/*********************************************************************
*
- * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,v $
+ * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/readme.sgml,v $
*
* Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
*
- * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2006 the SourceForge
+ * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001-2008 the SourceForge
* Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
*
* Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
*
*********************************************************************/
-This README is included with Privoxy > 3.0.6 -> 3.0.7.
-See http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity
-level is "unknown". Development work is in progress. There may be new
-features, bugs, partially working aspects, etc, all of which may not be
-documented. Use 3.0.6 for production systems and where stability is necessary.
-Please report any problems.
+This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.11. See
+http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
+is "UNRELEASED", but seems stable to us :).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
-privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
-removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
-very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
-tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
-networks.
+Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
+enhancing privacy, modifying web page data, managing HTTP cookies, controlling
+access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk.
+Privoxy has a flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual
+needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and
+multi-user networks.
Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
1. IMPORTANT CHANGES
-NEWS! November 2006, Privoxy 3.0.6 is released. This is a significant upgrade
-with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. It is also the first
-stable release in quite some time. There are fifteen new actions available, and
-several actions have enhanced capabilities. Multiple filter files are now
-supported as well. There are many improvements and refinements. See the "What's
-New" section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
-specifics. Preliminary work on 3.0.7 is already underway.
+Privoxy development is between releases. The current sources are development
+quality. If you find problems please report them to the developers.
-NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 BETA is released. This is a significant
-upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed.
+August 2008, Privoxy 3.0.10 is released! There are not any major new features,
+but many improvements and refinements. As usual there are changes that effect
+the configuration. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New" section and the
+"Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
-There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle was
-used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine some old ones.
-It will remain a development cycle with no actual release. 3.0.5 is the fruit
-of these efforts.
+June 2008, Privoxy 3.0.9 beta is released. There are no major new features, but
+many improvements and refinements.
-NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
-release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
-works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
-details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
+NEWS! January 2008, Privoxy 3.0.8 stable is released. This is a significant
+upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. All Privoxy
+users are encouraged to upgrade. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New"
+section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
+specifics. There are changes related to configuration, so anyone upgrading and
+keeping their old configuration should read ahead first.
+
+December 2007, Privoxy 3.0.7 is released. This is a beta release in preparation
+for the forthcoming 3.0.8 release.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. RUN
privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
-[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
+[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
configuration and usage issues.
Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+Or Debian and Ubuntu: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
-you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
-8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
-with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
+you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
+localhost:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
+try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
p.p/, as well other options.
+All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
+development process.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. DOCUMENTATION
-There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
-User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
-look at developer-manual.
+There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
+completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
+those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
-The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
-configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
+The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
+may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
+files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
+configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
+the top-level source directory.
Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
6.1. Get Support
-For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
+For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
list, where the developers also hang around.
+Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
+either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
+
+Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
+addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
+of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
+or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
+
+If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
+with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
+get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
+and you won't see them.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2. Reporting Problems
* Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
-
+
* "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
cause a crash.
-
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
-Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
-tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
+Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
+/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
help to solve the issue.
-Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
-first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
-you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
-see if the problem is configuration related.
+Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
+documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
+If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
-If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
-meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
-latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
+If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
+see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
+feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
+others can reproduce the problem.
+
+If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
+fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
+upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
+your bug still exists.
Please be sure to provide the following information:
- * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
- CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
+ * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
+ please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
config.privoxy.org/show-version).
-
+
* The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
- should do.
-
+ should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
+
* The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
-
+
* The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
-
- * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
- Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
-
+
+ * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
+ via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
+
* Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
- so, please try disabling the other proxy.
-
+ so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
+
* Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
without it?
-
+
* Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
taken).
-
- * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
- you.
-
+
+You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but
+please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages and the
+ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if
+they have the same problem or already found a solution.
+
+Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
+we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
+automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
+
The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
understanding actions, and action debugging.
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff