This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.91 2002/04/24 02:39:31 hal9 Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.95 2002/04/26 17:23:29 swa Exp $
Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
<artheader>
<title>Privoxy User Manual</title>
-<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.91 2002/04/24 02:39:31 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.95 2002/04/26 17:23:29 swa Exp $</pubdate>
<authorgroup>
<author>
</sect1>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-
<sect1 label="1" id="introduction"><title>Introduction</title>
<para>
This documentation is included with the current &p-status; version of
]]>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="newfeatures">
-<title>New Features</title>
+<sect2 id="features"><title>Features</title>
<para>
In addition to <application>Internet Junkbuster's</application> traditional
features of ad and banner blocking and cookie management,
<application>Privoxy</application> provides new features<![%p-not-stable;[,
some of them currently under development]]>:
</para>
-
<!-- Include newfeatures.sgml boilerplate here: -->
&newfeatures;
<!-- end boilerplate -->
<application>Privoxy</application> is available both in convenient pre-compiled
packages for a wide range of operating systems, and as raw source code.
For most users, we recommend using the packages, which can be downloaded from our
- <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa/">Privoxy Project Page</ulink>.
+ <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa/">Privoxy Project
+ Page</ulink>. For installing and compiling the source code, please look
+ into our Developer Manual.
</para>
<para>
version directly from <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=11118">the
CVS repository</ulink> or simply download <ulink
url="http://cvs.sourceforge.net/cvstarballs/ijbswa-cvsroot.tar.gz">the nightly CVS
- tarball.</ulink>
+ tarball.</ulink> Again, we refer you to the Developer Manual.
</para>
<!-- Include supported.sgml boilerplate -->
&supported;
<!-- end boilerplate -->
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="installation-packages"><title>Binary Packages</title>
-
<para>
Note: If you have a previous <application>Junkbuster</application> or
<application>Privoxy</application> installation on your system, you
<para>
In any case <emphasis>be sure to backup your old configuration
if it is valuable to you.</emphasis> See the
- <link linkend="upgradersnote">note to upgraders</link>.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:
+ <link linkend="upgradersnote">note to upgraders</link> section
+ below.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-pack-rpm"><title>Red Hat and SuSE RPMs</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-pack-rpm"><title>Red Hat and SuSE RPMs</title>
<para>
RPMs can be installed with <literal>rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm</literal>,
</para>
<para>
- Note that on Red Hat, <application>Privoxy</application> will not be
- automatically started on system boot. You will need to enable that using
- <command>chkconfig</command>, <command>ntsysv</command>, or similar method.
+ Note that on Red Hat, <application>Privoxy</application> will
+ <emphasis>not</emphasis> be automatically started on system boot. You will
+ need to enable that using <command>chkconfig</command>,
+ <command>ntsysv</command>, or similar methods. Note that SuSE will
+automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
</para>
<para>
Otherwise, RPM will try to remove <application>Junkbuster</application>
automatically, before installing <application>Privoxy</application>.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-deb"><title>Debian</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-deb"><title>Debian</title>
<para>
FIXME.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-pack-win"><title>Windows</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-pack-win"><title>Windows</title>
<para>
Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through
- the installation process.
+ the installation process. You will find the configuration files
+ in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in. We do not
+ use the registry of Windows.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-pack-bintgz"><title>Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-pack-bintgz"><title>Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX</title>
<para>
Create a new directory, <literal>cd</literal> to it, then unzip and
untar the archive. For the most part, you'll have to figure out where
things go. FIXME.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-os2"><title>OS/2</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-os2"><title>OS/2</title>
<para>
First, make sure that no previous installations of
The directory you choose to install <application>Privoxy</application>
into will contain all of the configuration files.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-mac"><title>Max OSX</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-mac"><title>Max OSX</title>
<para>
Unzip the downloaded package (you can either double-click on the file
in the finder, or on the desktop if you downloaded it there). Then,
automatically on system bring-up via
<literal>/System/Library/StartupItems/Privoxy</literal>.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="installation-amiga"><title>AmigaOS</title>
+<sect2 id="installation-amiga"><title>AmigaOS</title>
<para>
Copy and then unpack the <filename>lha</filename> archive to a suitable location.
All necessary files will be installed into <application>Privoxy</application>
TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that
<application>Privoxy</application> is still running).
</para>
-</sect3>
</sect2>
-
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="installation-source"><title>Building from Source</title>
-
-<!-- include buildsource.sgml boilerplate: -->
- &buildsource;
-<!-- end boilerplate -->
-</sect2>
-
</sect1>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
-
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-
-<sect1 id="quickstart"><title>Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application></title>
-
-
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="upgradersnote">
+<sect1 id="upgradersnote">
<title>Note to Upgraders</title>
<para>
There are very significant changes from older versions of
</itemizedlist>
</para>
+</sect1>
-</sect2>
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect1 id="quickstart"><title>Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application></title>
+<para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Install <application>Privoxy</application>. See the section <link linkend="installation">Installing</link>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Start <application>Privoxy</application>. See the section <link linkend="startup">Starting <application>Privoxy</application></link>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Change your browser's configuration to use the proxy <literal>localhost</literal> on port
+ <literal>8118</literal>. See the section <link linkend="startup">Starting <application>Privoxy</application></link>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy. Please see the section
+ <link linkend="contact">Contacting the Developers</link> on how to report
+ bugs or problems with websites or to get help. You may want to change the
+ file <filename>user.action</filename> to further tweak your new browsing
+ experience.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ </itemizedlist>
+</para>
+
+</sect1>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="startup">
+<sect1 id="startup">
<title>Starting <application>Privoxy</application></title>
<para>
Before launching <application>Privoxy</application> for the first time, you
<para>
<screen>
-
# /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent
- cookies, and add these to your actions configuration as needed. By
+ You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites for which you may prefer
+ persistent cookies, and add these to your actions configuration as needed. By
default, most of these will be accepted only during the current browser
- session (aka <quote>session cookies</quote>), until you add them to the
+ session (aka <quote>session cookies</quote>), unless you add them to the
configuration. If you want the browser to handle this instead, you will need
to edit <filename>user.action</filename> (or through the web based interface)
- and disable this feature. If you use more than one browser, it would make more
- sense to let <application>Privoxy</application> handle this. In which case,
- the browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies.
+ and disable this feature. If you use more than one browser, it would make
+ more sense to let <application>Privoxy</application> handle this. In which
+ case, the browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies.
</para>
<para>
Another feature where you will probably want to define exceptions for trusted
sites is the popup-killing (through the <literal>+popup</literal> and
<literal>+filter{popups}</literal> actions), because your favorite shopping,
- banking, or leisure site may need popups.
+ banking, or leisure site may need popups (explained below).
</para>
<para>
<para>
If you can't get rid of the problem at all, think you've found a bug in
Privoxy, want to propose a new feature or smarter rules, please see the
-
chapter <ulink url="contact.html"><quote>Contacting the
+
section <ulink url="contact.html"><quote>Contacting the
Developers</quote></ulink> below.
</para>
-</sect2>
-
-
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect2 id="cmdoptions">
<title>Command Line Options</title>
in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor.
Many important aspects of <application>Privoxy</application> can
also be controlled easily with a web browser.
-
</para>
</para>
-<para>
- <screen>
-
-Privoxy Menu:
+<!-- Needs to be put in a table and colorized -->
+<screen>
+ <msgtext>
+ <bridgehead renderas="sect2">Privoxy Menu</bridgehead>
- * View & change the current configuration
- * View the source code version numbers
- * View the request headers.
- * Look up which actions apply to a URL and why
- * Toggle Privoxy on or off
+ <simplelist>
+ <member>
+ ▪ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">View & change the current configuration</ulink>
+ </member>
+ <member>
+ ▪ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-version">View the source code version numbers</ulink>
+ </member>
+ <member>
+ ▪ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-request">View the request headers.</ulink>
+ </member>
+ <member>
+ ▪ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info">Look up which actions apply to a URL and why</ulink>
+ </member>
+ <member>
+ ▪ <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle">Toggle Privoxy on or off</ulink>
+ </member>
+ </simplelist>
+ </msgtext>
+</screen>
- </screen>
-</para>
<para>
This should be self-explanatory. Note the first item leads to an editor for the
<listitem>
<para>
- The main configuration file is named <filename>config</filename>
+ The main configuration file is named <link linkend="config">config</link>
on Linux, Unix, BSD, OS/2, and AmigaOS and <filename>config.txt</filename>
on Windows. This is a required file.
</para>
<listitem>
<para>
- <filename>default.action</filename> (the main actions file) is used to define
+ <filename>default.action</filename> (the main <link linkend="actions-file">actions file</link>) is used to define
the default settings for various <quote>actions</quote> relating to images, banners,
pop-ups, access restrictions, banners and cookies.
</para>
for <application>Privoxy's</application> internal use.
</para>
<para>
- There is also a web based editor for this file that can be accessed at
+ There is also a web based editor that can be accessed from
<ulink
- url="http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions/">http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions/</ulink>
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status/">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status/</ulink>
(Shortcut: <ulink
- url="http://p.p/edit-actions/">http://p.p/edit-actions/</ulink>) for the
+ url="http://p.p/show-status/">http://p.p/show-status/</ulink>) for the
various actions files.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <filename>default.filter</filename> (the filter file) can be used to re-write the raw
- page content, including viewable text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript,
- and whatever else lurks on any given web page. The filtering jobs are only
- pre-defined here; whether to apply them or not is up to the actions files.
+ <filename>default.filter</filename> (the <link linkend="filter-file">filter
+ file</link>) can be used to re-write the raw page content, including
+ viewable text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript, and whatever else
+ lurks on any given web page. The filtering jobs are only pre-defined here;
+ whether to apply them or not is up to the actions files.
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
All files use the <quote><literal>#</literal></quote> character to denote a
- comment (the rest of the line will be ignored) and understand line continuation
+ comment (the rest of the line will be ignored) angd understand line continuation
through placing a backslash ("<literal>\</literal>") as the very last character
in a line. If the <literal>#</literal> is preceded by a backslash, it looses
its special function. Placing a <literal>#</literal> in front of an otherwise
</sect4>
<sect4 id="actionsfile"><title>
+actionsfile
+</title>
<anchor id="default.action">
<anchor id="standard.action">
<anchor id="user.action">
-actionsfile
-</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The actions file(s) to use
+ The <link linkend="actions">actions</link> file(s) to use
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
The default values include standard.action, which is used for internal
purposes and should be loaded, default.action, which is the
<quote>main</quote> actions file maintained by the developers, and
- user.action, where you can make your personal additions.
+ <filename>user.action</filename>, where you can make your personal additions.
</para>
<para>
There is no point in using <application>Privoxy</application> without an actions file.
</variablelist>
</sect4>
-<sect4 id="filterfile"><title><anchor id="default.filter">filterfile</title>
+<sect4 id="filterfile"><title>filterfile</title>
+<anchor id="default.filter">
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- The filter file to use
+ The <link linkend="filter">filter</link> file to use
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
debug 1024 # debug kill pop-ups
debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
<para>
To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use
<para>
<programlisting>
listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118
- </programlisting>
+</programlisting>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Whether or not the <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions">web-based actions
+ Whether or not the <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">web-based actions
file editor</ulink> may be used
</para>
</listitem>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="acls"><title>
+ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</title>
<anchor id="permit-acces">
<anchor id="deny-acces">
-ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<para>
<screen>
permit-access localhost
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to
<para>
<screen>
permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere,
<screen>
permit-access 192.168.45.64/26
deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<screen>
forward .* anon-proxy.example.org:8080
forward :443 .
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests
<screen>
forward .*. caching-proxy.example-isp.net:8000
forward .example-isp.net .
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="socks"><title>
+forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a</title>
<anchor id="forward-socks4">
<anchor id="forward-socks4a">
-forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<screen>
forward-socks4a .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.example-isp.net:8080
forward .example.com .
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this:
<para>
<screen>
forward-socks4 .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 .
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<screen>
forward .*. .
forward .isp-b.net host-b:8118
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
<screen>
forward .*. .
forward .isp-a.net host-a:8118
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
always_direct allow ftp
# Forward all the rest to Privoxy
- never_direct allow all
- </screen>
+ never_direct allow all</screen>
</para>
<para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="actions-file">
-<title>Actions Files</title>
+<sect2 id="actions-file"><title>Actions Files</title>
<para>
The actions files are used to define what actions
the default policies. <filename>standard.action</filename> is used by
<application>Privoxy</application> and the web based editor to set
pre-defined values (and normally should not be edited). Local exceptions
- are best done in <filename>user.action</filename>.
-</para>
+ are best done in <filename>user.action</filename>. The content of these
+ can all be viewed and edited from <ulink
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</ulink>.
+ </para>
<para>
- Anything you want can blocked, including ads, banners, or just some obnoxious
- URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or
+ Anything you want can be blocked, including ads, banners, or just some obnoxious
+ URL that you would rather not see is done here. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or
accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not written to disk),
content can be modified, JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking fooled, and much more.
See below for a complete list of available actions.
<sect3>
<title>Finding the Right Mix</title>
<para>
- Note that some actions like cookie suppression or script disabling may
- render some sites unusable, which rely on these techniques to work properly.
- Finding the right mix of actions is not easy and certainly a matter of personal
- taste. In general, it can be said that the more <quote>aggressive</quote>
- your default settings (in the top section of the actions file) are,
- the more exceptions for <quote>trusted</quote> sites you will have to
- make later. If, for example, you want to kill popup windows per default, you'll
- have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you regularly use
- and that require popups for actually useful content, like maybe your bank,
- favorite shop, or newspaper.
+ Note that some <link linkend="actions">actions</link> like cookie suppression
+ or script disabling may render some sites unusable, which rely on these
+ techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix of actions is not easy and
+ certainly a matter of personal taste. In general, it can be said that the more
+ <quote>aggressive</quote> your default settings (in the top section of the
+ actions file) are, the more exceptions for <quote>trusted</quote> sites you
+ will have to make later. If, for example, you want to kill popup windows per
+ default, you'll have to make exceptions from that rule for sites that you
+ regularly use and that require popups for actually useful content, like maybe
+ your bank, favorite shop, or newspaper.
</para>
<para>
<title>How to Edit</title>
<para>
The easiest way to edit the <quote>actions</quote> files is with a browser by
- using our browser-based editor, which
is available at <ulink
- url="http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions">http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions</ulink>.
+ using our browser-based editor, which
can be reached from <ulink
+ url="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
<title>How Actions are Applied to URLs</title>
<para>
Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections,
- like the <quote>alias</quote> sections which will be discussed later. For now
+ like the <quote><link linkend="aliases">alias</link></quote> sections which will be discussed later. For now
let's concentrate on regular sections: They have a heading line (often split
up to multiple lines for readability) which consist of a list of actions,
separated by whitespace and enclosed in curly braces. Below that, there
compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of
applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated, using the heading
of the section in which the pattern is located. If multiple matches for
- the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins.
+ the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins. If not,
+ the effects are aggregated (e.g. a URL might match both the
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>
+ and <ulink url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> actions).
+
</para>
<para>
<para>
Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions
- to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file. For
- multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are
- specified. Actions files are processed in the order they are defined
- in <filename>config</filename> (the default installation has three
- actions files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to
- match more than one action!
+ to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file (or
+ in a file that is processed later when using multiple actions files). For
+ multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified.
+ Actions files are processed in the order they are defined in
+ <filename>config</filename> (the default installation has three actions
+ files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to match more than
+ one action!
</para>
<!-- start actions listing -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect4 id="add-header">
-<title><emphasis>+add-header{Name: value}</emphasis></title>
+<title><emphasis>+add-header</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
will intercept the URL and display its special <quote>BLOCKED</quote> page
instead. If there is sufficient space, a large red banner will appear with
a friendly message about why the page was blocked, and a way to go there
- anyway. If there is insufficient space a smaller blocked page will appear
- without the red banner.
+ anyway. If there is insufficient space a smaller <quote>BLOCKED</quote>
+ page will appear without the red banner.
+ <ulink url="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html">Click here</ulink>
+ to view the default blocked HTML page (<application>Privoxy</application> must be running
+ for this to work as intended!).
</para>
<para>
- A very important exception is if the URL <emphasis>matches both</emphasis> <quote>+block</quote>
- and <ulink
+ A very important exception is if the URL <emphasis>matches both</emphasis>
+
<quote>+block</quote> and <ulink
url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>,
then it will be handled by
<ulink url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
ads and other objectionable content.
</para>
<para>
- The <quote>+filter</quote> action can also perform some of the
+ The <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ action can also perform some of the
same functionality as <quote>+block</quote>, but by virtue of very
different programming techniques, and is most often used for different
reasons.
Filtering can achieve some of the effects as the
<ulink url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners. In the overall
- scheme of things, filtering is one of the last things <quote>Privoxy</quote>
- does with a web page. So other actions are applied first.
+ scheme of things, filtering is one of the first things <quote>Privoxy</quote>
+ does with a web page. So other most other actions are applied to the
+ already <quote>filtered</quote> page.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<listitem>
<para>
The keyword <quote>block</quote> will completely remove the header
- (not to be confused with the <quote>+block</quote> action).
+ (not to be confused with the <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> action).
Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to send to the web
server.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect4 id="hide-referer">
-<title><emphasis><anchor id="hide-referrer">+hide-referer</emphasis></title>
-
-
+<title><emphasis>+hide-referer</emphasis></title>
+<anchor id="hide-referrer">
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Type:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
This only has meaning if the URL (or pattern) also is
- <quote>+block</quote>ed, in which case a <quote>blocked</quote> image can
- be sent rather than a HTML page. (See
- <ulink url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
- below for control over what will actually be displayed by the browser.)
+ <quote>+block</quote>ed, in which case a user definable image can
+ be sent rather than a HTML page. This is integral to the whole concept of
+ ad blocking: the URL must match <emphasis>both</emphasis> a <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> rule,
+ <emphasis>and</emphasis> <quote>+handle-as-image</quote>.
+ (See <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
+ below for control over what will actually be displayed by the browser.)
</para>
<para>
- There is little reason to change the default definition for this.
+ There is little reason to change the default definition for this action.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
that some actions are turned on in the default section of the actions file,
and require little to no additional configuration. These are just <quote>on</quote>.
But, other actions that are turned on the default section <emphasis>do
- typically require</emphasis> exceptions to be listed in the lower sections of
- actions file. E.g. by default no URLs are <quote>blocked</quote> (i.e. in
- the default definitions of <filename>default.action</filename>). We need
- exceptions to this in order to enable ad blocking.
+ typically require</emphasis> exceptions to be listed in the latter sections of
+ one of our actions file. For instance, by default no URLs are
+ <quote>blocked</quote> (i.e. in the default definitions of
+ <filename>default.action</filename>). We need exceptions to this in order to
+ enable ad blocking in the lower sections. But we need to be very selective
+ about what we do block.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Below is a liberally commented <filename>default.action</filename> file to
+ demonstrate how all the pieces come together. And to show how exceptions to
+ the default policies can be handled. This is followed by a
+ <filename>user.action</filename> with similar examples.
</para>
+<para>
+ <literal>
+ <msgtext>
+ <literallayout>
+
+# Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY.
+{{settings}}
+for-privoxy-version=3.0
+
+
+##########################################################################
+# <ulink url="configuration.html#ALIASES">Aliases</ulink> must be defined *before* they are used. These are
+# easier to remember, and combine several actions into one. Once defined
+# they can be used just like any built-in action.
+##########################################################################
+
+# Some useful aliases.
+ -prevent-cookies = -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies
+ +imageblock = +block +handle-as-image
+
+# Fragile sites should have the minimum changes:
+ fragile = -block -deanimate-gifs -fast-redirects -filter -hide-referer \
+ -prevent-cookies -kill-popups
+
+# Shops should be allowed to set persistent cookies
+ shop = -filter -prevent-cookies -session-cookies-only
+
+
+##########################################################################
+# Begin default action settings. Anything in this section will match
+# all URLs -- UNLESS we have exceptions that match defined below this
+# section. We will show all potential actions here whether they are on
+# or off. We could omit any disabled action if we wanted, since all
+# actions are 'off' by default anyway. Shown for completeness only.
+# Actions are enabled if preceded by a '+', otherwise they are disabled.
+##########################################################################
+ { \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#ADD-HEADER">-add-header</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#BLOCK">-block</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS">-deanimate-gifs</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION">-downgrade-http-version</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FAST-REDIRECTS">+fast-redirects</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">+filter{html-annoyances}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">+filter{js-annoyances}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{content-cookies}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{popups}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">+filter{webbugs}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{refresh-tags}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{fun}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">+filter{nimda}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">+filter{banners-by-size}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{shockwave-flash}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER">-filter{crude-prental}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS">+hide-forwarded-for-headers</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HIDE-FROM-HEADER">+hide-from-header{block}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HIDE-REFERER">-hide-referrer</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT">-hide-user-agent</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">-handle-as-image</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">+set-image-blocker{pattern}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#LIMIT-CONNECT">-limit-connect</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION">+prevent-compression</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY">-session-cookies-only</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#PREVENT-READING-COOKIES">-prevent-reading-cookies</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#PREVENT-SETTING-COOKIES">-prevent-setting-cookies</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#KILL-POPUPS">-kill-popups</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#SEND-VANILLA-WAFER">-send-vanilla-wafer</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#SEND-WAFER">-send-wafer</ulink> \
+ }
+ / # forward slash will match *all* potential URL patterns.
+
+##########################################################################
+# Default behavior is now set. Time for some exceptions to our
+# default actions.
+##########################################################################
+
+# These sites are very complex and require very minimal interference.
+# We'll disable most actions with our 'fragile' alias.
+ {fragile}
+ .office.microsoft.com # surprise, surprise!
+ .windowsupdate.microsoft.com
+
+
+# Shopping sites - not as fragile but require some special
+# handling. We still want to block ads, and we will allow
+# persistant cookies via the 'shop' alias.
+ {shop}
+ .quietpc.com
+ .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
+ .jungle.com
+ .scan.co.uk
+
+
+# These sites require pop-ups too :( We'll combine our 'shop'
+# alias with two other actions into one rule to allow all popups.
+ {shop -no-popups -filter{popups}}
+ .dabs.com
+ .overclockers.co.uk
+
+
+# The 'Fast-redirects' action breaks some sites. Disable this action
+# for these known sensitive sites.
+ {-fast-redirects}
+ www.ukc.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wac\.cgi\?
+ login.yahoo.com
+ edit.europe.yahoo.com
+ .google.com
+ .altavista.com/.*(like|url|link):http
+ .altavista.com/trans.*urltext=http
+ .nytimes.com
+
+
+# Define which file types will be treated as images. Important
+# for ad blocking.
+ {+handle-as-image}
+ /.*\.(gif|jpe?g|png|bmp|ico)
+
+
+# Now lets list some domains that are known ad generators. And
+# our alias here will block these as well as force them to be
+# treated as images. This combination of actions is important
+# for ad blocking. What the browser will show instead is
+# determined by the setting of <ulink url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
+ {+imageblock}
+ ar.atwola.com
+ .ad.doubleclick.net
+ .a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
+ .a[0-9].yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
+ bs*.gsanet.com
+ bs*.einets.com
+ .qkimg.net
+ ad.*.doubleclick.net
+
+
+# These will just simply be blocked. They will generate the BLOCKED
+# banner page, if matched. Heavy use of wildcards and regular
+# expressions in this example.
+ {+block}
+ ad*.
+ .*ads.
+ banner?.
+ count*.
+ /.*count(er)?\.(pl|cgi|exe|dll|asp|php[34]?)
+ /(?:.*/)?(publicite|werbung|rekla(ma|me|am)|annonse|maino(kset|nta|s)?)/
+ .hitbox.com
+
+
+# The above block section will catch some sites we DO NOT want
+# blocked via the wildcards and regular expressions. Now let's set
+# exceptions to the exceptions so the good guys get better treatment.
+ {-block}
+ advogato.org
+ adsl.
+ ad[ud]*.
+ advice.
+# Let's just trust all .edu top level domains.
+ .edu
+ www.ugu.com/sui/ugu/adv
+# We'll need to access to path names containing 'download'
+ .*downloads.
+ /downloads/
+# 'adv' is for globalintersec and means advanced, not advertisement
+ www.globalintersec.com/adv
+
+
+# Don't filter *anything* from our friends at sourceforge.
+# Notice we don't have to name the individual filter
+# identifiers -- we just turn them all off in one fell swoop.
+ {-filter}
+ .sourceforge.net
+
+ </literallayout>
+ </msgtext>
+ </literal>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies.
+ The above would be a reasonable starting point for many situations. Now,
+ we want to be more specific and have customized rules that are more suitable
+ to our personal habits and preferences. These should be placed in
+ <filename>user.action</filename>, which is parsed after all other
+ actions files. So any settings here, will have the last word.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Now an example of a few things that one might do with a <filename>user.action</filename>
+ file. This is where user preferences are defined.
+</para>
+
+<!-- brief sample user.action here -->
+
+
+<!-- This is the old stuff. Left in temporarily for reference -->
+<!-- To be deleted when above is finished -->
<para>
Some examples:
</para>
</literal>
</para>
+
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect3>
+<title>The +filter Action</title>
+<para>
+ Filters are enabled with the <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink> action from within
+ one of the actions files. <quote>+filter</quote> requires one parameter, which
+ should match one of the section identifiers in the filter file itself. Example:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ +filter{html-annoyances}
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ This would activate that particular filter. Similarly, <quote>+filter</quote>
+ can be turned off for selected sites as:
+ <quote>-filter{html-annoyances}</quote>. Remember, all actions are off by
+ default, unless they are explicity enabled in one of the actions files.
+</para>
+
+</sect3>
+
</sect2>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
&contacting;
<!-- end boilerplate -->
-
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="submitactions">
-<title>Submitting Ads and <quote>Action</quote> Problems</title>
-<para>
- Ads and banners that are not stopped by <application>Privoxy</application>
- can be submitted to the developers by accessing a special page and filling
- out the brief, required form. Conversely, you can also report pages, images,
- etc. that <application>Privoxy</application> is blocking, but should not.
- The form itself does require Internet access.
-</para>
-<para>
- To do this, point your browser to <application>Privoxy</application>
- at <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/">http://config.privoxy.org/</ulink>
- (shortcut: <ulink url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink>), and then select
- <ulink url="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions','Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Actions file feedback system</ulink>,
- near the bottom of the page. Paste in the URL that is the cause of the
- unwanted behavior, and follow the prompts. The developers will
- try to incorporate a fix for the problem you reported into future versions.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- New, improved <filename>default.action</filename> files will occasionally be made
- available based on your feedback. These will be announced on the <ulink
- url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-announce">ijbswa-announce</ulink>
- list.
-</para>
-</sect2>
-
</sect1>
<listitem>
<para>
- Show information about the current configuration:
+ Show information about the current configuration, including viewing and
+ editing of actions files:
</para>
<blockquote>
<para>
<listitem>
<para>
- Show the client's request headers:
+ Show the browser's request headers:
</para>
<blockquote>
<para>
</para>
</blockquote>
</listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Edit the actions list file:
- </para>
- <blockquote>
- <para>
- <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions">http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions</ulink>
- </para>
- </blockquote>
- </listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=enabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Enable Privoxy</ulink>
+ <ulink
+ url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=enabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Enable</ulink>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=disabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Disable Privoxy</ulink>
+ <ulink
+ url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=disabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Disable</ulink>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=toggle','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Toggle Privoxy</ulink> (Toggles between enabled and disabled)
+ <ulink
+ url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=toggle','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Toggle Privoxy</ulink> (Toggles between enabled and disabled)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y','ijbstatus','width=250,height=2,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">View Privoxy Status</ulink>
+ <ulink
+ url="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y','ijbstatus','width=250,height=2,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy- View Status</ulink>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink url="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions','Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Actions file feedback system</ulink>
+ <ulink url="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions','Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());">Privoxy - Submit Filter Feedback</ulink>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
First, your web browser requests a web page. The browser knows to send
- the request to <application>Privoxy</application>, who in turn,
- will relay the request to the remote web server after passing a few quick
+ the request to <application>Privoxy</application>, which will in turn,
+ relay the request to the remote web server after passing the following
tests:
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> traps any request for its own internal CGI
- pages (e.g http://p.p/) and sends these back to the browser.
+ pages (e.g http://p.p/) and sends the CGI page back to the browser.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
Next, <application>Privoxy</application> checks to see if the URL
matches any <ulink
url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> patterns. If
- so, the remote web server is not contacted, and the URL is then further
- checked against <quote>+handle-as-image</quote>. If both match, then the
- setting of <ulink url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">
- <quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink> is used to display whichever
-
option is appropriate. If <ulink
- url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>
- does not match, then the <quote>BLOCKED</quote> banner page is displayed.
+ so, the URL is then blocked, and the remote web server will not be contacted.
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>
+ is then checked and if it does not match, an
+ HTML <quote>BLOCKED</quote> page is sent back. Otherwise, if it does match,
+
an image is returned. The type of image depends on the setting of <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
+ (blank, checkerboard pattern, or an HTTP redirect to an image elsewhere).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- <ulink
- url="configuration.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"><quote>+fast-redirects</quote></ulink>
- is processed, stripping unwanted parts of the requested web page URL.
+ If the URL pattern matches the <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"><quote>+fast-redirects</quote></ulink> action,
+ it is then processed. Unwanted parts of the requested URL are stripped.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Now the rest of the client browser's request headers are processed. If any
+ of these match any of the relevant actions (e.g. <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT"><quote>+hide-user-agent</quote></ulink>,
+ etc.), headers are suppressed or forged as determined by these actions and
+ their parameters.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- At this point, <application>Privoxy</application> now relays the URL to the
- web server, requesting the page (assuming nothing up to this point has
- prevented getting us from this far).
+ Now the web server starts sending its response back (i.e. typically a web page and related
+ data).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- The first few hundred bytes are read from the web server and
- <ulink url="configuration.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>
- is processed, if enabled.
+ First, the server headers are read and processed to determine, among other
+ things, the MIME type (document type) and encoding. The headers are then
+ filtered as deterimed by the
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#PREVENT-SETTING-COOKIES"><quote>+prevent-setting-cookies</quote></ulink>,
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"><quote>+session-cookies-only</quote></ulink>,
+ and <ulink url="configuration.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"><quote>+downgrade-http-version</quote></ulink>
+ actions.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- If <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
- applies, the rest of the page is read into memory and then the filter rules
- (from <filename>default.filter</filename>) are processed. Filters are
- applied in the order they are specified in the
- <filename>default.filter</filename> file. The entire page, which is now
- filtered, is then sent by <application>Privoxy</application> back to your
- browser.
+ If the <ulink url="configuration.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>
+ action applies, and it is an HTML or JavaScript document, the popup-code in the
+ response is filtered on-the-fly as it is received.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- As the browser receives the now filtered page content, it will read and request any
- embedded URLs on the page, e.g. ad images. As the browser requests these
- secondary URLs from whatever server they may be on,
- <application>Privoxy</application> handles these same as above, and the process
- is repeated all over again for each such URL. Note that a fancy web page may
- have many, many such embedded URLs for graphics, frames, etc.
+ If a <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ or <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"><quote>+deanimate-gifs</quote></ulink>
+ action applies (and the document type fits the action), the rest of the page is
+ read into memory (up to a configurable limit). Then the filter rules (from
+ <filename>default.filter</filename>) are processed against the buffered
+ content. Filters are applied in the order they are specified in the
+ <filename>default.filter</filename> file. Animated GIFs, if present, are
+ reduced to either the first or last frame, depending on the action
+ setting.The entire page, which is now filtered, is then sent by
+ <application>Privoxy</application> back to your browser.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ If neither <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ or <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"><quote>+deanimate-gifs</quote></ulink>
+ matches, then <application>Privoxy</application> passes the raw data through
+ to the client browser as it becomes available.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ As the browser receives the now (probably filtered) page content, it
+ reads and then requests any URLs that may be embedded within the page
+ source, e.g. ad images, stylesheets, JavaScript, other HTML documents (e.g.
+ frames), sounds, etc. For each of these objects, the browser issues a new
+ request. And each such request is in turn processed as above. Note that a
+ complex web page may have many such embedded URLs.
</para>
</listitem>
<title>Anatomy of an Action</title>
<para>
- The way <application>Privoxy</application> applies <quote>actions</quote>
- and <quote>filters</quote> to any given URL can be complex, and not always so
+ The way <application>Privoxy</application> applies
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#ACTIONS"><quote>actions</quote></ulink>
+ and <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>filters</quote></ulink>
+ to any given URL can be complex, and not always so
easy to understand what is happening. And sometimes we need to be able to
<emphasis>see</emphasis> just what <application>Privoxy</application> is
doing. Especially, if something <application>Privoxy</application> is doing
First, enter one URL (or partial URL) at the prompt, and then
<application>Privoxy</application> will tell us
how the current configuration will handle it. This will not
- help with filtering effects (i.e. the <quote>+filter</quote> action) from the
- <filename>default.filter</filename> file since this is handled very differently
- and not so easy to trap! It also will not tell you about any other URLs that
- may be embedded within the URL you are testing (i.e. a web page). For
- instance, images such as ads are expressed as URLs within the raw page source
- of HTML pages. So you will only get info for the actual URL that is pasted
- into the prompt area -- not any sub-URLs. If you want to know about embedded
- URLs like ads, you will have to dig those out of the HTML source. Use your
- browser's <quote>View Page Source</quote> option for this. Or right click on
- the ad, and grab the URL.
+ help with filtering effects (i.e. the <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink> action) from
+ the <filename>default.filter</filename> file since this is handled very
+ differently and not so easy to trap! It also will not tell you about any other
+ URLs that may be embedded within the URL you are testing. For instance, images
+ such as ads are expressed as URLs within the raw page source of HTML pages. So
+ you will only get info for the actual URL that is pasted into the prompt area
+ -- not any sub-URLs. If you want to know about embedded URLs like ads, you
+ will have to dig those out of the HTML source. Use your browser's <quote>View
+ Page Source</quote> option for this. Or right click on the ad, and grab the
+ URL.
</para>
<para>
+filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
+hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
-hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only +prevent-reading-cookies
- +prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -prevent-reading-cookies
+ -prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
/
- { -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies }
+ { -session-cookies-only }
.google.com
{ -fast-redirects }
--- File user ---
(no matches in this file)
-
</screen>
</para>
<para>
- This tells us how we have defined our <quote>actions</quote>, and which ones
- match for our example, <quote>google.com</quote>. The first listing is
- for the <filename>standard.action</filename>. No hits at all here on
- <quote>standard</quote>. Then next is <quote>default</quote>, or our
- <filename>default.action</filename> file. The large, multi-line listing, is
- how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default settings. If
- you look at your <quote>actions</quote> file, this would be the section just
- below the <quote>aliases</quote> section near the top. This will apply to all
- URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end of the listing --
- <quote>/</quote>.
-
+ This tells us how we have defined our
+ <ulink url="configuration.html#ACTIONS"><quote>actions</quote></ulink>, and
+ which ones match for our example, <quote>google.com</quote>. The first listing
+ is any matches for the <filename>standard.action</filename> file. No hits at
+ all here on <quote>standard</quote>. Then next is <quote>default</quote>, or
+ our <filename>default.action</filename> file. The large, multi-line listing,
+ is how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default settings.
+ If you look at your <quote>actions</quote> file, this would be the section
+ just below the <quote>aliases</quote> section near the top. This will apply to
+ all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end of the listing
+ -- <quote>/</quote>.
</para>
<para>
But we can define additional actions that would be exceptions to these general
rules, and then list specific URLs (or patterns) that these exceptions would
apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit matches for
- <quote>.google.com</quote>. The first is negating our various cookie blocking
- actions (i.e. we will allow cookies here). The second is allowing
- <quote>fast-redirects</quote> to take place. Note that there is a leading dot
- here -- <quote>.google.com</quote>. This will match any hosts and sub-domains,
- in the google.com domain also, such as <quote>www.google.com</quote>. So,
- apparently, we have these two actions defined somewhere in the lower part of our
- actions file, and <quote>google.com</quote> is referenced somewhere in these
- latter sections.
+ <quote>.google.com</quote>. The first is negating our previous cookie setting,
+ which was for <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"><quote>+session-cookies-only</quote></ulink>
+ (i.e. not persistent). So we will allow persistent cookies for google. The
+ second turns <emphasis>off</emphasis> any
+ <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"><quote>+fast-redirects</quote></ulink>
+ action, allowing this to take place unmolested. Note that there is a leading
+ dot here -- <quote>.google.com</quote>. This will match any hosts and
+ sub-domains, in the google.com domain also, such as
+ <quote>www.google.com</quote>. So, apparently, we have these two actions
+ defined somewhere in the lower part of our <filename>default.action</filename>
+ file, and <quote>google.com</quote> is referenced somewhere in these latter
+ sections.
</para>
<para>
- Then, for our <filename>user.action</filename> file, we again have no hits, as
- signified by <quote>File user</quote>.
+ Then, for our <filename>user.action</filename> file, we again have no hits.
</para>
<para>
- And finally we pull it altogether in the bottom section and summarize how
+ And finally we pull it all together in the bottom section and summarize how
<application>Privoxy</application> is applying all its <quote>actions</quote>
to <quote>google.com</quote>:
+filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
+hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
-hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -prevent-reading-cookies
- -prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer
-
- </screen>
+ +prevent-compression -session-cookies-only -prevent-reading-cookies
+ -prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
Notice the only difference here to the previous listing, is to
- <quote>fast-redirects</quote> and the two cookie settings.
+ <quote>fast-redirects</quote> and <quote>session-cookies-only</quote>.
</para>
<para>
{ +block +handle-as-image }
.doubleclick.net
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is
matched three different times. Each as an <quote>+block +handle-as-image</quote>,
which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as:
- <quote>+imageblock</quote>. (<quote>Aliases</quote> are defined in the
- first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more
+ <quote>+imageblock</quote>. (<ulink
+ url="configuration.html#ALIASES"><quote>Aliases</quote></ulink> are defined in
+ the first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more
than one action.)
</para>
would also cover the first. No point in taking chances with these guys
though ;-) Note that if you want an ad or obnoxious
URL to be invisible, it should be defined as <quote>ad.doubleclick.net</quote>
- is done here -- as both a <quote>+block</quote> <emphasis>and</emphasis> an
- <quote>+handle-as-image</quote>. The custom alias <quote>+imageblock</quote> does this
- for us.
+ is done here -- as both a <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
+ <emphasis>and</emphasis> an
+ <ulink
+ url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>.
+ The custom alias <quote>+imageblock</quote> just simplifies the process and make
+ it more readable.
</para>
<para>
+filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+filter{fun} +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block}
+hide-referer{forge} -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{blank}
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only +prevent-setting-cookies
- +prevent-reading-cookies +kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -prevent-setting-cookies
+ -prevent-reading-cookies +kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
/
{ +block +handle-as-image }
/ads
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
Ooops, the <quote>/adsl/</quote> is matching <quote>/ads</quote>! But
we did not want this at all! Now we see why we get the blank page. We could
now add a new action below this that explicitly does <emphasis>not</emphasis>
- block (-block) pages with <quote>adsl</quote>. There are various ways to
- handle such exceptions. Example:
+ block (<quote>{-block}</quote>) paths with <quote>adsl</quote>. There are
+ various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:
</para>
<para>
{ -block }
/adsl
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
<para>
<screen>
- { -block }
- /adsl
-
- </screen>
+ { +block +handle-as-image }
+ /ads
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
.jungle.com
.scan.co.uk
.forbes.com
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
<quote>{shop}</quote> is an <quote>alias</quote> that expands to
- <quote>{ -filter -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies }</quote>.
+ <quote>{ -filter -session-cookies-only }</quote>.
Or you could do your own exception to negate filtering:
</para>
{-filter}
.forbes.com
-
- </screen>
+</screen>
</para>
<para>
This would probably be most appropriately put in <filename>user.action</filename>,
- for personal user exceptions.
+ for local site exceptions.
</para>
<para>
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 1.95 2002/04/26 17:23:29 swa
+ bookmarks cleaned, changed structure of user manual, screen and programlisting cleanups, and numerous other changes that I forgot
+
+ Revision 1.94 2002/04/26 05:24:36 hal9
+ -Add most of Andreas suggestions to Chain of Events section.
+ -A few other minor corrections and touch up.
+
+ Revision 1.92 2002/04/25 18:55:13 hal9
+ More catchups on new actions files, and new actions names.
+ Other assorted cleanups, and minor modifications.
+
Revision 1.91 2002/04/24 02:39:31 hal9
Add 'Chain of Events' section.
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff