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18 <h1 class="TITLE"><a name="AEN2" id="AEN2">Privoxy Frequently Asked
21 <p class="PUBDATE"><sub><a href="copyright.html">Copyright</a> ©
22 2001-2016 by <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy
23 Developers</a></sub><br></p>
25 <p class="PUBDATE">$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.129 2016/07/28 08:25:33 fabiankeil
29 <div class="ABSTRACT">
30 <a name="AEN9" id="AEN9"></a>
32 <p>This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
33 <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy</a>. It is
34 not a substitute for the <a href="../user-manual/index.html"
35 target="_top"><i class="CITETITLE">Privoxy User Manual</i></a>.</p>
37 <p>What is Privoxy?</p>
39 <p>Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering
40 capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and
41 HTTP headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other
42 obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a flexible configuration and
43 can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. It has
44 application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
47 <p>Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.</p>
49 <p>Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public
52 <p>Helping hands and donations are welcome:</p>
57 "https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE" target=
58 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE</a></p>
62 <p><a href="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
64 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE</a></p>
68 <p>Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy
69 represents the state at the release of version 3.0.26. You can find
70 the latest version of the document at <a href=
71 "https://www.privoxy.org/faq/" target=
72 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/</a>. Please see the <a href=
73 "contact.html">Contact section</a> if you want to contact the
82 <dt><b>Table of Contents</b></dt>
84 <dt>1. <a href="general.html">General Information</a></dt>
88 <dt>1.1. <a href="general.html#WHO-USES">Who should give
89 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> a try?</a></dt>
91 <dt>1.2. <a href="general.html#BESTCHOICE">Is Privoxy the best
92 choice for me?</a></dt>
94 <dt>1.3. <a href="general.html#PROXYMORON">What is a <span class=
95 "QUOTE">"proxy"</span>? How does Privoxy work?</a></dt>
97 <dt>1.4. <a href="general.html#OTHERSTUFF">Does Privoxy do
98 anything more than ad blocking?</a></dt>
100 <dt>1.5. <a href="general.html#NEWJB">What is this new version of
101 <span class="QUOTE">"Junkbuster"</span>?</a></dt>
103 <dt>1.6. <a href="general.html#WHYPRIVOXY">Why <span class=
104 "QUOTE">"Privoxy"</span>? Why change the name from Junkbuster at
107 <dt>1.7. <a href="general.html#DIFFERS">How does Privoxy differ
108 from the old Junkbuster?</a></dt>
110 <dt>1.8. <a href="general.html#WHATSANAD">How does Privoxy know
111 what is an ad, and what is not?</a></dt>
113 <dt>1.9. <a href="general.html#MISTAKES">Can Privoxy make
114 mistakes? This does not sound very scientific.</a></dt>
116 <dt>1.10. <a href="general.html#CONFIGORNOT">Will I have to
117 configure Privoxy before I can use it?</a></dt>
119 <dt>1.11. <a href="general.html#LAN">Can Privoxy run as a server
120 on a network?</a></dt>
122 <dt>1.12. <a href="general.html#BROWSERS2">My browser does the
123 same things as Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</a></dt>
125 <dt>1.13. <a href="general.html#WHYTRUST">Why should I trust
128 <dt>1.14. <a href="general.html#LICENSE">Is there is a license or
129 fee? What about a warranty? Registration?</a></dt>
131 <dt>1.15. <a href="general.html#SPYWARE">Can Privoxy remove
132 spyware? Adware? Viruses?</a></dt>
134 <dt>1.16. <a href="general.html#OTHERADS">Can I use Privoxy with
135 other ad-blocking software?</a></dt>
137 <dt>1.17. <a href="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS">I would like
138 to help you, what can I do?</a></dt>
142 <dt>1.17.1. <a href="general.html#PARTICIPATE">Would you like
143 to participate?</a></dt>
145 <dt>1.17.2. <a href="general.html#DONATE">Would you like to
150 <dt>1.18. <a href="general.html#SPONSOR">How can I become a
151 sponsor and get my logo or link on privoxy.org?</a></dt>
155 <dt>2. <a href="installation.html">Installation</a></dt>
159 <dt>2.1. <a href="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS">Which browsers
160 are supported by Privoxy?</a></dt>
162 <dt>2.2. <a href="installation.html#WHICHOS">Which operating
163 systems are supported?</a></dt>
165 <dt>2.3. <a href="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT">Can I use
166 Privoxy with my email client?</a></dt>
168 <dt>2.4. <a href="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP">I just installed
169 Privoxy. Is there anything special I have to do now?</a></dt>
171 <dt>2.5. <a href="installation.html#LOCALHOST">What is the proxy
172 address of Privoxy?</a></dt>
174 <dt>2.6. <a href="installation.html#NOTHING">I just installed
175 Privoxy, and nothing is happening. All the ads are there. What's
178 <dt>2.7. <a href="installation.html#NOTUSED">I get a <span class=
179 "QUOTE">"Privoxy is not being used"</span> dummy page although
180 Privoxy is running and being used.</a></dt>
184 <dt>3. <a href="configuration.html">Configuration</a></dt>
188 <dt>3.1. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE">What exactly is
189 an <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> file?</a></dt>
191 <dt>3.2. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSS">The <span class=
192 "QUOTE">"actions"</span> concept confuses me. Please list some of
193 these <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span>.</a></dt>
195 <dt>3.3. <a href="configuration.html#ACTCONFIG">How are actions
196 files configured? What is the easiest way to do this?</a></dt>
198 <dt>3.4. <a href="configuration.html#AEN418">There are several
199 different <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> files. What are
200 the differences?</a></dt>
202 <dt>3.5. <a href="configuration.html#GETUPDATES">Where can I get
203 updated Actions Files?</a></dt>
205 <dt>3.6. <a href="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG">Can I use my old
206 config files?</a></dt>
208 <dt>3.7. <a href="configuration.html#DIFFICULT">Why is the
209 configuration so complicated?</a></dt>
211 <dt>3.8. <a href="configuration.html#YAHOO">How can I make my
212 Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</a></dt>
214 <dt>3.9. <a href="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES">What's the
215 difference between the <span class="QUOTE">"Cautious"</span>,
216 <span class="QUOTE">"Medium"</span> and <span class=
217 "QUOTE">"Advanced"</span> defaults?</a></dt>
219 <dt>3.10. <a href="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG">Why can I
220 change the configuration with a browser? Does that not raise
221 security issues?</a></dt>
223 <dt>3.11. <a href="configuration.html#FILTERFILE">What is the
224 <tt class="FILENAME">default.filter</tt> file? What is a
225 <span class="QUOTE">"filter"</span>?</a></dt>
227 <dt>3.12. <a href="configuration.html#LANCONFIG">How can I set up
228 Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN?</a></dt>
230 <dt>3.13. <a href="configuration.html#NOSEEUM">Instead of ads,
231 now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see
234 <dt>3.14. <a href="configuration.html#WHYSEEUM">Why would anybody
235 want to see a checkerboard pattern?</a></dt>
237 <dt>3.15. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKEDBYTEXT">I see some
238 images being replaced with text instead of the checkerboard
239 image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</a></dt>
241 <dt>3.16. <a href="configuration.html#SRVANY">Can Privoxy run as
242 a service on Win2K/NT/XP?</a></dt>
244 <dt>3.17. <a href="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY">How can I make
245 Privoxy work with other proxies?</a></dt>
247 <dt>3.18. <a href="configuration.html#PORT-80">Can I just set
248 Privoxy to use port 80 and thus avoid individual browser
249 configuration?</a></dt>
251 <dt>3.19. <a href="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT">Can Privoxy
252 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"transparent"</span> proxy?</a></dt>
254 <dt>3.20. <a href="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING">Can Privoxy
255 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"intercepting"</span>
258 <dt>3.21. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK">How can I
259 configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</a></dt>
261 <dt>3.22. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE">How can I
262 have separate rules just for HTML mail?</a></dt>
264 <dt>3.23. <a href="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES">I sometimes
265 notice cookies sneaking through. How?</a></dt>
267 <dt>3.24. <a href="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES">Are all
268 cookies bad? Why?</a></dt>
270 <dt>3.25. <a href="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES">How can I
271 allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</a></dt>
273 <dt>3.26. <a href="configuration.html#MULTIPLES">Can I have
274 separate configurations for different users?</a></dt>
276 <dt>3.27. <a href="configuration.html#WHITELISTS">Can I set-up
277 Privoxy as a whitelist of <span class="QUOTE">"good"</span>
280 <dt>3.28. <a href="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK">How can I turn
281 off ad-blocking?</a></dt>
283 <dt>3.29. <a href="configuration.html#TEMPLATES">How can I have
284 custom template pages, like the <span class="emphasis"><i class=
285 "EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span> page?</a></dt>
287 <dt>3.30. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKALL">How can I remove
288 the <span class="QUOTE">"Go There Anyway"</span> link from the
289 <span class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span>
294 <dt>4. <a href="misc.html">Miscellaneous</a></dt>
298 <dt>4.1. <a href="misc.html#SLOWSME">How much does Privoxy slow
299 my browsing down? This has to add extra time to
302 <dt>4.2. <a href="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES">I notice considerable
303 delays in page requests. What's wrong?</a></dt>
305 <dt>4.3. <a href="misc.html#CONFIGURL">What are
306 "http://config.privoxy.org/" and "http://p.p/"?</a></dt>
308 <dt>4.4. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS">How can I submit new ads, or
309 report problems?</a></dt>
311 <dt>4.5. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS2">If I do submit missed ads,
312 will they be included in future updates?</a></dt>
314 <dt>4.6. <a href="misc.html#NOONECARES">Why doesn't anyone answer
315 my support request?</a></dt>
317 <dt>4.7. <a href="misc.html#IP">How can I hide my IP
320 <dt>4.8. <a href="misc.html#ANONFORSURE">Can Privoxy guarantee I
321 am anonymous?</a></dt>
323 <dt>4.9. <a href="misc.html#PROXYTEST">A test site says I am not
324 using a Proxy.</a></dt>
326 <dt>4.10. <a href="misc.html#TOR">How do I use Privoxy together
329 <dt>4.11. <a href="misc.html#SITEBREAK">Might some things break
330 because header information or content is being altered?</a></dt>
332 <dt>4.12. <a href="misc.html#CACHING">Can Privoxy act as a
333 <span class="QUOTE">"caching"</span> proxy to speed up web
336 <dt>4.13. <a href="misc.html#FIREWALL">What about as a firewall?
337 Can Privoxy protect me?</a></dt>
339 <dt>4.14. <a href="misc.html#WASTED">I have large empty spaces /
340 a checkerboard pattern now where ads used to be. Why?</a></dt>
342 <dt>4.15. <a href="misc.html#SSL">How can Privoxy filter Secure
343 (HTTPS) URLs?</a></dt>
345 <dt>4.16. <a href="misc.html#SECURE">Privoxy runs as a
346 <span class="QUOTE">"server"</span>. How secure is it? Do I need
347 to take any special precautions?</a></dt>
349 <dt>4.17. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF">Can I temporarily disable
352 <dt>4.18. <a href="misc.html#REALLYOFF">When <span class=
353 "QUOTE">"disabled"</span> is Privoxy totally out of the
356 <dt>4.19. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF2">How can I tell Privoxy to
357 totally ignore certain sites?</a></dt>
359 <dt>4.20. <a href="misc.html#CRUNCH">My logs show Privoxy
360 <span class="QUOTE">"crunches"</span> ads, but also its own
361 internal CGI pages. What is a <span class=
362 "QUOTE">"crunch"</span>?</a></dt>
364 <dt>4.21. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS">Can Privoxy affect files
365 that I download from a webserver? FTP server?</a></dt>
367 <dt>4.22. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2">I just downloaded a Perl
368 script, and Privoxy altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</a></dt>
370 <dt>4.23. <a href="misc.html#HOSTSFILE">Should I continue to use
371 a <span class="QUOTE">"HOSTS"</span> file for
372 ad-blocking?</a></dt>
374 <dt>4.24. <a href="misc.html#SEEALSO">Where can I find more
375 information about Privoxy and related issues?</a></dt>
377 <dt>4.25. <a href="misc.html#MICROSUCK">I've noticed that Privoxy
378 changes <span class="QUOTE">"Microsoft"</span> to <span class=
379 "QUOTE">"MicroSuck"</span>! Why are you manipulating my
382 <dt>4.26. <a href="misc.html#VALID">Does Privoxy produce
383 <span class="QUOTE">"valid"</span> HTML (or XHTML)?</a></dt>
385 <dt>4.27. <a href="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY">How did you manage
386 to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</a></dt>
390 <dt>5. <a href="trouble.html">Troubleshooting</a></dt>
394 <dt>5.1. <a href="trouble.html#REFUSED">I cannot connect to any
395 websites. Or, I am getting <span class="QUOTE">"connection
396 refused"</span> message with every web page. Why?</a></dt>
398 <dt>5.2. <a href="trouble.html#ERROR503">Why am I getting a 503
399 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</a></dt>
401 <dt>5.3. <a href="trouble.html#FLUSHIT">I just added a new rule,
402 but the steenkin ad is still getting through. How?</a></dt>
404 <dt>5.4. <a href="trouble.html#BADSITE">One of my favorite sites
405 does not work with Privoxy. What can I do?</a></dt>
407 <dt>5.5. <a href="trouble.html#DUN">After installing Privoxy, I
408 have to log in every time I start IE. What gives?</a></dt>
410 <dt>5.6. <a href="trouble.html#FTP">I cannot connect to any FTP
411 sites. Privoxy is blocking me.</a></dt>
413 <dt>5.7. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIE">In Mac OS X, I can't
414 configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use Privoxy as the HTTP
417 <dt>5.8. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL">In Mac OS X, I
418 dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to uninstall it.
419 Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
420 empty the trash.</a></dt>
422 <dt>5.9. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES">In Mac OS X Panther
423 (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I experience random
424 delays in page loading. I'm using <tt class=
425 "LITERAL">localhost</tt> as my browser's proxy setting.</a></dt>
427 <dt>5.10. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXACCOUNTDELETION">I just
428 upgraded to Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and now <span class=
429 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> has stopped working.</a></dt>
431 <dt>5.11. <a href="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME">My logs show many
432 <span class="QUOTE">"Unable to get my own hostname"</span> lines.
435 <dt>5.12. <a href="trouble.html#INUSE">When I try to launch
436 Privoxy, I get an error message <span class="QUOTE">"port 8118 is
437 already in use"</span> (or similar wording). Why?</a></dt>
439 <dt>5.13. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER">Pages with UTF-8
440 fonts are garbled.</a></dt>
442 <dt>5.14. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2">Why are binary
443 files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy is used?</a></dt>
445 <dt>5.15. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3">What is the
446 <span class="QUOTE">"demoronizer"</span> and why is it
449 <dt>5.16. <a href="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN">Why do I keep seeing
450 <span class="QUOTE">"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</span> in raw source
453 <dt>5.17. <a href="trouble.html#DNSERRORS">I am getting too many
454 DNS errors like <span class="QUOTE">"404 No Such Domain"</span>.
455 Why can't Privoxy do this better?</a></dt>
457 <dt>5.18. <a href="trouble.html#ALLCPU">At one site Privoxy just
458 hangs, and starts taking all CPU. Why is this?</a></dt>
460 <dt>5.19. <a href="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL">I just installed
461 Privoxy, and all my browsing has slowed to a crawl. What
464 <dt>5.20. <a href="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP">Why do my filters
465 work on some sites but not on others?</a></dt>
467 <dt>5.21. <a href="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS">On some HTTPS sites
468 my browser warns me about unauthenticated content, the URL bar
469 doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
470 What's going on?</a></dt>
472 <dt>5.22. <a href="trouble.html#SE-LINUX">I get selinux error
473 messages. How can I fix this?</a></dt>
475 <dt>5.23. <a href="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS">I compiled
476 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> with Gentoo's portage
477 and it appears to be very slow. Why?</a></dt>
479 <dt>5.24. <a href="trouble.html#TAINTED-SOCKETS">What are tainted
480 sockets and how do I prevent them?</a></dt>
482 <dt>5.25. <a href="trouble.html#PCRE-STACK-LIMIT">After adding my
483 custom filters, <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> crashes
484 when visitting certain websites</a></dt>
488 <dt>6. <a href="contact.html">Contacting the developers, Bug
489 Reporting and Feature Requests</a></dt>
493 <dt>6.1. <a href="contact.html#SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION">Please
494 provide sufficient information</a></dt>
496 <dt>6.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT">Get
499 <dt>6.3. <a href="contact.html#REPORTING">Reporting
504 <dt>6.3.1. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS">Reporting Ads
505 or Other Configuration Problems</a></dt>
507 <dt>6.3.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS">Reporting
512 <dt>6.4. <a href="contact.html#SECURITY-CONTACT">Reporting
513 security problems</a></dt>
515 <dt>6.5. <a href="contact.html#MAILING-LISTS">Mailing
518 <dt>6.6. <a href="contact.html#SF-TRACKERS">SourceForge support
523 <dt>7. <a href="copyright.html">Privoxy Copyright, License and
528 <dt>7.1. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1505">License</a></dt>
530 <dt>7.2. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1514">History</a></dt>
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548 accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
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556 <td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">General Information</td>