<!entity p-authors SYSTEM "p-authors.sgml">
<!entity config SYSTEM "p-config.sgml">
<!entity p-version "3.0.11">
-<!entity p-status "UNRELEASED">
+<!entity p-status "stable">
<!entity % p-authors-formal "INCLUDE"> <!-- include additional text, etc -->
-<!entity % p-not-stable "INCLUDE">
-<!entity % p-stable "IGNORE">
+<!entity % p-not-stable "IGNORE">
+<!entity % p-stable "INCLUDE">
<!entity % p-text "IGNORE"> <!-- define we are not a text only doc -->
<!entity % p-doc "INCLUDE"> <!-- and we are a formal doc -->
<!entity % p-readme "IGNORE">
<!entity % p-supp-userman "IGNORE"> <!-- Omit some from supported.sgml -->
<!entity my-copy "©"> <!-- kludge for docbook2man -->
<!entity % draft "IGNORE"> <!-- WIP stuff -->
+<!entity % seealso-extra "INCLUDE"> <!-- extra stuff from seealso.sgml -->
<!entity my-app "<application>Privoxy</application>">
]>
<!--
This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.90 2008/09/26 16:53:09 fabiankeil Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.100 2009/02/19 17:14:11 fabiankeil Exp $
Copyright (C) 2001-2009 Privoxy Developers http://www.privoxy.org/
See LICENSE.
<subscript>
<!-- Completely the wrong markup, but very little is allowed -->
<!-- in this part of an article. FIXME -->
- <link linkend="copyright">Copyright</link> &my-copy; 2001 - 2008 by
+ <link linkend="copyright">Copyright</link> &my-copy; 2001-2009 by
<ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/">Privoxy Developers</ulink>
</subscript>
</pubdate>
-<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.90 2008/09/26 16:53:09 fabiankeil Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.100 2009/02/19 17:14:11 fabiankeil Exp $</pubdate>
<!--
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
- The mingw32 version uses mutex locks now which prevents
- log message corruption under load. As a side effect,
- the "no thread-safe PRNG" warning could be removed as well.
+ On most platforms, outgoing connections can be kept alive and
+ reused if the server supports it. Whether or not this improves
+ things depends on the connection.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ When dropping privileges, membership in supplementary groups
+ is given up as well. Not doing that can lead to Privoxy running
+ with more rights than necessary and violates the principle of
+ least privilege. Users of the --user option are advised to update.
+ Thanks to Matthias Drochner for reporting the problem,
+ providing the initial patch and testing the final version.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Passing invalid users or groups with the --user option
+ didn't lead to program exit. Regression introduced in 3.0.7.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The match all section has been moved from default.action
+ to a new file called match-all.action. As a result the
+ default.action no longer needs to be touched by the user
+ and can be safely overwritten by updates.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The standard.action file has been removed. Its content
+ is now part of the default.action file.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ In some situations the logged content length was slightly too low.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Crunched requests are logged with their own log level.
+ If you used "debug 1" in the past, you'll probably want
+ to additionally enable "debug 1024", otherwise only passed
+ requests will be logged. If you only care about crunched
+ requests, simply replace "debug 1" with "debug 1024".
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The crunch reason has been moved to the beginning of the
+ crunch message. For HTTP URLs, the protocol is logged as well.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Log messages are shortened by printing the thread id on its
+ own (as opposed to putting it inside the string "Privoxy()").
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The config option socket-timeout has been added to control
+ the time Privoxy waits for data to arrive on a socket.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
as well.
</para>
</listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Requests with invalid HTTP versions are rejected.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The template symbol @date@ can be used to include a date(1)-like
+ time string. Initial patch submitted by Endre Szabo.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Responses from shoutcast servers are accepted again.
+ Problem reported and fix suggested by Stefan.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The hide-forwarded-for-headers action has been replaced with
hide-forwarded-for-headers action).
</para>
</listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ A "clear log" view option was added to the mingw32 version
+ to clear out all of the lines in the Privoxy log window.
+ Based on a patch submitted by T Ford.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The mingw32 version uses "critical sections" now, which prevents
+ log message corruption under load. As a side effect, the
+ "no thread-safe PRNG" warning could be removed as well.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The mingw32 version's task bar icon is crossed out and
+ the color changed to gray if Privoxy is toggled off.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
- For a more detailed list of changes please have a look at the ChangeLog.
+ This release marks a departure for Privoxy development.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Previously, odd numbered releases were considered beta versions and
+ were only released at the end of the development cycle when the code
+ was already believed to be stable. Usually it was, so the stable release
+ contained pretty much the same code, but got a higher version number.
+ In the future we intend to release several snapshots between stable releases.
+ There will probably still be about two stable releases per year,
+ but hopefully about six snapshots instead of the two betas we have now.
+ The intentions is to make testing without CVS access easier.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
</para>
</listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- The <quote>filter-client-headers</quote> and
- <quote>filter-server-headers</quote> actions that were introduced with
- <application>Privoxy 3.0.5</application> to apply content filters to
- the headers have been removed and replaced with new actions.
- See the <link
- linkend="whatsnew">What's New section</link> above.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
-
<!--
<listitem>
<para>
<listitem>
<para>
- <filename>default.action</filename> (the main <link linkend="actions-file">actions file</link>)
- is used to define which <quote>actions</quote> relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups,
- content modification, cookie handling etc should be applied by default. It also defines many
- exceptions (both positive and negative) from this default set of actions that enable
- <application>Privoxy</application> to selectively eliminate the junk, and only the junk, on
- as many websites as possible.
+ <filename>match-all.action</filename> is used to define which <quote>actions</quote>
+ relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups, content modification, cookie handling
+ etc should be applied by default. It should be the first actions file loaded.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ <filename>default.action</filename> defines many exceptions (both positive and negative)
+ from the default set of actions that's configured in <filename>match-all.action</filename>.
+ It should be the second actions file loaded and shouldn't be edited by the user.
</para>
<para>
Multiple actions files may be defined in <filename>config</filename>. These
are processed in the order they are defined. Local customizations and locally
- preferred exceptions to the default policies as defined in
- <filename>default.action</filename> (which you will most probably want
- to define sooner or later) are probably best applied in
- <filename>user.action</filename>, where you can preserve them across
- upgrades.
+ preferred exceptions to the default policies as defined in
+ <filename>match-all.action</filename> (which you will most probably want
+ to define sooner or later) are best applied in <filename>user.action</filename>,
+ where you can preserve them across upgrades. The file isn't installed by all
+ installers, but you can easily create it yourself with a text editor.
</para>
<para>
There is also a web based editor that can be accessed from
<sect1 id="actions-file"><title>Actions Files</title>
+
+<!--
+ XXX: similar descriptions are in the Configuration Files sections.
+ We should only describe them at one place.
+-->
<para>
The actions files are used to define what <emphasis>actions</emphasis>
<application>Privoxy</application> takes for which URLs, and thus determines
There
are three action files included with <application>Privoxy</application> with
differing purposes:
- </para>
-
- <para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <filename>default.action</filename> - is the primary action file
- that sets the initial values for all actions. It is intended to
- provide a base level of functionality for
- <application>Privoxy's</application> array of features. So it is
- a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well as-is for most users.
- This is the file that the developers are keeping updated, and <link
- linkend="installation-keepupdated">making available to users</link>.
- It also contains the pre-defined sets of rules for the default actions,
- e.g. <literal>Cautious</literal> (the default),
- <literal>Medium</literal>, or <literal>Advanced</literal> (see
- below).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <filename>user.action</filename> - is intended to be for local site
- preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or your bank
- has specific requirements, and need special handling, this kind of
- thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Cautious</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Medium</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Advanced</guibutton>
- </para>
- <para>
- These have increasing levels of aggressiveness <emphasis>and have no
- influence on your browsing unless you select them explicitly in the
- editor</emphasis>. A default installation should be pre-set to
- <literal>Cautious</literal> (versions prior to 3.0.5 were set to
- <literal>Medium</literal>). New users should try this for a while before
- adjusting the settings to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive
- the settings, then the more likelihood there is of problems such as sites
- not working as they should.
- </para>
- <para>
- The <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button allows you to turn each
- action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The <guibutton>Cautious</guibutton>
- button changes the actions list to low/safe settings which will activate
- ad blocking and a minimal set of &my-app;'s features, and subsequently
- there will be less of a chance for accidental problems. The
- <guibutton>Medium</guibutton> button sets the list to a medium level of
- other features and a low level set of privacy features. The
- <guibutton>Advanced</guibutton> button sets the list to a high level of
- ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See the chart below. The latter
- three buttons over-ride any changes via with the
- <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button. More fine-tuning can be done in the
- lower sections of this internal page.
- </para>
- <para>
- The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined in
- <filename>default.action</filename> are:
- </para>
- <para>
+</para>
+<para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <filename>match-all.action</filename> - is used to define which
+ <quote>actions</quote> relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups,
+ content modification, cookie handling etc should be applied by default.
+ It should be the first actions file loaded
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <filename>default.action</filename> - defines many exceptions (both
+ positive and negative) from the default set of actions that's configured
+ in <filename>match-all.action</filename>. It is a set of rules that should
+ work reasonably well as-is for most users. This file is only supposed to
+ be edited by the developers. It should be the second actions file loaded.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <filename>user.action</filename> - is intended to be for local site
+ preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or your bank
+ has specific requirements, and need special handling, this kind of
+ thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Cautious</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Medium</guibutton> <guibutton>Set to Advanced</guibutton>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ These have increasing levels of aggressiveness <emphasis>and have no
+ influence on your browsing unless you select them explicitly in the
+ editor</emphasis>. A default installation should be pre-set to
+ <literal>Cautious</literal>. New users should try this for a while before
+ adjusting the settings to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive
+ the settings, then the more likelihood there is of problems such as sites
+ not working as they should.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button allows you to turn each
+ action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The <guibutton>Cautious</guibutton>
+ button changes the actions list to low/safe settings which will activate
+ ad blocking and a minimal set of &my-app;'s features, and subsequently
+ there will be less of a chance for accidental problems. The
+ <guibutton>Medium</guibutton> button sets the list to a medium level of
+ other features and a low level set of privacy features. The
+ <guibutton>Advanced</guibutton> button sets the list to a high level of
+ ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See the chart below. The latter
+ three buttons over-ride any changes via with the
+ <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button. More fine-tuning can be done in the
+ lower sections of this internal page.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ While the actions file editor allows to enable these settings in all
+ actions files, they are only supposed to be enabled in the first one
+ to make sure you don't unintentionally overrule earlier rules.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined in
+ <filename>default.action</filename> are:
+ </para>
+ <para>
<table frame=all><title>Default Configurations</title>
<tgroup cols=4 align=left colsep=1 rowsep=1>
<colspec colname=c1>
<entry>yes</entry>
</row>
-
<row>
<entry>GIF de-animation</entry>
<entry>no</entry>
<entry>yes</entry>
</row>
-
<row>
<entry>Fast redirects</entry>
<entry>no</entry>
</table>
</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+</para>
<para>
The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main configuration
<quote>reset-to-request-time</quote> overwrites the value of the
<quote>Last-Modified:</quote> header with the current time. You could use
this option together with
- <literal><link linkend="hide-if-modified-since">hided-if-modified-since</link></literal>
+ <literal><link linkend="hide-if-modified-since">hide-if-modified-since</link></literal>
to further customize your random range.
</para>
<para>
linkend="actions">specified</link> and <link linkend="actions-apply">applied
to URLs</link>, how <link linkend="af-patterns">patterns</link> work, and how to
define and use <link linkend="aliases">aliases</link>. Now, let's look at an
- example <filename>default.action</filename> and <filename>user.action</filename>
- file and see how all these pieces come together:
+ example <filename>match-all.action</filename>, <filename>default.action</filename>
+ and <filename>user.action</filename> file and see how all these pieces come together:
+</para>
+
+<sect3>
+<title>match-all.action</title>
+<para>
+ Remember <emphasis>all actions are disabled when matching starts</emphasis>,
+ so we have to explicitly enable the ones we want.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ While the <filename>match-all.action</filename> file only contains a
+ single section, it is probably the most important one. It has only one
+ pattern, <quote><literal>/</literal></quote>, but this pattern
+ <link linkend="af-patterns">matches all URLs</link>. Therefore, the set of
+ actions used in this <quote>default</quote> section <emphasis>will
+ be applied to all requests as a start</emphasis>. It can be partly or
+ wholly overridden by other actions files like <filename>default.action</filename>
+ and <filename>user.action</filename>, but it will still be largely responsible
+ for your overall browsing experience.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is
+ no need to disable any actions here. (Remember: a <quote>+</quote>
+ preceding the action name enables the action, a <quote>-</quote> disables!).
+ Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into
+ multiple lines with line continuation.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+{ \
+ +<link linkend="CHANGE-X-FORWARDED-FOR">change-x-forwarded-for{block}</link> \
+ +<link linkend="HIDE-FROM-HEADER">hide-from-header{block}</link> \
+ +<link linkend="SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">set-image-blocker{pattern}</link> \
+}
+/ # Match all URLs
+ </screen>
</para>
-<sect3><title>default.action</title>
+<para>
+ The default behavior is now set.
+</para>
+</sect3>
+
+<sect3>
+<title>default.action</title>
<para>
-Every config file should start with a short comment stating its purpose:
+ If you aren't a developer, there's no need for you to edit the
+ <filename>default.action</filename> file. It is maintained by
+ the &my-app; developers and if you disagree with some of the
+ sections, you should overrule them in your <filename>user.action</filename>.
</para>
<para>
- <screen># Sample default.action file <ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net></screen>
+ Understanding the <filename>default.action</filename> file can
+ help you with your <filename>user.action</filename>, though.
</para>
<para>
-Then, since this is the <filename>default.action</filename> file, the
-first section is a special section for internal use that you needn't
-change or worry about:
+ The first section in this file is a special section for internal use
+ that prevents older &my-app; versions from reading the file:
</para>
<para>
##########################################################################
# Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY.
##########################################################################
-
{{settings}}
-for-privoxy-version=3.0</screen>
+for-privoxy-version=3.0.11</screen>
</para>
<para>
-After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example
-section from the above <link linkend="aliases">chapter on aliases</link>,
-that also explains why and how aliases are used:
+ After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example
+ section from the above <link linkend="aliases">chapter on aliases</link>,
+ that also explains why and how aliases are used:
</para>
<para>
shop = -crunch-all-cookies -<link linkend="FILTER-ALL-POPUPS">filter{all-popups}</link></screen>
</para>
-<para>
- Now come the regular sections, i.e. sets of actions, accompanied
- by URL patterns to which they apply. Remember <emphasis>all actions
- are disabled when matching starts</emphasis>, so we have to explicitly
- enable the ones we want.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- The first regular section is probably the most important. It has only
- one pattern, <quote><literal>/</literal></quote>, but this pattern
- <link linkend="af-patterns">matches all URLs</link>. Therefore, the
- set of actions used in this <quote>default</quote> section <emphasis>will
- be applied to all requests as a start</emphasis>. It can be partly or
- wholly overridden by later matches further down this file, or in user.action,
- but it will still be largely responsible for your overall browsing
- experience.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is
- no need to disable any actions here. (Remember: a <quote>+</quote>
- preceding the action name enables the action, a <quote>-</quote> disables!).
- Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into
- multiple lines with line continuation.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- <screen>
-##########################################################################
-# "Defaults" section:
-##########################################################################
- { \
- +<link linkend="CHANGE-X-FORWARDED-FOR">change-x-forwarded-for{block}</link> \
- +<link linkend="DEANIMATE-GIFS">deanimate-gifs</link> \
- +<link linkend="FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES">filter{html-annoyances}</link> \
- +<link linkend="FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS">filter{refresh-tags}</link> \
- +<link linkend="FILTER-WEBBUGS">filter{webbugs}</link> \
- +<link linkend="FILTER-IE-EXPLOITS">filter{ie-exploits}</link> \
- +<link linkend="HIDE-FROM-HEADER">hide-from-header{block}</link> \
- +<link linkend="HIDE-REFERER">hide-referrer{forge}</link> \
- +<link linkend="PREVENT-COMPRESSION">prevent-compression</link> \
- +<link linkend="SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY">session-cookies-only</link> \
- +<link linkend="SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">set-image-blocker{pattern}</link> \
- }
- / # forward slash will match *all* potential URL patterns.</screen>
-</para>
-
-<para>
- The default behavior is now set.
- <!--
- This needs rewording, but it can wait for now.
- fk 2007-11-17
-
- Note that some actions, like not hiding
- the user agent, are part of a <quote>general policy</quote> that applies
- universally and won't get any exceptions defined later. Other choices,
- like not blocking (which is <emphasis>understandably</emphasis> the
- default!) need exceptions, i.e. we need to specify explicitly what we
- want to block in later sections.
- -->
-</para>
-
<para>
The first of our specialized sections is concerned with <quote>fragile</quote>
sites, i.e. sites that require minimum interference, because they are either
.scan.co.uk</screen>
</para>
-<!-- No longer needed BEGIN OF COMMENTED OUT BLOCK
-
-<para>
- Then, there are sites which rely on pop-up windows (yuck!) to work.
- Since we made pop-up-killing our default above, we need to make exceptions
- now. <ulink url="http://www.mozilla.org/">Mozilla</ulink> users, who
- can turn on smart handling of unwanted pop-ups in their browsers, can
- safely choose
- -<literal><link linkend="FILTER-ALL-POPUPS">filter{popups}</link></literal> above
- and hence don't need this section. Anyway, disabling an already disabled
- action doesn't hurt, so we'll define our exceptions regardless of what was
- chosen in the defaults section:
-</para>
-
-<para>
- <screen>
-# These sites require pop-ups too :(
-#
-{ -<link linkend="FILTER-ALL-POPUPS">filter{popups}</link> }
-.dabs.com
-.overclockers.co.uk
-.deutsche-bank-24.de</screen>
-</para>
-
- END OF COMMENTED OUT BLOCK -->
-
<para>
The <literal><link linkend="FAST-REDIRECTS">fast-redirects</link></literal>
- action, which we enabled per default above, breaks some sites. So disable
- it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves:
+ action, which may have been enabled in <filename>match-all.action</filename>,
+ breaks some sites. So disable it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves:
</para>
<para>
be blocked, a substitute image can be sent, rather than an HTML page.
Contacting the remote site to find out is not an option, since it
would destroy the loading time advantage of banner blocking, and it
- would feed the advertisers (in terms of money <emphasis>and</emphasis>
- information). We can mark any URL as an image with the <literal><link
+ would feed the advertisers information about you. We can mark any
+ URL as an image with the <literal><link
linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image</link></literal> action,
and marking all URLs that end in a known image file extension is a
good start:
USA
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 2.100 2009/02/19 17:14:11 fabiankeil
+ - Copy the release cycle description from announce.txt into
+ the "What's New" section.
+ - Stop referring to the ChangeLog for a "complete list of changes".
+ The "What's New" section already contains the complete list.
+
+ Revision 2.99 2009/02/19 02:20:22 hal9
+ Make some links in seealso conditional. Man page is now privoxy only links.
+
+ Revision 2.98 2009/02/16 17:10:33 fabiankeil
+ Fix entry about shortened log messages. Noticed by Lee.
+
+ Revision 2.97 2009/02/14 18:01:00 fabiankeil
+ Import ChangeLog.
+
+ Revision 2.96 2009/02/14 13:14:03 fabiankeil
+ Unbreak syntax.
+
+ Revision 2.95 2009/02/14 12:51:26 fabiankeil
+ Mention match-all.action in the "Actions Files Tutorial" section.
+
+ Revision 2.94 2009/02/14 11:50:31 fabiankeil
+ Some indentation fixes.
+
+ Revision 2.93 2009/02/14 10:14:42 fabiankeil
+ Mention match-all.action in the action file descriptions.
+
+ Revision 2.92 2009/02/12 16:08:26 fabiankeil
+ Declare the code stable.
+
+ Revision 2.91 2009/01/13 16:50:35 fabiankeil
+ The standard.action file is gone.
+
Revision 2.90 2008/09/26 16:53:09 fabiankeil
Update "What's new" section.
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff