*
* Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
*
- * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
+ * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2006 the SourceForge
* Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
*
* Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
* The GNU General Public License should be included with
* this file. If not, you can view it at
* http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
- * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
- * Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+ * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 ,
+ * USA
*
*********************************************************************/
-This README is included with the development version of Privoxy,
-which will eventually become Privoxy v3.0 (and soon we hope!). See
-http://www.privoxy.org/.
+This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.4. See
+http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
+is "beta", but seems stable to us :).
-Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
-protecting privacy, filtering web page content, 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. Internet
-Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+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 based on the code of the Internet Junkbuster. Junkbuster
-was originally written by JunkBusters Corporation, and was released as
-free open-source software under the GNU GPL. Stefan Waldherr made many
-improvements, and started the SourceForge project to continue
-development. Several other developers are now contributing.
+Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+1. IMPORTANT CHANGES
- IMPORTANT CHANGES
-------------------
+BIG NEWS! 2006, Privoxy 3.0.4 is released. This is a significant upgrade with
+many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. There are fifteen new
+actions available, and several actions have enhanced capabilities. Multiple
+filter files are now supported as well. See the "What's New" section and the
+"Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
-NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed
-from Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the
-included files.
+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.
-WARNING! If upgrading from earlier versions of this project via
-RPM packages, the new package will delete any previously installed
-'Junkbuster' packages.
+NEWS! March 2003, Privoxy 3.0.2 is released. This is the first maintenance
+release of Privoxy. There are no significant new features in this release. Some
+bugs are fixed, and some existing features have been enhanced. See ChangeLog
+for details. Upgrading from 3.0.0 is recommended.
-IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 3 Apr 2002: The default
-listening port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment.
-You will need to change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe
-firewall, etc.
+REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
+Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
+than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.
+NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
+Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.
- INSTALL
---------
+IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
+port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
+change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.
-For tarball, first unpack:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- tar xzvf privoxy-2.9.13-beta-src.tar.gz
- cd privoxy-2.9.13-beta
+2. INSTALL
- autoheader
- autoconf
- ./configure (--help to see options)
- gmake (the make from gnu)
- su
- make -n install (to see where all the files will go)
- make install (to really install)
+See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
+User Manual, for all other installation types.
-Redhat and SuSE src and binary RPMs can be built with 'make
-redhat-dist' or 'make suse-dist' (run ./configure first) from unpacked
-sources. BSD will (probably?) require gmake (from http://gnu.org). See
-the user-manual for OS/2 build instructions.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Privoxy is also available via anonymous CVS:
+3. RUN
- cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login
- cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current
+privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
+[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
-This will create a directory named 'current'. Then, 'cd current', and
-then build as above.
+See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
+configuration and usage issues.
+If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
+file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
+'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
- RUN
-----
+Or for Red Hat based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE]
- [--user USER] [config_file]
+Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
-Or for RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
+Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
-See the man page or user-manual for a brief explanation of each.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+4. CONFIGURATION
- CONFIGURATION
---------------
+See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
+'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
+configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
+in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
+customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are installed in /etc/
+privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed. There
+are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
+Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
+www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
-See: 'config', '*.action', and 'default.filter'. These are all well
-commented. Most of the magic is in '*.action', and there are several
-of these included with varying degrees of aggressiveness. On Unix-like
-systems, these files are installed in /etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever
-the executable itself is installed. There are many significant changes and
-advances since Junkbuster v2.0.x. The user-manual has a run down of
-configuration options, and examples: http://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.
-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.
+The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
+p.p/, as well other options.
-The default.action file 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.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- DOCUMENTATION
---------------
+5. DOCUMENTATION
-There is a growing amount of documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory,
-but it is not finished at this point. In particular, see the
-user-manual there, and developers 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 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, which are all well commented. These are 'config', '*.action', and
-'default.filter' in the toplevel source directory.
+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,
+or can't find it.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
+
+We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
+configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
+with the best support:
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.1. Get Support
+
+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.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.2. Reporting Problems
+
+"Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
+
+ * 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
-Some legacy Junkbuster documentation may also be included only to give an idea
-of what Privoxy can do under doc/obsolete/*. Much has changed since these docs
-were written, so beware.
+Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
+blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
+problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
+11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
-Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager.
+New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
+your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
+available from our the files section of our project page.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
---------------------------------------------------------------
+6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
-We value your feedback. However, to provide you with the best support,
-please note:
+Please report all bugs only 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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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 give the date).
+
+ * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP).
+
+ * 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.
- * Use the support forum to get help:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
- * Submit bugs only thru our bug forum:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118
- Make sure that the bug has not already been submitted. Please try
- to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site
- bug first. If you are using your own custom configuration, please
- try the stock configs to see if the problem is a configuration
- related bug. And if not using the latest development snapshot,
- please try the latest one. Or even better, CVS sources.
- * Submit feature requests only thru our feature request forum:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118&func=browse
-
-For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists:
-http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118
+ * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as TOR. If
+ so, please try disabling the other proxy.
-Anyone interested in actively participating in development and related
-discussions can join the appropriate mailing list here:
-http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118. Archives are available
-here too.
+ * 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.
+
+The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on understanding
+actions, and action debugging.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.3. Request New Features
+
+You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
+improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
+tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.4. Other
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
+For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
+interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
+welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
+mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?
+group_id=11118.
-$Id: README,v 1.20 2002/03/24 19:57:28 hal9 Exp $
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