/0 # the ISP's clients can go - # anywhere + #hide-console - - Note that if some hostnames are listed with multiple IP addresses, - the primary value returned by DNS (via gethostbyname()) is used. Default: - Anyone can access the proxy. - - + - - -Forwarding + +The Actions File - This feature allows chaining of HTTP requests via multiple proxies. - It can be used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when - accessing specific domains by routing requests to those domains - to a special purpose filtering proxy such as lpwa.com. Or to use - a caching proxy to speed up browsing. + The actions file (default.action, formerly: + actionsfile or ijb.action) is used + to define what actions Privoxy takes for which + URLs, and thus determines how ad images, cookies and various other aspects + of HTTP content and transactions are handled on which sites (or even parts + thereof). - - It can also be used in an environment with multiple networks to route - requests via multiple gateways allowing transparent access to multiple - networks without having to modify browser configurations. + + Anything you want can blocked, including ads, banners, or just some obnoxious + URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or + accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not written to disk), + content can be modified, JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking fooled, and much more. + See below for a complete list of available actions. - Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Privoxy - SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A. The difference is that SOCKS 4A will resolve the target - hostname using DNS on the SOCKS server, not our local DNS client. + An actions file typically has sections. At the top, aliases are + defined (discussed below), then the default set of rules which will apply + universally to all sites and pages. And then below that is generally a lengthy + set of exceptions to the defined universal policies. + + +Finding the Right Mix - The syntax of each line is: + Note that some actions like cookie suppression or script disabling may + render some sites unusable, which rely on these techniques to work properly. + Finding the right mix of actions is not easy and certainly a matter of personal + taste. In general, it can be said that the more aggressive + your default settings (in the top section of the actions file) are, + the more exceptions for trusted sites you will have to + make later. If, for example, you want to kill popup windows per default, you'll + have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you regularly use + and that require popups for actually useful content, like maybe your bank, + favorite shop, or newspaper. - - - - forward target_domain[:port] http_proxy_host[:port] - forward-socks4 target_domain[:port] socks_proxy_host[:port] http_proxy_host[:port] - forward-socks4a target_domain[:port] socks_proxy_host[:port] http_proxy_host[:port] - - - + We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in the + distribution actions file. But there is no general rule of thumb on these + things. There just are too many variables, and sites are constantly changing. + Sooner or later you will want to change the rules (and read this chapter). + + + +How to Edit - If http_proxy_host is ., then requests are not forwarded to a - HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers. + The easiest way to edit the actions file is with a browser by + using our browser-based editor, which is available at http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions. - Lines are checked in sequence, and the last match wins. + If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit the + default.action file. + + + +How Actions are Applied to URLs - There is an implicit line equivalent to the following, which specifies that - anything not finding a match on the list is to go out without forwarding - or gateway protocol, like so: + The actions file is divided into sections. There are special sections, + like the alias 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. - - - - forward .* . # implicit - - - + To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is + compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of + 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. - In the following common configuration, everything goes to Lucent's LPWA, - except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle): + You can trace this process by visiting http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info. - - - - forward .* lpwa.com:8000 - forward :443 . - - - + More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, + Anatomy of an Action. + + + +Patterns - - Some users have reported difficulties related to LPWA's use of - . as the last element of the domain, and have said that this - can be fixed with this: - - - - - - - forward lpwa. lpwa.com:8000 - - - - - - - (NOTE: the syntax for specifying target_domain has changed since the - previous paragraph was written -- it will not work now. More information - is welcome.) + Generally, a pattern has the form <domain>/<path>, + where both the <domain> and <path> + are optional. (This is why the pattern / matches all URLs). - - In this fictitious example, everything goes via an ISP's caching proxy, - except requests to that ISP: - + + + www.example.com/ + + + is a domain-only pattern and will match any request to www.example.com, + regardless of which document on that server is requested. + + + + + www.example.com + + + means exactly the same. For domain-only patterns, the trailing / may + be omitted. + + + + + www.example.com/index.html + + + matches only the single document /index.html + on www.example.com. + + + + + /index.html + + + matches the document /index.html, regardless of the domain, + i.e. on any web server. + + + + + index.html + + + matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name and + there is no top-level domain called .html. + + + + - - - - - forward .* caching.myisp.net:8000 - forward myisp.net . - - - - +The Domain Pattern - For the @home network, we're told the forwarding configuration is this: + The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the + domain starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end. + For example: + + + .example.com + + + matches any domain that ENDS in + .example.com + + + + + www. + + + matches any domain that STARTS with + www. + + + + + .example. + + + matches any domain that CONTAINS .example. + (Correctly speaking: It matches any FQDN that contains example as a domain.) + + + + - - - - forward .* proxy:8080 - - - + Additionally, there are wild-cards that you can use in the domain names + themselves. They work pretty similar to shell wild-cards: * + stands for zero or more arbitrary characters, ? stands for + any single character, you can define character classes in square + brackets and all of that can be freely mixed: - - Also, we're told they insist on getting cookies and JavaScript, so you should - allow cookies from home.com. We consider JavaScript a potential security risk. - Java need not be enabled. - + + + ad*.example.com + + + matches adserver.example.com, + ads.example.com, etc but not sfads.example.com + + + + + *ad*.example.com + + + matches all of the above, and then some. + + + + + .?pix.com + + + matches www.ipix.com, + pictures.epix.com, a.b.c.d.e.upix.com etc. + + + + + www[1-9a-ez].example.c* + + + matches www1.example.com, + www4.example.cc, wwwd.example.cy, + wwwz.example.com etc., but not + wwww.example.com. + + + + - - In this example direct connections are made to all internal - domains, but everything else goes through Lucent's LPWA by way of the - company's SOCKS gateway to the Internet. - + - - - - - forward-socks4 .* lpwa.com:8000 firewall.my_company.com:1080 - forward my_company.com . - - - - +The Path Pattern - This is how you could set up a site that always uses SOCKS but no forwarders: + Privoxy uses Perl compatible regular expressions + (through the PCRE library) for + matching the path. - - - - forward-socks4a .* . firewall.my_company.com:1080 - - - + There is an Appendix with a brief quick-start into regular + expressions, and full (very technical) documentation on PCRE regex syntax is available on-line + at http://www.pcre.org/man.txt. + You might also find the Perl man page on regular expressions (man perlre) + useful, which is available on-line at http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html. - An advanced example for network administrators: + Note that the path pattern is automatically left-anchored at the /, + i.e. it matches as if it would start with a ^. - If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content to - their subscribers, you can configure forwarding to pass requests to the - specific host that's connected to that ISP so that everybody can see all - of the content on all of the ISPs. + Please also note that matching in the path is case + INSENSITIVE by default, but you can switch to case + sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the + (?-i) switch: + www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.* will match only + documents whose path starts with PaTtErN in + exactly this capitalization. + - - This is a bit tricky, but here's an example: - + + - - host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.com. And host-b has a PPP connection to - isp-b.com. host-a can run a Privoxy proxy with - forwarding like this: - - - - - - forward .* . - forward isp-b.com host-b:8118 - - - - + + +Actions - host-b can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding - like this: + Actions are enabled if preceded with a +, and disabled if + preceded with a -. So a +action means + do that action, e.g. +block means please + block the following URLs and/or patterns. All actions are + disabled by default, until they are explicitly enabled somewhere in an actions + file. - - - - - forward .* . - forward isp-a.com host-a:8118 - - - + + Actions are invoked by enclosing the action name in curly braces (e.g. + {+some_action}), followed by a list of URLs (or patterns that match URLs) to + which the action applies. There are three classes of actions: - Now, anyone on the Internet (including users on host-a - and host-b) can set their browser's proxy to either - host-a or host-b and be able to browse the content on isp-a or isp-b. - + - - Here's another practical example, for University of Kent at - Canterbury students with a network connection in their room, who - need to use the University's Squid web cache. + + + Boolean, i.e the action can only be on or + off. Examples: + + + + + + {+name} # enable this action + {-name} # disable this action + + + + + + + + + + Parameterized, e.g. +/-hide-user-agent{ Mozilla 1.0 }, + where some value is required in order to enable this type of action. + Examples: + + + + + + {+name{param}} # enable action and set parameter to param + {-name} # disable action (parameter) can be omitted + + + + + + + + + + Multi-value, e.g. {+/-add-header{Name: value}} ot + {+/-wafer{name=value}}), where some value needs to be defined + in addition to simply enabling the actino. Examples: + + + + + + {+name{param=value}} # enable action and set param to value + {-name{param=value}} # remove the parameter param completely + {-name} # disable this action totally and remove param too + + + + + + + - - - - forward *. ssbcache.ukc.ac.uk:3128 # Use the proxy, except for: - forward .ukc.ac.uk . # Anything on the same domain as us - forward * . # Host with no domain specified - forward 129.12.*.* . # A dotted IP on our /16 network. - forward 127.*.*.* . # Loopback address - forward localhost.localdomain . # Loopback address - forward www.ukc.mirror.ac.uk . # Specific host - - - + If nothing is specified in this file, no actions are taken. + So in this case Privoxy would just be a + normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must specifically + enable the privacy and blocking features you need (although the + provided default default.action file will + give a good starting point). - If you intend to chain Privoxy and - squid locally, then chain as - browser -> squid -> privoxy is the recommended way. + Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions + to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file. For + multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are + specified. + - Your squid configuration could then look like this: + The list of valid Privoxy actions are: - - - - - # Define Privoxy as parent cache - - cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 0 no-query - - # Define ACL for protocol FTP - acl FTP proto FTP - # Do not forward ACL FTP to privoxy - always_direct allow FTP + + + + + - # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to privoxy - always_direct allow CONNECT - # Forward the rest to privoxy - never_direct allow all - - - - + - + +<emphasis>+add-header{Name: value}</emphasis> - + + + Type: + + + Multi-value. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Send a user defined HTTP header to the web server. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + Any value is possible. Validity of the defined HTTP headers is not checked. + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+add-header{X-User-Tracking: sucks}} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + This action may be specified multiple times, in order to define multiple + headers. This is rarely needed for the typical user. If you don't know what + HTTP headers are, you definitely don't need to worry about this + one. + + + + + + +<emphasis>+block</emphasis> - -Windows GUI Options - - - Privoxy has a number of options specific to the - Windows GUI interface: - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + - - If activity-animation is set to 1, the - Privoxy icon will animate when - Privoxy is active. To turn off, set to 0. - + + Typical uses: + + + Used to block a URL from reaching your browser. The URL may be + anything, but is typically used to block ads or other obnoxious + content. + + + - - - - - activity-animation 1 - - - - + + Possible values: + + N/A + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+block} + .example.com + .ads.r.us + + + - - If log-messages is set to 1, - Privoxy will log messages to the console - window: - + + Notes: + + + Privoxy will display its + special BLOCKED page if a URL matches one of the + blocked patterns. If there is sufficient space, a large red + banner will appear with a friendly message about why the page + was blocked, and a way to go there anyway. If there is insufficient + space a smaller blocked page will appear without the red banner. + One exception is if the URL matches both +block + and +image, then it can be handled by + +image-blocker (see below). + + + The +filter action can also perform some of the + same functionality as +block, but by virtue of very + different programming techniques, and is typically used for different + reasons. + + + - - - - - log-messages 1 - - - - + + - - If log-buffer-size is set to 1, the size of the log buffer, - i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the - console window, will be limited to log-max-lines (see below). - - - Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and - eat up all your memory! - + + +<emphasis>+deanimate-gifs</emphasis> - - - - - log-buffer-size 1 - - - - + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + - - log-max-lines is the maximum number of lines held - in the log buffer. See above. - + + Typical uses: + + + To stop those annoying, distracting animated GIF images. + + + - - - - - log-max-lines 200 - - - - + + Possible values: + + + last or first + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+deanimate-gifs{last}} + .example.com + + + - - If log-highlight-messages is set to 1, - Privoxy will highlight portions of the log - messages with a bold-faced font: - + + Notes: + + + De-animate all animated GIF images, i.e. reduce them to their last frame. + This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If + the option first is given, the first frame of the animation + is used as the replacement. If last is given, the last + frame of the animation is used instead, which probably makes more sense for + most banner animations, but also has the risk of not showing the entire + last frame (if it is only a delta to an earlier frame). + + + - - - - - log-highlight-messages 1 - - - - + + - - The font used in the console window: - + + +<emphasis>+downgrade</emphasis> - - - - - log-font-name Comic Sans MS - - - - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + - - Font size used in the console window: - + + Typical uses: + + + +downgrade will downgrade HTTP/1.1 client requests to + HTTP/1.0 and downgrade the responses as well. + + + - - - - - log-font-size 8 - - - - + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+downgrade} + .example.com + + + - - show-on-task-bar controls whether or not - Privoxy will appear as a button on the Task bar - when minimized: - + + Notes: + + + Use this action for servers that use HTTP/1.1 protocol features that + Privoxy doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 is + only partially implemented. Default is not to downgrade requests. This is + an infrequently needed action, and is used to help with problem sites only. + + + - - - - - show-on-task-bar 0 - - - - + + - - If close-button-minimizes is set to 1, the Windows close - button will minimize Privoxy instead of closing - the program (close with the exit option on the File menu). - + + +<emphasis>+fast-redirects</emphasis> - - - - - close-button-minimizes 1 - - - - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + - - The hide-console option is specific to the MS-Win console - version of Privoxy. If this option is used, - Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the - command console. - + + Typical uses: + + + The +fast-redirects action enables interception of + redirect requests from one server to another, which + are used to track users.Privoxy can cut off + all but the last valid URL in redirect request and send a local redirect + back to your browser without contacting the intermediate site(s). + + + - - - - - #hide-console - - - - + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+fast-redirects} + .example.com + + + - - + + Notes: + + + Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they + will link to some script on their own server, giving the destination as a + parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs + resulting from this scheme typically look like: + http://some.place/some_script?http://some.where-else. + + + Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the + URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable, + since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go + to. Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your + browser ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds + the advertisers. + + + This is a normally on feature, and often requires exceptions for sites that + are sensitive to defeating this mechanism. + + + - + + - -The Actions File + +<emphasis>+filter</emphasis> - - The default.action file (formerly - actionsfile) is used to define what actions - Privoxy takes, and thus determines how images, - cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are - handled. Images can be anything you want, including ads, banners, or just - some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted - or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. - not written to disk). Changes to default.action should - be immediately visible to Privoxy without - the need to restart. - - - - The easiest way to edit actions file is with a browser by - loading http://i.j.b/, and then select - Edit Actions List. A text editor can also be used. - + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + - - To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is - compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of - applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated. You can trace - this process by visiting http://i.j.b/show-url-info. - + + Typical uses: + + + Apply page filtering as defined by named sections of the + default.filter file to the specified site(s). + Filtering can be any modification of the raw + page content, including re-writing or deletion of content. + + + + + Possible values: + + + +filter must include the name of one of the section identifiers + from default.filter (or whatever + filterfile is specified in config). + + + + + + Example usage (from the current default.filter): + + + + +filter{html-annoyances}: Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse. + + + + + +filter{js-annoyances}: Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse + + + + + +filter{content-cookies}: Kill cookies that come in the HTML or JS content + + + + + +filter{popups}: Kill all popups in JS and HTML + + + + + +filter{frameset-borders}: Give frames a border and make them resizable + + + + + +filter{webbugs}: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) + + + + + +filter{refresh-tags}: Kill automatic refresh tags (for dial-on-demand setups) + + + + + +filter{fun}: Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! + + + + + +filter{nimda}: Remove Nimda (virus) code. + + + + + +filter{banners-by-size}: Kill banners by size (very efficient!) + + + + + +filter{shockwave-flash}: Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects + + + + + +filter{crude-parental}: Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez" + + + + - - There are four types of lines in this file: comments (begin with a - # character), actions, aliases and patterns, all of which are - explained below, as well as the configuration file syntax that - Privoxy understands. + + Notes: + + + This is potentially a very powerful feature! And requires a knowledge + of regular expressions if you want to roll your own. + Filtering operates on a line by line basis. + + + Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to + slow down page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has + passed the filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way + since the page is not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more + noticeable on slower connections. + + + Filtering can achieve some of the effects as the +block + action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners. In the overall + scheme of things, filtering is one of the last things Privoxy + does with a web page. So other actions are applied first. + + + - + + - -URL Domain and Path Syntax - - Generally, a pattern has the form <domain>/<path>, where both the - <domain> and <path> part are optional. If you only specify a - domain part, the / can be left out: - - - - www.example.com - is a domain only pattern and will match any request to - www.example.com. - + +<emphasis>+hide-forwarded</emphasis> - - www.example.com/ - means exactly the same. - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + - - www.example.com/index.html - matches only the single - document /index.html on www.example.com. - + + Typical uses: + + + Block any existing X-Forwarded-for HTTP header, and do not add a new one. + + + - - /index.html - matches the document /index.html, regardless of - the domain. - + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+hide-forwarded} + .example.com + + + - - index.html - matches nothing, since it would be - interpreted as a domain name and there is no top-level domain called - .html. - - - - The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the - domain starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end. - For example: - + + Notes: + + + It is fairly safe to leave this on. It does not seem to break many sites. + + + - - .example.com - matches any domain that ENDS in - .example.com. - + + - - www. - matches any domain that STARTS with - www. - - - Additionally, there are wild-cards that you can use in the domain names - themselves. They work pretty similar to shell wild-cards: * - stands for zero or more arbitrary characters, ? stands for - any single character. And you can define character classes in square - brackets and they can be freely mixed: - + + +<emphasis>+hide-from</emphasis> - - ad*.example.com - matches adserver.example.com, - ads.example.com, etc but not sfads.example.com. - + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + - - *ad*.example.com - matches all of the above, and then some. - + + Typical uses: + + + To block the browser from sending your email address in a From: + header. + + + - - .?pix.com - matches www.ipix.com, - pictures.epix.com, a.b.c.d.e.upix.com, etc. - + + Possible values: + + + Keyword: block, or any user defined value. + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+hide-from{block}} + .example.com + + + - - www[1-9a-ez].example.com - matches www1.example.com, - www4.example.com, wwwd.example.com, - wwwz.example.com, etc., but not - wwww.example.com. - + + Notes: + + + The keyword block will completely remove the header. + Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to send to the web + server. + + + - - If Privoxy was compiled with - pcre support (default), Perl compatible regular expressions - can be used. See the pcre/docs/ directory or man - perlre (also available on http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html) - for details. A brief discussion of regular expressions is in the - Appendix. For instance: - + + - - /.*/advert[0-9]+\.jpe?g - would match a URL from any - domain, with any path that includes advert followed - immediately by one or more digits, then a . and ending in - either jpeg or jpg. So we match - example.com/ads/advert2.jpg, and - www.example.com/ads/banners/advert39.jpeg, but not - www.example.com/ads/banners/advert39.gif (no gifs in the - example pattern). - - - Please note that matching in the path is case - INSENSITIVE by default, but you can switch to case - sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the - (?-i) switch: - + + +<emphasis>+hide-referer</emphasis> + + + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + - - www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.* - will match only - documents whose path starts with PaTtErN in - exactly this capitalization. - + + Typical uses: + + + Don't send the Referer: (sic) HTTP header to the web site. + Or, alternately send a forged header instead. + + + - + + Possible values: + + + Prevent the header from being sent with the keyword, block. + Or, forge a URL to one from the same server as the request. + Or, set to user defined value of your choice. + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+hide-referer{forge}} + .example.com + + + - + + Notes: + + + forge is the preferred option here, since some servers will + not send images back otherwise. + + + +hide-referrer is an alternate spelling of + +hide-referer. It has the exact same parameters, and can be freely + mixed with, +hide-referer. (referrer is the + correct English spelling, however the HTTP specification has a bug - it + requires it to be spelled as referer.) + + + + + + +<emphasis>+hide-user-agent</emphasis> - -Actions - - Actions are enabled if preceded with a +, and disabled if - preceded with a -. Actions are invoked by enclosing the - action name in curly braces (e.g. {+some_action}), followed by a list of - URLs to which the action applies. There are three classes of actions: - + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + - - + + Typical uses: + + + To change the User-Agent: header so web servers can't tell + your browser type. Who's business is it anyway? + + + - - - Boolean (e.g. +/-block): - - - - - - {+name} # enable this action - {-name} # disable this action - - - - - + + Possible values: + + + Any user defined string. + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+hide-user-agent{Netscape 6.1 (X11; I; Linux 2.4.18 i686)}} + .msn.com + + + + + Notes: + + + Warning! This breaks many web sites that depend on this in order + to determine how the target browser will respond to various + requests. Use with caution. + + + - - - parameterized (e.g. +/-hide-user-agent): - - - - - - {+name{param}} # enable action and set parameter to param - {-name} # disable action - - - - - + + + + + +<emphasis>+image</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + To define what Privoxy should treat + automatically as an image. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - Multi-value (e.g. {+/-add-header{Name: value}}, {+/-wafer{name=value}}): - - - - - - {+name{param}} # enable action and add parameter param - {-name{param}} # remove the parameter param - {-name} # disable this action totally - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+image} + /.*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp|ico) + + + - - + + Notes: + + + This only has meaning if the URL (or pattern) also is + +blocked, in which case a blocked image can + be sent rather than a HTML page. (See +image-blocker{} below + for the control over what is actually sent.) + + + There is little reason to change the default definition for this. + + + - - If nothing is specified in this file, no actions are taken. - So in this case Privoxy would just be a - normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must specifically - enable the privacy and blocking features you need (although the - provided default default.action file will - give a good starting point). - + + - - Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. For multi-valued - actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified. - - - The list of valid Privoxy actions are: - + + +<emphasis>+image-blocker</emphasis> - - - - - - Add the specified HTTP header, which is not checked for validity. - You may specify this many times to specify many different headers: - - - - - - +add-header{Name: value} - - - - - + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Decide what to do with URLs that end up tagged with both {+block} + and {+image}, e.g an advertisement. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + There are four available options: -image-blocker will send a HTML + blocked page, usually resulting in a broken + image icon. +image-blocker{blank} will send a 1x1 + transparent GIF image. +image-blocker{pattern} will send a + checkerboard type pattern (the default). And finally, + +image-blocker{http://xyz.com} will send a HTTP temporary + redirect to the specified image. This has the advantage of the icon being + being cached by the browser, which will speed up the display. + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+image-blocker{blank}} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + If you want invisible ads, they need to be both + defined as images and blocked. + And then, image-blocker should be set to + blank for invisibility. Note you cannot treat HTML pages as + images in most cases. For instance, frames require an HTML page to display. + So a frame that is an ad, cannot be treated as an image. Forcing an + image in this situation just will not work. + + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+limit-connect</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + By default, Privoxy only allows HTTP CONNECT + requests to port 443 (the standard, secure HTTPS port). Use + +limit-connect to disable this altogether, or to allow + more ports. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + Any valid port number, or port number range. + + + - - - Block this URL totally. In a default installation, a blocked - URL will result in bright red banner that says BLOCKED, - with a reason why it is being blocked. - - - - - - +block - - - + + Example usages: + + + + + +limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need not be specified. + +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK. + +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Port less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 and above 500 are OK. + + + + + + Notes: + + + The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites + (https:// URLs) through proxies. It works very simply: the proxy connects + to the server on the specified port, and then short-circuits its + connections to the client and to the remote proxy. + This can be a big security hole, since CONNECT-enabled proxies can be + abused as TCP relays very easily. - - - - - - De-animate all animated GIF images, i.e. reduce them to their last frame. - This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If - the option first is given, the first frame of the animation - is used as the replacement. If last is given, the last frame - of the animation is used instead, which probably makes more sense for most - banner animations, but also has the risk of not showing the entire last - frame (if it is only a delta to an earlier frame). + + If you want to allow CONNECT for more ports than this, or want to forbid + CONNECT altogether, you can specify a comma separated list of ports and + port ranges (the latter using dashes, with the minimum defaulting to 0 and + max to 65K). - - - - +deanimate-gifs{last} - +deanimate-gifs{first} - - - + If you don't know what any of this means, there probably is no reason to + change this one. - + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+no-compression</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Prevent the specified websites from compressing HTTP data. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - +downgrade will downgrade HTTP/1.1 client requests to - HTTP/1.0 and downgrade the responses as well. Use this action for servers - that use HTTP/1.1 protocol features that - Privoxy doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 - is only partially implemented. Default is not to downgrade requests. - - - - - - +downgrade - - - - - - - - - Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they - will link to some script on their own server, giving the destination as a - parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs resulting - from this scheme typically look like: - http://some.place/some_script?http://some.where-else. - - - Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the - URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable, - since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go to. - Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your browser - ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds the - advertisers. - - - The +fast-redirects option enables interception of these - requests by Privoxy, who will cut off all but - the last valid URL in the request and send a local redirect back to your - browser without contacting the remote site. - - - - - - +fast-redirects - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+no-compression} + .example.com + + + - - - Apply the filters in the section_header - section of the default.filter file to the site(s). - default.filter sections are grouped according to like - functionality. - - - - - - - +filter{section_header} - - - - + + Notes: + + + Some websites do this, which can be a problem for + Privoxy, since +filter, + +no-popup and +gif-deanimate will not work + on compressed data. This will slow down connections to those websites, + though. Default typically is to turn no-compression on. + + + - - Filter sections that are pre-defined in the supplied - default.filter include: - + + -
- - - html-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse. - - - - - js-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse - - - - - no-poups: Kill all popups in JS and HTML - - - - - frameset-borders: Give frames a border - - - - - webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) - - - - - no-refresh: Automatic refresh sucks on auto-dialup lines - - - - - fun: Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! - - - - - nimda: Remove (virus) Nimda code. - - - - - banners-by-size: Kill banners by size - - - - - crude-parental: Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez" - - -
+ + +<emphasis>+no-cookies-keep</emphasis> - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + - - - Block any existing X-Forwarded-for header, and do not add a new one: - - - - - - +hide-forwarded - - - - - + + Typical uses: + + + Allow cookies for the current browser session only. + + + - - - If the browser sends a From: header containing your e-mail - address, this either completely removes the header (block), or - changes it to the specified e-mail address. - - - - - - +hide-from{block} - +hide-from{spam@sittingduck.xqq} - - - - - - - - - Don't send the Referer: (sic) header to the web site. You - can block it, forge a URL to the same server as the request (which is - preferred because some sites will not send images otherwise) or set it to a - constant string of your choice. - - - - - - +hide-referer{block} - +hide-referer{forge} - +hide-referer{http://nowhere.com} - - - - - + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - Alternative spelling of +hide-referer. It has the same - parameters, and can be freely mixed with, +hide-referer. - (referrer is the correct English spelling, however the HTTP - specification has a bug - it requires it to be spelled referer.) - - - - - - +hide-referrer{...} - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+no-cookies-keep} + .example.com + + + - - - Change the User-Agent: header so web servers can't tell your - browser type. Warning! This breaks many web sites. Specify the - user-agent value you want. Example, pretend to be using Netscape on - Linux: - - - - - - +hide-user-agent{Mozilla (X11; I; Linux 2.0.32 i586)} - - - - - - + + Notes: + + + If websites set cookies, no-cookies-keep will make sure + they are erased when you exit and restart your web browser. This makes + profiling cookies useless, but won't break sites which require cookies so + that you can log in for transactions. This is generally turned on for all + sites. Sometimes referred to as session cookies. + + + - - - Treat this URL as an image. This only matters if it's also +blocked, - in which case a blocked image can be sent rather than a HTML page. - See +image-blocker{} below for the control over what is actually sent. - If you want invisible ads, they should be defined as - images and blocked. And also, - image-blocker should be set to blank. - - - - - - +image - - - - - - - - Decides what to do with URLs that end up tagged with {+block - +image}, e.g an advertizement. There are five options. - -image-blocker will send a HTML blocked page, - usually resulting in a broken image icon. - +image-blocker{logo} will send a - Privoxy logo - image. +image-blocker{blank} will send a 1x1 transparent GIF - image. And finally, +image-blocker{http://xyz.com} will send - a HTTP temporary redirect to the specified image. This has the advantage of - the icon being being cached by the browser, which will speed up the display. - +image-blocker{pattern} will send a checkboard type pattern, - which scales better than the logo (which can get blocky if the browser - enlarges it too much). - - - - - - +image-blocker{logo} - +image-blocker{blank} - +image-blocker{pattern} - +image-blocker{http://i.j.b/send-banner} - - - - - - - - - By default (i.e. in the absence of a +limit-connect - action), Privoxy will only allow CONNECT - requests to port 443, which is the standard port for https as a - precaution. - - - - The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites - (https:// URLs) through proxies. It works very simply: the proxy - connects to the server on the specified port, and then short-circuits - its connections to the client and to the remote proxy. - This can be a big security hole, since CONNECT-enabled proxies can - be abused as TCP relays very easily. - - - - If you want to allow CONNECT for more ports than this, or want to forbid - CONNECT altogether, you can specify a comma separated list of ports and - port ranges (the latter using dashes, with the minimum defaulting to 0 and - max to 65K): - + + - - - - - +limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need no be specified. - +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK. - +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Port less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 - #and above 500 are OK. - - - - - - - - - +no-compression prevents the website from compressing the - data. Some websites do this, which can be a problem for - Privoxy, since +filter, - +no-popup and +gif-deanimate will not work on - compressed data. This will slow down connections to those websites, - though. Default is nocompression is turned on. - + + +<emphasis>+no-cookies-read</emphasis> - - - - - +nocompression - - - - - - - - - If the website sets cookies, no-cookies-keep will make sure - they are erased when you exit and restart your web browser. This makes - profiling cookies useless, but won't break sites which require cookies so - that you can log in for transactions. Default: on. - - - - - - +no-cookies-keep - - - - - - - - - Prevent the website from reading cookies: - - - - - - +no-cookies-read - - - - - + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Explicitly prevent the web server from reading any cookies on your + system. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - Prevent the website from setting cookies: - - - - - - +no-cookies-set - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+no-cookies-read} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + Often used in conjunction with +no-cookies-set to + disable persistant cookies completely. + + + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+no-cookies-set</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Explicitly block the web server from sending cookies to your + system. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - Filter the website through a built-in filter to disable those obnoxious - JavaScript pop-up windows via window.open(), etc. The two alternative - spellings are equivalent. - - - - - - +no-popup - +no-popups - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+no-cookies-set} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + Often used in conjunction with +no-cookies-read to + disable persistant cookies completely. + + + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+no-popup</emphasis> + + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Stop those annoying JavaScript pop-up windows! + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - This action only applies if you are using a jarfile - for saving cookies. It sends a cookie to every site stating that you do not - accept any copyright on cookies sent to you, and asking them not to track - you. Of course, this is a (relatively) unique header they could use to - track you. - - - - - - +vanilla-wafer - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+no-popup} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + +no-popup uses a built in filter to disable pop-ups + that use the window.open() function, etc. + + + An alternate spelling is +no-popups, which is + interchangeable. + + + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+vanilla-wafer</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + Sends a cookie for every site stating that you do not accept any copyright + on cookies sent to you, and asking them not to track you. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + N/A + + + - - - This allows you to add an arbitrary cookie. It can be specified multiple - times in order to add as many cookies as you like. - - - - - - +wafer{name=value} - - - - - + + Example usage: + + + {+vanilla-wafer} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + This action only applies if you are using a jarfile + for saving cookies. Of course, this is a (relatively) unique header and + could be used to track you. + + + + + + + + + + +<emphasis>+wafer</emphasis> + + + + Type: + + + Multi-value. + + + + + Typical uses: + + + This allows you to send an arbitrary, user definable cookie. + + + + + + Possible values: + + + User specified cookie name and corresponding value. + + + + + + Example usage: + + + {+wafer{name=value}} + .example.com + + + + + + Notes: + + + This can be specified multiple times in order to add as many cookies as you + like. + + + + + + - - + + +Actions Examples - The meaning of any of the above is reversed by preceding the action with a - -, in place of the +. + Note that the meaning of any of the above examples is reversed by preceding + the action with a -, in place of the +. Also, + that some actions are turned on in the default section of the actions file, + and require little to no additional configuration. These are just on. + Some actions that are turned on the default section do typically require + exceptions to be listed in the lower sections of actions file. @@ -2656,10 +4061,12 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 # Turn off all persistent cookies { +no-cookies-read } { +no-cookies-set } + # Allow cookies for this browser session ONLY { +no-cookies-keep } # Exceptions to the above, sites that benefit from persistent cookies + # that saved from one browser session to the next. { -no-cookies-read } { -no-cookies-set } { -no-cookies-keep } @@ -2700,8 +4107,8 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 Turn on page filtering according to rules in the defined sections - of refilterfile, and make one exception for - sourceforge: + of default.filter, and make one exception for + Sourceforge: @@ -2722,10 +4129,10 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - Now some URLs that we want blocked, ie we won't see them. - Many of these use regular expressions that will expand to match multiple - URLs: - + Now some URLs that we want blocked (normally generates + the blocked banner). Many of these use + regular expressions that will expand to match + multiple URLs: @@ -2788,8 +4195,8 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 content he may depend on. There is no way to have hard and fast rules for all sites. See the Appendix for a brief example on troubleshooting actions. - + @@ -2808,7 +4215,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 z, 0-9, +, and -. Alias names are not case sensitive, and must be defined before anything else in the - default.actionfile ! And there can only be one set of + default.actionfile! And there can only be one set of aliases defined. @@ -2820,7 +4227,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - # Useful customer aliases we can use later. These must come first! + # Useful custom aliases we can use later. These must come first! {{alias}} +no-cookies = +no-cookies-set +no-cookies-read -no-cookies = -no-cookies-set -no-cookies-read @@ -2855,14 +4262,14 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 .windowsupdate.microsoft.com .nytimes.com - # Shopping sites - still want to block ads. + # Shopping sites - but we still want to block ads. {shop} .quietpc.com .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com .jungle.com .scan.co.uk - # These shops require pop-ups + # These shops require pop-ups also {shop -no-popups} .dabs.com .overclockers.co.uk @@ -2871,6 +4278,13 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 + + The shop and fragile aliases are often used for + problem sites that require most actions to be disabled + in order to function properly. + + + @@ -2887,12 +4301,18 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 default.filter, located in the config directory. + + This is potentially a very powerful feature, and requires knowledge of both + regular expression and HTML in order create custom + filters. But, there are a number of useful filters included with + Privoxy for many common situations. + + The included example file is divided into sections. Each section begins with the FILTER keyword, followed by the identifier for that section, e.g. FILTER: webbugs. Each section performs a similar type of filtering, such as html-annoyances. - @@ -2940,255 +4360,38 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - - - FILTER: fun - - s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig - - # Buzzword Bingo: - # - s/industry-leading|cutting-edge|award-winning/<font color=red><b>BINGO!</b></font>/ig - - - - - - - Kill those pesky little web-bugs: - - - - - - - # webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) - FILTER: webbugs - - s/<img\s+[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1\D[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1(\D[^>]*?)?>/<!-- Squished WebBug -->/sig - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Templates - - When Privoxy displays one of its internal - pages, such as a 404 Not Found error page, it uses the appropriate template. - On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are located in - /etc/privoxy/templates by default. These may be - customized, if desired. - - - - - - - - - - - -Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application> - - Install package, then run and enjoy! Privoxy - is typically started by specifying the main configuration file to be - used on the command line. Example Unix startup command: - - - - - - # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config - - - - - - An init script is provided for SuSE and Redhat. - - - -For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start - - - -For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start - - - - - If no configuration file is specified on the command line, - Privoxy will look for a file named - config in the current directory. Except on Win32 where - it will try config.txt. If no file is specified on the - command line and no default configuration file can be found, - Privoxy will fail to start. - - - - Be sure your browser is set to use the proxy which is by default at - localhost, port 8118. With Netscape (and - Mozilla), this can be set under Edit - -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy. - For Internet Explorer: Tools > - Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then, - check Use Proxy and fill in the appropriate info (Address: - localhost, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too. - - - - The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting - point, though may be somewhat aggressive in blocking junk. You will probably - want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent cookies, and add these to - default.action as needed. By default, most of these will - be accepted only during the current browser session, until you add them to - the configuration. If you want the browser to handle this instead, you will - need to edit default.action and disable this feature. If you - use more than one browser, it would make more sense to let - Privoxy handle this. In which case, the - browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies. - - - - If a particular site shows problems loading properly, try adding it - to the {fragile} section of - default.action. This will turn off most actions for - this site. - - - - Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 - features are as yet implemented. If browsers that support HTTP/1.1 (like - Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.) experience - problems, you might try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For Mozilla, look - under Edit -> Preferences -> Debug -> Networking. - Or set the +downgrade config option in - default.action. - - - - After running Privoxy for a while, you can - start to fine tune the configuration to suit your personal, or site, - preferences and requirements. There are many, many aspects that can - be customized. Actions (as specified in default.action) - can be adjusted by pointing your browser to - http://i.j.b/, - and then follow the link to edit the actions list. - (This is an internal page and does not require Internet access.) - - - - In fact, various aspects of Privoxy - configuration can be viewed from this page, including - current configuration parameters, source code version numbers, - the browser's request headers, and actions that apply - to a given URL. In addition to the default.action file - editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also - be turned on and off from this page. - - - - If you encounter problems, please verify it is a - Privoxy bug, by disabling - Privoxy, and then trying the same page. - Also, try another browser if possible to eliminate browser or site - problems. Before reporting it as a bug, see if there is not a configuration - option that is enabled that is causing the page not to load. You can - then add an exception for that page or site. If a bug, please report it to - the developers (see below). - - - - - - - -Command Line Options - - Privoxy may be invoked with the following - command-line options: - - - - - - - - --version - - - Print version info and exit, Unix only. - - - - - --help - - - Print a short usage info and exit, Unix only. - - - - - --no-daemon - - - Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group - leader, don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. - - - - - --pidfile FILE - - - - On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the - FILE on exit. Failiure to create or delete the - FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE - option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. - - - - - --user USER[.GROUP] - - - - After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of - USER, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the - privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only. - - - - - configfile - - - If no configfile is included on the command line, - Privoxy will look for a file named - config in the current directory (except on Win32 - where it will look for config.txt instead). Specify - full path to avoid confusion. - - + + + FILTER: fun - + s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig + + # Buzzword Bingo: + # + s/industry-leading|cutting-edge|award-winning/<font color=red><b>BINGO!</b></font>/ig + + + - + + Kill those pesky little web-bugs: + - + + + + + # webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) + FILTER: webbugs + + s/<img\s+[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1\D[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1(\D[^>]*?)?>/<!-- Squished WebBug -->/sig + + + + + + @@ -3196,46 +4399,69 @@ For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start -Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature -Requests + +Templates + + When Privoxy displays one of its internal + pages, such as a 404 Not Found error page, it uses the appropriate template. + On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are located in + /etc/privoxy/templates by default. These may be + customized, if desired. cgi-style.css is + used to control the HTML attributes (fonts, etc). + -We value your feedback. However, to provide you with the best support, -please note: + The default Blocked banner page with the bright red top + banner, is called just blocked. This + may be customized or replaced with something else if desired. - + + - Use the Sourceforge support forum to get - help. - - Submit bugs only thru our Sourceforge bug - forum. -Make sure that the bug has not already been submitted. Please try to -verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not -a browser or site bug first. If you are using your own custom configuration, -please try the stock configs to see if the problem is a configuration -related bug. And if not using the latest development snapshot, please -try the latest one. Or even better, CVS sources. - + - - Submit feature requests only thru our Sourceforge feature request forum. + - - + + +Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature +Requests + + + &contacting; + + + + +Submitting Ads and <quote>Action</quote> Problems + + Ads and banners that are not stopped by Privoxy + can be submitted to the developers by accessing a special page and filling + out the brief, required form. Conversely, you can also report pages, images, + etc. that Privoxy is blocking, but should not. + The form itself does require Internet access. + -For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. + To do this, point your browser to Privoxy + at http://config.privoxy.org/ + (shortcut: http://p.p/), and then select + Actions file feedback system, + near the bottom of the page. Paste in the URL that is the cause of the + unwanted behavior, and follow the prompts. The developers will + try to incorporate a fix for the problem you reported into future versions. - Anyone interested in actively participating in development and related - discussions can join the appropriate mailing list - here. - Archives are available here too. + New default.actions files will occasionally be made + available based on your feedback. These + will be announced on the + ijbswa-announce + list. + @@ -3243,24 +4469,10 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the Copyright and History - -License - - Privoxy is free software; you can - redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public - License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the - License, or (at your option) any later version. - - - - This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT - ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS - FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more - details, which is available from the Free Software Foundation, - Inc, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. - - +Copyright + + ©right; + @@ -3268,66 +4480,18 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the Junkbuster's - Corporation, and was released as free open-source software under the - GNU GPL. Stefan - Waldherr made many improvements, and started the SourceForge project - Privoxy to rekindle development. There are now several active - developers contributing. The last stable release was v2.0.2, which has now - grown whiskers ;-). - - +History + + &history; + - -See also - - - - -   http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa - - - - -   http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/ - - - - -   http://i.j.b/ - - - - -   http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html - - - - -   http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/ - - - - -   http://privacy.net/analyze/ - - - - -  http://www.squid-cache.org/ - - - - +See Also + + &seealso; + @@ -3384,72 +4548,79 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the Since Privoxy proxies each requested web page, it is easy for Privoxy to - trap certain URLs. In this way, we can talk directly to + trap certain special URLs. In this way, we can talk directly to Privoxy, and see how it is configured, see how our rules are being applied, change these rules and other configuration options, and even turn @@ -3602,13 +4773,13 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/ + http://config.privoxy.org/ - Alternately, this may be reached at http://i.j.b/, - but this variation may not work as reliably as the above in some - configurations. + Alternately, this may be reached at http://p.p/, but this + variation may not work as reliably as the above in some configurations. @@ -3618,7 +4789,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-status + http://config.privoxy.org/show-status @@ -3629,7 +4800,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-version + http://config.privoxy.org/show-version @@ -3640,7 +4811,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-request + http://config.privoxy.org/show-request @@ -3651,18 +4822,19 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-url-info + http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info - Toggle Privoxy on or off: + Toggle Privoxy on or off. In this case, Privoxy continues + to run, but only as a pass-through proxy, with no actions taking place:
- http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/toggle + http://config.privoxy.org/toggle
@@ -3670,12 +4842,12 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/toggle?set=disable + http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable
- http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/toggle?set=enable + http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=enable
@@ -3686,7 +4858,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/edit-actions + http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions @@ -3695,8 +4867,153 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the +Bookmarklets + + Below are some bookmarklets to allow you to easily access a + mini version of some of Privoxy's + special pages. They are designed for MS Internet Explorer, but should work + equally well in Netscape, Mozilla, and other browsers which support + JavaScript. They are designed to run directly from your bookmarks - not by + clicking the links below (although that should work for testing). + + + To save them, right-click the link and choose Add to Favorites + (IE) or Add Bookmark (Netscape). You will get a warning that + the bookmark may not be safe - just click OK. Then you can run the + Bookmarklet directly from your favorites/bookmarks. For even faster access, + you can put them on the Links bar (IE) or the Personal + Toolbar (Netscape), and run them with a single click. + + + + + + + + Enable Privoxy + + + + + + Disable Privoxy + + + + + + Toggle Privoxy (Toggles between enabled and disabled) + + + + + + View Privoxy Status + + + + + + Actions file feedback system + + + + + + + + + + Credit: The site which gave me the general idea for these bookmarklets is + www.bookmarklets.com. They + have more information about bookmarklets. + + + + + + + + + + +Chain of Events + + Let's take a quick look at the basic sequence of events when a web page is + requested by your browser and Privoxy is on duty: + + + + + + First, the web browser requests a page, and this request is intercepted by + Privoxy immediately. + + + + + Privoxy traps any request for internal CGI + pages (e.g http://p.p/) and relays these back to the browser. + + + + + If the URL matches a +block pattern, then it is blocked + and the banner displayed. + + + + + Untrusted URLs are blocked. If URLs are being added to the + trust file, then that is done. + + + + + +fast-redirect is processed, stripping unwanted parts + of the request web page URL. + + + + + At this point, Privoxy relays the request to the + web server, and requests the page (assuming nothing up to this point has + prevented getting us from this far). + + + + + The first few hundred bytes are read from the web server and + +kill-popups is processed, if enabled. + + + + + If +filter applies, the rest of the page is read into + memory and then the filters are processed. Filters are applied in the order they + are specified in the default.filter file. The entire + page, which is now filtered, is then sent by + Privoxy to your browser. + + + + + As the browser receives the filtered page content, it will read and request any + embedded URLs on the page, e.g. an ad image. As the browser requests these + secondary URLs from whatever server they may be on, + Privoxy handles these same as above, and the process + is repeated for each such URL. Note that a fancy web page may have many, many + such URLs for graphics, frames, etc. + + + + @@ -3708,31 +5025,44 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/show-url-info + so obvious. + + + + One quick test to see if Privoxy is causing a problem + or not, is to disable it temporarily. This should be the first troubleshooting + step. See the Bookmarklets section on a quick + and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterwards!). + + + + Privoxy also provides the + http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info page that can show us very specifically how actions are being applied to any given URL. This is a big help for troubleshooting. - + First, enter one URL (or partial URL) at the prompt, and then Privoxy will tell us - how current configuration will handle it. This will not - help with filtering effects from the default.filter! It - also will not tell you about any other URLs that may be embedded within the - URL you are testing. For instance, images such as ads are expressed as URLs - within the raw page source of HTML pages. So you will only get info for the - actual URL that is pasted into the prompt area -- not any sub-URLs. If you - want to know about embedded URLs like ads, you will have to dig those out of - the HTML source. Use your browser's View Page Source option - for this. + how the current configuration will handle it. This will not + help with filtering effects (i.e. the +filter action) from the + default.filter file since this is handled very differently + and not so easy to trap! It also will not tell you about any other URLs that + may be embedded within the URL you are testing (i.e. a web page). For + instance, images such as ads are expressed as URLs within the raw page source + of HTML pages. So you will only get info for the actual URL that is pasted + into the prompt area -- not any sub-URLs. If you want to know about embedded + URLs like ads, you will have to dig those out of the HTML source. Use your + browser's View Page Source option for this. Or right click on + the ad, and grab the URL. @@ -3798,7 +5128,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the And now we pull it altogether in the bottom section and summarize how - Privoxy is appying all its actions + Privoxy is applying all its actions to google.com: @@ -3899,7 +5229,7 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the - Now the page displays ;-) + Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when + making such changes. Or, try using Shift+Reload. + + + + But now what about a situation where we get no explicit matches like + we did with: + + + + + + { -block } + /adsl + + + + + + That actually was very telling and pointed us quickly to where the problem + was. If you don't get this kind of match, then it means one of the default + rules in the first section is causing the problem. This would require some + guesswork, and maybe a little trial and error to isolate the offending rule. + One likely cause would be one of the {+filter} actions. Try + adding the URL for the site to one of aliases that turn off +filter: + + + + + + {shop} + .quietpc.com + .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com + .jungle.com + .scan.co.uk + .forbes.com + + + + + + {shop} is an alias that expands to + { -filter -no-cookies -no-cookies-keep }. Or you could do + your own exception to negate filtering: + + + + + + + {-filter} + .forbes.com + + + + + {fragile} is an alias that disables most actions. This can be + used as a last resort for problem sites. Remember to flush caches! If this + still does not work, you will have to go through the remaining actions one by + one to find which one(s) is causing the problem. @@ -3943,6 +5332,132 @@ For any other issues, feel free to use the