This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.95 2002/04/26 17:23:29 swa Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.98 2002/04/28 05:43:59 hal9 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 1.95 2002/04/26 17:23:29 swa Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.98 2002/04/28 05:43:59 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
<authorgroup>
<author>
configuration files will not migrate. The functionality of the old
<filename>blockfile</filename>, <filename>cookiefile</filename> and
<filename>imagelist</filename>, are now combined into the
- <quote>actions files</quote>. <filename>default.action</filename>,
- is the main actions file. Local exceptions should best be put into
- <filename>user.action</filename>.
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html"><quote>actions files</quote></ulink>.
+ <filename>default.action</filename>, is the main actions file. Local
+ exceptions should best be put into <filename>user.action</filename>.
</para>
<para>
- A <quote>filter file</quote> (typically <filename>default.filter</filename>)
- is new as of <application>Privoxy 2.9.x</application>, and provides some
- of the new sophistication (explained below). <filename>config</filename> is
- much the same as before.
+ A <ulink url="filter-file.html"><quote>filter file</quote></ulink> (typically
+ <filename>default.filter</filename>) is new as of <application>Privoxy
+ 2.9.x</application>, and provides some of the new sophistication (explained
+ below). <filename>config</filename> is much the same as before.
</para>
<para>
If upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will have to use the new config
<para>
The primary configuration file for cookie management, ad and banner
blocking, and many other aspects of <application>Privoxy</application>
- configuration is in the <quote>actions</quote> files. It is strongly
- recommended to become familiar with the new actions concept below,
- before modifying these files. Locally defined rules
+ configuration is in the <ulink url="actions-file.html">actions
+ files</ulink>. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with the new
+ actions concept below, before modifying these files. Locally defined rules
should go into <filename>user.action</filename>.
</para>
</listitem>
<sect1 id="startup">
<title>Starting <application>Privoxy</application></title>
<para>
- Before launching <application>Privoxy</application> for the first time, you
- will want to configure your browser(s) to use <application>Privoxy</application>
- as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is localhost for the proxy address,
- and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 8000). This is the one
- configuration step that must be done!
+ Before launching <application>Privoxy</application> for the first time, you
+ will want to configure your browser(s) to use
+ <application>Privoxy</application> as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is
+ localhost for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions used port
+ 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done!
</para>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application>!
</para>
-
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> is typically started by specifying the
- main configuration file to be used on the command line. Example Unix startup
- command:
+ main configuration file to be used on the command line. If no configuration
+ file is specified on the command line, <application>Privoxy</application>
+ will look for a file named <filename>config</filename> in the current
+ directory. Except on Win32 where it will try <filename>config.txt</filename>.
</para>
+<sect2 id="start-redhatdebian">
+<title>RedHat and Debian</title>
+<para>
+We use a script. Note that RedHat does not start Privoxy upon booting per
+default. It will use the file <filename>/etc/privoxy/config</filename> as its
+main configuration file. FIXME: Debian??
+</para>
<para>
<screen>
- # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config
+ # /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
</screen>
</para>
+</sect2>
+
+<sect2 id="start-suse">
+<title>SuSE</title>
+<para>
+We use a script. It will use the file <filename>/etc/privoxy/config</filename>
+as its main configuration file. Note that SuSE starts Privoxy upon booting
+your PC.
+</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ # rcprivoxy start
+</screen>
+</para>
+</sect2>
+
+<sect2 id="start-windows">
+<title>Windows</title>
+<para>
+Click on the Privoxy Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is
+ specified on the command line, <application>Privoxy</application> will look
+ for a file named <filename>config.txt</filename>. Note that Windows will
+ automatically start Privoxy upon booting you PC.
+</para>
+</sect2>
+<sect2 id="start-unices">
+<title>Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX and others</title>
<para>
- See <link linkend="cmdoptions">below</link> for other command line options.
+Example Unix startup command:
</para>
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config
+</screen>
+</para>
+</sect2>
+<sect2 id="start-os2">
+<title>OS/2</title>
<para>
- An init script is provided for SuSE and Red Hat.
+FIXME.
</para>
+</sect2>
+<sect2 id="start-macosx">
+<title>MAX OSX</title>
<para>
- For for SuSE: <command>rcprivoxy start</command>
+FIXME.
</para>
+</sect2>
+
+<sect2 id="start-amigaos">
+<title>AmigaOS</title>
<para>
- For Red Hat and Debian: <command>/etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start</command>
+FIXME.
</para>
+</sect2>
+<!--
<para>
- If no configuration file is specified on the command line,
- <application>Privoxy</application> will look for a file named
- <filename>config</filename> in the current directory. Except on Win32 where
- it will try <filename>config.txt</filename>. If no file is specified on the
- command line and no default configuration file can be found,
- <application>Privoxy</application> will fail to start.
+ See the section <link linkend="cmdoptions">Command line options</link> for
+ furher info.
</para>
+must find a better place for this paragraph
<para>
The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting
point. Most of the per site configuration is done in the
- <quote>actions</quote> files. These are where various cookie actions are
- defined, ad and banner blocking, and other aspects of
- <application>Privoxy</application> configuration. There are several such
- files included, with varying levels of aggressiveness.
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html"><quote>actions</quote></ulink> files. These are
+ where various cookie actions are defined, ad and banner blocking, and other
+ aspects of <application>Privoxy</application> configuration. There are several
+ such files included, with varying levels of aggressiveness.
</para>
<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 (explained below).
+ sites is the popup-killing (through the <ulink
+ url="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>and
+ <ulink
+ url="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS"><quote>+filter{popups}</quote></ulink>
+ actions), because your favorite shopping, banking, or leisure site may need
+ popups (explained below).
</para>
<para>
<para>
If the above paragraph sounds gibberish to you, you might want to <ulink
- url="configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE">read more about the actions concept</ulink>
+ url="actions-file.html#ACTIONSFILE">read more about the actions concept</ulink>
or even dive deep into the <ulink url="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">Appendix
on actions</ulink>.
</para>
Developers</quote></ulink> below.
</para>
+-->
+
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect2 id="cmdoptions">
<title>Command Line Options</title>
please check all your configuration files on important issues.
</para>
]]>
+
</sect2>
+</sect1>
+<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<!-- ~~~~~~~~ New section Header ~~~~~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="config">
+<sect1 id="config">
<title>The Main Configuration File</title>
+
<para>
Again, the main configuration file is named <filename>config</filename> on
Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and <filename>config.txt</filename> on Windows.
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="conf-log-loc">
+<sect2 id="conf-log-loc">
<title>Configuration and Log File Locations</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> can (and normally does) use a number of
- other files for additional configuration and logging.
+ other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
This section of the configuration file tells <application>Privoxy</application>
where to find those other files.
</para>
-<sect4 id="confdir"><title>confdir</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="confdir"><title>confdir</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="logdir"><title>logdir</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="logdir"><title>logdir</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="actionsfile"><title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="actionsfile"><title>
actionsfile
</title>
<anchor id="default.action">
<anchor id="standard.action">
<anchor id="user.action">
-
+<!-- Note: slightly modified this section 04/28/02, hal. See NOTE. -->
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
<term>Notes:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
- Multiple <literal>actionsfile</literal> lines are OK and are in fact recommended!
+ Multiple <literal>actionsfile</literal> lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended!
</para>
<para>
The default values include standard.action, which is used for internal
<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.
+ Actions files are where all the per site and per URL configuration is done for
+ ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc.
+ There is no point in using <application>Privoxy</application> without at
+ least one actions file.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="filterfile"><title>filterfile</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="filterfile"><title>filterfile</title>
<anchor id="default.filter">
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="logfile"><title>logfile</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="logfile"><title>logfile</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="jarfile"><title>jarfile</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="jarfile"><title>jarfile</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
-
-<sect4 id="trustfile"><title>trustfile</title>
+</sect3>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="trustfile"><title>trustfile</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="user-manual"><title>user-manual</title>
+<variablelist>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Specifies:</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ Location of the <application>Privoxy</application> User Manual.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Type of value:</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>A fully qualified URI</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Default value:</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/">http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/</ulink></para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Effect if unset:</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The default will be used.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+ <varlistentry>
+ <term>Notes:</term>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ The User Manual is used for help hints from some of the internal CGI pages.
+ It is normally packaged with the binary distributions, and would make more
+ sense to have this pointed at a locally installed copy.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ A more useful example (Unix):
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ <emphasis>user-manual file:///usr/share/doc/privoxy-&p-version;/user-manual/</emphasis>
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+ </varlistentry>
+</variablelist>
</sect3>
+</sect2>
+
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="local-set-up">
+<sect2 id="local-set-up">
<title>Local Set-up Documentation</title>
<para>
you, what you block and why you do that, your policies etc.
</para>
-<sect4 id="trust-info-url"><title>trust-info-url</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="trust-info-url"><title>trust-info-url</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="admin-address"><title>admin-address</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="admin-address"><title>admin-address</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="proxy-info-url"><title>proxy-info-url</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="proxy-info-url"><title>proxy-info-url</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+
+</sect2>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="debugging">
+<sect2 id="debugging">
<title>Debugging</title>
<para>
command line option when debugging.
</para>
-<sect4 id="debug"><title>debug</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="debug"><title>debug</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="single-threaded"><title>single-threaded</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="single-threaded"><title>single-threaded</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+</sect2>
+
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="access-control">
+<sect2 id="access-control">
<title>Access Control and Security</title>
<para>
of <application>Privoxy</application>'s configuration.
</para>
-<sect4 id="listen-address"><title>listen-address</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="listen-address"><title>listen-address</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<para>[<replaceable class="parameter">IP-Address</replaceable>]:<replaceable class="parameter">Port</replaceable></para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
+
<varlistentry>
<term>Default value:</term>
<listitem>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="toggle"><title>toggle</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="toggle"><title>toggle</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
proxy. See <literal>enable-remote-toggle</literal>
below. This is not really useful anymore, since toggling is much easier
via <ulink url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle">the web
- interface</ulink> then via editing the <filename>conf</filename> file.
+ interface</ulink> than via editing the <filename>conf</filename> file.
</para>
<para>
The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="enable-remote-toggle"><title>enable-remote-toggle</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="enable-remote-toggle"><title>enable-remote-toggle</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="enable-edit-actions"><title>enable-edit-actions</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="enable-edit-actions"><title>enable-edit-actions</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="acls"><title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="acls"><title>
ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</title>
<anchor id="permit-acces">
<anchor id="deny-acces">
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="buffer-limit"><title>buffer-limit</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="buffer-limit"><title>buffer-limit</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+</sect2>
+
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="forwarding">
+<sect2 id="forwarding">
<title>Forwarding</title>
<para>
supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols.
</para>
-<sect4 id="forward"><title>forward</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="forward"><title>forward</title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Specifies:</term>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="socks"><title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="socks"><title>
forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a</title>
<anchor id="forward-socks4">
<anchor id="forward-socks4a">
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<sect4 id="advanced-forwarding-examples"><title>Advanced Forwarding Examples</title>
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="advanced-forwarding-examples"><title>Advanced Forwarding Examples</title>
<para>
If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content
Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult <literal>http_port</literal> in <filename>squid.conf</filename>.
</para>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+</sect2>
+
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="windows-gui">
+<sect2 id="windows-gui">
<title>Windows GUI Options</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> has a number of options specific to the
<literal>
<msgtext>
<literallayout>
- #hide-console
+ #<emphasis>hide-console</emphasis>
</literallayout>
</msgtext>
</literal>
</para>
-</sect3>
</sect2>
+</sect1>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="actions-file"><title>Actions Files</title>
+
+<!-- ~~~~~~~~ New section Header ~~~~~~~~~ -->
+
+<sect1 id="actions-file"><title>Actions Files</title>
<para>
The actions files are used to define what actions
<para>
An actions file typically has sections. Near the top, <quote>aliases</quote> are
optionally defined (discussed <ulink
- url="configuration.html#ALIASES">below</ulink>), then the default set of rules
+ url="actions-file.html#ALIASES">below</ulink>), then the default set of rules
which will apply universally to all sites and pages. And then below that,
exceptions to the defined universal policies.
</para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3>
+<sect2>
<title>Finding the Right Mix</title>
<para>
- 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
+ Note that some <link linkend="actions">actions</link>, like cookie suppression
+ or script disabling, may render some sites unusable that rely on these
+ techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix of actions is not always 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
things. There just are too many variables, and sites are constantly changing.
Sooner or later you will want to change the rules (and read this chapter again :).
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3>
+<sect2>
<title>How to Edit</title>
<para>
The easiest way to edit the <quote>actions</quote> files is with a browser by
If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit the
the actions files.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
-<sect3>
+<sect2>
<title>How Actions are Applied to URLs</title>
<para>
Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections,
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. 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).
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>
+ and <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> actions).
</para>
More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, <link linkend="ACTIONSANAT">
Anatomy of an Action</link>.
</para>
-</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3>
+<sect2>
<title>Patterns</title>
<para>
Generally, a pattern has the form <literal><domain>/<path></literal>,
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-<sect4><title>The Domain Pattern</title>
+
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect3><title>The Domain Pattern</title>
<para>
The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
+
+<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
+
-<sect4><title>The Path Pattern</title>
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect3><title>The Path Pattern</title>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> uses Perl compatible regular expressions
documents whose path starts with <literal>PaTtErN</literal> in
<emphasis>exactly</emphasis> this capitalization.
</para>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+</sect2>
+
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="actions">
+<sect2 id="actions">
<title>Actions</title>
<para>
All actions are disabled by default, until they are explicitly enabled
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="add-header">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="add-header">
<title><emphasis>+add-header</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="block">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="block">
<title><emphasis>+block</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<para>
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>,
+ url="actions-file.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>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
(see below). It is important to understand this process, in order
to understand how <application>Privoxy</application> is able to deal with
ads and other objectionable content.
</para>
<para>
- The <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ The <ulink url="actions-file.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
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="deanimate-gifs">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="deanimate-gifs">
<title><emphasis>+deanimate-gifs</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="downgrade-http-version">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="downgrade-http-version">
<title><emphasis>+downgrade-http-version</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="fast-redirects">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="fast-redirects">
<title><emphasis>+fast-redirects</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="filter">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="filter">
<title><emphasis>+filter</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<listitem>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-html-annoyances">
<emphasis>+filter{html-annoyances}</emphasis>: Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse.
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-js-annoyances">
<emphasis>+filter{js-annoyances}</emphasis>: Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-content-cookies">
<emphasis>+filter{content-cookies}</emphasis>: Kill cookies that come in the HTML or JS content
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-popups">
<emphasis>+filter{popups}</emphasis>: Kill all popups in JS and HTML
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-frameset-borders">
<emphasis>+filter{frameset-borders}</emphasis>: Give frames a border and make them resizable
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-webbugs">
<emphasis>+filter{webbugs}</emphasis>: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking)
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-refresh-tags">
<emphasis>+filter{refresh-tags}</emphasis>: Kill automatic refresh tags (for dial-on-demand setups)
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-fun">
<emphasis>+filter{fun}</emphasis>: Text replacements for subversive browsing fun!
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-nimda">
<emphasis>+filter{nimda}</emphasis>: Remove Nimda (virus) code.
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-banners-by-size">
<emphasis>+filter{banners-by-size}</emphasis>: Kill banners by size (<emphasis>very</emphasis> efficient!)
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-shockwave-flash">
<emphasis>+filter{shockwave-flash}</emphasis>: Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects
</member>
</simplelist>
<simplelist>
<member>
+ <anchor id="filter-crude-parental">
<emphasis>+filter{crude-parental}</emphasis>: Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez"
</member>
</simplelist>
</para>
<para>
Filtering can achieve some of the effects as the
- <ulink url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
+ <ulink url="actions-file#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 first things <quote>Privoxy</quote>
does with a web page. So other most other actions are applied to the
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="hide-forwarded-for-headers">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-forwarded-for-headers">
<title><emphasis>+hide-forwarded-for-headers</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="hide-from-header">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-from-header">
<title><emphasis>+hide-from-header</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<para>
The keyword <quote>block</quote> will completely remove the header
(not to be confused with the <ulink
- url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> action).
+ url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> action).
Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to send to the web
server.
</para>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="hide-referer">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-referer">
<title><emphasis>+hide-referer</emphasis></title>
<anchor id="hide-referrer">
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="hide-user-agent">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="hide-user-agent">
<title><emphasis>+hide-user-agent</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="handle-as-image">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="handle-as-image">
<title><emphasis>+handle-as-image</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<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,
+ url="actions-file.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>
+ url="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
below for control over what will actually be displayed by the browser.)
</para>
<para>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="set-image-blocker">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="set-image-blocker">
<title><emphasis>+set-image-blocker</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<listitem>
<para>
Decide what to do with URLs that end up tagged with <emphasis>both</emphasis>
- <ulink url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
and <ulink
- url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>,
+ url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>,
e.g an advertisement.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="limit-connect">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="limit-connect">
<title><emphasis>+limit-connect</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="prevent-compression">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="prevent-compression">
<title><emphasis>+prevent-compression</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<para>
Some websites do this, which can be a problem for
<application>Privoxy</application>, since
- <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>,
- <ulink url="configuration.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>,
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>
and <ulink
- url="configuration.html#GIF-DEANIMATE"><quote>+gif-deanimate</quote></ulink>
+ url="actions-file.html#GIF-DEANIMATE"><quote>+gif-deanimate</quote></ulink>
will not work on compressed data. This will slow down connections to those
websites, though. Default typically is to turn
<quote>prevent-compression</quote> on.
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="session-cookies-only">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="session-cookies-only">
<title><emphasis>+session-cookies-only</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="prevent-reading-cookies">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="prevent-reading-cookies">
<title><emphasis>+prevent-reading-cookies</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<para>
Often used in conjunction with <quote>+prevent-setting-cookies</quote> to
disable cookies completely. Note that
- <ulink url="configuration.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"><quote>+session-cookies-only</quote></ulink>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"><quote>+session-cookies-only</quote></ulink>
requires these to both be disabled (or else it never gets any cookies to cache).
</para>
<para>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="prevent-setting-cookies">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="prevent-setting-cookies">
<title><emphasis>+prevent-setting-cookies</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
-<!-- ~~~~~ Nvarlistentryew section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="kill-popup">
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="kill-popup">
<title><emphasis>+kill-popups<anchor id="kill-popups"></emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="send-vanilla-wafer">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="send-vanilla-wafer">
<title><emphasis>+send-vanilla-wafer</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="send-wafer">
+<sect3 renderas="sect4" id="send-wafer">
<title><emphasis>+send-wafer</emphasis></title>
<variablelist>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
-</sect4>
+</sect3>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect4 id="act-examples" renderas="sect3">
-<title>Actions Examples</title>
+<sect3>
+<title>Summary</title>
<para>
- Note that the meaning of any of the above examples is reversed by preceding
+ Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to
+ misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways
+ a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header
+ content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way to have hard
+ and fast rules for all sites. See the <link
+ linkend="ACTIONSANAT">Appendix</link> for a brief example on troubleshooting
+ actions.
+</para>
+</sect3>
+
+
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect3 renderas="sect2" id="act-examples">
+<title>Sample Actions Files</title>
+<para>
+ Remember that the meaning of any of the above references is reversed by preceding
the action with a <quote>-</quote>, in place of the <quote>+</quote>. Also,
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
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ But, other actions that are turned on in the default section <emphasis>do
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.
+ <emphasis>enable</emphasis> ad blocking in the lower sections. But we need to
+ be very selective about what we do block. Thus, the default is <quote>off</quote>
+ for blocking.
</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
+ Below is a liberally commented sample <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 brief
<filename>user.action</filename> with similar examples.
</para>
<literal>
<msgtext>
<literallayout>
+# Sample default.action file <developers@privoxy.org>
# Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY.
{{settings}}
##########################################################################
-# <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.
+# <ulink url="actions-file.html#ALIASES">Aliases</ulink> must be defined *before* they are used. These are
+# easier to remember, and can combine several actions into one. Once
+# defined they can be used just like any built-in action -- but within
+# this file only! Aliases do not require a + or - sign.
##########################################################################
# Some useful aliases.
- -prevent-cookies = -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies
+# Alias to turn off cookie handling, ie allow all cookies unmolested.
+ -prevent-cookies = -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies \
+ -session-cookies-only
+
+# Alias to both block and treat as if an image for ad blocking
+# purposes.
+imageblock = +block +handle-as-image
# Fragile sites should have the minimum changes:
##########################################################################
# Begin default action settings. Anything in this section will match
-# all URLs -- UNLESS we have exceptions that match defined below this
+# all URLs -- UNLESS we have exceptions that also 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.
+# Actions are enabled if preceded by a '+', otherwise they are disabled
+# (unless an alias has been defined without this).
##########################################################################
{ \
- <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> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#ADD-HEADER">-add-header</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK">-block</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS">-deanimate-gifs</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION">-downgrade-http-version</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS">+fast-redirects</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-HTML-ANNOYANCES">+filter{html-annoyances}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-JS-ANNOYANCES">+filter{js-annoyances}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-CONTENT-COOKIES">-filter{content-cookies}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS">-filter{popups}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-WEBBUGS">+filter{webbugs}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-REFRESH-TAGS">-filter{refresh-tags}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-FUN">-filter{fun}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-NIMDA">+filter{nimda}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE">+filter{banners-by-size}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-SHOCKWAVE-FLASH">-filter{shockwave-flash}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-CRUDE-PARENTAL">-filter{crude-prental}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HIDE-FORWARDED-FOR-HEADERS">+hide-forwarded-for-headers</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HIDE-FROM-HEADER">+hide-from-header{block}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HIDE-REFERER">-hide-referrer</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT">-hide-user-agent</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">-handle-as-image</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">+set-image-blocker{pattern}</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#LIMIT-CONNECT">-limit-connect</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#PREVENT-COMPRESSION">+prevent-compression</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY">-session-cookies-only</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#PREVENT-READING-COOKIES">-prevent-reading-cookies</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#PREVENT-SETTING-COOKIES">-prevent-setting-cookies</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS">-kill-popups</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SEND-VANILLA-WAFER">-send-vanilla-wafer</ulink> \
+ <ulink url="actions-file.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.
+# Default behavior is now set. Now we will define some exceptions to our
+# default action policies.
##########################################################################
# These sites are very complex and require very minimal interference.
-# We'll disable most actions with our 'fragile' alias.
- {fragile}
+# 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}
+# persistant cookies via the 'shop' alias:
+ { shop }
.quietpc.com
.worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
.jungle.com
# 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}}
+ { shop <ulink url="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS">-kill-popups</ulink> <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS">-filter{popups}</ulink> }
.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\?
+# for these known sensitive sites:
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS">-fast-redirects</ulink> }
login.yahoo.com
edit.europe.yahoo.com
.google.com
# Define which file types will be treated as images. Important
# for ad blocking.
- {+handle-as-image}
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">+handle-as-image</ulink> }
/.*\.(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}
+# our alias that we use 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="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
+ { +imageblock }
ar.atwola.com
.ad.doubleclick.net
.a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$
# 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}
+# expressions in this example. Enable block action:
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK">+block</ulink> }
ad*.
.*ads.
banner?.
.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}
+# The above block section will probably inadvertantly 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. Disable block action:
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK">-block</ulink> }
advogato.org
adsl.
ad[ud]*.
# 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}
+# Disable all filters for this one site:
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER">-filter</ulink> }
.sourceforge.net
-
</literallayout>
</msgtext>
</literal>
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
+ to our personal habits and preferences. These would be for narrowly defined
+ situations like your ISP or your bank, and 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.
+ actions files and should not be clobbered by upgrades. So any settings here,
+ will have the last word and over-ride any previously defined actions.
</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.
+ Now a few examples of some things that one might do with a
+ <filename>user.action</filename> file.
</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>
-
-<para>
- Turn off cookies by default, then allow a few through for specified sites
- (showing an excerpt from the <quote>default</quote> section of an actions
- file ONLY):
-</para>
-
<para>
<literal>
<msgtext>
<literallayout>
- # Excerpt only:
- # Allow cookies to and from the server, but
- # for this browser session ONLY
- {
- # other actions normally listed here...
- -prevent-setting-cookies \
- -prevent-reading-cookies \
- +session-cookies-only \
- }
- / # match all URLs
-
- # Exceptions to the above, sites that benefit from persistent cookies
- # that are saved from one browser session to the next.
- { -session-cookies-only }
- .javasoft.com
- .sun.com
- .yahoo.com
- .msdn.microsoft.com
- .redhat.com
-
- </literallayout>
- </msgtext>
- </literal>
-</para>
+# Sample user.action file.
-<para>
- Now turn off <quote>fast redirects</quote>, and then we allow two exceptions:
-</para>
+# Any aliases you want to use need to be re-defined here.
+# Alias to turn off cookie handling, ie allow all cookies unmolested.
+ -prevent-cookies = -prevent-setting-cookies -prevent-reading-cookies \
+ -session-cookies-only
-<para>
- <literal>
- <msgtext>
- <literallayout>
- # Turn them off (excerpt only)!
- {
- # other actions normally listed here...
- +fast-redirects
- }
- / # match all URLs
-
- # Reverse it for these two sites, which don't work right without it.
- {-fast-redirects}
- www.ukc.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wac\.cgi\?
- login.yahoo.com
- </literallayout>
- </msgtext>
- </literal>
-</para>
-
-<para>
- Turn on page filtering according to rules in the defined sections
- of <filename>default.filter</filename>, and make one exception for
- Sourceforge:
- </para>
-
-<para>
- <literal>
- <msgtext>
- <literallayout>
- # Run everything through the filter file, using only certain
- # specified sections:
- {
- # other actions normally listed here...
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{kill-popups}\
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
- }
- / #match all URLs
-
- # Then disable filtering of code from all sourceforge domains!
- {-filter}
- .sourceforge.net
- </literallayout>
- </msgtext>
- </literal>
-</para>
-
-<para>
- Now some URLs that we want <quote>blocked</quote> (normally generates
- the <quote>blocked</quote> banner). Typically, the <quote>block</quote>
- action is off by default in the upper section of an actions file, then enabled
- against certain URLs and patterns in the lower part of the file. Many of these use <link
- linkend="regex">regular expressions</link> that will expand to match multiple
- URLs: </para>
+# Fragile sites should have the minimum changes:
+ fragile = -block -deanimate-gifs -fast-redirects -filter -hide-referer \
+ -prevent-cookies -kill-popups
-<para>
- <literal>
- <msgtext>
- <literallayout>
- # Blocklist:
- {+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
- /.*/(ng)?adclient\.cgi
- /.*/(plain|live|rotate)[-_.]?ads?/
- /.*/abanners/
- /autoads/
+# Allow persistent cookies for a few regular sites that we
+# trust via our above alias. These will be saved from one browser session
+# to the next. We are explicity turning off any and all cookie handling,
+# even though the prevent-*-cookie settings were disabled in our above
+# default.action anyway. So cookies from these domains will come through
+# unmolested.
+ { -prevent-cookies }
+ .sun.com
+ .yahoo.com
+ .msdn.microsoft.com
+ .redhat.com
+
+
+# My ISP uses obnoxious self promoting images on many pages.
+# Nuke them :) Note that <ulink url="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink> need not be specified,
+# since all URLs ending in .gif will be tagged as images by the
+# general rules in default.action anyway.
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#BLOCK">+block</ulink> }
+ www.my-isp-example.com/logo[0-9].gif
+
+# Say the site where you do your homebanking needs to open
+# popup windows, but you have chosen to kill popups by
+# default. This will allow it for your-example-bank.com:
+#
+ { <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER-POPUPS">-filter{popups}</ulink> <ulink url="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS">-kill-popups</ulink> }
+ .my-example-bank.com
+
+# This site is delicate, and requires kid-glove
+# treatment.
+ { fragile }
+ .forbes.com
</literallayout>
</msgtext>
</literal>
</para>
-<para>
- Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to
- misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways
- a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header
- content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way to have hard
- and fast rules for all sites. See the <link
- linkend="ACTIONSANAT">Appendix</link> for a brief example on troubleshooting
- actions.
-</para>
-</sect4>
-
</sect3>
+</sect2>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3 id="aliases">
+<sect2 id="aliases">
<title>Aliases</title>
<para>
Custom <quote>actions</quote>, known to <application>Privoxy</application>
<emphasis>must be defined before other actions</emphasis> in the
actions file! And there can only be one set of <quote>aliases</quote>
defined per file. Each actions file may have its own aliases, but they are
- only visible within that file.
+ only visible within that file. Aliases do not requir a <quote>+</quote> or
+ <quote>-</quote> sign in front, since they are merely expanded.
</para>
<para>
</para>
-</sect3>
</sect2>
+</sect1>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
-<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2 id="filter-file">
+
+<!-- ~~~~~~~~ New section Header ~~~~~~~~~ -->
+
+<sect1 id="filter-file">
<title>The Filter File</title>
<para>
Any web page can be dynamically modified with the filter file. This
modification can be removal, or re-writing, of any web page content,
including tags and non-visible content. The default filter file is
- <filename>default.filter</filename>, located in the config directory.
+ oddly enough <filename>default.filter</filename>, located in the config
+ directory.
</para>
<para>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect3>
-<title>The +filter Action</title>
+<sect2>
+<title>The <emphasis>+filter</emphasis> Action</title>
<para>
Filters are enabled with the <ulink
- url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink> action from within
+ url="actions-file.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>
+<screen>
+filter{html-annoyances}
- </screen>
-</para>
+</screen>
<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
+ <quote>-filter{html-annoyances}</quote>. Remember too, all actions are off by
default, unless they are explicity enabled in one of the actions files.
</para>
-</sect3>
-
</sect2>
+</sect1>
+
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect2>
+<sect1 id="templates">
<title>Templates</title>
<para>
When <application>Privoxy</application> displays one of its internal
- pages, such as a 404 Not Found error page, it uses the appropriate template.
- On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are located in
- <filename>/etc/privoxy/templates</filename> by default. These may be
- customized, if desired. <filename>cgi-style.css</filename> is
- used to control the HTML attributes (fonts, etc).
-</para>
-<para>
- The default <quote>Blocked</quote> banner page with the bright red top
+ pages, such as a <ulink url="http://bogus_404_page.com">404 Not Found error page</ulink>
+ (<application>Privoxy</application> must be running for link to work as
+ intended), it uses the appropriate template. On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these
+ are located in <filename>/etc/privoxy/templates</filename> by default. These
+ may be customized, if desired. <filename>cgi-style.css</filename> is used to
+ control the HTML attributes (fonts, etc).
+</para>
+<para>
+ The default
+<ulink url="http://ads.bannerserver.example.com/nasty-ads/sponsor.html">Blocked
+(<application>Privoxy</application> needs to be running for page to display)</ulink>
+ banner page with the bright red top
banner, is called just <quote><filename>blocked</filename></quote>. This
may be customized or replaced with something else if desired.
</para>
-</sect2>
-
</sect1>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
<para>
Next, <application>Privoxy</application> checks to see if the URL
matches any <ulink
- url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> patterns. If
+ url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink> patterns. If
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>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.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>
+ url="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"><quote>+set-image-blocker</quote></ulink>
(blank, checkerboard pattern, or an HTTP redirect to an image elsewhere).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
If the URL pattern matches the <ulink
- url="configuration.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"><quote>+fast-redirects</quote></ulink> action,
+ url="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"><quote>+fast-redirects</quote></ulink> action,
it is then processed. Unwanted parts of the requested URL are stripped.
</para>
</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>,
+ url="actions-file.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>
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>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#PREVENT-SETTING-COOKIES"><quote>+prevent-setting-cookies</quote></ulink>,
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"><quote>+session-cookies-only</quote></ulink>,
+ and <ulink url="actions-file.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"><quote>+downgrade-http-version</quote></ulink>
actions.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
- If the <ulink url="configuration.html#KILL-POPUPS"><quote>+kill-popups</quote></ulink>
+ If the <ulink url="actions-file.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>
- If a <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ If a <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
or <ulink
- url="configuration.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"><quote>+deanimate-gifs</quote></ulink>
+ url="actions-file.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
<application>Privoxy</application> back to your browser.
</para>
<para>
- If neither <ulink url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
+ If neither <ulink url="actions-file.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink>
or <ulink
- url="configuration.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"><quote>+deanimate-gifs</quote></ulink>
+ url="actions-file.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>
<para>
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>
+ <ulink url="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"><quote>actions</quote></ulink>
+ and <ulink url="actions-file.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
<application>Privoxy</application> will tell us
how the current configuration will handle it. This will not
help with filtering effects (i.e. the <ulink
- url="configuration.html#FILTER"><quote>+filter</quote></ulink> action) from
+ url="actions-file.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
<para>
This tells us how we have defined our
- <ulink url="configuration.html#ACTIONS"><quote>actions</quote></ulink>, and
+ <ulink url="actions-file.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
apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit matches for
<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>
+ url="actions-file.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>
+ url="actions-file.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
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>. (<ulink
- url="configuration.html#ALIASES"><quote>Aliases</quote></ulink> are defined in
+ url="actions-file.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>
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 <ulink
- url="configuration.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
+ url="actions-file.html#BLOCK"><quote>+block</quote></ulink>
<emphasis>and</emphasis> an
<ulink
- url="configuration.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"><quote>+handle-as-image</quote></ulink>.
+ url="actions-file.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>
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 1.98 2002/04/28 05:43:59 hal9
+ This is the break up of configuration.html into multiple files. This
+ will probably break links elsewhere :(
+
+ Revision 1.97 2002/04/27 21:04:42 hal9
+ -Rewrite of Actions File example.
+ -Add section for user-manual directive in config.
+
+ Revision 1.96 2002/04/27 05:32:00 hal9
+ -Add short section to Filter Files to tie in with +filter action.
+ -Start rewrite of examples in Actions Examples (not finished).
+
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
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff