X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Fuser-manual.sgml;h=c9f6a94d9804f85351e52dd18b96bd85814e57a3;hb=58954e6a774ebf5745e9300a5629d562a9b411ba;hp=c325f44d477168c2429410e914a85cd989f4d24d;hpb=f6631948da9a32370dc62896bbb6c634ae15b524;p=privoxy.git
diff --git a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
index c325f44d..b7493ad8 100644
--- a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
+++ b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
@@ -10,18 +10,22 @@
-
-
+
+
+
-
+
+
+
+Privoxy">
]>
- Copyright &my-copy; 2001, 2002 by
- Privoxy Developers
+ Copyright &my-copy; 2001-2010 by
+ Privoxy Developers
-$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.119 2002/05/22 17:17:05 oes Exp $
+$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.117 2010/01/11 12:56:04 fabiankeil Exp $
@@ -95,9 +88,9 @@ Hal.
]]>
- The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use
- Privoxy.
+ The Privoxy User Manual gives users information on how to
+ install, configure and use Privoxy.
@@ -105,9 +98,9 @@ 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
+ Please see the Contact section on how to
contact the developers.
@@ -122,13 +115,12 @@ Hal.
Introduction
This documentation is included with the current &p-status; version of
- Privoxy, v.&p-version;Privoxy, v.&p-version;soon ;-)]]>.
+ configuration files. Development of a new version is currently nearing
+ completion, and includes significant changes and enhancements over
+ earlier versions]]>.
@@ -144,10 +136,12 @@ Hal.
Features
- In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional
- features of ad and banner blocking and cookie management,
- Privoxy provides new features:
+ In addition to the core
+ features of ad blocking and
+ cookie management,
+ Privoxy provides many supplemental
+ features,
+ that give the end-user more control, more privacy and more freedom:
&newfeatures;
@@ -171,13 +165,11 @@ Hal.
- Note: If you have a previous Junkbuster or
- Privoxy installation on your system, you
- will need to remove it. On some platforms, this may be done for you as part
- of their installation procedure. (See below for your platform). In any case
- be sure to backup your old configuration if it is valuable to
- you. See the note to
- upgraders section below.
+ Note:
+ On some platforms, the installer may remove previously installed versions, if
+ found. (See below for your platform). In any case be sure to backup
+ your old configuration if it is valuable to you. See the note to upgraders section below.
@@ -186,8 +178,10 @@ Hal.
How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:
+
+
-Red Hat, SuSE RPMs and Conectiva
+Red Hat and Fedora RPMs
RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm,
@@ -199,13 +193,12 @@ 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.
If you have problems with failed dependencies, try rebuilding the SRC RPM:
- rpm --rebuild privoxy-&p-version;-1.src.rpm;. This
+ rpm --rebuild privoxy-&p-version;-1.src.rpm. This
will use your locally installed libraries and RPM version.
@@ -213,17 +206,16 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Also note that if you have a Junkbuster RPM installed
on your system, you need to remove it first, because the packages conflict.
Otherwise, RPM will try to remove Junkbuster
- automatically, before installing Privoxy.
+ automatically if found, before installing Privoxy.
-Debian
+Debian and Ubuntu
- DEBs can be installed with dpkg -i
- privoxy_&p-version;-1.deb, and will use
- /etc/privoxy for the location of configuration
- files.
+ DEBs can be installed with apt-get install privoxy,
+ and will use /etc/privoxy for the location of
+ configuration files.
@@ -233,18 +225,50 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through
the installation process. You will find the configuration files
- in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in. We do not
- use the registry of Windows.
+ in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in.
+
+
+ Version 3.0.5 beta 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.
+
+
+
+ Arguments:
+
+
+ --install[:service_name]
+
+
+ --uninstall[:service_name]
+
+
+
+
+
+ After invoking Privoxy with
+ --install, you will need to bring up the
+ Windows service console to assign the user you
+ 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
+ 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
+ write to its log and configuration files.
+
-Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX
+Solaris
Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and
untar the archive. For the most part, you'll have to figure out where
- things go. FIXME.
+ things go.
@@ -255,7 +279,10 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
First, make sure that no previous installations of
Junkbuster and / or
Privoxy are left on your
- system. You can do this by
+ system. Check that no Junkbuster
+ or Privoxy objects are in
+ your startup folder.
+
@@ -272,17 +299,24 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Max OSX
-
- Unzip the downloaded package (you can either double-click on the file
- in the finder, or on the desktop if you downloaded it there). Then,
- double-click on the package installer icon and follow the installation
- process.
- Privoxy will be installed in the subdirectory
- /Applications/Privoxy.app.
- Privoxy will set itself up to start
- automatically on system bring-up via
- /System/Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.
+Mac OS X
+
+ Unzip the downloaded file (you can either double-click on the zip file
+ icon from the Finder, or from the desktop if you downloaded it there).
+ Then, double-click on the package installer icon and follow the
+ installation process.
+
+
+ The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful
+ installation (in addition to every time your computer starts up). To
+ prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your
+ computer starts up, remove or rename the folder named
+ /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.
+
+
+ To manually start or stop the privoxy service, use the Privoxy Utility
+ for Mac OS X. This application controls the privoxy service (e.g.
+ starting and stopping the service as well as uninstalling the software).
@@ -294,16 +328,48 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
directory, including all configuration and log files. To uninstall, just
remove this directory.
+
+
+
+FreeBSD
+
- Start Privoxy (with RUN <>NIL:) in your
- startnet script (AmiTCP), in
- s:user-startup (RoadShow), as startup program in your
- startup script (Genesis), or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx).
- Privoxy will automatically quit when you quit your
- TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that
- Privoxy is still running).
+ 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 there's no reason to use them unless you're interested in the
+ beta releases which are only available there.
+
+
+
+
+Gentoo
+
+ Gentoo source packages (Ebuilds) for Privoxy are
+ contained in the Gentoo Portage Tree (they are not on the download page,
+ but there is a Gentoo section, where you can see when a new
+ Privoxy Version is added to the Portage Tree).
+
+
+ Before installing Privoxy under Gentoo just do
+ first emerge --sync to get the latest changes from the
+ Portage tree. With emerge privoxy you install the latest
+ version.
+
+
+ Configuration files are in /etc/privoxy, the
+ documentation is in /usr/share/doc/privoxy-&p-version;
+ and the Log directory is in /var/log/privoxy.
+
@@ -311,7 +377,8 @@ 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.
@@ -319,55 +386,364 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
If you like to live on the bleeding edge and are not afraid of using
possibly unstable development versions, you can check out the up-to-the-minute
version directly from the
- CVS repository or simply download the nightly CVS
+ CVS repository.
+
&buildsource;
+
+
+Keeping your Installation Up-to-Date
+
+ As user feedback comes in and development continues, we will make updated versions
+ of both the main actions file (as a separate
+ package) and the software itself (including the actions file) available for
+ download.
+
+
+
+ If you wish to receive an email notification whenever we release updates of
+ Privoxy or the actions file, subscribe
+ to our announce mailing list, ijbswa-announce@lists.sourceforge.net.
+
+
+
+ In order not to lose your personal changes and adjustments when updating
+ to the latest default.action file we strongly
+ recommend that you use user.action and
+ user.filter for your local
+ customizations of Privoxy. See the Chapter on actions files for details.
+
+
+
-
-Note to Upgraders
+
+What's New in this Release
- There are very significant changes from earlier
- Junkbuster versions to the current
- Privoxy. The number, names, syntax, and
- purposes of configuration files have substantially changed.
- Junkbuster 2.0.x configuration
- files will not migrate, Junkbuster 2.9.x
- and Privoxy configurations will need to be
- ported. The functionalities of the old blockfile,
- cookiefile and imagelist
- are now combined into the actions
- files.
- default.action, is the main actions file. Local
- exceptions should best be put into user.action.
+ Privoxy 3.0.15 beta is a bug-fix release
+ for the previous beta. The changes since 3.0.14 are:
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ In case of missing server data, no error message is send to the
+ client if the request arrived on a reused connection. The client
+ is then supposed to silently retry the request without bothering
+ the user. This should significantly reduce the frequency of the
+ "No server or forwarder data received" error message many users
+ reported.
+
+
+
+
+ More reliable detection of prematurely closed client sockets
+ with keep-alive enabled.
+
+
+
+
+ FEATURE_CONNECTION_KEEP_ALIVE is decoupled from
+ FEATURE_CONNECTION_SHARING and now available on
+ all platforms.
+
+
+
+
+ Improved handling of POST requests on reused connections.
+ Should fix problems with stalled connections after submitting
+ form data with some browser configurations.
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed various latency calculation issues.
+
+
+
+
+ Allows the client to pass NTLM authentication requests to a
+ forwarding proxy. This was already assumed and hinted to work
+ in 3.0.13 beta but actually didn't. Now it's confirmed to work
+ with IE, Firefox and Chrome.
+ Thanks to Francois Botha and Wan-Teh Chang
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed a calculation problem if receiving the server headers
+ takes more than two reads, that could cause Privoxy to terminate
+ the connection prematurely. Reported by Oliver.
+
+
+
+
+ Compiles again on platforms such as OpenBSD and systems
+ using earlier glibc version that don't support AI_ADDRCONFIG.
+ Anonymously submitted in #2872591.
+
+
+
+
+ A bunch of MS VC project files and Suse and Redhat RPM spec
+ files have been removed as they were no longer maintained for
+ quite some time.
+
+
+
+
+ Overly long action lines are properly rejected with a proper
+ error message. Previously they would be either rejected as
+ invalid or cause a core dump through abort().
+
+
+
+
+ Already timed-out connections are no longer temporarily remembered.
+ They weren't reused anyway, but wasted a socket slot.
+
+
+
+
+ len refers to the number of bytes actually read which might
+ differ from the ones received. Adjust log messages accordingly.
+
+
+
+
+ The optional JavaScript on the CGI page uses encodeURIComponent()
+ instead of escape() which doesn't encode all characters that matter.
+ Anonymously reported in #2832722.
+
+
+
+
+ Fix gcc45 warnings in decompress_iob().
+
+
+
+
+ Various log message improvements.
+
+
+
+
+ Privoxy-Regression-Test supports redirect tests.
+
+
+
+
+ Privoxy-Log-Parser can gather some connection statistics.
+
+
+
+
- A filter file (typically
- default.filter) is new as of Privoxy
- 2.9.x, and provides some of the new sophistication (explained
- below). config is much the same as before.
+ If you missed the previous two beta versions, you may also be
+ interested in the additional changes since 3.0.12, the
+ last stable release:
+
- If upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will have to use the new config
- files, and possibly adapt any personal rules from your older files.
- When porting personal rules over from the old blockfile
- to the new actions files, please note that even the pattern syntax has
- changed. If upgrading from 2.9.x development versions, it is still
- recommended to use the new configuration files.
+
+
+
+ Added IPv6 support. Thanks to Petr Pisar who not only provided
+ the initial patch but also helped a lot with the integration.
+
+
+
+
+ Added client-side keep-alive support.
+
+
+
+
+ The connection sharing code is only used if the connection-sharing
+ option is enabled.
+
+
+
+
+ The latency is taken into account when evaluating whether or not to
+ reuse a connection. This should significantly reduce the number of
+ connections problems several users reported.
+
+
+
+
+ The max-client-connections option has been added to restrict
+ the number of client connections below a value enforced by
+ the operating system.
+
+
+
+
+ If the server doesn't specify how long the connection stays alive,
+ Privoxy errs on the safe side of caution and assumes it's only a second.
+
+
+
+
+ Setting keep-alive-timeout to 0 disables keep-alive support. Previously
+ Privoxy would claim to allow persistence but not reuse the connection.
+
+
+
+
+ Pipelined requests are less likely to be mistaken for the request
+ body of the previous request. Note that Privoxy still has no real
+ pipeline support and will either serialize pipelined requests or
+ drop them in which case the client has to resent them.
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed a crash on some Windows versions when header randomization
+ is enabled and the date couldn't be parsed.
+
+
+
+
+ Privoxy's keep-alive timeout for the current connection is reduced
+ to the one specified in the client's Keep-Alive header.
+
+
+
+
+ For HTTP/1.1 requests, Privoxy implies keep-alive support by not
+ setting any Connection header instead of using 'Connection: keep-alive'.
+
+
+
+
+ If the socket isn't reusable, Privoxy doesn't temporarily waste
+ a socket slot to remember the connection.
+
+
+
+
+ If keep-alive support is disabled but compiled in, the client's
+ Keep-Alive header is removed.
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed a bug on mingw32 where downloading large files failed if
+ keep-alive support was enabled.
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed a bug that (at least theoretically) could cause log
+ timestamps to be occasionally off by about a second.
+
+
+
+
+ The configure script respects the $PATH variable when searching
+ for groups and id.
+
+
+
+
+ Compressed content with extra fields couldn't be decompressed
+ and would get passed to the client unfiltered. This problem
+ has only be detected through statical analysis with clang as
+ nobody seems to be using extra fields anyway.
+
+
+
+
+ If the server resets the Connection after sending only the headers
+ Privoxy forwards what it got to the client. Previously Privoxy
+ would deliver an error message instead.
+
+
+
+
+ Error messages in case of connection timeouts use the right
+ HTTP status code.
+
+
+
+
+ If spawning a child to handle a request fails, the client
+ gets an error message and Privoxy continues to listen for
+ new requests right away.
+
+
+
+
+ The error messages in case of server-connection timeouts or
+ prematurely closed server connections are now template-based.
+
+
+
+
+ If zlib support isn't compiled in, Privoxy no longer tries to
+ filter compressed content unless explicitly asked to do so.
+
+
+
+
+ In case of connections that are denied based on ACL directives,
+ the memory used for the client IP is no longer leaked.
+
+
+
+
+ Fixed another small memory leak if the client request times out
+ while waiting for client headers other than the request line.
+
+
+
+
+ The client socket is kept open until the server socket has
+ been marked as unused. This should increase the chances that
+ the still-open connection will be reused for the client's next
+ request to the same destination. Note that this only matters
+ if connection-sharing is enabled.
+
+
+
+
+ A TODO list has been added to the source tarballs to give potential
+ volunteers a better idea of what the current goals are. Donations
+ are still welcome too: http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Note to Upgraders
+
- A quick list of things to be aware of before upgrading:
+ A quick list of things to be aware of before upgrading from earlier
+ versions of Privoxy:
@@ -375,61 +751,134 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- The default listening port is now 8118 due to a conflict with another
- service (NAS).
+ The recommended way to upgrade &my-app; is to backup your old
+ configuration files, install the new ones, verify that &my-app;
+ is working correctly and finally merge back your changes using
+ diff and maybe patch.
-
+
+ There are a number of new features in each &my-app; release and
+ most of them have to be explicitly enabled in the configuration
+ files. Old configuration files obviously don't do that and due
+ to syntax changes using old configuration files with a new
+ &my-app; isn't always possible anyway.
+
+
- Some installers may remove earlier versions completely. Save any
- important configuration files!
+ Note that some installers remove earlier versions completely,
+ including configuration files, therefore you should really save
+ any important configuration files!
-
- Privoxy is controllable with a web browser
- at the special URL: http://config.privoxy.org/
- (Shortcut: http://p.p/). Many
- aspects of configuration can be done here, including temporarily disabling
- Privoxy.
+
+ On the other hand, other installers don't overwrite existing configuration
+ files, thinking you will want to do that yourself.
-
+
-
- The primary configuration files for cookie management, ad and banner
- blocking, and many other aspects of Privoxy
- configuration are the actions
- files. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with the new
- actions concept below, before modifying these files. Locally defined rules
- should go into user.action.
+
+ standard.action has been merged into
+ the default.action file.
-
+
+
+
+ In the default configuration only fatal errors are logged now.
+ You can change that in the debug section
+ of the configuration file. You may also want to enable more verbose
+ logging until you verified that the new &my-app; version is working
+ as expected.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Three other config file settings are now off by default:
+ enable-remote-toggle,
+ enable-remote-http-toggle,
+ and enable-edit-actions.
+ If you use or want these, you will need to explicitly enable them, and
+ be aware of the security issues involved.
+
+
+
+
+
-
Some installers may not automatically start
Privoxy after installation.
+-->
+
+
-Quickstart to Using Privoxy
+Quickstart to Using Privoxy
-
-
- If upgrading, from versions before 2.9.16, please back up any configuration
- files. See the Note to Upgraders Section.
-
-
-
Install Privoxy. See the
Set your browser to use Privoxy as HTTP and
- HTTPS 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.
- (Junkbuster and earlier versions of
- Privoxy used port 8000.) See the section Starting Privoxy below
- for more details on this.
+ DO NOT activate proxying for FTP or
+ any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) unless you intend to prevent your
+ browser from using these protocols.
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.
@@ -479,47 +931,62 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
- to no initial configuration is required in most cases.
+ to no initial configuration is required in most cases, you may want
+ to enable the
+ web-based action editor though.
+ Be sure to read the warnings first.
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.
+
+
Please see the section Contacting the
- Developers on how to report bugs or problems with websites or to get
+ Developers on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get
help.
- Now enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy!
+ Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
-
+
@@ -540,12 +1007,13 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
- information provided below, though this is highly recommeneded.
+ information provided below, though this is highly recommended.
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
@@ -570,26 +1038,31 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Actions are specified in Privoxy's configuration,
followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
can actually be URL type patterns that use
- wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs.
+ wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
+ actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.
- When you connect to a website, the full path of the URL will either match one
- of the actions as defined in
- Privoxy's configuration, or not. If so, then
- Privoxy will perform the action accordingly. If
- not, then nothing special happens. Futhermore, web pages may contain
- embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will display as it parses the
- original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just a URL
+ When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
+ of the sections as defined in Privoxy's configuration,
+ or not. If so, then Privoxy will perform the
+ respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
+ pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
+ use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
+ 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 set-image-blocker:
+ The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image,
+ handle-as-empty-document,and
+ set-image-blocker:
@@ -597,48 +1070,58 @@ 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. If this is the only action that
- matches for this particular URL, then Privoxy will
- display its own BLOCKED page 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).
+
+
+
+
+
+ handle-as-image -
+ tells Privoxy to treat this URL as an image.
+ Privoxy's default configuration already does this
+ for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
+ is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
+ important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
+ some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
+ Privoxy BLOCKED page (which would only result in
+ a broken image icon). There are some limitations to this
+ though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
+ an entire HTML page in most situations.
- handle-as-image -
- forces Privoxy to treat this URL as if it were
- an image. Privoxy knows about common image
- types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this does not apply.
- So we'll force it. This is particularly important for ad blocking, since
- once we can treat it as an image, we can make more intelligent decisisions
- on how to handle it. There are some limitations to this though. For
- instance, you can't just force an image substituion for an entire HTML page
- in most situations.
+ 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.
- set-image-blocker -
- tells Privoxy what to display in place of
- an ad image that has hit a block rule. For this to come into play,
- the URL must match a block action somewhere in the configuration.
- And, it must also either be of a known image type, or
- match an handle-as-image
- action.
+ set-image-blocker - tells
+ Privoxy what to display in place of an ad image that
+ has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
+ block action somewhere in the
+ configuration, and, it must also match an
+ handle-as-image action.
The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
- pattern - a checkboard pattern, so that an ad
+ pattern - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
replacement is obvious. This is the default.
@@ -650,8 +1133,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- http://<URL> - A redirect to any URL of the
- user's choosing (advanced usage).
+ http://<URL> - A redirect to any image anywhere
+ of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
@@ -659,13 +1142,38 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
+
+ Advanced users will eventually want to explore &my-app;
+ filters as well. Filters
+ are very different from blocks.
+ A block blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented. Filters
+ are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the page. An example
+ filter usage: a text replacement of no-no for
+ nasty-word. That is a very simple example. This process can be
+ used for ad blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has
+ some pitfalls to be wary off.
+
+
The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
- the special Privoxy editor at Privoxy editor at http://config.privoxy.org/show-status
(shortcut: http://p.p/show-status). This
- is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
- appropriate actions file, and click
+ is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.
+
+
+
+ Note that as of Privoxy 3.0.7 beta the
+ action editor is disabled by default. Check the
+ enable-edit-actions
+ section in the configuration file to learn why and in which
+ cases it's safe to enable again.
+
+
+
+ If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
+ actions file, and click
Edit. It is best to put personal or
local preferences in user.action since this is not
meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
@@ -706,10 +1214,10 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
@@ -718,22 +1226,26 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- You should have an Actions section labeled +block.
- If not, click the Edit button just
- under the word Actions. This will bring up a list of all
- actions. Find block near the top, and click in the
- Enabled column, then
- Submit just below the list.
+ You should have a section with only
+ block listed under
+ Actions:.
+ If not, click a Insert new section below
+ button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
+ Edit button right under the word Actions:.
+ This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
+ block near the top, and click
+ in the Enabled column, then Submit
+ just below the list.
- Now, in the +block actions section, click the
- Add button, and paste the URL the
- browser got from Copy Link
- Location. Remove the http:// at
- the beginning of the URL. Then, click
- Submit.
+ Now, in the block actions section,
+ click the Add button, and paste the URL the
+ browser got from Copy Link Location.
+ Remove the http:// at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
+ Submit (or
+ OK if in a pop-up window).
@@ -757,6 +1269,14 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
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.
@@ -768,34 +1288,112 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Starting Privoxy
+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
+ HTTPS traffic. It will not work with FTP or other protocols.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ With Firefox, this is typically set under:
+
+
+
+ Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network ->Connection -> Settings
+
+
+
+
+ Or optionally on some platforms:
+
+ Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Connection Settings -> Manual Proxy Configuration
+
+
+
+
With Netscape (and
- Mozilla), this can be set under Edit
- -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy.
- For Internet Explorer: Tools ->
- Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then,
- check Use Proxy and fill in the appropriate info (Address:
- 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too.
+ Mozilla), this can be set under:
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy
+
+
+
+
+ For Internet Explorer v.5-7:
+
+
+
+ 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 (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)!
+
+
+
+
+
+
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!
- Privoxy is typically started by specifying the
+ Privoxy itself is typically started by specifying the
main configuration file to be used on the command line. If no configuration
file is specified on the command line, Privoxy
will look for a file named config in the current
@@ -803,44 +1401,38 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-RedHat and Conectiva
+Red Hat and Fedora
-We use a script. Note that RedHat 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
-
-
-
-Debian
- We use a script. Note that Debian starts Privoxy upon booting per
- default. It will use the file
- /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration
- file.
+ Or ...
- # /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+ # service privoxy start
-
-SuSE
+
+Debian
-We use a script. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config
-as its main configuration file. Note that SuSE starts Privoxy upon booting
-your PC.
+ 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.
- # rcprivoxy start
+ # /etc/init.d/privoxy start
@@ -848,10 +1440,18 @@ your PC.
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 upon booting you PC.
+ 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 &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.
@@ -870,14 +1470,42 @@ Example Unix startup command:
OS/2
-FIXME.
+ During installation, Privoxy is configured to
+ start automatically when the system restarts. You can start it manually by
+ double-clicking on the Privoxy icon in the
+ Privoxy folder.
-MAX OSX
+Mac OS X
+
+ After downloading the privoxy software, unzip the downloaded file by
+ double-clicking on the zip file icon. Then, double-click on the
+ installer package icon and follow the installation process.
+
+
+ The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful
+ installation. In addition, the privoxy service will automatically
+ start every time your computer starts up.
+
+
+ To prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your
+ computer starts up, remove or rename the folder named
+ /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.
+
-FIXME.
+ A simple application named Privoxy Utility has been created which
+ enables administrators to easily start and stop the privoxy service.
+
+
+ In addition, the Privoxy Utility presents a simple way for
+ administrators to edit the various privoxy config files. A method
+ to uninstall the software is also available.
+
+
+ An administrator username and password must be supplied in order for
+ the Privoxy Utility to perform any of the tasks.
@@ -885,7 +1513,36 @@ FIXME.
AmigaOS
-FIXME.
+ Start Privoxy (with RUN <>NIL:) in your
+ startnet script (AmiTCP), in
+ s:user-startup (RoadShow), as startup program in your
+ startup script (Genesis), or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx).
+ Privoxy will automatically quit when you quit your
+ TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that
+ Privoxy is still running).
+
+
+
+
+Gentoo
+
+ A script is again used. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config
+ as its main configuration file.
+
+
+
+ /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+
+
+
+ Note that Privoxy is not automatically started at
+ boot time by default. You can change this with the rc-update
+ command.
+
+
+
+ rc-update add privoxy default
+
@@ -893,7 +1550,7 @@ FIXME.
See the section Command line options for
- furher info.
+ further info.
must find a better place for this paragraph
@@ -921,18 +1578,16 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
Another feature where you will probably want to define exceptions for trusted
- sites is the popup-killing (through the +kill-popups and
- +filter{popups}
- actions), because your favorite shopping, banking, or leisure site may need
+ sites is the popup-killing (through +filter{popups}),
+ because your favorite shopping, banking, or leisure site may need
popups (explained below).
- Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all of
- the optional 1.1 features are as yet supported. In the unlikely event that
- you experience inexplicable problems with browsers that use HTTP/1.1 per default
+ Privoxy does not support all of the optional HTTP/1.1
+ features yet. In the unlikely event that you experience inexplicable problems
+ with browsers that use HTTP/1.1 per default
(like Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.), you might
try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For Mozilla, look under Edit ->
Preferences -> Debug -> Networking.
@@ -974,17 +1629,17 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- If the above paragraph sounds gibberish to you, you might want to read more about the actions concept
- or even dive deep into the Appendix
- on actions.
+ If the above paragraph sounds gibberish to you, you might want to read more about the actions concept
+ or even dive deep into the Appendix
+ on actions.
If you can't get rid of the problem at all, think you've found a bug in
Privoxy, want to propose a new feature or smarter rules, please see the
- section Contacting the
- Developers below.
+ section Contacting the
+ Developers below.
-->
@@ -1028,7 +1683,6 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
--pidfile FILE
-
On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the
@@ -1040,14 +1694,43 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
--user USER[.GROUP]
-
After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of
USER, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the
privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only.
-
+
+
+
+ --chroot
+
+
+ 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 &my-app;
+ process that the directory tree starts there. If set up carefully, this can limit
+ the impact of possible vulnerabilities in &my-app; to the files contained in that hierarchy.
+ Unix only.
+
+
+
+
+ --pre-chroot-nslookup hostname
+
+
+ Specifies a hostname to look up before doing a chroot. On some systems, initializing the
+ resolver library involves reading config files from /etc and/or loading additional shared
+ libraries from /lib. On these systems, doing a hostname lookup before the chroot reduces
+ the number of files that must be copied into the chroot tree.
+
+
+ For fastest startup speed, a good value is a hostname that is not in /etc/hosts but that
+ your local name server (listed in /etc/resolv.conf) can resolve without recursion
+ (that is, without having to ask any other name servers). The hostname need not exist,
+ but if it doesn't, an error message (which can be ignored) will be output.
+
+
+
configfile
@@ -1065,6 +1748,14 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
+
+ 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.
+
+
@@ -1073,7 +1764,7 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
-Privoxy Configuration
+Privoxy Configuration
All Privoxy configuration is stored
in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor.
@@ -1085,7 +1776,7 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
-Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser
+Controlling Privoxy with Your Web BrowserPrivoxy's user interface can be reached through the special
URL http://config.privoxy.org/
@@ -1098,7 +1789,7 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- Privoxy Menu
+ Privoxy Menu
@@ -1116,6 +1807,10 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
▪ Toggle Privoxy on or off
+
+ ▪ Documentation
+
@@ -1142,6 +1837,14 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
your browser.
+
+ Note that several of the features described above are disabled by default
+ in Privoxy 3.0.7 beta and later.
+ Check the
+ configuration file to learn why
+ and in which cases it's safe to enable them again.
+
+
@@ -1181,22 +1884,23 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- default.action (the main actions file)
- is used to define which actions relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups,
- content modification, cookie handling etc should be applied by default. It also defines many
- exceptions (both positive and negative) from this default set of actions that enable
- Privoxy to selectively eliminate the junk, and only the junk, on
- as many websites as possible.
+ match-all.action is used to define which actions
+ relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups, content modification, cookie handling
+ etc should be applied by default. It should be the first actions file loaded.
+
+
+ default.action defines many exceptions (both positive and negative)
+ from the default set of actions that's configured in match-all.action.
+ It should be the second actions file loaded and shouldn't be edited by the user.
Multiple actions files may be defined in config. These
are processed in the order they are defined. Local customizations and locally
- preferred exceptions to the default policies as defined in
- 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
- Privoxy's internal use.
+ preferred exceptions to the default policies as defined in
+ match-all.action (which you will most probably want
+ to define sooner or later) are best applied in user.action,
+ where you can preserve them across upgrades. The file isn't installed by all
+ installers, but you can easily create it yourself with a text editor.
There is also a web based editor that can be accessed from
@@ -1210,17 +1914,29 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- default.filter (the filter
+ Filter files (the filter
file) can be used to re-write the raw page content, including
viewable text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript, and whatever else
lurks on any given web page. The filtering jobs are only pre-defined here;
- whether to apply them or not is up to the actions files.
+ whether to apply them or not is up to the actions files.
+ default.filter includes various filters made
+ available for use by the developers. Some are much more intrusive than
+ others, and all should be used with caution. You may define additional
+ filter files in config as you can with
+ actions files. We suggest user.filter for any
+ locally defined filters or customizations.
+
+ The syntax of the configuration and filter files may change between different
+ Privoxy versions, unfortunately some enhancements cost backwards compatibility.
+
+
+
All files use the # character to denote a
comment (the rest of the line will be ignored) and understand line continuation
@@ -1228,11 +1944,11 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
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.
- The actions files and default.filter
+ The actions files and filter files
can use Perl style regular expressions for
maximum flexibility.
@@ -1263,945 +1979,1494 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
-
-The Main Configuration File
-
-
- Again, the main configuration file is named config on
- Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and config.txt on Windows.
- Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of
- values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For
- example:
-
+
+
+
+ &config;
+
-
-
-
-
- confdir /etc/privoxy
-
-
-
-
- Assigns the value /etc/privoxy to the option
- confdir and thus indicates that the configuration
- directory is named /etc/privoxy/.
-
+
-
- All options in the config file except for confdir and
- logdir are optional. Watch out in the below description
- for what happens if you leave them unset.
-
-
- The main config file controls all aspects of Privoxy's
- operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter
- where you may be surfing).
-
+
-
+Actions Files
-
-Configuration and Log File Locations
+
- Privoxy can (and normally does) use a number of
- other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
- This section of the configuration file tells Privoxy
- where to find those other files.
-
-
+ The actions files are used to define what actions
+ Privoxy takes for which URLs, and thus determines
+ how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and
+ transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts thereof).
+ 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. Actions can be combined so that
+ their effects are aggregated when applied against a given set of URLs.
+
- The user running Privoxy, must have read permission for all
- configuration files, and write permission to any files that would
- be modified, such as log files.
+ There
+ are three action files included with Privoxy with
+ differing purposes:
-
-confdir
-
-
-
- Specifies:
-
- The directory where the other configuration files are located
-
-
-
- Type of value:
-
- Path name
-
-
-
- Default value:
-
- /etc/privoxy (Unix) orPrivoxy installation dir (Windows)
-
-
-
- Effect if unset:
-
- Mandatory
-
-
-
- Notes:
+
+
- No trailing /, please
+ match-all.action - is used to define which
+ actions relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups,
+ content modification, cookie handling etc should be applied by default.
+ It should be the first actions file loaded
+
+
- When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and
- per-user config will be stored in subdirectories of confdir.
- For now, the configuration directory structure is flat, except for
- confdir/templates, where the HTML templates for CGI
- output reside (e.g. Privoxy's 404 error page).
+ default.action - defines many exceptions (both
+ positive and negative) from the default set of actions that's configured
+ in match-all.action. It is a set of rules that should
+ work reasonably well as-is for most users. This file is only supposed to
+ be edited by the developers. It should be the second actions file loaded.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-logdir
-
-
-
- Specifies:
+
- The directory where all logging takes place (i.e. where logfile and
- jarfile are located)
+ user.action - is intended to be for local site
+ preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or your bank
+ has specific requirements, and need special handling, this kind of
+ thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
-
-
-
- Type of value:
-
- Path name
-
-
-
- Default value:
-
- /var/log/privoxy (Unix) orPrivoxy installation dir (Windows)
-
-
-
- Effect if unset:
-
- Mandatory
-
-
-
- Notes:
+
- No trailing /, please
-
-
-
-
-
+ EditSet to CautiousSet to MediumSet 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. 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.
+
+
+ While the actions file editor allows to enable these settings in all
+ actions files, they are only supposed to be enabled in the first one
+ to make sure you don't unintentionally overrule earlier rules.
+
+
+ The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined in
+ default.action are:
+
+
+
Default Configurations
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Feature
+ Cautious
+ Medium
+ Advanced
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Ad-blocking Aggressiveness
+ medium
+ high
+ high
+
+
+
+ Ad-filtering by size
+ no
+ yes
+ yes
+
+
+
+ Ad-filtering by link
+ no
+ no
+ yes
+
+
+ Pop-up killing
+ blocks only
+ blocks only
+ blocks only
+
+
+
+ Privacy Features
+ low
+ medium
+ medium/high
+
+
+
+ Cookie handling
+ none
+ session-only
+ kill
+
+
+
+ Referer forging
+ no
+ yes
+ yes
+
+
+
+ GIF de-animation
+ no
+ yes
+ yes
+
+
+
+ Fast redirects
+ no
+ no
+ yes
+
+
+
+ HTML taming
+ no
+ no
+ yes
+
+
+
+ JavaScript taming
+ no
+ no
+ yes
+
+
+
+ Web-bug killing
+ no
+ yes
+ yes
+
+
+
+ Image tag reordering
+ no
+ yes
+ yes
+
+
+
+
+
@@ -6604,19 +8043,24 @@ Requests
url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y','ijbstatus','width=250,height=2,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy- View Status
-
+
+
+
+ Privoxy - Why?
+
+
Credit: The site which gave us the general idea for these bookmarklets is
- www.bookmarklets.com. They
+ www.bookmarklets.com. They
have more information about bookmarklets.
@@ -6630,8 +8074,9 @@ 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:
@@ -6647,7 +8092,7 @@ Requests
Privoxy traps any request for its own internal CGI
- pages (e.g http://p.p/) and sends the CGI page back to the browser.
+ pages (e.g http://p.p/) and sends the CGI page back to the browser.
@@ -6657,10 +8102,13 @@ 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).
@@ -6688,15 +8136,15 @@ 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).
First, the server headers are read and processed to determine, among other
things, the MIME type (document type) and encoding. The headers are then
- filtered as deterimed by the
+ filtered as determined by the
+crunch-incoming-cookies,
+session-cookies-only,
and +downgrade-http-version
@@ -6705,27 +8153,20 @@ Requests
- If the +kill-popups
- action applies, and it is an HTML or JavaScript document, the popup-code in the
- response is filtered on-the-fly as it is received.
-
-
-
-
- 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
read into memory (up to a configurable limit). Then the filter rules (from
- default.filter) are processed against the buffered
- content. Filters are applied in the order they are specified in the
- default.filter file. Animated GIFs, if present, are
- reduced to either the first or last frame, depending on the action
+ default.filter and any other filter files) are
+ processed against the buffered content. Filters are applied in the order
+ they are specified in one of the filter files. Animated GIFs, if present,
+ are reduced to either the first or last frame, depending on the action
setting.The entire page, which is now filtered, is then sent by
Privoxy back to your browser.
- If neither +filter
+ If neither a +filter action
or +deanimate-gifs
matches, then Privoxy passes the raw data through
@@ -6734,24 +8175,32 @@ Requests
- As the browser receives the now (probably filtered) page content, it
+ 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
@@ -6770,7 +8219,17 @@ Requests
One quick test to see if Privoxy is causing a problem
or not, is to disable it temporarily. This should be the first troubleshooting
step. See the Bookmarklets section on a quick
- and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!).
+ and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!). Looking at the
+ logs is a good idea too. (Note that both the toggle feature and logging are
+ enabled via config file settings, and may need to be
+ turned on.)
+
+
+ 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.
@@ -6786,7 +8245,7 @@ Requests
how the current configuration will handle it. This will not
help with filtering effects (i.e. the +filter action) from
- the default.filter file since this is handled very
+ one of the filter files since this is handled very
differently and not so easy to trap! It also will not tell you about any other
URLs that may be embedded within the URL you are testing. For instance, images
such as ads are expressed as URLs within the raw page source of HTML pages. So
@@ -6799,47 +8258,31 @@ Requests
Let's try an example, google.com,
- and look at it one section at a time:
+ and look at it one section at a time in a sample configuration (your real
+ configuration may vary):
- Matches for http://google.com:
+ Matches for http://www.google.com:
In file: default.action [ View ][ Edit ]
-{-add-header
- -block
- -crunch-outgoing-cookies
- -crunch-incoming-cookies
- +deanimate-gifs{last}
- -downgrade-http-version
- +fast-redirects
- -filter{popups}
- -filter{fun}
- -filter{shockwave-flash}
- -filter{crude-parental}
- +filter{html-annoyances}
- +filter{js-annoyances}
- +filter{content-cookies}
- +filter{webbugs}
- +filter{refresh-tags}
- +filter{nimda}
- +filter{banners-by-size}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers
- +hide-from-header{block}
- +hide-referer{forge}
- -hide-user-agent
- -handle-as-image
- -kill-popups
- -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression
- -send-vanilla-wafer
- -send-wafer
- +session-cookies-only
- +set-image-blocker{pattern} }
+ {+change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ +deanimate-gifs {last}
+ +fast-redirects {check-decoded-url}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ +hide-from-header {block}
+ +hide-referrer {forge}
+ +session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker {pattern}
/
-
+
{ -session-cookies-only }
.google.com
@@ -6852,41 +8295,53 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- This tells us how we have defined our
+ This is telling us how we have defined our
actions, and
- which ones match for our example, google.com. 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 google.com.
+ Displayed is all the actions that are available to us. Remember,
+ the + sign denotes on. -
+ denotes off. So some are on here, but many
+ are off. Each example we try may provide a slightly different
+ end result, depending on our configuration directives.
+
+
+ The first listing
+ is for 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 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. 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. 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,
@@ -6901,42 +8356,69 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
+ -add-header
+ -block
+ +change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation}
+ -content-type-overwrite
+ -crunch-client-header
+ -crunch-if-none-match
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-server-header
+ +deanimate-gifs {last}
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ -fast-redirects
+ -filter {js-events}
+ -filter {content-cookies}
+ -filter {all-popups}
+ -filter {banners-by-link}
+ -filter {tiny-textforms}
+ -filter {frameset-borders}
+ -filter {demoronizer}
+ -filter {shockwave-flash}
+ -filter {quicktime-kioskmode}
+ -filter {fun}
+ -filter {crude-parental}
+ -filter {site-specifics}
+ -filter {js-annoyances}
+ -filter {html-annoyances}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ -filter {unsolicited-popups}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ -filter {google}
+ -filter {yahoo}
+ -filter {msn}
+ -filter {blogspot}
+ -filter {no-ping}
+ -force-text-mode
+ -handle-as-empty-document
+ -handle-as-image
+ -hide-accept-language
+ -hide-content-disposition
+ +hide-from-header {block}
+ -hide-if-modified-since
+ +hide-referrer {forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -limit-connect
+ -overwrite-last-modified
+ -prevent-compression
+ -redirect
+ -server-header-filter{xml-to-html}
+ -server-header-filter{html-to-xml}
+ -session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker {pattern}
Notice the only difference here to the previous listing, is to
- fast-redirects and session-cookies-only.
+ fast-redirects and session-cookies-only,
+ which are activated specifically for this site in our configuration,
+ and thus show in the Final Results.
@@ -6946,22 +8428,23 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- { +block +handle-as-image }
- .ad.doubleclick.net
-
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+ { +block{Domains starts with "ad"} }
ad*.
- { +block +handle-as-image }
- .doubleclick.net
+ { +block{Domain contains "ad"} }
+ .ad.
+
+ { +block{Doubleclick banner server} +handle-as-image }
+ .[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.)
@@ -6974,65 +8457,98 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]ad.doubleclick.net
is done here -- as both a +block
+ linkend="BLOCK">+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.
- One last example. Let's try http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/.
- This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm...
+ One last example. Let's try http://www.example.net/adsl/HOWTO/.
+ This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm ...
- Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
+ Matches for http://www.example.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
In file: default.action [ View ][ Edit ]
{-add-header
- -block
- -crunch-incoming-cookies
- -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -block
+ +change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation}
+ -content-type-overwrite
+ -crunch-client-header
+ -crunch-if-none-match
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-server-header
+deanimate-gifs
-downgrade-http-version
- +fast-redirects
- +filter{html-annoyances}
- +filter{js-annoyances}
- +filter{kill-popups}
- +filter{webbugs}
- +filter{nimda}
- +filter{banners-by-size}
- +filter{hal}
- +filter{fun}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers
+ +fast-redirects {check-decoded-url}
+ -filter {js-events}
+ -filter {content-cookies}
+ -filter {all-popups}
+ -filter {banners-by-link}
+ -filter {tiny-textforms}
+ -filter {frameset-borders}
+ -filter {demoronizer}
+ -filter {shockwave-flash}
+ -filter {quicktime-kioskmode}
+ -filter {fun}
+ -filter {crude-parental}
+ -filter {site-specifics}
+ -filter {js-annoyances}
+ -filter {html-annoyances}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ -filter {unsolicited-popups}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ -filter {google}
+ -filter {yahoo}
+ -filter {msn}
+ -filter {blogspot}
+ -filter {no-ping}
+ -force-text-mode
+ -handle-as-empty-document
+ -handle-as-image
+ -hide-accept-language
+ -hide-content-disposition
+hide-from-header{block}
+hide-referer{forge}
-hide-user-agent
- -handle-as-image
- +kill-popups
+ -overwrite-last-modified
+prevent-compression
- -send-vanilla-wafer
- -send-wafer
+ -redirect
+ -server-header-filter{xml-to-html}
+ -server-header-filter{html-to-xml}
+session-cookies-only
+set-image-blocker{blank} }
/
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+ { +block{Path contains "ads".} +handle-as-image }
/ads
- Ooops, the /adsl/ is matching /ads! 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 does not
- block ({-block}) paths with adsl. There are
- various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:
+ 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. 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:
@@ -7044,8 +8560,10 @@ 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.
@@ -7056,24 +8574,27 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+ { +block{Path starts with "ads".} +handle-as-image }
/ads
- 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. 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
@@ -7083,8 +8604,8 @@ 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:
@@ -7092,21 +8613,55 @@ 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 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).
+
+
+
+ { 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.
@@ -7130,10 +8685,549 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ] style.
+ - Small fixes in the actions chapter
+ - Small clarifications in the quickstart to ad blocking
+ - Removed from s since the new doc CSS
+ renders them red (bad in TOC).
+
+ Revision 1.120 2002/05/23 19:16:43 roro
+ Correct Debian specials (installation and startup).
+
Revision 1.119 2002/05/22 17:17:05 oes
Added Security hint
@@ -7242,7 +9336,7 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]