X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Fuser-manual.sgml;h=28b581fe78700ddde5fc53bcaabd793dfede1daa;hb=6aa60a252059f209c5f3fb14502ad1deff7aba61;hp=c9f6a94d9804f85351e52dd18b96bd85814e57a3;hpb=00ff6723cacb0c08cbf3f1044e8639a89ebc23d7;p=privoxy.git diff --git a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml index c9f6a94d..28b581fe 100644 --- a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml +++ b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml @@ -11,11 +11,11 @@ - - + + - - + + @@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ +Privoxy"> ]> - Copyright &my-copy; 2001 - 2006 by + Copyright &my-copy; 2001 - 2007 by Privoxy Developers -$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.17 2006/09/05 13:25:12 david__schmidt Exp $ +$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.30 2007/04/25 15:10:36 fabiankeil Exp $ @@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ Hal. - You can find the latest version of the User Manual at Privoxy User Manual at http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/. Please see the Contact section on how to contact the developers. @@ -135,7 +136,8 @@ Hal. Features In addition to the core - features of ad blocking and cookie management, + features of ad blocking and + cookie management, Privoxy provides many supplemental features, that give the end-user more control, more privacy and more freedom: @@ -175,8 +177,10 @@ Hal. How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system: + + -Red Hat, SuSE and Conectiva RPMs +Red Hat and Fedora RPMs RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm, @@ -188,8 +192,7 @@ How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system: 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 methods. Note that SuSE will -automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. + ntsysv, or similar methods. @@ -224,7 +227,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in. - Version 3.0.4 introduces full Windows service + Version 3.0.4 introduced full Windows service functionality. On Windows only, the Privoxy program has two new command line arguments to install and uninstall Privoxy as a service. @@ -249,7 +252,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. want Privoxy to run under, and whether or not you want it to run whenever the system starts. You can start the Windows services console with the following - command: services.msc If you do not take the manual step + command: services.msc. If you do not take the manual step of modifying Privoxy's service settings, it will not start. Note too that you will need to give Privoxy a user account that actually exists, or it will not be permitted to @@ -259,7 +262,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. -Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX +Solaris, NetBSD, HP-UX Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and @@ -334,6 +337,25 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. + +FreeBSD + + + Privoxy is part of FreeBSD's Ports Collection, you can build and install + it with cd /usr/ports/www/privoxy; make install clean. + + + If you don't use the ports, you can fetch and install + the package with pkg_add -r privoxy. + + + The port skeleton and the package can also be downloaded from the + File Release + Page, but if you're interested in stable releases only you don't + gain anything by using them. + + + Gentoo @@ -362,7 +384,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. The most convenient way to obtain the Privoxy sources - is to download the source tarball from our project + is to download the source tarball from our + project download page. @@ -421,20 +444,21 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. What's New in this Release - There are many improvements and new features in Privoxy &p-version; - : + There are many improvements and new features since Privoxy 3.0.6, the last stable release: - Mulitiple filter files can now be specifed in config. This allows for - locally defined filters that can be maintained separately from the filters as - supplied by the developers. + Header filtering can be done with dedicated header filters now. As a result + the actions filter-client-headers and filter-server-headers + that were introduced with Privoxy 3.0.5 to apply + the content filters to the headers as, well have been removed again. - + + @@ -598,7 +630,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. - On the other hand, some installers may not overwrite any existing configuration + On the other hand, other installers may not overwrite any existing configuration files, thinking you will want to do that. You may want to manually check your saved files against the newer versions to see if the improvements have merit, or whether there are new options that you may want to consider. @@ -610,12 +642,23 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. See the full documentation on fast-redirects - which has changed syntax, and may require adjustments to local configs. + which has changed syntax, and will require adjustments to local configs, + such as user.action. You must reference the new + syntax: + + + { +fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} } + .example.com + mybank.com + .google. + + - The jarfile, cookie logger, is off by default now. + The jarfile, + cookie logger, is off by default now. @@ -625,9 +668,54 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. and you may want to review which actions are on by default. This is primarily a matter of emphasis, but some features you may have been used to, may now be off by default. + There are also a number of new actions and filters you may want to + consider, most of which are not fully incorporated into the default + settings as yet (see above). - + + + + The default actions setting is now Cautious. Previous + releases had a default setting of Medium. Experienced + users may want to adjust this, as it is fairly conservative by &my-app; + standards and past practices. See + http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions-list?f=default. New users + should try the default settings for a while before turning up the volume. + + + + + + The default setting has filtering turned off, which + subsequently means that compression is on. Remember + that filtering does not work on compressed pages, so if you use, or want to + use, filtering, you will need to force compression off. Example: + + + + { +filter{google} +prevent-compression } + .google. + + + Or if you use a number of filters, or filter many sites, you may just want + to turn off compression for all sites in + default.action (or + user.action). + + + + + + + Also, session-cookies-only is + off by default now. If you've liked this feature in the past, you may want + to turn it back on in user.action now. + + + + @@ -637,13 +725,14 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. + -Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application> +Quickstart to Using Privoxy @@ -676,7 +765,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. Set your browser to use Privoxy as HTTP and - HTTPS (SSL) proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of + HTTPS (SSL) proxy + by setting the proxy configuration for address of 127.0.0.1 and port 8118. DO NOT activate proxying for FTP or any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)! It won't work! @@ -686,8 +776,9 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images. - If using Privoxy to manage cookies, you should - remove any currently stored cookies too. + If using Privoxy to manage + cookies, + you should remove any currently stored cookies too. @@ -701,31 +792,31 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. See the Configuration section for more configuration options, and how to customize your installation. - next section for a quick introduction to how Privoxy blocks ads and - banners.]]> + banners. - If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are + If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune - Privoxy's behaviour, take a look at the Privoxy's behavior, take a look at the actions files. As a quick start, you might find the richly commented examples helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the web-based user interface. The - Appendix Anatomy of an - Action has hints how to debug actions that + Appendix Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an + Action has hints on how to understand and debug actions that misbehave. - For easy access to Privoxy's most important controls, drag the provided + For easy access to &my-app;'s most important controls, drag the provided Bookmarklets into your browser's personal toolbar. @@ -770,7 +861,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block - things that were not intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want + things that were not intended. And the more likely that some things + may not work as intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more problem sites, and to spend more time adjusting the configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is @@ -783,7 +875,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. Secondly, a brief explanation of Privoxy's actions. Actions in this context, are the directives we use to tell Privoxy to perform - some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell + some task relating to WWW transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell Privoxy to take some action. Each action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential actions in Privoxy's @@ -808,13 +900,17 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server, or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many - such embedded URLs. + such embedded URLs. &my-app; can deal with each URL individually, so, for + instance, the main page text is not touched, but images from such-and-such + server are blocked. - The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image, and + linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image, + handle-as-empty-document,and set-image-blocker: @@ -823,12 +919,14 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. - block - this action stops - any contact between your browser and any URL patterns that match this - action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, but also anything - that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any - communication with the remote server and sends Privoxy's - own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened. + block - this is perhaps + the single most used action, and is particularly important for ad blocking. + This action stops any contact between your browser and any URL patterns + that match this action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, + but also anything that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply + stops any communication with the remote server and sends + Privoxy's own built-in BLOCKED page instead to + let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below). @@ -848,6 +946,15 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. + + + handle-as-empty-document - + sends an empty document instead of Privoxy's + normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither + HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files. + + + Actions Files in Use - + [ Screenshot of Actions Files in Use ] @@ -988,6 +1095,13 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. to now go to the Actions Files Tutorial. The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor. + + There are also various + filters that can be used for ad blocking + (filters are a special subset of actions). These + fall into the advanced usage category, and are explained in + depth in later sections. + @@ -998,13 +1112,15 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. -Starting <application>Privoxy</application> +Starting Privoxy 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 + Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) + proxy. The default is 127.0.0.1 (or localhost) for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions - used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done! + used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done +! Please note that Privoxy can only proxy HTTP and @@ -1013,10 +1129,11 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. -
Proxy Configuration (Mozilla) +
Proxy Configuration Showing + Mozilla/Netscape HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) Settings - + [ Screenshot of Mozilla Proxy Configuration ] @@ -1027,21 +1144,21 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. - With Firefox, this can be set under: + With Firefox, this is typically set under: - - - Tools - |_ - Options - |_ - General - |_ - Connection Settings - |_ - Manual Proxy Configuration + Tools -> Options -> General -> Connection Settings -> Manual Proxy Configuration + + + + + Or optionally on some platforms: + + + + Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Connection Settings -> Manual Proxy Configuration + @@ -1054,43 +1171,48 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. - Edit - |_ - Preferences - |_ - Advanced - |_ - Proxies - |_ - HTTP Proxy + Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy + - For Internet Explorer: + For Internet Explorer v.5-6: - - - Tools - |_ - Internet Properties - |_ - Connections - |_ - LAN Settings + Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings Then, check Use Proxy and fill in the appropriate info (Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include HTTPS (SSL), if you want HTTPS - proxy support too. + proxy support too (sometimes labeled Secure). Make sure any + checkboxes like Use the same proxy server for all protocols is + UNCHECKED. You want only HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)! + + +
Proxy Configuration Showing + Internet Explorer HTTP and HTTPS (Secure) Settings + + + + + + [ Screenshot of IE Proxy Configuration ] + + +
+ + + 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 + re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. Remove + any cookies, + if you want Privoxy to manage that. You are now + ready to start enjoying the benefits of using Privoxy! @@ -1103,23 +1225,31 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. -Red Hat and Conectiva +Red Hat and Fedora - We use a script. Note that Red Hat does not start Privoxy upon booting per - default. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config as - its main configuration file. + A default Red Hat installation may not start &my-app; upon boot. It will use + the file /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration + file. # /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start + + Or ... + + + + # service privoxy start + + Debian - We use a script. Note that Debian starts Privoxy upon booting per + We use a script. Note that Debian typically starts &my-app; upon booting per default. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration file. @@ -1131,6 +1261,9 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process. + Windows -Click on the Privoxy Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is +Click on the &my-app; Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a file named config.txt. Note that Windows will - automatically start Privoxy when the system starts if you chose that option + automatically start &my-app; when the system starts if you chose that option when installing. Privoxy can run with full Windows service functionality. - On Windows only, the Privoxy program has two new command line arguments - to install and uninstall Privoxy as a service. See the + On Windows only, the &my-app; program has two new command line arguments + to install and uninstall &my-app; as a service. See the Windows Installation instructions for details. @@ -1189,7 +1322,7 @@ Example Unix startup command: Mac OSX During installation, Privoxy is configured to - start automatically when the system restarts. To start Privoxy by hand, + start automatically when the system restarts. To start &my-app; manually, double-click on the StartPrivoxy.command icon in the /Library/Privoxy folder. Or, type this command in the Terminal: @@ -1407,9 +1540,9 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph Before changing to the user ID given in the --user option, - chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the Privoxy + chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the &my-app; process that the directory tree starts there. If set up carefully, this can limit - the impact of possible vulnerabilities in Privoxy to the files contained in that hierarchy. + the impact of possible vulnerabilities in &my-app; to the files contained in that hierarchy. Unix only. @@ -1431,8 +1564,8 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph - On MS Windows only there are two addition - options to allow Privoxy to install and + On MS Windows only there are two additional + command-line options to allow Privoxy to install and run as a service. See the Window Installation section for details. @@ -1446,7 +1579,7 @@ for details. -<application>Privoxy</application> Configuration +Privoxy Configuration All Privoxy configuration is stored in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor. @@ -1458,7 +1591,7 @@ for details. -Controlling <application>Privoxy</application> with Your Web Browser +Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser Privoxy's user interface can be reached through the special URL http://config.privoxy.org/ @@ -1572,7 +1705,7 @@ for details. default.action (which you will most probably want to define sooner or later) are probably best applied in user.action, where you can preserve them across - upgrades. standard.action is for + upgrades. standard.action is only for Privoxy's internal use. @@ -1607,7 +1740,10 @@ for details. The syntax of all configuration files has remained the same throughout the 3.x series. There have been enhancements, but no changes that would preclude - the use of any configuration file from one version to the next. + the use of any configuration file from one version to the next. (There is + one exception: +fast-redirects which + has enhanced syntax and will require updating any local configs from earlier + versions.) @@ -1617,7 +1753,7 @@ for details. 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. + out" that line. Blank lines are ignored. @@ -1675,7 +1811,8 @@ for details. There are a number of such actions, with a wide range of functionality. Each action does something a little different. These actions give us a veritable arsenal of tools with which to exert - our control, preferences and independence. + our control, preferences and independence. Actions can be combined so that + their effects are aggregated when applied against a given set of URLs. There @@ -1691,9 +1828,13 @@ for details. that sets the initial values for all actions. It is intended to provide a base level of functionality for Privoxy's array of features. So it is - a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well for users everywhere. + a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well as-is for most users. This is the file that the developers are keeping updated, and making available to users. + The user's preferences as set in standard.action, + e.g. either Cautious (the default), + Medium, or Advanced (see + below). @@ -1706,12 +1847,42 @@ for details. - standard.action - is used by the web based editor, + standard.action - is used only by the web based editor + at + http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions-list?f=default, to set various pre-defined sets of rules for the default actions section - in default.action. These have increasing levels of - aggressiveness and have no influence on your browsing unless - you select them explicitly in the editor. It is not recommend - to edit this file. + in default.action. + + + Edit Set to Cautious Set to Medium Set to Advanced + + + These have increasing levels of aggressiveness and have no + influence on your browsing unless you select them explicitly in the + editor. A default installation should be pre-set to + Cautious (versions prior to 3.0.5 were set to + Medium). New users should try this for a while before + adjusting the settings to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive + the settings, then the more likelihood there is of problems such as sites + not working as they should. + + + The Edit button allows you to turn each + action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The Cautious + button changes the actions list to low/safe settings which will activate + ad blocking and a minimal set of &my-app;'s features, and subsequently + there will be less of a chance for accidental problems. The + Medium button sets the list to a medium level of + other features and a low level set of privacy features. The + Advanced button sets the list to a high level of + ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See the chart below. The latter + three buttons over-ride any changes via with the + Edit button. More fine-tuning can be done in the + lower sections of this internal page. + + + It is not recommend to edit the standard.action file + itself. The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined in @@ -1729,7 +1900,7 @@ for details. Feature Cautious Medium - Adventuresome + Advanced @@ -1743,31 +1914,37 @@ for details. - Ad-blocking by URL - yes - yes - yes + Ad-blocking Aggressiveness + medium + high + high Ad-filtering by size - yes + no yes yes - GIF de-animation + Ad-filtering by link + no no - yes yes - - Referer forging - no - yes - yes + Pop-up killing + blocks only + blocks only + blocks only + + + + Privacy Features + low + medium + medium/high @@ -1778,69 +1955,56 @@ for details. - Pop-up killing - unsolicited - unsolicited - all - - - - Fast redirects - no + Referer forging no yes - - - - HTML taming - yes - yes yes + - JavaScript taming - yes + GIF de-animation + no yes yes + - Web-bug killing - yes - yes + Fast redirects + no + no yes - Fun text replacements + HTML taming no no yes - Image tag reordering + JavaScript taming no no yes - Ad-filtering by link - no + Web-bug killing no yes + yes - Demoronizer + Image tag reordering no no yes - @@ -1853,11 +2017,18 @@ for details. The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main configuration file, and are processed in the order they are defined (e.g. - default.action is typically process before + default.action is typically processed before user.action). The content of these can all be viewed and edited from http://config.privoxy.org/show-status. - + The over-riding principle when applying actions, is that the last action that + matches a given URL, wins. The broadest, most general rules go first + (defined in default.action), + followed by any exceptions (typically also in + default.action), which are then followed lastly by any + local preferences (typically in user.action). + Generally, user.action has the last word. + An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use @@ -1890,12 +2061,13 @@ for details. Note that some actions, like cookie suppression or script disabling, may render some sites unusable that rely on these techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix of actions is not always easy and - certainly a matter of personal taste. In general, it can be said that the more + certainly a matter of personal taste. And, things can always change, requiring + refinements in the configuration. 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 crunch all cookies per default, you'll have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you - regularly use and that require cookies for actually useful puposes, like maybe + regularly use and that require cookies for actually useful purposes, like maybe your bank, favorite shop, or newspaper. @@ -1916,53 +2088,68 @@ for details. url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status. The editor allows both fine-grained control over every single feature on a per-URL basis, and easy choosing from wholesale sets of defaults like - Cautious, Medium or Adventuresome. - Warning: the Adventuresome setting is not only more aggressive, - but includes settings that are fun and subversive, and which some may find of - dubious merit! + Cautious, Medium or Advanced. + Warning: the Advanced setting is more aggressive, and + will be more likely to cause problems for some sites. Experienced users only! If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit the - the actions files. Look at default.action which is richly - commented. + the actions files with your favorite text editor. Look at + default.action which is richly commented with many + good examples. -How Actions are Applied to URLs +How Actions are Applied to Requests Actions files are 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. + Below that, there is a list of URL and tag patterns, each on a separate line. To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is - compared to all patterns in each action file 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. If not, - the effects are aggregated. E.g. a URL might match a regular section with - a heading line of { + compared to all URL patterns in each action file. + Every time it matches, the list of applicable actions for the request is + incrementally updated, using the heading of the section in which the + pattern is located. The same is done again for tags and tag patterns later on. + + + + If multiple applying sections set the same action differently, + the last match wins. If not, the effects are aggregated. + E.g. a URL might match a regular section with a heading line of { +handle-as-image }, then later another one with just { +block }, resulting - in both actions to apply. + in both actions to apply. And there may well be + cases where you will want to combine actions together. Such a section then + might look like: + + + { +handle-as-image +block } + # Block these as if they were images. Send no block page. + banners.example.com + media.example.com/.*banners + .example.com/images/ads/ + + - You can trace this process for any given URL by visiting http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info. - More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, - Anatomy of an Action. + Examples and more detail on this is provided in the Appendix, + Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an Action section. @@ -1971,15 +2158,15 @@ for details. Patterns As mentioned, Privoxy uses patterns - to determine what actions might apply to which sites and pages your browser - attempts to access. These patterns use wild card type - pattern matching to achieve a high degree of + to determine what actions might apply to which sites and + pages your browser attempts to access. These patterns use wild + card type pattern matching to achieve a high degree of flexibility. This allows one expression to be expanded and potentially match against many similar patterns. - Generally, a Privoxy pattern has the form + Generally, a URL pattern has the form <domain>/<path>, where both the <domain> and <path> are optional. (This is why the special / pattern matches all @@ -1987,6 +2174,13 @@ for details. http://) should not be included in the pattern. This is assumed already! + + The pattern matching syntax is different for the domain and path parts of + the URL. The domain part uses a simple globbing type matching technique, + while the path part uses a more flexible + Regular + Expressions (PCRE) based syntax. + @@ -1994,7 +2188,9 @@ for details. is a domain-only pattern and will match any request to www.example.com, - regardless of which document on that server is requested. + regardless of which document on that server is requested. So ALL pages in + this domain would be covered by the scope of this action. Note that a + simple example.com is different and would NOT match. @@ -2021,7 +2217,7 @@ for details. matches the document /index.html, regardless of the domain, - i.e. on any web server. + i.e. on any web server anywhere. @@ -2030,7 +2226,8 @@ for details. matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name and - there is no top-level domain called .html. + there is no top-level domain called .html. So its + a mistake. @@ -2069,8 +2266,14 @@ for details. .example. - matches any domain that CONTAINS .example. - (Correctly speaking: It matches any FQDN that contains example as a domain.) + matches any domain that CONTAINS .example.. + And, by the way, also included would be any files or documents that exist + within that domain since no path limitations are specified. (Correctly + speaking: It matches any FQDN that contains example as + a domain.) This might be www.example.com, + news.example.de, or + www.example.net/cgi/testing.pl for instance. All these + cases are matched. @@ -2078,10 +2281,15 @@ for details. 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: + themselves. These work similarly to shell globbing type wild-cards: + * represents zero or more arbitrary characters (this is + equivalent to the + Regular + Expression based syntax of .*), + ? represents any single character (this is equivalent to the + regular expression syntax of a simple .), and you can define + character classes in square brackets which is similar to + the same regular expression technique. All of this can be freely mixed: @@ -2124,6 +2332,10 @@ for details. + + While flexible, this is not the sophistication of full regular expression based syntax. + + @@ -2133,9 +2345,11 @@ for details. The Path Pattern - Privoxy uses Perl compatible regular expressions + Privoxy uses Perl compatible (PCRE) + Regular + Expression based syntax (through the PCRE library) for - matching the path. + matching the path portion (after the slash), and is thus more flexible. @@ -2160,6 +2374,134 @@ for details. only documents whose path starts with PaTtErN in exactly this capitalization. + + + + .example.com/.* + + + Is equivalent to just .example.com, since any documents + within that domain are matched with or without the .* + regular expression. This is redundant + + + + + .example.com/.*/index.html + + + Will match any page in the domain of example.com that is + named index.html, and that is part of some path. For + example, it matches www.example.com/testing/index.html but + NOT www.example.com/index.html because the regular + expression called for at least two /'s, thus the path + requirement. It also would match + www.example.com/testing/index_html, because of the + special meta-character .. + + + + + .example.com/(.*/)?index\.html + + + This regular expression is conditional so it will match any page + named index.html regardless of path which in this case can + have one or more /'s. And this one must contain exactly + .html (but does not have to end with that!). + + + + + .example.com/(.*/)(ads|banners?|junk) + + + This regular expression will match any path of example.com + that contains any of the words ads, banner, + banners (because of the ?) or junk. + The path does not have to end in these words, just contain them. + + + + + .example.com/(.*/)(ads|banners?|junk)/.*\.(jpe?g|gif|png)$ + + + This is very much the same as above, except now it must end in either + .jpg, .jpeg, .gif or .png. So this + one is limited to common image formats. + + + + + + + There are many, many good examples to be found in default.action, + and more tutorials below in Appendix on regular expressions. + + + + + + + + + + +The Tag Pattern + + + Tag patterns are used to change the applying actions based on the + request's tags. Tags can be created with either the + client-header-tagger + or the server-header-tagger action. + + + + Tag patterns have to start with TAG:, so &my-app; + can tell them apart from URL patterns. Everything after the colon + including white space, is interpreted as a regular expression with + path patterns syntax, except that tag patterns aren't left-anchored + automatically (Privoxy doesn't silently add a ^, + you have to do it yourself if you need it). + + + + To match all requests that are tagged with foo + your pattern line should be TAG:^foo$, + TAG:foo would work as well, but it would also + match requests whose tags contain foo somewhere. + + + + Sections can contain URL and tag patterns at the same time, + but tag patterns are checked after the URL patterns and thus + always overrule them, even if they are located before the URL patterns. + + + + Once a new tag is added, Privoxy checks right away if it's matched by one + of the tag patterns and updates the action settings accordingly. As a result + tags can be used to activate other tagger actions, as long as these other + taggers look for headers that haven't already be parsed. + + + + For example you could tag client requests which use the POST method, + use this tag to activate another tagger that adds a tag if cookies + are send, and then block based on the cookie tag. However if you'd + reverse the position of the described taggers, and activated the method + tagger based on the cookie tagger, no method tags would be created. + The method tagger would look for the request line, but at the time + the cookie tag is created the request line has already been parsed. + + + + While this is a limitation you should be aware of, this kind of + indirection is seldom needed anyway and even the example doesn't + make too much sense. + + @@ -2193,7 +2535,7 @@ for details. - There are three classes of actions: + Actions fall into three categories: @@ -2270,12 +2612,14 @@ for details. Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file (or - in a file that is processed later when using multiple actions files). For - multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified. - Actions files are processed in the order they are defined in - config (the default installation has three actions - files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to match more than - one pattern and thus more than one set of actions! + in a file that is processed later when using multiple actions files such + as user.action). For multi-valued actions, the actions + are applied in the order they are specified. Actions files are processed in + the order they are defined in config (the default + installation has three actions files). It also quite possible for any given + URL to match more than one pattern (because of wildcards and + regular expressions), and thus to trigger more than one set of actions! Last + match wins. @@ -2364,7 +2708,7 @@ for details. Typical use: - Block ads or other obnoxious content + Block ads or other unwanted content @@ -2372,10 +2716,16 @@ for details. Effect: - Requests for URLs to which this action applies are blocked, i.e. the requests are not - forwarded to the remote server, but answered locally with a substitute page or image, - as determined by the handle-as-image - and set-image-blocker actions. + Requests for URLs to which this action applies are blocked, i.e. the + requests are trapped by &my-app; and the requested URL is never retrieved, + but is answered locally with a substitute page or image, as determined by + the handle-as-image, + set-image-blocker, and + handle-as-empty-document actions. + @@ -2420,7 +2770,8 @@ for details. It is important to understand this process, in order to understand how Privoxy deals with - ads and other unwanted content. + ads and other unwanted content. Blocking is a core feature, and one + upon which various other features depend. The filter @@ -2436,12 +2787,18 @@ for details. Example usage (section): - {+block} # Block and replace with "blocked" page -.nasty-stuff.example.com - -{+block +handle-as-image} # Block and replace with image -.ad.doubleclick.net -.ads.r.us + {+block} +# Block and replace with "blocked" page + .nasty-stuff.example.com + +{+block +handle-as-image} +# Block and replace with image + .ad.doubleclick.net + .ads.r.us/banners/ + +{+block +handle-as-empty-document} +# Block and then ignore + adserver.exampleclick.net/.*\.js$ @@ -2452,17 +2809,16 @@ for details. - - -content-type-overwrite + +client-header-filter Typical use: - Stop useless download menus from popping up, or change the browser's rendering mode + + Rewrite or remove single client headers. + @@ -2470,14 +2826,15 @@ new action Effect: - Replaces the Content-Type: HTTP server header. + All client headers to which this action applies are filtered on-the-fly through + the specified regular expression based substitutions. Type: - + Parameterized. @@ -2487,8 +2844,9 @@ new action Parameter: - Any string. - + The name of a client-header filter, as defined in one of the + filter files. + @@ -2496,14 +2854,167 @@ new action Notes: - The Content-Type: HTTP server header is used by the - browser to decide what to do with the document. The value of this - header can cause the browser to open a download menu instead of - displaying the document by itself, even if the document's format is - supported by the browser. + Client-header filters are applied to each header on its own, not to + all at once. This makes it easier to diagnose problems, but on the downside + you can't write filters that only change header x if header y's value is z. + You can do that by using tags though. - The declared content type can also affect which rendering mode + Client-header filters are executed after the other header actions have finished + and use their output as input. + + + Please refer to the filter file chapter + to learn which client-header filters are available by default, and how to + create your own. + + + + + + Example usage (section): + + + +{+client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation}} +.exit/ + + + + + + + + + + + +client-header-tagger + + + + Typical use: + + + Block requests based on their headers. + + + + + + Effect: + + + Client headers to which this action applies are filtered on-the-fly through + the specified regular expression based substitutions, the result is used as + tag. + + + + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + + + + Parameter: + + + The name of a client-header tagger, as defined in one of the + filter files. + + + + + + Notes: + + + Client-header taggers are applied to each header on its own, + and as the header isn't modified, each tagger sees + the original. + + + Client-header taggers are the first actions that are executed + and their tags can be used to control every other action. + + + + + + Example usage (section): + + + +# Tag every request with the User-Agent header +{+client-header-filter{user-agent}} +/ + + + + + + + + + + + + +content-type-overwrite + + + + Typical use: + + Stop useless download menus from popping up, or change the browser's rendering mode + + + + + Effect: + + + Replaces the Content-Type: HTTP server header. + + + + + + Type: + + + Parameterized. + + + + + Parameter: + + + Any string. + + + + + + Notes: + + + The Content-Type: HTTP server header is used by the + browser to decide what to do with the document. The value of this + header can cause the browser to open a download menu instead of + displaying the document by itself, even if the document's format is + supported by the browser. + + + The declared content type can also affect which rendering mode the browser chooses. If XHTML is delivered as text/html, many browsers treat it as yet another broken HTML document. If it is send as application/xml, browsers with @@ -2511,7 +3022,7 @@ new action If you see a web site that proudly uses XHTML buttons, but sets - Content-Type: text/html, you can use Privoxy + Content-Type: text/html, you can use &my-app; to overwrite it with application/xml and validate the web master's claim inside your XHTML-supporting browser. If the syntax is incorrect, the browser will complain loudly. @@ -2530,10 +3041,9 @@ new action This limitation exists for a reason, think twice before circumventing it. - Most of the time it's easier to enable - filter-server-headers - and replace this action with a custom regular expression. It allows you - to activate it for every document of a certain site and it will still + Most of the time it's easier to replace this action with a custom + server-header filter. + It allows you to activate it for every document of a certain site and it will still only replace the content types you aimed at. @@ -2549,12 +3059,13 @@ new action # Check if www.example.net/ really uses valid XHTML -{+content-type-overwrite {application/xml}} +{ +content-type-overwrite{application/xml} } www.example.net/ + # but leave the content type unmodified if the URL looks like a style sheet {-content-type-overwrite} -www.example.net/*.\.css$ -www.example.net/*.style +www.example.net/.*\.css$ +www.example.net/.*style @@ -2621,9 +3132,8 @@ new action crunch-client-header is only meant for quick tests. If you have to block several different headers, or only want to modify - parts of them, you should enable - filter-client-headers - and create your own filter. + parts of them, you should use a + client-header filter. @@ -2638,7 +3148,7 @@ new action # Block the non-existent "Privacy-Violation:" client header -{+crunch-client-header {Privacy-Violation:}} +{ +crunch-client-header{Privacy-Violation:} } / @@ -2720,9 +3230,9 @@ new action # Let the browser revalidate cached documents without being tracked across sessions -{+hide-if-modified-since {-1} \ -+overwrite-last-modified {randomize} \ -+crunch-if-none-match} +{ +hide-if-modified-since{-60} \ + +overwrite-last-modified{randomize} \ + +crunch-if-none-match} / @@ -2857,9 +3367,8 @@ new action crunch-server-header is only meant for quick tests. If you have to block several different headers, or only want to modify - parts of them, you should enable - filter-server-headers - and create your own filter. + parts of them, you should use a custom + server-header filter. @@ -2874,7 +3383,7 @@ new action # Crunch server headers that try to prevent caching -{+crunch-server-header {no-cache}} +{ +crunch-server-header{no-cache} } / @@ -3175,9 +3684,9 @@ problem-host.example.com followed by another parameter. fast-redirects doesn't know that and will cause a redirect to http://www.example.net/&foo=bar. Depending on the target server configuration, the parameter will be silently ignored - or lead to a page not found error. It is possible to fix these redirected - requests with filter-client-headers - but it requires a little effort. + or lead to a page not found error. You can prevent this problem by + first using the redirect action + to remove the last part of the URL, but it requires a little effort. To detect a redirection URL, fast-redirects only @@ -3195,10 +3704,12 @@ problem-host.example.com Example usage: - +fast-redirects{simple-check} - - - +fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} + + { +fast-redirects{simple-check} } + .example.com + + { +fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} } + another.example.com/testing @@ -3215,7 +3726,8 @@ problem-host.example.com Typical use: - Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), do fun text replacements, etc. + Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), + do fun text replacements, add personalized effects, etc. @@ -3223,13 +3735,11 @@ problem-host.example.com Effect: - All files of text-based type, most notably HTML and JavaScript, to which this - action applies, are filtered on-the-fly through the specified regular expression - based substitutions. (Note: as of version 3.0.3 plain text documents + All instances of text-based type, most notably HTML and JavaScript, to which + this action applies, can be filtered on-the-fly through the specified regular + expression based substitutions. (Note: as of version 3.0.3 plain text documents are exempted from filtering, because web servers often use the - text/plain MIME type for all files whose type they - don't know.) By default, filtering works only on the document content - itself, not the headers. + text/plain MIME type for all files whose type they don't know.) @@ -3246,7 +3756,7 @@ problem-host.example.com Parameter: - The name of a filter, as defined in the filter file. + The name of a content filter, as defined in the filter file. Filters can be defined in one or more files as defined by the filterfile option in the config file. @@ -3256,7 +3766,7 @@ problem-host.example.com When used in its negative form, - and without parameters, filtering is completely disabled. + and without parameters, all filtering is completely disabled. @@ -3277,8 +3787,14 @@ problem-host.example.com noticeable on slower connections. - This is very powerful feature, and rolling your own - filters requires a knowledge of regular expressions and HTML. + Rolling your own + filters requires a knowledge of + Regular + Expressions and + HTML. + This is very powerful feature, and potentially very intrusive. + Filters should be used with caution, and where an equivalent + action is not available. The amount of data that can be filtered is limited to the @@ -3288,22 +3804,27 @@ problem-host.example.com data, and all pending data, is passed through unfiltered. - Inadequate MIME types, such as zipped files, are not filtered at all. + Inappropriate MIME types, such as zipped files, are not filtered at all. (Again, only text-based types except plain text). Encrypted SSL data (from HTTPS servers) cannot be filtered either, since this would violate the integrity of the secure transaction. In some situations it might be necessary to protect certain text, like source code, from filtering - by defining appropriate -filter sections. + by defining appropriate -filter exceptions. - At this time, Privoxy cannot (yet!) uncompress compressed - documents. If you want filtering to work on all documents, even those that - would normally be sent compressed, use the - prevent-compression + Compressed content can't be filtered either, unless &my-app; + is compiled with zlib support (requires at least &my-app; 3.0.7), + in which case &my-app; will decompress the content before filtering + it. + + + If you use a &my-app; version without zlib support, but want filtering to work on + as much documents as possible, even those that would normally be sent compressed, + you must use the prevent-compression action in conjunction with filter. - Filtering can achieve some of the same effects as the + Content filtering can achieve some of the same effects as the block action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners. But the mechanism works quite differently. One effective use, is to block ad banners @@ -3350,11 +3871,11 @@ problem-host.example.com - +filter{unsolicited-popups} # Disable only unsolicited pop-up windows + +filter{unsolicited-popups} # Disable only unsolicited pop-up windows. Useful if your browser lacks this ability. - +filter{all-popups} # Kill all popups in JavaScript and HTML + +filter{all-popups} # Kill all popups in JavaScript and HTML. Useful if your browser lacks this ability. @@ -3382,7 +3903,7 @@ problem-host.example.com - +filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizable + +filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizeable @@ -3394,7 +3915,7 @@ problem-host.example.com - +filter{quicktime-kioskmode} # Make Quicktime movies saveable + +filter{quicktime-kioskmode} # Make Quicktime movies savable @@ -3408,123 +3929,47 @@ problem-host.example.com +filter{ie-exploits} # Disable some known Internet Explorer bug exploits - - - - - - - - -filter-client-headers - - - - Typical use: - - To apply filtering to the client's (browser's) headers + + +filter{site-specifics} # Custom filters for specific site related problems - - - - - Effect: - - By default, Privoxy's filters only apply - to the document content itself. This will extend those filters to - include the client's headers as well. + + +filter{google} # Removes text ads and other Google specific improvements - - - - - Type: - - - Boolean. - - - - - Parameter: - - N/A + + +filter{yahoo} # Removes text ads and other Yahoo specific improvements - - - - - Notes: - - Regular expressions can be used to filter headers as well. Check your - filters closely before activating this action, as it can easily lead to broken - requests. - - - These filters are applied to each header on its own, not to them - all at once. This makes it easier to diagnose problems, but on the downside - you can't write filters that only change header x if header y's value is - z. + + +filter{msn} # Removes text ads and other MSN specific improvements - The filters are used after the other header actions have finished and can - use their output as input. + + +filter{blogspot} # Cleans up Blogspot blogs - - Whenever possible one should specify ^, - $, the whole header name and the colon, to make sure - the filter doesn't cause havoc to other headers or the - page itself. For example if you want to transform - Galeon User-Agents to - Firefox User-Agents you - shouldn't use: - - - -s@Galeon/\d\.\d\.\d @@ - - - but: - - -s@^(User-Agent:.*) Galeon/\d\.\d\.\d (Firefox/\d\.\d\.\d\.\d)$@$1 $2@ - - - - - - - Example usage (section): - - - -{+filter-client-headers +filter{test_filter}} -problem-host.example.com - - + + +filter{no-ping} # Removes non-standard ping attributes from anchor and area tags + - - -filter-server-headers - + +force-text-mode + Typical use: - - To apply filtering to the server's headers - + Force Privoxy to treat a document as if it was in some kind of text format. @@ -3532,16 +3977,14 @@ problem-host.example.com Effect: - By default, Privoxy's filters only apply - to the document content itself. This will extend those filters to - include the server's headers as well. - + Declares a document as text, even if the Content-Type: isn't detected as such. + Type: - + Boolean. @@ -3555,58 +3998,44 @@ problem-host.example.com - - + + Notes: - Similar to filter-client-headers, but works on - the server instead. To filter both server and client, use both. - - - As with filter-client-headers, check your - filters before activating this action, as it can easily lead to broken - requests. - - - These filters are applied to each header on its own, not to them - all at once. This makes it easier to diagnose problems, but on the downside - you can't write filters that only change header x if header y's value is - z. - - - The filters are used after the other header actions have finished and can - use their output as input. - - - Remember too, whenever possible one should specify ^, - $, the whole header name and the colon, to make sure - the filter doesn't cause havoc to other headers or the - page itself. See above for example. + As explained above, + Privoxy tries to only filter files that are + in some kind of text format. The same restrictions apply to + content-type-overwrite. + force-text-mode declares a document as text, + without looking at the Content-Type: first. - + + + Think twice before activating this action. Filtering binary data + with regular expressions can cause file damage. + + - + - Example usage (section): + Example usage: - + -{+filter-server-headers +filter{test_filter}} -problem-host.example.com - - ++force-text-mode + + - - -force-text-mode + +forward-override @@ -3614,7 +4043,7 @@ new action Typical use: - Force Privoxy to treat a document as if it was in some kind of text format. + Change the forwarding settings based on User-Agent or request origin @@ -3622,7 +4051,7 @@ new action Effect: - Declares a document as text, even if the Content-Type: isn't detected as such. + Overrules the forward directives in the configuration files. @@ -3631,16 +4060,38 @@ new action Type: - Boolean. + Multi-value. Parameter: - - N/A - + + + forward . to use a direct connection without any additional proxies. + + + + forward 127.0.0.1:8123 to use the HTTP proxy listening at 127.0.0.1 port 8123. + + + + + forward-socks4a 127.0.0.1:9050 . to use the socks4a proxy listening at 127.0.0.1 port 9050. + Replace forward-socks4a with forward-socks4 to use a socks4 connection (with local DNS + resolution) instead. + + + + + forward-socks4a 127.0.0.1:9050 proxy.example.org:8000 to use the socks4a proxy + listening at 127.0.0.1 port 9050 to reach the HTTP proxy listening at proxy.example.org port 8000. + Replace forward-socks4a with forward-socks4 to use a socks4 connection (with local DNS + resolution) instead. + + + @@ -3648,17 +4099,25 @@ new action Notes: - As explained above, - Privoxy tries to only filter files that are - in some kind of text format. The same restrictions apply to - content-type-overwrite. - force-text-mode declares a document as text, - without looking at the Content-Type: first. + This action takes parameters similar to the + forward directives in the configuration + file, but without the URL pattern. It can be used as replacement, but normally it's only + used in cases where matching based on the request URL isn't sufficient. - Think twice before activating this action. Filtering binary data - with regular expressions can cause file damage. + Please read the description for the forward directives before + using this action. Forwarding to the wrong people will reduce your privacy and increase the + chances of man-in-the-middle attacks. + + + If the ports are missing or invalid, default values will be used. This might change + in the future and you shouldn't rely on it. Otherwise incorrect syntax causes Privoxy + to exit. + + + Use the show-url-info CGI page + to verify that your forward settings do what you thought the do. @@ -3669,7 +4128,17 @@ new action -+force-text-mode +# Always use direct connections for requests previously tagged as +# User-Agent: fetch libfetch/2.0 and make sure +# resuming downloads continues to work. +# This way you can continue to use Tor for your normal browsing, +# without overloading the Tor network with your FreeBSD ports updates +# or downloads of bigger files like ISOs. +{+forward-override{forward .} \ + -hide-if-modified-since \ + -overwrite-last-modified \ +} +TAG:^User-Agent: fetch libfetch/2.0$ @@ -3698,7 +4167,7 @@ new action This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs. If the block action also applies, - the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML blocked + the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML BLOCKED page, or an empty document will be sent to the client as a substitute for the blocked content. The empty document isn't literally empty, but actually contains a single space. @@ -3729,6 +4198,8 @@ new action Some browsers complain about syntax errors if JavaScript documents are blocked with Privoxy's default HTML page; this option can be used to silence them. + And of course this action can also be used to eliminate the &my-app; + BLOCKED message in frames. The content type for the empty document can be specified with @@ -3762,7 +4233,7 @@ example.org/.*\.js$ Typical use: - Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by imagee if they get blocked) + Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by images if they do get blocked, rather than HTML pages) @@ -4005,10 +4476,10 @@ new action # Disarm the download link in Sourceforge's patch tracker -{-filter\ -+content-type-overwrite {text/plain}\ -+hide-content-disposition {block} } -.sourceforge.net/tracker/download.php +{ -filter \ + +content-type-overwrite{text/plain}\ + +hide-content-disposition{block} } + .sourceforge.net/tracker/download\.php @@ -4066,8 +4537,8 @@ new action Instead of removing the header, hide-if-modified-since can - also add or substract a random amount of time to/from the headers value. - You specify a range of hours were the random factor should be chosen from and + also add or subtract a random amount of time to/from the header's value. + You specify a range of minutes where the random factor should be chosen from and Privoxy does the rest. A negative value means subtracting, a positive value adding. @@ -4093,9 +4564,9 @@ new action # Let the browser revalidate without being tracked across sessions -{+hide-if-modified-since {-1}\ -+overwrite-last-modified {randomize}\ -+crunch-if-none-match} +{ +hide-if-modified-since{-60} \ + +overwrite-last-modified{randomize} \ + +crunch-if-none-match} / @@ -4562,7 +5033,7 @@ new action Killing all pop-ups unconditionally is problematic. Many shops and banks rely on pop-ups to display forms, shopping carts etc, and the filter{unsolicited-popups} - does a fairly good job of catching only the unwanted ones. + does a better job of catching only the unwanted ones. If the only kind of pop-ups that you want to kill are exit consoles (those @@ -4572,6 +5043,10 @@ new action linkend="filter">filter{js-annoyances} instead. + + This action is most appropriate for browsers that don't have any controls + for unwanted pop-ups. Not recommended for general usage. + + +redirect + + + + Typical use: + + + Redirect requests to other sites. + + + + + + Effect: + + + Convinces the browser that the requested document has been moved + to another location and the browser should get it from there. + + + + + + Type: + + + Parameterized + + + + + Parameter: + + + An absolute URL or a single pcrs command. + + + + + + Notes: + + + Requests to which this action applies are answered with a + HTTP redirect to URLs of your choosing. The new URL is + either provided as parameter, or derived by applying a + single pcrs command to the original URL. + + + This action will be ignored if you use it together with + block. + It can be combined with + fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} + to redirect to a decoded version of a rewritten URL. + + + Use this action carefully, make sure not to create redirection loops + and be aware that using your own redirects might make it + possible to fingerprint your requests. + + + + + + Example usages: + + + # Replace example.com's style sheet with another one +{ +redirect{http://localhost/css-replacements/example.com.css} } + example.com/stylesheet\.css + +# Create a short, easy to remember nickname for a favorite site +# (relies on the browser accept and forward invalid URLs to &my-app;) +{ +redirect{http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/actions-file.html} } + a + +# Always use the expanded view for Undeadly.org articles +# (Note the $ at the end of the URL pattern to make sure +# the request for the rewritten URL isn't redirected as well) +{+redirect{s@$@&mode=expanded@}} +undeadly.org/cgi\?action=article&sid=\d*$ + + + + + + + + + + +send-vanilla-wafer + + + + Typical use: + + + Feed log analysis scripts with useless data. + + + + + + Effect: + + + Sends a cookie with each request stating that you do not accept any copyright + on cookies sent to you, and asking the site operator not to track you. + + + + + + Type: + + + Boolean. + + + + + Parameter: + + + N/A + + + + + Notes: + - The preferred parameter here is randomize. It is safe - to use, as long as the time settings are more or less correct. - If the server sets the Last-Modified: header to the time - of the request, the random range becomes zero and the value stays the same. - Therefore you should later randomize it a second time with - hided-if-modified-since, - just to be sure. + The vanilla wafer is a (relatively) unique header and could conceivably be used to track you. - It is also recommended to use this action together with - crunch-if-none-match. + This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. @@ -4851,31 +5506,26 @@ new action Example usage: - - # Let the browser revalidate without being tracked across sessions -{+hide-if-modified-since {-1}\ -+overwrite-last-modified {randomize}\ -+crunch-if-none-match} -/ + + +send-vanilla-wafer + - -redirect - + +send-wafer + Typical use: - Redirect requests to other sites. + Send custom cookies or feed log analysis scripts with even more useless data. @@ -4884,8 +5534,7 @@ new action Effect: - Convinces the browser that the requested document has been moved - to another location and the browser should get it from there. + Sends a custom, user-defined cookie with each request. @@ -4894,7 +5543,7 @@ new action Type: - Parameterized + Multi-value. @@ -4902,7 +5551,8 @@ new action Parameter: - Any URL. + A string of the form name=value. @@ -4911,50 +5561,37 @@ new action Notes: - This action is useful to replace whole documents with your own - ones. For that to work, they have to be available on another server, - and both should resolve. - - - You can do the same by combining the actions - block, - handle-as-image and - set-image-blocker{URL}. - It doesn't sound right for non-image documents, and that's why this action - was created. + Being multi-valued, multiple instances of this action can apply to the same request, + resulting in multiple cookies being sent. - This action will be ignored if you use it together with - block. + This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. - - Example usage: + Example usage (section): - # Replace example.com's style sheet with another one -{+redirect{http://localhost/css-replacements/example.com.css}} -example.com/stylesheet.css + {+send-wafer{UsingPrivoxy=true}} +my-internal-testing-server.void - - -send-vanilla-wafer + +server-header-filter Typical use: - Feed log analysis scripts with useless data. + Rewrite or remove single server headers. @@ -4963,17 +5600,17 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Effect: - Sends a cookie with each request stating that you do not accept any copyright - on cookies sent to you, and asking the site operator not to track you. + All server headers to which this action applies are filtered on-the-fly + through the specified regular expression based substitutions. Type: - + - Boolean. + Parameterized. @@ -4981,7 +5618,8 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Parameter: - N/A + The name of a server-header filter, as defined in one of the + filter files. @@ -4990,20 +5628,34 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Notes: - The vanilla wafer is a (relatively) unique header and could conceivably be used to track you. + Server-header filters are applied to each header on its own, not to + all at once. This makes it easier to diagnose problems, but on the downside + you can't write filters that only change header x if header y's value is z. + You can do that by using tags though. - This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. + Server-header filters are executed after the other header actions have finished + and use their output as input. + + + Please refer to the filter file chapter + to learn which server-header filters are available by default, and how to + create your own. - - Example usage: + Example usage (section): - - +send-vanilla-wafer - + + +{+server-header-filter{html-to-xml}} +example.org/xml-instance-that-is-delivered-as-html + +{+server-header-filter{xml-to-html}} +example.org/instance-that-is-delivered-as-xml-but-is-not + + @@ -5012,15 +5664,15 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css - -send-wafer + +server-header-tagger Typical use: - Send custom cookies or feed log analysis scripts with even more useless data. + Disable or disable filters based on the Content-Type header. @@ -5029,16 +5681,18 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Effect: - Sends a custom, user-defined cookie with each request. + Server headers to which this action applies are filtered on-the-fly through + the specified regular expression based substitutions, the result is used as + tag. Type: - + - Multi-value. + Parameterized. @@ -5046,8 +5700,8 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Parameter: - A string of the form name=value. + The name of a server-header tagger, as defined in one of the + filter files. @@ -5056,23 +5710,37 @@ example.com/stylesheet.css Notes: - Being multi-valued, multiple instances of this action can apply to the same request, - resulting in multiple cookies being sent. + Server-header taggers are applied to each header on its own, + and as the header isn't modified, each tagger sees + the original. - This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. + Server-header taggers are executed before all other header actions + that modify server headers. Their tags can be used to control + all of the other server-header actions, the content filters + and the crunch actions (redirect + and block). - + + Obviously crunching based on tags created by server-header taggers + doesn't prevent the request from showing up in the server's log file. + + + Example usage (section): - - {+send-wafer{UsingPrivoxy=true}} -my-internal-testing-server.void - + + +# Tag every request with the declared content type +{+client-header-filter{content-type}} +/ + + + @@ -5268,7 +5936,7 @@ my-internal-testing-server.void +set-image-blocker{pattern} - Redirect to the BSD devil: + Redirect to the BSD daemon: +set-image-blocker{http://www.freebsd.org/gifs/dae_up3.gif} @@ -5343,15 +6011,7 @@ new action For Connect requests the clients tell Privoxy which host they are interested in, but not which document they plan to get later. As a result, the - Go there anyway link becomes rather useless: - it lets the client request the home page of the forbidden host - through unencrypted HTTP, still using the port of the last request. - - - If you previously configured Privoxy to do the - request through a SSL tunnel, everything will work. Most likely you haven't - and the server will respond with an error message because it is expecting - HTTPS. + Go there anyway wouldn't work and is therefore suppressed. @@ -5422,7 +6082,6 @@ new action them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are of course preserved, but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit sections that use aliases with it. - This is likely to change in future versions of Privoxy. @@ -5443,13 +6102,14 @@ new action # +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies - block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image - mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only -filter{content-cookies} + +block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image + allow-all-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only -filter{content-cookies} # These aliases define combinations of actions # that are useful for certain types of sites: # - fragile = -block -filter -crunch-all-cookies -fast-redirects -hide-referrer -kill-popups + fragile = -block -filter -crunch-all-cookies -fast-redirects -hide-referrer -kill-popups -prevent-compression + shop = -crunch-all-cookies -filter{all-popups} -kill-popups # Short names for other aliases, for really lazy people ;-) @@ -5472,7 +6132,8 @@ new action {fragile} .office.microsoft.com .windowsupdate.microsoft.com - .nytimes.com + # Gmail is really mail.google.com, not gmail.com + mail.google.com # Shopping sites: # Allow cookies (for setting and retrieving your customer data) @@ -5480,18 +6141,18 @@ new action {shop} .quietpc.com .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com - .scan.co.uk + mybank.example.com # These shops require pop-ups: # - {shop -kill-popups -filter{all-popups}} + {-kill-popups -filter{all-popups} -filter{unsolicited-popups}} .dabs.com .overclockers.co.uk - Aliases like shop and fragile are often used for - problem sites that require some actions to be disabled + Aliases like shop and fragile are typically used for + problem sites that require more than one action to be disabled in order to function properly. @@ -5555,7 +6216,7 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: # +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies - block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image + +block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only -filter{content-cookies} # These aliases define combinations of actions @@ -5599,6 +6260,7 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: ########################################################################## { \ -add-header \ + -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation} \ -block \ -content-type-overwrite \ -crunch-client-header \ @@ -5608,20 +6270,20 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: -crunch-outgoing-cookies \ +deanimate-gifs \ -downgrade-http-version \ - +fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} \ - +filter{js-annoyances} \ + -fast-redirects{check-decoded-url} \ + -filter{js-annoyances} \ -filter{js-events} \ +filter{html-annoyances} \ -filter{content-cookies} \ +filter{refresh-tags} \ - +filter{unsolicited-popups} \ + -filter{unsolicited-popups} \ -filter{all-popups} \ - +filter{img-reorder} \ - +filter{banners-by-size} \ + -filter{img-reorder} \ + -filter{banners-by-size} \ -filter{banners-by-link} \ +filter{webbugs} \ -filter{tiny-textforms} \ - +filter{jumping-windows} \ + -filter{jumping-windows} \ -filter{frameset-borders} \ -filter{demoronizer} \ -filter{shockwave-flash} \ @@ -5629,8 +6291,11 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: -filter{fun} \ -filter{crude-parental} \ +filter{ie-exploits} \ - -filter-client-headers \ - -filter-server-headers \ + -filter{google} \ + -filter{yahoo} \ + -filter{msn} \ + -filter{blogspot} \ + -filter{no-ping} \ -force-text-mode \ -handle-as-empty-document \ -handle-as-image \ @@ -5649,6 +6314,8 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: -redirect \ -send-vanilla-wafer \ -send-wafer \ + -server-header-filter{xml-to-html} \ + -server-header-filter{html-to-xml} \ +session-cookies-only \ +set-image-blocker{pattern} \ -treat-forbidden-connects-like-blocks \ @@ -5684,7 +6351,8 @@ that also explains why and how aliases are used: # { fragile } .office.microsoft.com # surprise, surprise! -.windowsupdate.microsoft.com +.windowsupdate.microsoft.com +mail.google.com @@ -5779,7 +6447,7 @@ edit.*.yahoo.com generate the banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the request is for an image. Hence we block them and mark them as images in one go, with the help of our - block-as-image alias defined above. (We could of + +block-as-image alias defined above. (We could of course just as well use +block +handle-as-image here.) Remember that the type of the replacement image is chosen by the @@ -5793,20 +6461,19 @@ edit.*.yahoo.com # Known ad generators: # -{ block-as-image } +{ +block-as-image } ar.atwola.com .ad.doubleclick.net .ad.*.doubleclick.net .a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$ .a[0-9].yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$ bs*.gsanet.com -bs*.einets.com .qkimg.net One of the most important jobs of Privoxy - is to block banners. A huge bunch of them can be blocked + is to block banners. Many of these can be blocked by the filter{banners-by-size} action, which we enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner images from the pages while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't request @@ -5816,7 +6483,7 @@ bs*.einets.com block action to them. - First comes a bunch of generic patterns, which do most of the work, by + First comes many generic patterns, which do most of the work, by matching typical domain and path name components of banners. Then comes a list of individual patterns for specific sites, which is omitted here to keep the example short: @@ -5844,7 +6511,7 @@ count*. - You wouldn't believe how many advertisers actually call their banner + It's quite remarkable how many advertisers actually call their banner servers ads.company.com, or call the directory in which the banners are stored simply banners. So the above generic patterns are surprisingly effective. @@ -5882,6 +6549,7 @@ count*. { -block } adv[io]*. # (for advogato.org and advice.*) adsl. # (has nothing to do with ads) +adobe. # (has nothing to do with ads either) ad[ud]*. # (adult.* and add.*) .edu # (universities don't host banners (yet!)) .*loads. # (downloads, uploads etc) @@ -5909,7 +6577,10 @@ www.ugu.com/sui/ugu/adv # Don't filter code! # { -filter } -/.*cvs +/(.*/)?cvs +bugzilla. +developer. +wiki. .sourceforge.net @@ -6001,12 +6672,10 @@ handle-as-text = -filter +-filter } -.your-home-banking-site.com + .your-home-banking-site.com @@ -6051,8 +6720,8 @@ stupid-server.example.com/ { +block } -www.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.gif -another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/ + www.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor\.gif + another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/ @@ -6070,9 +6739,10 @@ another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/ { +block-as-image } -.doubleclick.net -/Realmedia/ads/ -ar.atwola.com/ + .doubleclick.net + .fastclick.net + /Realmedia/ads/ + ar.atwola.com/ @@ -6083,13 +6753,16 @@ ar.atwola.com/ -- whoa! -- it worked. The fragile aliases disables those actions that are most likely to break a site. Also, good for testing purposes to see if it is Privoxy - that is causing the problem or not. + that is causing the problem or not. We later find other regular sites + that misbehave, and add those to our personalized list of troublemakers: { fragile } -.forbes.com + .forbes.com + webmail.example.com + .mybank.com @@ -6102,7 +6775,7 @@ ar.atwola.com/ { +filter{fun} } -/ # For ALL sites! + / # For ALL sites! @@ -6123,9 +6796,9 @@ ar.atwola.com/ { allow-ads } -.sourceforge.net -.slashdot.org -.osdn.net + .sourceforge.net + .slashdot.org + .osdn.net @@ -6145,7 +6818,7 @@ ar.atwola.com/ { handle-as-text } -/.*\.sh$ + /.*\.sh$ @@ -6179,11 +6852,35 @@ ar.atwola.com/ Filter Files - On-the-fly text substitutions that can be invoked through the - filter action need + On-the-fly text substitutions need to be defined in a filter file. Once defined, they - can then be invoked as an action. Mulitple filter files can be - defined through the action. + + + + &my-app; supports three different filter actions: + filter to + rewrite the content that is send to the client, + client-header-filter + to rewrite headers that are send by the client, and + server-header-filter + to rewrite headers that are send by the server, and + + + + &my-app; also supports two tagger actions: + client-header-tagger + and + server-header-tagger. + Taggers and filters use the same syntax in the filter files, the differnce + is that taggers don't modify the text they are filtering, but use a rewritten + version of the filtered text as tag. The tags can then be used to change the + applying actions through sections with tag-patterns. + + + + + Multiple filter files can be defined through the filterfile config directive. The filters as supplied by the developers will be found in default.filter. It is recommended that any locally @@ -6193,33 +6890,30 @@ ar.atwola.com/ - Typical reasons for doing these kinds of substitutions are to eliminate - common annoyances in HTML and JavaScript, such as pop-up windows, + Command tasks for content filters are to eliminate common annoyances in + HTML and JavaScript, such as pop-up windows, exit consoles, crippled windows without navigation tools, the infamous <BLINK> tag etc, to suppress images with certain width and height attributes (standard banner sizes or web-bugs), - or just to have fun. The possibilities are endless. + or just to have fun. - Filtering works on any text-based document type, including + Content filtering works on any text-based document type, including HTML, JavaScript, CSS etc. (all text/* MIME types, except text/plain). Substitutions are made at the source level, so if you want to roll your own filters, you should first be familiar with HTML syntax, - and, of course, regular expressions. By default, filters are only applied - to the document content, but can be extended to the headers with - the supplemental actions: - filter-client-headers and - filter-server-headers. + and, of course, regular expressions. Just like the actions files, the filter file is organized in sections, which are called filters - here. Each filter consists of a heading line, that starts with the - keyword FILTER:, followed by - the filter's name, and a short (one line) + here. Each filter consists of a heading line, that starts with one of the + keywords FILTER:, + CLIENT-HEADER-FILTER: or SERVER-HEADER-FILTER: + followed by the filter's name, and a short (one line) description of what it does. Below that line come the jobs, i.e. lines that define the actual text substitutions. By convention, the name of a filter @@ -6236,7 +6930,9 @@ ar.atwola.com/ - A filter header line for a filter called foo could look + Filter definitions start with a header line that contains the filter + type, the filter name and the filter description. + A content filter header line for a filter called foo could look like this: @@ -6256,7 +6952,9 @@ ar.atwola.com/ - If you are new to regular expressions, you might want to take a look at + If you are new to + Regular + Expressions, you might want to take a look at the Appendix on regular expressions, and see the Perl manual for @@ -6272,7 +6970,7 @@ ar.atwola.com/ Filter File Tutorial - Now, let's complete our foo filter. We have already defined + Now, let's complete our foo content filter. We have already defined the heading, but the jobs are still missing. Since all it does is to replace foo with bar, there is only one (trivial) job needed: @@ -6411,9 +7109,9 @@ s/window\.status\s*=\s*(['"]).*?\1/dUmMy=1/ig makes this matching of arbitrary text ungreedy. (Note that the U option is not set). The ['"] construct means: a single or a double quote. Finally, \1 is - a backreference to the first parenthesis just like $1 above, + a back-reference to the first parenthesis just like $1 above, with the difference that in the pattern, a backslash indicates - a backreference, whereas in the substitute, it's the dollar. + a back-reference, whereas in the substitute, it's the dollar. @@ -6538,11 +7236,15 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: removes code that causes new windows to be opened with undesired properties, such as being - full-screen, non-resizable, without location, status or menu bar etc. + full-screen, non-resizeable, without location, status or menu bar etc. + + Use with caution. This is an aggressive filter, and can break sites that + rely heavily on JavaScript. + @@ -6552,7 +7254,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: This is a very radical measure. It removes virtually all JavaScript event bindings, which means that scripts can not react to user actions such as mouse movements or clicks, window - resizing etc, anymore. + resizing etc, anymore. Use with caution! We strongly discourage using this filter as a default since it breaks @@ -6571,7 +7273,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: The BLINK and MARQUEE tags are neutralized (yeah baby!), and browser windows will be created as - resizable (as of course they should be!), and will have location, + resizeable (as of course they should be!), and will have location, scroll and menu bars -- even if specified otherwise. @@ -6581,7 +7283,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: content-cookies - Most cookies are set in the HTTP dialogue, where they can be intercepted + Most cookies are set in the HTTP dialog, where they can be intercepted by the crunch-incoming-cookies and crunch-outgoing-cookies @@ -6589,8 +7291,10 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: to sneak cookies to the browser on the content level. - This filter disables HTML and JavaScript code that reads or sets cookies. Use - it wherever you would also use the cookie crunch actions. + This filter disables most HTML and JavaScript code that reads or sets + cookies. It cannot detect all clever uses of these types of code, so it + should not be relied on as an absolute fix. Use it wherever you would also + use the cookie crunch actions. @@ -6618,8 +7322,14 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: Technical note: The filter works by redefining the window.open JavaScript - function to a dummy function during the loading and rendering phase of each - HTML page access, and restoring the function afterwards. + function to a dummy function, PrivoxyWindowOpen(), + during the loading and rendering phase of each HTML page access, and + restoring the function afterward. + + + This is recommended only for browsers that cannot perform this function + reliably themselves. And be aware that some sites require such windows + in order to function normally. Use with caution. @@ -6629,9 +7339,9 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: Attempt to prevent all pop-up windows from opening. - Note this should be used with more discretion than the above, since it is - more likely to break some sites that require pop-ups for normal usage. Use - with caution. + Note this should be used with even more discretion than the above, since + it is more likely to break some sites that require pop-ups for normal + usage. Use with caution. @@ -6659,6 +7369,10 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: Occasionally this filter will cause false positives on images that are not ads, but just happen to be of one of the standard banner sizes. + + Recommended only for those who require extreme ad blocking. The default + block rules should catch 95+% of all ads without this filter enabled. + @@ -6682,7 +7396,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: As an HTML page is loaded by the browser, an embedded image tag causes the browser to contact a third-party site, disclosing the tracking information through the requested URL and/or cookies for that third-party domain, without - the use ever becoming aware of the interaction with the third-party site. + the user ever becoming aware of the interaction with the third-party site. HTML-ized spam also uses a similar technique to verify email addresses. @@ -6712,7 +7426,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: Many consider windows that move, or resize themselves to be abusive. This filter neutralizes the related JavaScript code. Note that some sites might not display - or behave as intended when using this filter. + or behave as intended when using this filter. Use with caution. @@ -6746,7 +7460,7 @@ pre-defined filters for your convenience: This filter translates the MS-only characters into Latin-1 equivalents. It is not necessary when using MS products, and will cause corruption of all documents that use 8-bit character sets other than Latin-1. It's mostly - worthwhile for Europeans on non-MS platforms, if wierd garbage characters + worthwhile for Europeans on non-MS platforms, if weird garbage characters sometimes appear on some pages, or user agents that don't correct for this on the fly. -Templates +Privoxy's Template Files All Privoxy built-in pages, i.e. error pages such as the 404 - No Such Domain @@ -6952,7 +7773,7 @@ Requests -<application>Privoxy</application> Copyright, License and History +Privoxy Copyright, License and History ©right; @@ -7231,7 +8052,7 @@ Requests -<application>Privoxy</application>'s Internal Pages +Privoxy's Internal Pages Since Privoxy proxies each requested @@ -7430,8 +8251,9 @@ Requests 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: + Let's take a quick look at how some of Privoxy's + core features are triggered, and the ensuing sequence of events when a web + page is requested by your browser: @@ -7457,10 +8279,13 @@ Requests linkend="BLOCK">+block patterns. If so, the URL is then blocked, and the remote web server will not be contacted. +handle-as-image - is then checked and if it does not match, an - HTML BLOCKED page is sent back. Otherwise, if it does match, - an image is returned. The type of image depends on the setting of +set-image-blocker + and + +handle-as-empty-document + are then checked, and if there is no match, an + HTML BLOCKED page is sent back to the browser. Otherwise, if + it does match, an image is returned for the former, and an empty text + document for the latter. The type of image would depend on the setting of + +set-image-blocker (blank, checkerboard pattern, or an HTTP redirect to an image elsewhere). @@ -7488,8 +8313,8 @@ Requests - Now the web server starts sending its response back (i.e. typically a web page and related - data). + Now the web server starts sending its response back (i.e. typically a web + page). @@ -7512,7 +8337,7 @@ Requests - If a +filter + If any +filter action or +deanimate-gifs action applies (and the document type fits the action), the rest of the page is @@ -7525,7 +8350,7 @@ Requests Privoxy back to your browser. - If neither +filter + If neither a +filter action or +deanimate-gifs matches, then Privoxy passes the raw data through @@ -7537,21 +8362,29 @@ Requests As the browser receives the now (possibly filtered) page content, it reads and then requests any URLs that may be embedded within the page source, e.g. ad images, stylesheets, JavaScript, other HTML documents (e.g. - frames), sounds, etc. For each of these objects, the browser issues a new - request. And each such request is in turn processed as above. Note that a - complex web page may have many such embedded URLs. + frames), sounds, etc. For each of these objects, the browser issues a + separate request (this is easily viewable in Privoxy's + logs). And each such request is in turn processed just as above. Note that a + complex web page will have many, many such embedded URLs. If these + secondary requests are to a different server, then quite possibly a very + differing set of actions is triggered. + + NOTE: This is somewhat of a simplistic overview of what happens with each URL + request. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, we have focused on + Privoxy's core features only. + -Anatomy of an Action +Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an Action The way Privoxy applies @@ -7573,6 +8406,13 @@ Requests and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!). Looking at the logs is a good idea too. + + Another easy troubleshooting step to try is if you have done any + customization of your installation, revert back to the installed + defaults and see if that helps. There are times the developers get complaints + about one thing or another, and the problem is more related to a customized + configuration issue. + Privoxy also provides the @@ -7612,6 +8452,7 @@ Requests {-add-header -block + -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation} -content-type-overwrite -crunch-client-header -crunch-if-none-match @@ -7633,17 +8474,20 @@ Requests -filter {fun} -filter {crude-parental} -filter {site-specifics} - +filter {js-annoyances} - +filter {html-annoyances} + -filter {js-annoyances} + -filter {html-annoyances} +filter {refresh-tags} - +filter {unsolicited-popups} + -filter {unsolicited-popups} +filter {img-reorder} +filter {banners-by-size} +filter {webbugs} +filter {jumping-windows} +filter {ie-exploits} - -filter-client-headers - -filter-server-headers + -filter {google} + -filter {yahoo} + -filter {msn} + -filter {blogspot} + -filter {no-ping} -force-text-mode -handle-as-empty-document -handle-as-image @@ -7662,6 +8506,8 @@ Requests -redirect -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer + -server-header-filter{xml-to-html} + -server-header-filter{html-to-xml} +session-cookies-only +set-image-blocker {pattern} -treat-forbidden-connects-like-blocks } @@ -7690,41 +8536,42 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] The first listing - is any matches for the standard.action file. No hits at - all here on standard. Then next is default, or - our default.action file. The large, multi-line listing, - is how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default settings. - If you look at your actions file, this would be the section - just below the aliases section near the top. This will apply to - all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end of the listing - -- /. - - - - But we can define additional actions that would be exceptions to these general - rules, and then list specific URLs (or patterns) that these exceptions would - apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit matches for - .google.com. The first is negating our previous cookie setting, - which was for default.action file. The large, multi-line + listing, is how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default + settings. If you look at your actions file, this would be the + section just below the aliases section near the top. This + will apply to all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end + of the listing -- / . + + + + But we have defined additional actions that would be exceptions to these general + rules, and then we list specific URLs (or patterns) that these exceptions + would apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit + matches for .google.com. The first is negating our previous + cookie setting, which was for +session-cookies-only (i.e. not persistent). So we will allow persistent cookies for google, at least that is how it is in this example. The second turns - off any - off any +fast-redirects action, allowing this to take place unmolested. Note that there is a leading dot here -- .google.com. This will match any hosts and sub-domains, in the google.com domain also, such as - www.google.com. So, apparently, we have these two actions - defined somewhere in the lower part of our default.action - file, and google.com is referenced somewhere in these latter - sections. + www.google.com or mail.google.com. But it would not + match www.google.de! So, apparently, we have these two actions + defined as exceptions to the general rules at the top somewhere in the lower + part of our default.action file, and + google.com is referenced somewhere in these latter sections. Then, for our user.action file, we again have no hits. So there is nothing google-specific that we might have added to our own, local - configuration. + configuration. If there was, those actions would over-rule any actions from + previously processed files, such as default.action. + user.action typically has the last word. This is the + best place to put hard and fast exceptions, @@ -7741,6 +8588,7 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ][ View ] [ Edit ][ View ] [ Edit ] @@ -7798,22 +8663,23 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] - { +block +handle-as-image } - .ad.doubleclick.net - - { +block +handle-as-image } + { +block } ad*. + { +block } + .ad. + { +block +handle-as-image } - .doubleclick.net + .[a-vx-z]*.doubleclick.net - We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is - matched three different times. Each as an +block +handle-as-image, + We'll just show the interesting part here - the explicit matches. It is + matched three different times. Two +block sections, + and a +block +handle-as-image, which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as: - +imageblock. (+block-as-image. (Aliases are defined in the first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more than one action.) @@ -7828,10 +8694,9 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ]+block and an - +handle-as-image. - The custom alias +imageblock just simplifies the process and make - it more readable. + +handle-as-image. + The custom alias +block-as-image just + simplifies the process and make it more readable. @@ -7848,6 +8713,7 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ][ View ] [ Edit ][ View ] [ Edit ][ View ] [ Edit ] Ooops, the /adsl/ is matching /ads in our configuration! But we did not want this at all! Now we see why we get the - blank page. We could now add a new action below this that explicitly - un blocks ({-block}) paths with - adsl in them (remember, last match in the configuration wins). - There are various ways to handle such exceptions. Example: + blank page. It is actually triggering two different actions here, and + the effects are aggregated so that the URL is blocked, and &my-app; is told + to treat the block as if it were an image. But this is, of course, all wrong. + We could now add a new action below this (or better in our own + user.action file) that explicitly + un blocks ( + {-block}) paths with + adsl in them (remember, last match in the configuration + wins). There are various ways to handle such exceptions. Example: @@ -7911,8 +8800,10 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] - Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when - making such changes. Or, try using Shift+Reload. + Now the page displays ;-) + Remember to flush your browser's caches when making these kinds of changes to + your configuration to insure that you get a freshly delivered page! Or, try + using Shift+Reload. @@ -7929,19 +8820,21 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] - That actually was very telling and pointed us quickly to where the problem + That actually was very helpful 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. These - tend to be harder to troubleshoot. Try adding the URL for the site to one of - aliases that turn off +filter: + rules in the first section of default.action 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. + These tend to be harder to troubleshoot. + Try adding the URL for the site to one of aliases that turn off + +filter: - {shop} + { shop } .quietpc.com .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com .jungle.com @@ -7951,8 +8844,8 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] - {shop} is an alias that expands to - { -filter -session-cookies-only }. + { shop } is an alias that expands to + { -filter -session-cookies-only }. Or you could do your own exception to negate filtering: @@ -7960,29 +8853,55 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ] - {-filter} + { -filter } + # Disable ALL filter actions for sites in this section .forbes.com + developer.ibm.com + localhost - This would turn off all filtering for that site. This would probably be most - appropriately put in user.action, for local site - exceptions. + This would turn off all filtering for these sites. This is best + put in user.action, for local site + exceptions. Note that when a simple domain pattern is used by itself (without + the subsequent path portion), all sub-pages within that domain are included + automatically in the scope of the action. Images that are inexplicably being blocked, may well be hitting the - +filter{banners-by-size} rule, which assumes - that images of certain sizes are ad banners (works well most of the time - since these tend to be standardized). ++filter{banners-by-size} + rule, which assumes + that images of certain sizes are ad banners (works well + most of the time since these tend to be standardized). + + + + { fragile } is an alias that disables most + actions that are the most likely to cause trouble. This can be used as a + last resort for problem sites. + + + + + { fragile } + # Handle with care: easy to break + mail.google. + mybank.example.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. + Remember to flush caches! Note that the + mail.google reference lacks the TLD portion (e.g. + .com. This will effectively match any TLD with + google in it, such as mail.google.de, + just as an example. + + + 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. @@ -8006,10 +8925,65 @@ In file: user.action [ View ] [ Edit ]