This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: faq.sgml,v 2.11 2006/07/18 14:48:50 david__schmidt Exp $
+ $Id: faq.sgml,v 2.15 2006/09/08 23:05:07 hal9 Exp $
Copyright (C) 2001-2006 Privoxy Developers <developers@privoxy.org>
See LICENSE.
</subscript>
</pubdate>
-<pubdate>$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.11 2006/07/18 14:48:50 david__schmidt Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.15 2006/09/08 23:05:07 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
<!--
<sect1 id="general"><title>General Information</title>
-<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="newjb"><title>What is this new version of <application>Junkbuster</application>?</title>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="newjb"><title>What is this new version of
+<emphasis>Junkbuster</emphasis>?</title>
<!-- Include history.sgml -->
&history;
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
<title id="whyprivoxy">Why <quote>Privoxy</quote>? Why change the name from
-<application>Junkbuster</application> at all?</title>
+Junkbuster at all?</title>
<para>
<ulink url="http://junkbusters.com/">Junkbusters Corporation</ulink>
continues to offer their original version of the <application>Internet
</sect2>
-<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="differs"><title>How does <application>Privoxy</application> differ
-from the old <application>Junkbuster?</application></title>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="differs"><title>How does Privoxy differ
+from the old Junkbuster?</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> picks up where
<application>Junkbuster</application> left off. All the old features remain.
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="proxymoron"><title>What is a <quote>proxy</quote>? How does
-<application>Privoxy</application> work? </title>
+Privoxy work? </title>
<para>
A web proxy is a service, based on a software such as <application>Privoxy</application>,
that clients (i.e. browsers) can use instead of connecting directly to the web
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="whatsanad">
-<title id="knows">How does <application>Privoxy</application> know what is
+<title id="knows">How does Privoxy know what is
an ad, and what is not?</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application>'s approach to blocking ads is twofold:
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="mistakes">Can <application>Privoxy</application> make mistakes?
+<title id="mistakes">Can Privoxy make mistakes?
This does not sound very scientific.</title>
<para>
Actually, it's a black art ;-) And yes, it is always possible to have a broad
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="configornot">Will I have to configure <application>Privoxy</application>
+<title id="configornot">Will I have to configure Privoxy
before I can use it?</title>
<para>
No, not really. The default installation should give you a good starting
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="browsers2"><title>My browser does the same things as
-<application>Privoxy</application>. Why should I use
-<application>Privoxy</application> at all?</title>
+Privoxy. Why should I use
+Privoxy at all?</title>
<para>
Modern browsers do indeed have <emphasis>some</emphasis> of the same
functionality as <application>Privoxy</application>. Maybe this is
</sect2>
-<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="jointeam"><title>I would like to help you, what do I do?</title>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="jointeam"><title>I would like to help you, what can I do?</title>
+
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="jointeam-work"><title>Would you like to participate?</title>
+<para>
+ Well, we <emphasis>always</emphasis> need help. There is something for
+ everybody who wants to help us. We welcome new developers, packagers,
+ testers, documentation writers or really anyone with a desire to help in
+ any way. You <emphasis>DO NOT</emphasis> need to be a
+ <quote>programmer</quote>. There are many other tasks available. In fact,
+ the programmers often can't spend as much time programming because of some
+ of the other, more mundane things that need to be done, like checking the
+ Tracker feedback sections.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ So first thing, <ulink
+ url="https://sourceforge.net/account/register.php">get an account on SourceForge.net</ulink>
+ and mail your id to the <ulink url="mailto:ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net">developers
+ mailing list</ulink>. Then, please read the <ulink
+ url="../developer-manual/index.html">Developer's Manual</ulink>, at least
+ the pertinent sections.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Once we have added you to the team, you'll have access to the <ulink
+ url="http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=11118">CVS repository</ulink>, and
+ together we'll find a suitable task for you.
+</para>
+</sect3>
<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="jointeam-money"><title>Contribute!</title>
<para>
</para>
</sect3>
-<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="jointeam-work"><title>Would you like to participate?</title>
-<para>
- Well, helping the team is always a good idea. We welcome new developers,
- packagers, testers, documentation writers or really anyone with a desire to help in
- any way. You
- <emphasis>DO NOT</emphasis> need to be a <quote>programmer</quote>. There
- are many other tasks available. In fact, the programmers often can't spend
- as much time programming because of some of the other, more mundane things
- that need to be done, like checking the Tracker feedback sections.
- </para>
- <para>
- So first thing, <ulink
- url="https://sourceforge.net/account/register.php">get an account on SourceForge.net</ulink>
- and mail your id to the <ulink url="mailto:ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net">developers
- mailing list</ulink>. Then, please read the <ulink
- url="../developer-manual/index.html">Developer's Manual</ulink>, at least
- the pertinent sections.
-</para>
-<para>
- Once we have added you to the team, you'll have access to the <ulink
- url="http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=11118">CVS repository</ulink>, and
- together we'll find a suitable task for you.
-</para>
-</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect1 id="installation"><title>Installation</title>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="whichbrowsers">
-<title>Which browsers are supported by <application>Privoxy</application>?</title>
+<title>Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?</title>
<para>
Any browser that can be configured to use a proxy, which
- should be virtually all browsers. Direct browser support is not necessary
- since <application>Privoxy</application> runs as a separate application and
- talks to the browser in the standardized HTTP protocol, just like a web server
+ should be virtually all browsers, including
+ <application>Firefox</application>, <application>Internet
+ Explorer</application>, and <application>Opera</application> among others.
+ Direct browser support is not an absolute requirement since
+ <application>Privoxy</application> runs as a separate application and talks
+ to the browser in the standardized HTTP protocol, just like a web server
does.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="email-client">
-<title>Can I use <application>Privoxy</application> with my email client?</title>
+<title>Can I use Privoxy with my email client?</title>
<para>
As long as there is some way to set a HTTP proxy for the client, then yes,
any application can be used, whether it is strictly speaking a
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="newinstall"><title>Can I install
- <application>Privoxy</application> over <application>Junkbuster</application>?</title>
+ Privoxy over Junkbuster?</title>
<para>
We recommend you un-install <application>Junkbuster</application>
first to minimize conflicts and confusion. You may want to
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="firststep">I just installed <application>Privoxy</application>. Is there anything
+<title id="firststep">I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
special I have to do now?</title>
<para>
</sect2>
-<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="localhost"><title>What is the proxy address of <application>Privoxy</application>?</title>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="localhost"><title>What is the proxy address of Privoxy?</title>
<para>
If you set up the <application>Privoxy</application> to run on
the computer you browse from (rather than your ISP's server or some
</para>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> does not currently handle
- any other protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, etc.
+ any other protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, etc. Be sure that
+ proxying any of these other protocols is not activated.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="nothing">
-<title>I just installed <application>Privoxy</application>, and nothing is happening.
+<title>I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
All the ads are there. What's wrong?</title>
<para>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="notused">
<title>I get a <quote>Privoxy is not being used</quote> dummy page although
-<application>Privoxy</application> is running and being used.</title>
+Privoxy is running and being used.</title>
<para>
First, make sure that Privoxy is <emphasis>really</emphasis> running and
</para>
<para>
- The procedure for clearing the cache varies from browser to browser. As an
- example, <application>Mozilla</application> users would click
+ The procedure for clearing the cache varies from browser to browser. For
+ example, <application>Mozilla/Netscape</application> users would click
<guibutton>Edit</guibutton> --> <guibutton>Preferences</guibutton> -->
<guibutton>Advanced</guibutton> --> <guibutton>Cache</guibutton> and
then click both <quote><guibutton>Clear Memory Cache</guibutton></quote>
and <quote><guibutton>Clear Disk Cache</guibutton></quote>.
+ And, <application>Firefox</application> users would click
+ <guibutton>Tools</guibutton> --> <guibutton>Options</guibutton> -->
+ <guibutton>Privacy</guibutton> --> <guibutton>Cache</guibutton> and
+ then click <quote><guibutton>Clear Cache Now</guibutton></quote>.
+
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="newconfig"><title>Can I use my old config files?</title>
<para>
- The syntax, number, and purpose of configuration files has substantially
- changed from <application>Junkbuster</application> and early versions
- of <application>Privoxy</application>. The old files, like <filename>blocklist</filename>
- will not work at all. If you are upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will
- need to port your configuration data to the new format. Note that even the
- pattern syntax has changed! Even configuration files from the 2.9.x versions
- will need to be adapted, as configuration syntax has been very much in flow
- in the 2.9.x series.
+ The syntax and purpose of configuration files has remained the same
+ throughout the 3.x series. Although each release contains updated,
+ <quote>improved</quote> versions and it is recommended to use the newer
+ configuration files.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ But all configuration files have substantially
+ changed from the <application>Junkbuster</application> days, and early
+ versions of <application>Privoxy 2.x</application>. The old files, like
+ <filename>blocklist</filename> will not work at all.
</para>
<para>
Refer to the <ulink url="../user-manual/whatsnew.html">What's New</ulink>
<para>
<ulink url="../user-manual/actions-file.html">Actions files</ulink>
are where various <ulink url="../user-manual/actions-file.html#ACTIONS">actions</ulink>
- that <application>Privoxy</application> might take while processing a certain
+ that <application>Privoxy</application> could take while processing a certain
request, are configured. Typically, you would define a set of default actions
that apply to all URLs, then add exceptions to these defaults where needed.
+ There is a wide array of actions available that give the user a high degree
+ of control and flexibility on how to process each and every web page.
</para>
<para>
general, the more aggressive your default settings are, the more exceptions
you will have to make later. See the <ulink
url="../user-manual/index.html"><citetitle>User Manual</citetitle></ulink>
- for a more deatiled discussion.
+ for a more detailed discussion.
</para>
<para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="lanconfig">How can I set up <application>Privoxy</application> to act as a proxy for my
+<title id="lanconfig">How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my
LAN?</title>
<para>
By default, <application>Privoxy</application> only responds to requests
is rather smart, it can and will make errors. The checkerboard image is visually
decent, but it shows you that and where images were blocked, which can be very
helpful in case some navigation aid or otherwise innocent image was
- erraneously blocked. Some people might also enjoy seeing how many banners
+ erroneously blocked. Some people might also enjoy seeing how many banners
they <emphasis>don't</emphasis> have to see..
</para>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="srvany">
-<title>Can <application>Privoxy</application> run as a service
-on Win2K/NT?</title>
+<title>Can Privoxy run as a service
+on Win2K/NT/XP?</title>
+<para>
+ Yes. Version 3.0.4 introduces full <application>Windows</application> service
+ functionality. See <ulink url="../user-manual/installation.html#installation-pack-win">
+ the User Manual</ulink> for details on how to install and configure
+ <application>Privoxy</application> as a service.
+</para>
<para>
Earlier versions could run as a system service using <command>srvany.exe</command>.
See the discussion at <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=361118&aid=485617&group_id=11118">http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=361118&aid=485617&group_id=11118</ulink>,
for details, and a sample configuration.
</para>
-<para>
- Version 3.0.1 fixes the problem where the icon and menu where not available
- in the taskbar for this usage.
-</para>
-<para>
-<!--
-New check this hal
--->
- Version 3.0.4, introduces full Windows service functionality, thus elimating
- the <command>srvany.exe</command> requirement.
-</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="otherproxy">
-<title>How can I make <application>Privoxy</application> work with other
-proxies like <application>Squid</application> or <application>TOR</application>?</title>
+<title>How can I make Privoxy work with other
+proxies like Squid or Tor?</title>
<para>
This can be done and is often useful to combine the benefits of
<application>Privoxy</application> with those of a another proxy.
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="port-80">
-<title>Can I just set <application>Privoxy</application> to use port 80
+<title>Can I just set Privoxy to use port 80
and thus avoid individual browser configuration?</title>
<para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="transparent">
-<title>Can <application>Privoxy</application> run as a <quote>transparent
+<title>Can Privoxy run as a <quote>transparent
</quote> proxy?</title>
<para>
No, <application>Privoxy</application> currently does not have this ability,
- though it is planned for a future release. Transparent proxies require
+ though it may be added in a future release. Transparent proxies require
special handling of the request headers beyond what
<application>Privoxy</application> is now capable of.
</para>
url="../user-manual/config.html#FORWARDING">forwarding chapter</ulink>
in the <ulink url="../user-manual/index.html">user manual</ulink>. As
a transparent proxy to be used for chaining we recommend Transproxy
- (<ulink url="http://www.transproxy.nlc.net.au/">http://www.transproxy.nlc.net.au/</ulink>).
+ (<ulink url="http://transproxy.sourceforge.net/">http://transproxy.sourceforge.net/</ulink>).
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="outlook">
-<title>How can I configure <application>Privoxy</application> for use with <application>Outlook
- Express</application>?</title>
+<title>How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook
+ Express?</title>
<para>
<application>Outlook Express</application> uses <application>Internet Explorer</application>
components to both render HTML, and fetch any HTTP requests that may be embedded in an HTML email.
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="whitelists">
-<title>Can I set-up <application>Privoxy</application> as a whitelist of
+<title>Can I set-up Privoxy as a whitelist of
<quote>good</quote> sites?</title>
<para>
Sure. There are a couple of things you can do for simple whitelisting.
############################################################
# Blacklist
############################################################
- { +block }
+ { <ulink url="../user-manual/actions-file.html#BLOCK">+block</ulink> }
/ # Block *all* URLs
############################################################
# Whitelist
############################################################
- { -block }
+ { <ulink url="../user-manual/actions-file.html#BLOCK">-block</ulink> }
kids.example.com
toys.example.com
games.example.com</screen>
<sect1 id="misc"><title>Miscellaneous</title>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="slowsme">How much does <application>Privoxy</application> slow my browsing down? This
+<title id="slowsme">How much does Privoxy slow my browsing down? This
has to add extra time to browsing.</title>
<para>
How much of an impact depends on many things, including the CPU of the host
- system, how agressive the configuration is, which specific actions are being triggered, etc.
+ system, how aggressive the configuration is, which specific actions are being triggered,
+ the size of the page, etc.
</para>
<para>
Overall, it should not slow you down any in real terms, and may actually help
url="../user-manual/actions-file.html#FILTER">filter</ulink></literal> or
<literal><ulink
url="../user-manual/actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS">deanimate-gifs</ulink></literal>
- actions will cause a perceived slowdown, since the entire document needs to be buffered
- before displaying. On very large documents, there may be some impact. How
- much depends on the page size, the actual definition of the filter(s), etc. See below.
- Most other actions have little to no impact on speed.
+ actions will certainly cause a perceived slowdown, since the entire document
+ needs to be buffered before displaying. And on very large documents, there may be
+ some impact. How much depends on the page size, the actual definition of the
+ filter(s), etc. See below. Most other actions have little to no impact on
+ speed.
</para>
</sect2>
-<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="loadingtimes"><title>I noticed considerable
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="loadingtimes"><title>I notice considerable
delays in page requests compared to the old Junkbuster. What's wrong?</title>
<para>
If you use any <literal><ulink
the feeling is different, because most browsers are able to start rendering
incomplete content, giving the user a feeling of "it works". This effect is
more noticeable on slower dialup connections. Extremely large documents
- may have some impact on the time to load the page. But the overall difference
- should be very minimal. If there is a big impact, then probably some other
- problem is contributing.
+ may have some impact on the time to load the page where there is filtering
+ being done. But overall, the difference should be very minimal. If there is a
+ big impact, then probably some other problem is contributing.
</para>
<para>
Filtering is automatically disabled for inappropriate MIME types. But note
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="slowcrawl">
-<title>I just installed <application>Privoxy</application>, and all my
+<title>I just installed Privoxy, and all my
browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives? </title>
<para>
This should not happen, and for the overwhelming number of users world-wide,
<para>
Rest assured that it has been read and considered. Why it is not answered,
could be for various reasons, including no one has a good answer for it, no
-one has had time to yet investigate it thorougly, it has been reported
+one has had time to yet investigate it thoroughly, it has been reported
numerous times already, or because not enough information was provided to help
us help you. Your efforts are not wasted, and we do appreciate them.
</para>
<para>
If you run both the browser and the proxy locally, you cannot hide your IP
address with <application>Privoxy</application> or ultimately any other
- software. The server needs to know your IP address to send the answers back
- to you.
+ software. The server needs to know your IP address so that it knows where to
+ send the responses back.
</para>
<para>
- Fortunately there are many publicly usable anonymous proxies out there, which
- solve the problem by providing a further level of indirection between you and
- the web server, shared by many people, and thus letting your requests "drown"
- in white noise of unrelated requests as far as user tracking is concerned.
+ There are many publicly usable "anonymous" proxies out there, which
+ provide a further level of indirection between you and the web server.
</para>
<para>
- Most of them will, however, log your IP address and make it available to the
- authorities in case you abuse that anonymity for criminal purposes. In fact
+ However, these proxies are called "anonymous" because you don't need
+ a password, not because they would offer any real anonymity.
+ Most of them will log your IP address and make it available to the
+ authorities in case you violate the law of the country they run in. In fact
you can't even rule out that some of them only exist to *collect* information
on (those suspicious) people with a more than average preference for privacy.
</para>
<para>
- You can find a list of anonymous public proxies at <ulink
- url="http://www.multiproxy.org/anon_proxy.htm">multiproxy.org</ulink> and many
- more through Google. A particularly interesting project is the JAP service
- offered by the Technical University of Dresden (<ulink
- url="http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html">http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html</ulink>).
+ Your best bet is to chain <application>Privoxy</application>
+ with <ulink url="http://tor.eff.org/">Tor</ulink>,
+ an <ulink url="http://www.eff.org/">EFF</ulink> supported onion routing system.
+ The configuration details can be found in
+ <ulink url="#TOR">How do I use <application>Privoxy</application> together with <application>Tor</application>?</ulink>.
</para>
+<!--
<para>
There is, however, even in the single-machine case the possibility to make the
server believe that your machine is in fact a shared proxy serving a large
LAN, and we are looking into that.
</para>
+ I assume this is about sending fake forward IP addresses?
+ David and I looked into it and considered it a waste of time to implement.
+ Fabian 2006-09-04
+-->
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="anonforsure">Can <application>Privoxy</application> guarantee I am anonymous?</title>
+<title id="anonforsure">Can Privoxy guarantee I am anonymous?</title>
<para>
No. Your chances of remaining anonymous are greatly improved, but unless you
- are an expert on Internet security it would be safest to assume that
- everything you do on the Web can be traced back to you.
+ <ulink url="#TOR">chain <application>Privoxy</application> with <application>Tor</application></ulink>
+ or a similar system and know what you're doing when it comes to configuring
+ the rest of your system, it would be safest to assume that everything you do
+ on the Web can be traced back to you.
</para>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> can remove various information about you,
and allows <emphasis>you</emphasis> more freedom to decide which sites
- you can trust, and what details you want to reveal. But it's still possible
- that web sites can find out who you are. Here's one way this can happen.
+ you can trust, and what details you want to reveal. But it neither
+ hides your ip address, nor can it guarantee that the rest of the system
+ behaves correctly. There are several possibilities how a web sites can find
+ out who you are, even if you are using a strict <application>Privoxy</application>
+ configuration and chained it with <application>Tor</application>.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Most of <application>Privoxy's</application> protection can be easily subverted
+ by an insecure browser configuration, therefore you should use a browser that can
+ be configured to only execute code from trusted sites, and be careful which sites you trust.
+ For example there is no point in having <application>Privoxy</application>
+ modify the User-Agent header, if websites can get all the information they want
+ through JavaScript, ActiveX, Flash, Java etc.
</para>
<para>
A few browsers disclose the user's email address in certain situations, such
</sect2>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="tor"><title>How do I use Privoxy
+ together with Tor?</title>
+<para>
+ Before you configure <application>Privoxy</application> to use <application>Tor</application>
+ (<ulink url="http://tor.eff.org/">http://tor.eff.org/</ulink>),
+ please follow the User Manual chapters
+ <ulink url="../user-manual/installation.html">2. Installation</ulink> and
+ <ulink url="../user-manual/startup.html">5. Startup</ulink> to make sure
+ <application>Privoxy</application> itself is setup correctly.
+</para>
+<para>
+ If it is, refer to <ulink url="http://tor.eff.org/documentation.html.en">Tor's
+ extensive documentation</ulink> to learn how to install <application>Tor</application>,
+ and make sure <application>Tor</application>'s logfile says that
+ <quote>Tor has successfully opened a circuit</quote> and it
+ <quote>[l]ooks like client functionality is working</quote>.
+</para>
+<para>
+ If either <application>Tor</application> or <application>Privoxy</application>
+ isn't working, their combination most likely will neither. Testing them on their
+ own will also help you to direct problem reports to the right audience.
+ If <application>Privoxy</application> isn't working, don't bother the
+ <application>Tor</application> developers. If <application>Tor</application>
+ isn't working, don't send bug reports to the <application>Privoxy</application> Team.
+</para>
+<para>
+ If you verified that <application>Privoxy</application> and <application>Tor</application>
+ are working, it is time to connect them. As far as <application>Privoxy</application>
+ is concerned, <application>Tor</application> is just another proxy that can be reached
+ by socks4 or socks4a. Most likely you are interested in <application>Tor</application>
+ to increase your anonymity level, therefore you should use socks4a,
+ to make sure <application>Privoxy's</application> DNS requests are
+ done through <application>Tor</application> and thus invisible to your local network.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Since <application>Privoxy</application> 3.0.4, its configuration (section 5.2)
+ is already prepared for <application>Tor</application>, if you are using a
+ default <application>Tor</application> configuration and run it on the same
+ system as Privoxy, you just have to uncomment the line:
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+# forward-socks4a / 127.0.0.1:9050 .
+ </screen>
+</para>
+<para>
+ This is enough to reach the Internet, but additionally you should
+ uncomment the following forward rules, to make sure your local network is still
+ reachable through Privoxy:
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+# forward 192.168.*.*/ .
+# forward 10.*.*.*/ .
+# forward 127.*.*.*/ .
+ </screen>
+</para>
+<para>
+ Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will
+ be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is
+ that you can't reach the network at all.
+ If you also want to be able to reach servers in your local
+ network by using their names, you will need additional
+ exceptions that look like this:
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+# forward localhost/ .
+ </screen>
+</para>
+<para>
+ Save the modified configuration file and open
+ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status/</ulink>
+ in your browser, confirm that <application>Privoxy</application> has reloaded its configuration
+ and that there are no other forward lines, unless you know that you need them. I everything looks good,
+ refer to
+ <ulink url="http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ#head-0e1cc2ac330ede8c6ad1ac0d0db0ac163b0e6143">Tor
+ Faq 4.2</ulink> to learn how to verify that you are really using <application>Tor</application>.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Afterward, please take the time to at least skim through the rest
+ of <application>Tor's</application> documentation. Make sure you understand
+ what <application>Tor</application> does, why it is no replacement for
+ application level security, and why you shouldn't use it for unencrypted logins.
+</para>
+</sect2>
+
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
<title id="sitebreak">Might some things break because header information or
content is being altered?</title>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="caching">Can <application>Privoxy</application> act as a <quote>caching</quote> proxy to
+<title id="caching">Can Privoxy act as a <quote>caching</quote> proxy to
speed up web browsing?</title>
<para>
No, it does not have this ability at all. You want something like
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="firewall">What about as a firewall? Can <application>Privoxy</application> protect me?</title>
+<title id="firewall">What about as a firewall? Can Privoxy protect me?</title>
<para>
Not in the way you mean, or in the way a true firewall can.
<application>Privoxy</application> can help protect your privacy, but not
</para>
</sect2>
-<!-- No longer needed
-<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="logo">The <application>Privoxy</application> logo that replaces ads is very blocky
-and ugly looking. Can't a better font be used?</title>
-
-<para>
- This is not a font problem. The logo is an image that is created by
- <application>Privoxy</application> on the fly. So as to not waste
- memory, the image is rather small. The blockiness comes when the
- image is scaled to fill a largish area. There is not much to be done
- about this, other than to use one of the other
- <quote>imageblock</quote> directives: <emphasis>pattern</emphasis>,
- <emphasis>blank</emphasis>, or a URL of your choosing.
-</para>
-<para>
-Given the above problem, we have decided to remove the logo option entirely
-[as of v2.9.13].
-</para>
-</sect2>
--->
-
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
<title id="wasted">I have large empty spaces / a checkerboard pattern now where
ads used to be. Why?</title>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="ssl">How can <application>Privoxy</application> filter Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</title>
+<title id="ssl">How can Privoxy filter Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</title>
<para>
Since secure HTTP connections are encrypted SSL sessions between your browser
and the secure site, and are meant to be reliably <emphasis>secure</emphasis>,
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3">
-<title id="secure"><application>Privoxy</application> runs as a <quote>server</quote>. How
+<title id="secure">Privoxy runs as a <quote>server</quote>. How
secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?</title>
<para>
There are no known exploits that might affect
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="turnoff">
-<title>How can I temporarily disable <application>Privoxy</application>?</title>
+<title>How can I temporarily disable Privoxy?</title>
<para>
The easiest way is to access <application>Privoxy</application> with your
browser by using the remote toggle URL: <ulink
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="reallyoff">
-<title>When <quote>disabled</quote> is <application>Privoxy</application> totally
+<title>When <quote>disabled</quote> is Privoxy totally
out of the picture?</title>
<para>
No, this just means all filtering and actions are disabled.
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="crunch">
-<title>My logs show <application>Privoxy</application> <quote>crunches</quote>
-ads, but also its own CGI pages. What is a <quote>crunch</quote>?</title>
+<title>My logs show Privoxy <quote>crunches</quote>
+ads, but also its own internal CGI pages. What is a <quote>crunch</quote>?</title>
<para>
A <quote>crunch</quote> simply means <application>Privoxy</application> intercepted
<emphasis>something</emphasis>, nothing more. Often this is indeed ads or
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="downloads">
-<title>Can <application>Privoxy</application> effect files that I download
+<title>Can Privoxy effect files that I download
from a webserver? FTP server?</title>
<para>
From the webserver's perspective, there is no difference between
altered by filtering, will be saved too, for these (probably rare) cases.
</para>
<para>
- Note that versions later than 3.0.2 do NOT filter document types of
+ Note that versions later than 3.0.2 do NOT filter document types reported as
<quote>text/plain</quote>. Prior to this, <application>Privoxy</application>
did filter this document type.
</para>
</para>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> does not do FTP at all, only HTTP
- protocols, so please don't even try.
+ protocols, so please don't try.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="downloads2">
-<title>I just downloaded a Perl script, and <application>Privoxy</application>
+<title>I just downloaded a Perl script, and Privoxy
altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</title>
<para>
Please read above.
</para>
</sect2>
+<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="hostsfile">
+<title>Should I continue to use a <quote>HOSTS</quote> file for ad-blocking?</title>
+<para>
+ One time-tested technique to defeat common ads is to trick the local DNS
+ system by giving a phony IP address for the ad generator in the local
+ <filename>HOSTS</filename> file, typically using <literal>127.0.0.1</literal>, aka
+ <literal>localhost</literal>. This effectively blocks the ad.
+</para>
+<para>
+ There is no reason to use this technique in conjunction with
+ <application>Privoxy</application>. <application>Privoxy</application>
+ does essentially the same thing, much more elegantly and with much more
+ flexibility. A large <filename>HOSTS</filename> file, in fact, not only
+ duplicates effort, but may get in the way. It is recommended to remove
+ such entries from your <filename>HOSTS</filename> file. If you think
+ your hosts list is neglected by <application>Privoxy's </application>
+ configuration, consider adding your list to your <filename>user.action</filename> file:
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ { +block }
+ www.ad.example1.com
+ ad.example2.com
+ ads.galore.example.com
+ etc.example.com</screen>
+</para>
+</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="seealso">
-<title>Where can I find more information about <application>Privoxy</application>
+<title>Where can I find more information about Privoxy
and related issues?</title>
<!-- Include seealso.sgml boilerplate: -->
&seealso;
in the default configuration as shipped. You have either manually
activated the <quote><literal>fun</literal></quote> filter which
is clearly labeled <quote>Text replacements for subversive browsing
- fun!</quote> or you have implicitly activated it by choosing the
- <quote>Adventuresome</quote> profile in the web-based editor (formerly known
- as the <application>Advanced</application> profile).
+ fun!</quote> or you are using an older Privoxy version and have implicitly
+ activated it by choosing the <quote>Adventuresome</quote> profile in the
+ web-based editor.
</para>
</sect2>
</para>
<para>
- Early <application>Privoxy</application> versions (and also
+ Early <application>Privoxy</application> 2.x versions (and also
<application>Junkbuster</application>) used port 8000 by
default. This has been changed to port 8118 now, due to a conflict
with NAS (Network Audio Service), which uses port 8000. If you haven't,
</sect2>
<sect2 id="badsite" renderas="sect3">
-<title >One of my favorite sites does not work with <application>Privoxy</application>.
+<title >One of my favorite sites does not work with Privoxy.
What can I do?</title>
<para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect2 id="dun" renderas="sect3">
-<title>After installing <application>Privoxy</application>, I have to log in
+<title>After installing Privoxy, I have to log in
every time I start IE. What gives?</title>
<para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect2 id="ftp" renderas="sect3">
-<title>I cannot connect to any FTP sites. <application>Privoxy</application>
- seems to be blocking me.</title>
+<title>I cannot connect to any FTP sites. Privoxy
+ is blocking me.</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> cannot act as a proxy for FTP traffic,
so do not configure your browser to use <application>Privoxy</application>
as an FTP proxy. The same is true for <emphasis>any protocol other than HTTP
- or HTTPS</emphasis>.
+ or HTTPS (SSL)</emphasis>.
</para>
<para>
Most browsers understand FTP as well as HTTP. If you connect to a site, with
</para>
<para>
To complicate matters, some systems may have a generic <quote>proxy</quote>
- setting, which will silently enable <emphasis>both</emphasis> HTTP and FTP
- proxying! So it is possible to accidentally enable FTP proxying in these
- cases. And of course, if this happens, <application>Privoxy</application>
- will indeed cause problems since it does not know FTP.
+ setting, which will silently various protocols, including
+ <emphasis>both</emphasis> HTTP and FTP proxying! So it is possible to
+ accidentally enable FTP proxying in these cases. And of course, if this
+ happens, <application>Privoxy</application> will indeed cause problems since
+ it does not know FTP. Newer version will give a sane error message if a FTP
+ connection is attempted.
</para>
<para>
Will <application>Privoxy</application> ever proxy FTP traffic? Unlikely.
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect2 id="osxie" renderas="sect3">
<title>In Mac OSX, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use
- <application>Privoxy</application> as the HTTP proxy.</title>
+ Privoxy as the HTTP proxy.</title>
<para>
Microsoft Internet Explorer (in versions like 5.1) respects system-wide
network settings. In order to change the HTTP proxy, open System
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="blankpage">
<title>I get a completely blank page at one site. <quote>View Source</quote>
shows only: <markup><![CDATA[<html><body></body></html>]]></markup>. Without
- <application>Privoxy</application> the page loads fine.</title>
+ Privoxy the page loads fine.</title>
<para>
Chances are that the site suffers from a bug in
<ulink url="http://www.php.net/"><application>PHP</application></ulink>,
</sect2>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="inuse">
-<title>When I try to launch <application>Privoxy</application>, I get an
+<title>When I try to launch Privoxy, I get an
error message <quote>port 8118 is already in use</quote> (or similar wording).
Why?</title>
<para>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="demoronizer2">
<title>
- Why are binary files (such as images) corrupted when <application>Privoxy</application>
+ Why are binary files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy
is used?
</title>
<para>
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="dnserrors">
<title>
I am getting too many DNS errors like <quote>404 No Such Domain</quote>. Why
- can't <application>Privoxy</application> do this better?
+ can't Privoxy do this better?
</title>
<para>
There are potentially several factors here. First of all, the DNS resolution
merely initiates the process and hands it off, and then later reports
whatever the outcome was. And tries to give a coherent message if there seems
to be a problem. In some cases, this might otherwise be mitigated by the
- browser itself which might try some work-arounds and alernate approaches (e.g
+ browser itself which might try some work-arounds and alternate approaches (e.g
adding <quote>www.</quote> to the URL). In other cases, if
<application>Privoxy</application> is being chained with another proxy, this
could complicate the issue, and cause undue
<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="allcpu">
<title>
- At one site <application>Privoxy</application> just hangs, and starts taking
+ At one site Privoxy just hangs, and starts taking
all CPU. Why is this?
</title>
<para>
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
$Log: faq.sgml,v $
+Revision 2.15 2006/09/08 23:05:07 hal9
+Fix broken links. Add faq on hosts files. Move most of new windows service
+feature to user manual and reference in faq. Various other small changes.
+
+Revision 2.14 2006/09/05 13:25:12 david__schmidt
+Add Windows service invocation stuff (duplicated) in FAQ and in user manual under Windows startup. One probably ought to reference the other.
+
+Revision 2.13 2006/09/04 19:20:33 fabiankeil
+Adjusted anonymity related sections to match reality.
+Added a section about using Privoxy with Tor.
+
+Revision 2.12 2006/09/03 14:15:30 hal9
+Various updates, including 7 or 8 new FAQs, and updates/changes to various
+other ones to better reflect improvements, additions and changes for the
+upcoming release. This is close to final form for 3.0.4 IMHO.
+
Revision 2.11 2006/07/18 14:48:50 david__schmidt
Reorganizing the repository: swapping out what was HEAD (the old 3.1 branch)
with what was really the latest development (the v_3_0_branch branch)
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff