7 CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.60"><LINK
9 TITLE="Privoxy User Manual"
10 HREF="index.html"><LINK
12 TITLE="The Main Configuration File"
13 HREF="config.html"><LINK
15 TITLE="The Filter File"
16 HREF="filter-file.html"><LINK
19 HREF="../p_doc.css"></HEAD
38 >Privoxy User Manual</TH
59 HREF="filter-file.html"
76 > The actions files are used to define what actions
80 > takes for which URLs, and thus determine
81 how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and
82 transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts thereof). There
83 are three such files included with <SPAN
87 version 2.9.15), with differing purposes:
98 > - is the primary action file
99 that sets the initial values for all actions. It is intended to
100 provide a base level of functionality for
104 > array of features. So it is
105 a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well for users everywhere.
106 This is the file that the developers are keeping updated, and making
115 > - is intended to be for local site
116 preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or your bank
117 has specific requirements, and need special handling, this kind of
118 thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
126 > - is used by the web based editor,
127 to set various pre-defined sets of rules for the default actions section
131 >. These have increasing levels of
134 >and have no influence on your browsing unless
135 you select them explicitly in the editor</I
136 >. It is not recommend
144 > The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main configuration
145 file, and are processed in the order they are defined. The content of these
146 can all be viewed and edited from <A
147 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
149 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
152 > An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use
156 > in an actions file, you have to place the (optional)
158 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
160 > at the top of that file.
161 Then comes the default set of rules which will apply universally to all
162 sites and pages (be <I
169 > or any other actions file after
173 >, because it will override the result
174 from consulting any previous file). And then below that,
175 exceptions to the defined universal policies. You can regard
179 > as an appendix to <TT
183 with the advantage that is a separate file, which makes preserving your
184 personal settings across <SPAN
187 > upgrades easier.</P
190 Actions can be used to block anything you want, including ads, banners, or
191 just some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted
192 or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not
193 written to disk), content can be modified, JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking
194 fooled, and much more. See below for a <A
195 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
205 >8.1. Finding the Right Mix</A
209 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
211 >, like cookie suppression
212 or script disabling, may render some sites unusable that rely on these
213 techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix of actions is not always easy and
214 certainly a matter of personal taste. In general, it can be said that the more
218 > your default settings (in the top section of the
219 actions file) are, the more exceptions for <SPAN
223 will have to make later. If, for example, you want to kill popup windows per
224 default, you'll have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you
225 regularly use and that require popups for actually useful content, like maybe
226 your bank, favorite shop, or newspaper.</P
228 > We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in the
229 distribution actions files. But there is no general rule of thumb on these
230 things. There just are too many variables, and sites are constantly changing.
231 Sooner or later you will want to change the rules (and read this chapter again :).</P
242 > The easiest way to edit the actions files is with a browser by
243 using our browser-based editor, which can be reached from <A
244 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
246 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
248 The editor allows both fine-grained control over every single feature on a
249 per-URL basis, and easy choosing from wholesale sets of defaults like
261 > If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit the
262 the actions files. Look at <TT
274 >8.3. How Actions are Applied to URLs</A
277 > Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections,
281 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
284 > sections which will be discussed later. For now
285 let's concentrate on regular sections: They have a heading line (often split
286 up to multiple lines for readability) which consist of a list of actions,
287 separated by whitespace and enclosed in curly braces. Below that, there
288 is a list of URL patterns, each on a separate line.</P
290 > To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is
291 compared to all patterns in each action file file. Every time it matches, the list of
292 applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated, using the heading
293 of the section in which the pattern is located. If multiple matches for
294 the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins. If not,
295 the effects are aggregated (e.g. a URL might match both the
297 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
301 >"+handle-as-image"</SPAN
305 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
314 > You can trace this process for any given URL by visiting <A
315 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info"
317 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info</A
320 > More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, <A
321 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
322 > Anatomy of an Action</A
334 > Generally, a pattern has the form <TT
336 ><domain>/<path></TT
340 ><domain></TT
345 are optional. (This is why the pattern <TT
348 > matches all URLs).</P
357 >www.example.com/</TT
361 > is a domain-only pattern and will match any request to <TT
365 regardless of which document on that server is requested.
375 > means exactly the same. For domain-only patterns, the trailing <TT
385 >www.example.com/index.html</TT
389 > matches only the single document <TT
406 > matches the document <TT
409 >, regardless of the domain,
423 > matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name and
424 there is no top-level domain called <TT
438 >8.4.1. The Domain Pattern</A
441 > The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the
442 domain starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end.
456 > matches any domain that <I
473 > matches any domain that <I
490 > matches any domain that <I
497 (Correctly speaking: It matches any FQDN that contains <TT
506 > Additionally, there are wild-cards that you can use in the domain names
507 themselves. They work pretty similar to shell wild-cards: <SPAN
511 stands for zero or more arbitrary characters, <SPAN
515 any single character, you can define character classes in square
516 brackets and all of that can be freely mixed:</P
531 >"adserver.example.com"</SPAN
535 >"ads.example.com"</SPAN
538 >"sfads.example.com"</SPAN
545 >*ad*.example.com</TT
549 > matches all of the above, and then some.
565 >pictures.epix.com</TT
568 >a.b.c.d.e.upix.com</TT
575 >www[1-9a-ez].example.c*</TT
581 >www1.example.com</TT
592 >wwwz.example.com</TT
599 >wwww.example.com</TT
612 >8.4.2. The Path Pattern</A
618 > uses Perl compatible regular expressions
620 HREF="http://www.pcre.org/"
624 matching the path.</P
627 HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
629 > with a brief quick-start into regular
630 expressions, and full (very technical) documentation on PCRE regex syntax is available on-line
632 HREF="http://www.pcre.org/man.txt"
634 >http://www.pcre.org/man.txt</A
636 You might also find the Perl man page on regular expressions (<TT
640 useful, which is available on-line at <A
641 HREF="http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html"
643 >http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html</A
646 > Note that the path pattern is automatically left-anchored at the <SPAN
650 i.e. it matches as if it would start with a <SPAN
653 > (regular expression speak
654 for the beginning of a line).</P
656 > Please also note that matching in the path is case
660 > by default, but you can switch to case
661 sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the
668 >www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.*</TT
670 documents whose path starts with <TT
677 > this capitalization.</P
689 > All actions are disabled by default, until they are explicitly enabled
690 somewhere in an actions file. Actions are turned on if preceded with a
694 >, and turned off if preceded with a <SPAN
703 >"do that action"</SPAN
710 >"please block URLs that match the
711 following patterns"</SPAN
718 block URLs that match the following patterns, even if <TT
722 previously applied."</SPAN
726 Again, actions are invoked by placing them on a line, enclosed in curly braces and
727 separated by whitespace, like in
730 >{+some-action -some-other-action{some-parameter}}</TT
732 followed by a list of URL patterns, one per line, to which they apply.
733 Together, the actions line and the following pattern lines make up a section
734 of the actions file. </P
737 There are three classes of actions:</P
745 Boolean, i.e the action can only be <SPAN
768 > # enable action <TT
779 > # disable action <TT
801 Parameterized, where some value is required in order to enable this type of action.
823 >} # enable action and set parameter to <TT
829 # overwriting parameter from previous match if necessary
835 > # disable action. The parameter can be omitted</PRE
842 > Note that if the URL matches multiple positive forms of a parameterized action,
843 the last match wins, i.e. the params from earlier matches are simply ignored.
849 >+hide-user-agent{ Mozilla 1.0 }</TT
856 Multi-value. These look exactly like parameterized actions,
857 but they behave differently: If the action applies multiple times to the
858 same URL, but with different parameters, <I
865 > matches are remembered. This is used for actions
866 that can be executed for the same request repeatedly, like adding multiple
867 headers, or filtering through multiple filters. Syntax:
888 >} # enable action and add <TT
893 > to the list of parameters
904 >} # remove the parameter <TT
909 > from the list of parameters
910 # If it was the last one left, disable the action.
916 > # disable this action completely and remove all parameters from the list</PRE
926 >+add-header{X-Fun-Header: Some text}</TT
930 >+filter{html-annoyances}</TT
937 > If nothing is specified in any actions file, no <SPAN
941 taken. So in this case <SPAN
945 normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must specifically enable the
946 privacy and blocking features you need (although the provided default actions
947 files will give a good starting point).</P
949 > Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions
950 to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file (or
951 in a file that is processed later when using multiple actions files). For
952 multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified.
953 Actions files are processed in the order they are defined in
957 > (the default installation has three actions
958 files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to match more than
959 one pattern and thus more than one set of actions!</P
961 > The list of valid <SPAN
985 >Confuse log analysis, custom applications</P
991 > Sends a user defined HTTP header to the web server.
1004 > Any string value is possible. Validity of the defined HTTP headers is not checked.
1005 It is recommended that you use the <SPAN
1019 > This action may be specified multiple times, in order to define multiple
1020 headers. This is rarely needed for the typical user. If you don't know what
1023 >"HTTP headers"</SPAN
1024 > are, you definitely don't need to worry about this
1040 >+add-header{X-User-Tracking: sucks}</PRE
1064 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1070 >Block ads or other obnoxious content</P
1076 > Requests for URLs to which this action applies are blocked, i.e. the requests are not
1077 forwarded to the remote server, but answered locally with a substitute page or image,
1078 as determined by the <TT
1081 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
1088 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
1089 >set-image-blocker</A
1113 > sends a special <SPAN
1117 for requests to blocked pages. This page contains links to find out why the request
1118 was blocked, and a click-through to the blocked content (the latter only if compiled with the
1119 force feature enabled). The <SPAN
1122 > page adapts to the available
1123 screen space -- it displays full-blown if space allows, or miniaturized and text-only
1124 if loaded into a small frame or window. If you are using <SPAN
1128 right now, you can take a look at the
1130 HREF="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html"
1141 A very important exception occurs if <I
1151 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
1155 apply to the same request: it will then be replaced by an image. If
1159 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
1160 >set-image-blocker</A
1163 (see below) also applies, the type of image will be determined by its parameter,
1164 if not, the standard checkerboard pattern is sent.
1167 > It is important to understand this process, in order
1168 to understand how <SPAN
1172 ads and other unwanted content.
1178 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1182 action can perform a very similar task, by <SPAN
1186 banner images and other content through rewriting the relevant URLs in the
1187 document's HTML source, so they don't get requested in the first place.
1188 Note that this is a totally different technique, and it's easy to confuse the two.
1192 >Example usage (section):</DT
1203 >{+block} # Block and replace with "blocked" page
1204 .nasty-stuff.example.com
1206 {+block +handle-as-image} # Block and replace with image
1223 NAME="CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
1226 >crunch-incoming-cookies</I
1232 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1238 > Prevent the web server from setting any cookies on your system
1247 >"Set-Cookie:"</SPAN
1248 > HTTP headers from server replies.
1268 > This action is only concerned with <I
1279 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
1280 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
1286 > to disable cookies completely.
1292 > to use this action in conjunction
1296 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
1297 >session-cookies-only</A
1300 since it would prevent the session cookies from being set.
1315 >+crunch-incoming-cookies</PRE
1330 NAME="CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
1333 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</I
1339 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1345 > Prevent the web server from reading any cookies from your system
1355 > HTTP headers from client requests.
1375 > This action is only concerned with <I
1386 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
1387 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
1393 > to disable cookies completely.
1399 > to use this action in conjunction
1403 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
1404 >session-cookies-only</A
1407 since it would prevent the session cookies from being read.
1422 >+crunch-outgoing-cookies</PRE
1437 NAME="DEANIMATE-GIFS"
1446 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1452 >Stop those annoying, distracting animated GIF images.</P
1458 > De-animate GIF animations, i.e. reduce them to their first or last image.
1484 > This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If
1488 > is given, the first frame of the animation
1489 is used as the replacement. If <SPAN
1492 > is given, the last
1493 frame of the animation is used instead, which probably makes more sense for
1494 most banner animations, but also has the risk of not showing the entire
1495 last frame (if it is only a delta to an earlier frame).
1498 > You can safely use this action with patterns that will also match non-GIF
1499 objects, because no attempt will be made at anything that doesn't look like
1515 >+deanimate-gifs{last}</PRE
1530 NAME="DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"
1533 >downgrade-http-version</I
1539 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1545 >Work around (very rare) problems with HTTP/1.1</P
1551 > Downgrades HTTP/1.1 client requests and server replies to HTTP/1.0.
1571 > This is a left-over from the time when <SPAN
1575 didn't support important HTTP/1.1 features well. It is left here for the
1576 unlikely case that you experience HTTP/1.1 related problems with some server
1577 out there. Not all (optional) HTTP/1.1 features are supported yet, so there
1578 is a chance you might need this action.
1582 >Example usage (section):</DT
1593 >{+downgrade-http-version}
1594 problem-host.example.com</PRE
1609 NAME="FAST-REDIRECTS"
1618 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1624 >Fool some click-tracking scripts and speed up indirect links</P
1630 > Cut off all but the last valid URL from requests.
1651 Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they
1652 will link to some script on their own servers, giving the destination as a
1653 parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs
1654 resulting from this scheme typically look like:
1657 >http://some.place/click-tracker.cgi?target=http://some.where.else</I
1661 > Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the
1662 URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable,
1663 since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go
1664 to. Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your
1665 browser ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds
1669 > This feature is currently not very smart and is scheduled for improvement.
1670 It is likely to break some sites. You should expect to need possibly
1671 many exceptions to this action, if it is enabled by default in
1675 >. Some sites just don't work without
1691 >{+fast-redirects}</PRE
1715 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1721 >Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), do fun text replacements, etc.</P
1727 > Text documents, including HTML and JavaScript, to which this action applies, are filtered on-the-fly
1728 through the specified regular expression based substitutions.
1741 > The name of a filter, as defined in the <A
1742 HREF="filter-file.html"
1752 HREF="config.html#FILTERFILE"
1766 > For your convenience, there are a bunch of pre-defined filters available
1767 in the distribution filter file that you can use. See the example below for
1771 > This is potentially a very powerful feature! But <SPAN
1773 >"rolling your own"</SPAN
1775 filters requires a knowledge of regular expressions and HTML.
1778 > Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to
1779 slow down page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has
1780 passed the filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way
1781 since the page is not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more
1782 noticeable on slower connections.
1785 > At this time, <SPAN
1788 > cannot (yet!) uncompress compressed
1789 documents. If you want filtering to work on all documents, even those that
1790 would normally be sent compressed, use the
1794 HREF="actions-file.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
1795 >prevent-compression</A
1798 action in conjunction with <TT
1804 > Filtering can achieve some of the effects as the
1808 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
1812 action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners.
1818 > with suggestions for new or improved filters is particularly
1823 >Example usage (with filters from the distribution <TT
1830 NAME="FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES"
1841 >+filter{html-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse.</PRE
1849 NAME="FILTER-JS-ANNOYANCES"
1860 >+filter{js-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse</PRE
1868 NAME="FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
1879 >+filter{banners-by-size} # Kill banners by size (<I
1890 NAME="FILTER-CONTENT-COOKIES"
1901 >+filter{content-cookies} # Kill cookies that come sneaking in the HTML or JS content</PRE
1909 NAME="FILTER-POPUPS"
1920 >+filter{popups} # Kill all popups in JS and HTML</PRE
1928 NAME="FILTER-WEBBUGS"
1939 >+filter{webbugs} # Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking)</PRE
1958 >+filter{fun} # Text replacements for subversive browsing fun!</PRE
1966 NAME="FILTER-FRAMESET-BORDERS"
1977 >+filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizeable</PRE
1985 NAME="FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS"
1996 >+filter{refresh-tags} # Kill automatic refresh tags (for dial-on-demand setups)</PRE
2015 >+filter{nimda} # Remove Nimda (virus) code.</PRE
2023 NAME="FILTER-SHOCKWAVE-FLASH"
2034 >+filter{shockwave-flash} # Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects</PRE
2042 NAME="FILTER-CRUDE-PARENTAL"
2053 >+filter{crude-parental} # Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez"</PRE
2068 NAME="HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
2077 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2083 >Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by images <I
2085 >if they get blocked</I
2092 > This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs as images.
2096 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2103 the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML <SPAN
2107 page, or a replacement image (as determined by the <TT
2110 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
2111 >set-image-blocker</A
2113 > action) will be sent to the
2114 client as a substitute for the blocked content.
2134 > The below generic example section is actually part of <TT
2138 It marks all URLs with well-known image file name extensions as images and should
2142 > Users will probably only want to use the handle-as-image action in conjunction with
2146 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2149 >, to block sources of banners, whose URLs don't
2150 reflect the file type, like in the second example section.
2153 > Note that you cannot treat HTML pages as images in most cases. For instance, (inline) ad
2154 frames require an HTML page to be sent, or they won't display properly.
2157 >handle-as-image</TT
2158 > in this situation will not replace the
2159 ad frame with an image, but lead to error messages.
2163 >Example usage (sections):</DT
2174 ># Generic image extensions:
2177 /.*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp|ico)$
2179 # These don't look like images, but they're banners and should be
2180 # blocked as images:
2182 {+block +handle-as-image}
2183 some.nasty-banner-server.com/junk.cgi?output=trash
2185 # Banner source! Who cares if they also have non-image content?
2186 ad.doubleclick.net </PRE
2201 NAME="HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS"
2204 >hide-forwarded-for-headers</I
2210 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2216 >Improve privacy by hiding the true source of the request</P
2222 > Deletes any existing <SPAN
2224 >"X-Forwarded-for:"</SPAN
2225 > HTTP header from client requests,
2226 and prevents adding a new one.
2246 > It is fairly safe to leave this on.
2249 > This action is scheduled for improvement: It should be able to generate forged
2252 >"X-Forwarded-for:"</SPAN
2253 > headers using random IP addresses from a specified network,
2254 to make successive requests from the same client look like requests from a pool of different
2255 users sharing the same proxy.
2270 >+hide-forwarded-for-headers</PRE
2285 NAME="HIDE-FROM-HEADER"
2288 >hide-from-header</I
2294 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2300 >Keep your (old and ill) browser from telling web servers your email address</P
2306 > Deletes any existing <SPAN
2309 > HTTP header, or replaces it with the
2326 >, or any user defined value.
2336 > will completely remove the header
2337 (not to be confused with the <TT
2340 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
2347 > Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to be sent to the web
2348 server. If you do, it is a matter of fairness not to use any address that
2349 is actually used by a real person.
2352 > This action is rarely needed, as modern web browsers don't send
2371 >+hide-from-header{block}</PRE
2384 >+hide-from-header{spam-me-senseless@sittingduck.example.com}</PRE
2399 NAME="HIDE-REFERRER"
2411 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2417 >Conceal which link you followed to get to a particular site</P
2426 > (sic) HTTP header from the client request,
2427 or replaces it with a forged one.
2447 > to delete the header completely.</P
2454 > to pretend to be coming from the homepage of the server we are talking to.</P
2458 >Any other string to set a user defined referrer.</P
2469 > is the preferred option here, since some servers will
2470 not send images back otherwise, in an attempt to prevent their valuable
2471 content from being embedded elsewhere (and hence, without being surrounded
2482 > is an alternate spelling of
2486 > and the two can be can be freely
2487 substituted with each other. (<SPAN
2491 correct English spelling, however the HTTP specification has a bug - it
2492 requires it to be spelled as <SPAN
2510 >+hide-referrer{forge}</PRE
2523 >+hide-referrer{http://www.yahoo.com/}</PRE
2538 NAME="HIDE-USER-AGENT"
2547 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2553 >Conceal your type of browser and client operating system</P
2559 > Replaces the value of the <SPAN
2561 >"User-Agent:"</SPAN
2563 in client requests with the specified value.
2576 > Any user-defined string.
2601 > This breaks many web sites that depend on looking at this header in order
2602 to customize their content for different browsers (which, by the
2607 HREF="http://www.javascriptkit.com/javaindex.shtml"
2618 > Using this action in multi-user setups or wherever different types of
2619 browsers will access the same <SPAN
2626 >. In single-user, single-browser
2627 setups, you might use it to delete your OS version information from
2628 the headers, because it is an invitation to exploit known bugs for your
2629 OS. It is also occasionally useful to forge this in order to access
2630 sites that won't let you in otherwise (though there may be a good
2631 reason in some cases). Example of this: some MSN sites will not
2635 > enter, yet forging to a
2639 > user-agent works just fine.
2640 (Must be just a silly MS goof, I'm sure :-).
2643 > This action is scheduled for improvement.
2658 >+hide-user-agent{Netscape 6.1 (X11; I; Linux 2.4.18 i686)}</PRE
2685 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2691 >Eliminate those annoying pop-up windows</P
2697 > While loading the document, replace JavaScript code that opens
2698 pop-up windows with (syntactically neutral) dummy code on the fly.
2718 > This action is easily confused with the built-in, hardwired <TT
2721 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2725 action, but there are important differences: For <TT
2729 the document need not be buffered, so it can be incrementally rendered while
2730 downloading. But <TT
2733 > doesn't catch as many pop-ups as
2737 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2749 > Think of it as a fast and efficient replacement for a filter that you
2750 can use if you don't want any filtering at all. Note that it doesn't make
2751 sense to combine it with any <TT
2754 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2758 since as soon as one <TT
2761 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2765 the whole document needs to be buffered anyway, which destroys the advantage of
2769 > action over its filter equivalent.
2772 > Killing all pop-ups is a dangerous business. Many shops and banks rely on
2773 pop-ups to display forms, shopping carts etc, and killing only the unwanted pop-ups
2774 would require artificial intelligence in <SPAN
2778 If the only kind of pop-ups that you want to kill are exit consoles (those
2782 > windows that appear when you close an other
2783 one), you might want to use
2787 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2825 NAME="LIMIT-CONNECT"
2834 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2840 >Prevent abuse of <SPAN
2843 > as a TCP proxy relay</P
2849 > Specifies to which ports HTTP CONNECT requests are allowable.
2862 > A comma-separated list of ports or port ranges (the latter using dashes, with the minimum
2863 defaulting to 0 and the maximum to 65K).
2870 > By default, i.e. if no <TT
2877 > only allows HTTP CONNECT
2878 requests to port 443 (the standard, secure HTTPS port). Use
2882 > if more fine-grained control is desired
2883 for some or all destinations.
2886 > The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites
2890 > URLs) through proxies. It works very simply:
2891 the proxy connects to the server on the specified port, and then
2892 short-circuits its connections to the client and to the remote server.
2893 This can be a big security hole, since CONNECT-enabled proxies can be
2894 abused as TCP relays very easily.
2897 > If you don't know what any of this means, there probably is no reason to
2898 change this one, since the default is already very restrictive.
2902 >Example usages:</DT
2913 >+limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need not be specified.
2914 +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK.
2915 +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Ports less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 and above 500 are OK.
2916 +limit-connect{-} # All ports are OK (gaping security hole!)</PRE
2931 NAME="PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
2934 >prevent-compression</I
2940 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2946 > Ensure that servers send the content uncompressed, so it can be
2950 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2960 > Adds a header to the request that asks for uncompressed transfer.
2980 > More and more websites send their content compressed by default, which
2981 is generally a good idea and saves bandwidth. But for the <TT
2984 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
2990 HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
2997 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
3004 > needs access to the uncompressed data.
3005 Unfortunately, <SPAN
3008 > can't yet(!) uncompress, filter, and
3009 re-compress the content on the fly. So if you want to ensure that all websites, including
3010 those that normally compress, can be filtered, you need to use this action.
3013 > This will slow down transfers from those websites, though. If you use any of the above-mentioned
3014 actions, you will typically want to use <TT
3016 >prevent-compression</TT
3021 > Note that some (rare) ill-configured sites don't handle requests for uncompressed
3022 documents correctly (they send an empty document body). If you use <TT
3024 >prevent-compression</TT
3026 per default, you'll have to add exceptions for those sites. See the example for how to do that.
3030 >Example usage (sections):</DT
3043 {+prevent-compression}
3046 # Make exceptions for ill sites:
3048 {-prevent-compression}
3050 www.pclinuxonline.com</PRE
3065 NAME="SEND-VANILLA-WAFER"
3068 >send-vanilla-wafer</I
3074 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3080 > Feed log analysis scripts with useless data.
3087 > Sends a cookie with each request stating that you do not accept any copyright
3088 on cookies sent to you, and asking the site operator not to track you.
3108 > The vanilla wafer is a (relatively) unique header and could conceivably be used to track you.
3111 > This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration.
3126 >+send-vanilla-wafer</PRE
3150 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3156 > Send custom cookies or feed log analysis scripts with even more useless data.
3163 > Sends a custom, user-defined cookie with each request.
3176 > A string of the form <SPAN
3196 > Being multi-valued, multiple instances of this action can apply to the same request,
3197 resulting in multiple cookies being sent.
3200 > This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration.
3204 >Example usage (section):</DT
3215 >{+send-wafer{UsingPrivoxy=true}}
3216 my-internal-testing-server.void</PRE
3231 NAME="SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
3234 >session-cookies-only</I
3240 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3246 > Allow only temporary <SPAN
3249 > cookies (for the current browser session <I
3264 >"Set-Cookie:"</SPAN
3266 Most browsers will not store such cookies permanently and forget them in between sessions.
3286 > This is less strict than <TT
3289 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
3290 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
3296 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
3297 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
3299 > and allows you to browse
3300 websites that insist or rely on setting cookies, without compromising your privacy too badly.
3303 > Most browsers will not permanently store cookies that have been processed by
3306 >session-cookies-only</TT
3307 > and will forget about them between sessions.
3308 This makes profiling cookies useless, but won't break sites which require cookies so
3309 that you can log in for transactions. This is generally turned on for all
3310 sites, and is the recommended setting.
3318 >session-cookies-only</TT
3323 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
3324 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
3330 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
3331 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
3333 >. If you do, cookies
3334 will be plainly killed.
3337 > Note that it is up to the browser how it handles such cookies without an <SPAN
3341 field. If you use an exotic browser, you might want to try it out to be sure.
3356 >+session-cookies-only</PRE
3371 NAME="SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
3374 >set-image-blocker</I
3380 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3386 >Choose the replacement for blocked images</P
3392 > This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. If <I
3399 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
3408 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
3415 apply, i.e. if the request is to be blocked as an image,
3419 > the parameter of this action decides what will be
3420 sent as a replacement.
3440 > to send a built-in checkerboard pattern image. The image is visually
3441 decent, scales very well, and makes it obvious where banners were busted.
3449 > to send a built-in transparent image. This makes banners disappear
3450 completely, but makes it hard to detect where <SPAN
3454 images on a given page and complicates troubleshooting if <SPAN
3458 has blocked innocent images, like navigation icons.
3472 send a redirect to <TT
3478 to any image anywhere, even in your local filesystem (via <SPAN
3484 > A good application of redirects is to use special <SPAN
3488 URLs, which send the built-in images, as <TT
3494 This has the same visual effect as specifying <SPAN
3501 the first place, but enables your browser to cache the replacement image, instead of requesting
3502 it over and over again.
3511 > The URLs for the built-in images are <SPAN
3513 >"http://config.privoxy.org/send-banner?type=<TT
3534 > There is a third (advanced) type, called <SPAN
3543 >set-image-blocker</TT
3544 >, but meant for use from <A
3545 HREF="filter-file.html"
3548 Auto will select the type of image that would have applied to the referring page, had it been an image.
3566 >+set-image-blocker{pattern}</PRE
3573 > Redirect to the BSD devil:
3584 >+set-image-blocker{http://www.freebsd.org/gifs/dae_up3.gif}</PRE
3591 > Redirect to the built-in pattern for better caching:
3602 >+set-image-blocker{http://config.privoxy.org/send-banner?type=pattern}</PRE
3621 > Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to
3622 misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways
3623 a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header
3624 content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way to have hard
3625 and fast rules for all sites. See the <A
3626 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
3628 > for a brief example on troubleshooting
3651 >, can be defined by combining other actions.
3652 These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in actions.
3653 Currently, an alias name can contain any character except space, tab,
3668 > that you only use <SPAN
3688 Alias names are not case sensitive, and are not required to start with a
3695 > sign, since they are merely textually
3698 > Aliases can be used throughout the actions file, but they <I
3701 defined in a special section at the top of the file!</I
3703 And there can only be one such section per actions file. Each actions file may
3704 have its own alias section, and the aliases defined in it are only visible
3705 within that file.</P
3707 > There are two main reasons to use aliases: One is to save typing for frequently
3708 used combinations of actions, the other one is a gain in flexibility: If you
3709 decide once how you want to handle shops by defining an alias called
3713 >, you can later change your policy on shops in
3717 > place, and your changes will take effect everywhere
3718 in the actions file where the <SPAN
3721 > alias is used. Calling aliases
3722 by their purpose also makes your actions files more readable.</P
3724 > Currently, there is one big drawback to using aliases, though:
3728 >'s built-in web-based action file
3729 editor honors aliases when reading the actions files, but it expands
3730 them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are of course preserved,
3731 but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit sections that use aliases
3733 This is likely to change in future versions of <SPAN
3738 > Now let's define some aliases...</P
3748 > # Useful custom aliases we can use later.
3750 # Note the (required!) section header line and that this section
3751 # must be at the top of the actions file!
3755 # These aliases just save typing later:
3756 # (Note that some already use other aliases!)
3758 +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies
3759 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
3760 block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image
3761 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
3763 # These aliases define combinations of actions
3764 # that are useful for certain types of sites:
3766 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
3767 shop = -crunch-all-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups
3769 # Short names for other aliases, for really lazy people ;-)
3771 c0 = +crunch-all-cookies
3772 c1 = -crunch-all-cookies</PRE
3778 > ...and put them to use. These sections would appear in the lower part of an
3779 actions file and define exceptions to the default actions (as specified further
3793 > # These sites are either very complex or very keen on
3794 # user data and require minimal interference to work:
3797 .office.microsoft.com
3798 .windowsupdate.microsoft.com
3802 # Allow cookies (for setting and retrieving your customer data)
3806 .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
3809 # These shops require pop-ups:
3811 {shop -kill-popups -filter{popups}}
3813 .overclockers.co.uk</PRE
3819 > Aliases like <SPAN
3825 > are often used for
3829 > sites that require some actions to be disabled
3830 in order to function properly.</P
3838 >8.7. Actions Files Tutorial</A
3841 > The above chapters have shown <A
3842 HREF="actions-file.html"
3843 >which actions files
3844 there are and how they are organized</A
3845 >, how actions are <A
3846 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
3849 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS-APPLY"
3853 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3857 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
3859 >. Now, let's look at an
3867 file and see how all these pieces come together:</P
3874 >8.7.1. default.action</A
3877 >Every config file should start with a short comment stating its purpose:</P
3887 ># Sample default.action file <developers@privoxy.org></PRE
3893 >Then, since this is the <TT
3897 first section is a special section for internal use that you needn't
3898 change or worry about:</P
3908 >##########################################################################
3909 # Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY.
3910 ##########################################################################
3913 for-privoxy-version=3.0</PRE
3919 >After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example
3920 section from the above <A
3921 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
3922 >chapter on aliases</A
3924 that also explains why and how aliases are used:</P
3934 >##########################################################################
3936 ##########################################################################
3939 # These aliases just save typing later:
3940 # (Note that some already use other aliases!)
3942 +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies
3943 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
3944 block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image
3945 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
3947 # These aliases define combinations of actions
3948 # that are useful for certain types of sites:
3950 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
3951 shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups</PRE
3957 > Now come the regular sections, i.e. sets of actions, accompanied
3958 by URL patterns to which they apply. Remember <I
3961 are disabled when matching starts</I
3962 >, so we have to explicitly
3963 enable the ones we want.</P
3965 > The first regular section is probably the most important. It has only
3974 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3975 >matches all URLs.</A
3977 set of actions used in this <SPAN
3983 be applied to all requests as a start</I
3984 >. It can be partly or
3985 wholly overridden by later matches further down this file, or in user.action,
3986 but it will still be largely responsible for your overall browsing
3989 > Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is
3990 no real need to disable any actions here, but we will do that nonetheless,
3991 to have a complete listing for your reference. (Remember: A <SPAN
3995 preceding the action name enables the action, a <SPAN
3999 Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into
4000 multiple lines with line continuation.</P
4010 >##########################################################################
4011 # "Defaults" section:
4012 ##########################################################################
4015 HREF="actions-file.html#ADD-HEADER"
4019 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4023 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
4024 >crunch-incoming-cookies</A
4027 HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-OUTGOING-COOKIES"
4028 >crunch-outgoing-cookies</A
4031 HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
4035 HREF="actions-file.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"
4036 >downgrade-http-version</A
4039 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4043 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES"
4044 >filter{html-annoyances}</A
4047 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-JS-ANNOYANCES"
4048 >filter{js-annoyances}</A
4051 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-CONTENT-COOKIES"
4052 >filter{content-cookies}</A
4055 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4059 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-WEBBUGS"
4063 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS"
4064 >filter{refresh-tags}</A
4067 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-FUN"
4071 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-NIMDA"
4075 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
4076 >filter{banners-by-size}</A
4079 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-SHOCKWAVE-FLASH"
4080 >filter{shockwave-flash}</A
4083 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-CRUDE-PARENTAL"
4084 >filter{crude-parental}</A
4087 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4091 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS"
4092 >hide-forwarded-for-headers</A
4095 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-FROM-HEADER"
4096 >hide-from-header{block}</A
4099 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-REFERER"
4100 >hide-referrer{forge}</A
4103 HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT"
4107 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4111 HREF="actions-file.html#LIMIT-CONNECT"
4115 HREF="actions-file.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION"
4116 >prevent-compression</A
4119 HREF="actions-file.html#SEND-VANILLA-WAFER"
4120 >send-vanilla-wafer</A
4123 HREF="actions-file.html#SEND-WAFER"
4127 HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
4128 >session-cookies-only</A
4131 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4132 >set-image-blocker{pattern}</A
4135 / # forward slash will match *all* potential URL patterns.</PRE
4141 > The default behavior is now set. Note that some actions, like not hiding
4142 the user agent, are part of a <SPAN
4144 >"general policy"</SPAN
4146 universally and won't get any exceptions defined later. Other choices,
4147 like not blocking (which is <I
4151 default!) need exceptions, i.e. we need to specify explicitly what we
4152 want to block in later sections.
4153 We will also want to make exceptions from our general pop-up-killing,
4154 and use our defined aliases for that.</P
4156 > The first of our specialized sections is concerned with <SPAN
4160 sites, i.e. sites that require minimum interference, because they are either
4161 very complex or very keen on tracking you (and have mechanisms in place that
4162 make them unusable for people who avoid being tracked). We will simply use
4166 > alias instead of stating the list
4167 of actions explicitly:</P
4177 >##########################################################################
4178 # Exceptions for sites that'll break under the default action set:
4179 ##########################################################################
4181 # "Fragile" Use a minimum set of actions for these sites (see alias above):
4184 .office.microsoft.com # surprise, surprise!
4185 .windowsupdate.microsoft.com</PRE
4191 > Shopping sites are not as fragile, but they typically
4192 require cookies to log in, and pop-up windows for shopping
4193 carts or item details. Again, we'll use a pre-defined alias:</P
4207 .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
4215 > Then, there are sites which rely on pop-up windows (yuck!) to work.
4216 Since we made pop-up-killing our default above, we need to make exceptions
4218 HREF="http://www.mozilla.org/"
4222 can turn on smart handling of unwanted pop-ups in their browsers, can
4227 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4234 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4238 and hence don't need this section. Anyway, disabling an already disabled
4239 action doesn't hurt, so we'll define our exceptions regardless of what was
4240 chosen in the defaults section:</P
4250 ># These sites require pop-ups too :(
4253 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4256 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"
4261 .deutsche-bank-24.de</PRE
4270 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4274 action, which we enabled per default above, breaks some sites. So disable
4275 it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves:</P
4286 HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
4292 .altavista.com/.*(like|url|link):http
4293 .altavista.com/trans.*urltext=http
4300 > It is important that <SPAN
4304 URLs belong to images, so that <I
4308 be blocked, a substitute image can be sent, rather than an HTML page.
4309 Contacting the remote site to find out is not an option, since it
4310 would destroy the loading time advantage of banner blocking, and it
4311 would feed the advertisers (in terms of money <I
4315 information). We can mark any URL as an image with the <TT
4318 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4322 and marking all URLs that end in a known image file extension is a
4333 >##########################################################################
4335 ##########################################################################
4337 # Define which file types will be treated as images, in case they get
4338 # blocked further down this file:
4341 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4344 /.*\.(gif|jpe?g|png|bmp|ico)$</PRE
4350 > And then there are known banner sources. They often use scripts to
4351 generate the banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the
4352 request is for an image. Hence we block them <I
4356 mark them as images in one go, with the help of our
4360 > alias defined above. (We could of
4361 course just as well use <TT
4364 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4368 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4372 Remember that the type of the replacement image is chosen by the
4376 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4377 >set-image-blocker</A
4380 action. Since all URLs have matched the default section with its
4384 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
4385 >set-image-blocker</A
4388 action before, it still applies and needn't be repeated:</P
4398 ># Known ad generators:
4403 .ad.*.doubleclick.net
4404 .a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
4405 .a[0-9].yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
4414 > One of the most important jobs of <SPAN
4418 is to block banners. A huge bunch of them are already <SPAN
4425 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4427 >{banners-by-size}</TT
4429 action, which we enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner
4430 images from the pages while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't request
4431 them anymore, and hence they don't need to be blocked here. But this naturally
4432 doesn't catch all banners, and some people choose not to use filters, so we
4433 need a comprehensive list of patterns for banner URLs here, and apply the
4437 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4440 > action to them.</P
4442 > First comes a bunch of generic patterns, which do most of the work, by
4443 matching typical domain and path name components of banners. Then comes
4444 a list of individual patterns for specific sites, which is omitted here
4445 to keep the example short:</P
4455 >##########################################################################
4456 # Block these fine banners:
4457 ##########################################################################
4459 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4469 /.*count(er)?\.(pl|cgi|exe|dll|asp|php[34]?)
4470 /(?:.*/)?(publicite|werbung|rekla(ma|me|am)|annonse|maino(kset|nta|s)?)/
4472 # Site-specific patterns (abbreviated):
4480 > You wouldn't believe how many advertisers actually call their banner
4486 >.com, or call the directory
4487 in which the banners are stored simply <SPAN
4491 generic patterns are surprisingly effective.</P
4493 > But being very generic, they necessarily also catch URLs that we don't want
4494 to block. The pattern <TT
4503 >.nasty-corp.com"</SPAN
4510 >.sourcefroge.net"</SPAN
4517 >l.some-provider.net."</SPAN
4519 well-known exceptions to the <TT
4522 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4528 > Note that these are exceptions to exceptions from the default! Consider the URL
4531 >"downloads.sourcefroge.net"</SPAN
4532 >: Initially, all actions are deactivated,
4533 so it wouldn't get blocked. Then comes the defaults section, which matches the
4534 URL, but just deactivates the <TT
4537 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4541 action once again. Then it matches <TT
4544 >, an exception to the
4545 general non-blocking policy, and suddenly
4549 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4552 > applies. And now, it'll match
4559 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4563 applies, so (unless it matches <I
4566 > further down) it ends up
4570 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4573 > action applying.</P
4583 >##########################################################################
4584 # Save some innocent victims of the above generic block patterns:
4585 ##########################################################################
4590 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4593 adv[io]*. # (for advogato.org and advice.*)
4594 adsl. # (has nothing to do with ads)
4595 ad[ud]*. # (adult.* and add.*)
4596 .edu # (universities don't host banners (yet!))
4597 .*loads. # (downloads, uploads etc)
4605 www.globalintersec.com/adv # (adv = advanced)
4606 www.ugu.com/sui/ugu/adv</PRE
4612 > Filtering source code can have nasty side effects,
4613 so make an exception for our friends at sourceforge.net,
4614 and all paths with <SPAN
4617 > in them. Note that
4621 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4628 > filters in one fell swoop!</P
4638 ># Don't filter code!
4641 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4645 .sourceforge.net</PRE
4655 comprehensive, but we hope this example made clear how it works.</P
4663 >8.7.2. user.action</A
4666 > So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies,
4667 which would be a reasonable starting point for many people. Now,
4668 you'd maybe want to be more specific and have customized rules that
4669 are more suitable to your personal habits and preferences. These would
4670 be for narrowly defined situations like your ISP or your bank, and should
4674 >, which is parsed after all other
4675 actions files and hence has the last word, over-riding any previously
4676 defined actions. <TT
4683 > place for your personal settings, since
4687 > is actively maintained by the
4691 > developers and you'll probably want
4692 to install updated versions from time to time.</P
4694 > So let's look at a few examples of things that one might typically do in
4708 ># My user.action file. <fred@foobar.com></PRE
4715 HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
4717 > are local to the actions
4718 file that they are defined in, you can't use the ones from
4722 >, unless you repeat them here:</P
4732 ># (Re-)define aliases for this file:
4735 -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies
4736 mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only
4737 fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups
4738 shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups
4739 allow-ads = -block -filter{banners-by-size} # (see below)</PRE
4746 > Say you have accounts on some sites that you visit regularly, and
4747 you don't want to have to log in manually each time. So you'd like
4748 to allow persistent cookies for these sites. The
4751 >mercy-for-cookies</TT
4752 > alias defined above does exactly
4753 that, i.e. it disables crunching of cookies in any direction, and
4754 processing of cookies to make them temporary.</P
4764 >{ mercy-for-cookies }
4775 > Your bank needs popups and is allergic to some filter, but you don't
4776 know which, so you disable them all:</P
4787 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
4790 HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
4793 .your-home-banking-site.com</PRE
4799 > While browsing the web with <SPAN
4803 noticed some ads that sneaked through, but you were too lazy to
4804 report them through our fine and easy <A
4808 system, so you have added them here:</P
4819 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4822 www.a-popular-site.com/some/unobvious/path
4823 another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/</PRE
4829 > Note that, assuming the banners in the above example have regular image
4830 extensions (most do),
4834 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
4838 need not be specified, since all URLs ending in these extensions will
4839 already have been tagged as images in the relevant section of
4845 > Then you noticed that the default configuration breaks Forbes Magazine,
4846 but you were too lazy to find out which action is the culprit, and you
4847 were again too lazy to give <A
4851 you just used the <TT
4854 > alias on the site, and
4855 -- whoa! -- it worked:</P
4872 > You like the <SPAN
4875 > text replacements in <TT
4879 but it is disabled in the distributed actions file. (My colleagues on the team just
4880 don't have a sense of humour, that's why! ;-). So you'd like to turn it on in your private,
4881 update-safe config, once and for all:</P
4892 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-FUN"
4895 / # For ALL sites!</PRE
4901 > Note that the above is not really a good idea: There are exceptions
4902 to the filters in <TT
4906 really shouldn't be filtered, like code on CVS->Web interfaces. Since
4910 > has the last word, these exceptions
4911 won't be valid for the <SPAN
4914 > filtering specified here.</P
4916 > Finally, you might think about how your favourite free websites are
4917 funded, and find that they rely on displaying banner advertisements
4918 to survive. So you might want to specifically allow banners for those
4919 sites that you feel provide value to you:</P
4941 > has been aliased to
4945 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
4952 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
4953 >filter{banners-by-size}</A
4991 HREF="filter-file.html"
5000 >The Main Configuration File</TD
5010 >The Filter File</TD
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