-Junkbuster User Manual
+Privoxy User Manual
-By: Junkbuster Developers
+By: Privoxy Developers
-$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.35 2002/03/05 00:17:27 hal9 Exp $
+$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.70 2002/04/08 20:53:56 swa Exp $
-The user manual gives the users information on how to install and configure
-Internet Junkbuster. Internet Junkbuster is an application that provides
-privacy and security to users of the World Wide Web.
+The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use
+Privoxy.
-You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://
-ijbswa.sourceforge.net/user-manual/.
+Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
+privacy, filtering web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and
+removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
+very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
+tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
+networks.
-Feel free to send a note to the developers at <
-ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net>.
+Privoxy is based on the code of the Internet Junkbuster (tm). Junkbuster was
+originally written by Junkbusters Corporation, and was released as free
+open-source software under the GNU GPL. Stefan Waldherr made many improvements,
+and started the SourceForge project to continue development.
+
+Privoxy continues the Junkbuster tradition, but adds many refinements,
+enhancements and new features.
+
+You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://www.privoxy.org/
+user-manual/. Please see the Contact section on how to contact the developers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents
+
1. Introduction
1.1. New Features
-2. Installation
+3. Installation
+
+ 3.1. Source
+
+ 3.1.1. Red Hat
+ 3.1.2. SuSE
+ 3.1.3. OS/2
+ 3.1.4. Windows
+ 3.1.5. Other
+
+4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy
- 2.1. Source
- 2.2. Red Hat
- 2.3. SuSE
- 2.4. OS/2
- 2.5. Windows
- 2.6. Other
+ 4.1. Command Line Options
-3. Invoking and Configuring JunkBuster
+5. Privoxy Configuration
- 3.1. Command Line Options
- 3.2. The Main Configuration File
+ 5.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser
+ 5.2. Configuration Files Overview
+ 5.3. The Main Configuration File
- 3.2.1. Defining Other Configuration Files
- 3.2.2. Other Configuration Options
- 3.2.3. Access Control List (ACL)
- 3.2.4. Forwarding
- 3.2.5. Windows GUI Options
+ 5.3.1. Defining Other Configuration Files
+ 5.3.2. Other Configuration Options
+ 5.3.3. Access Control List (ACL)
+ 5.3.4. Forwarding
+ 5.3.5. Windows GUI Options
- 3.3. The Actions File
+ 5.4. The Actions File
- 3.3.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax
- 3.3.2. Actions
- 3.3.3. Aliases
+ 5.4.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax
+ 5.4.2. Actions
+ 5.4.3. Aliases
- 3.4. The Filter File
- 3.5. Templates
+ 5.5. The Filter File
+ 5.6. Templates
-4. Quickstart to Using Junkbuster
-5. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests
-6. Copyright and History
+6. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests
+7. Copyright and History
- 6.1. License
- 6.2. History
+ 7.1. Copyright
+ 7.2. History
-7. See also
-8. Appendix
+8. See Also
+9. Appendix
- 8.1. Regular Expressions
+ 9.1. Regular Expressions
+ 9.2. Privoxy's Internal Pages
+
+ 9.2.1. Bookmarklets
+
+ 9.3. Anatomy of an Action
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
1. Introduction
-Internet Junkbuster is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
-protecting privacy, filtering and modifying web page content, managing cookies,
-controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious
-Internet Junk. Junkbuster has a very flexible configuration and can be
-customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Internet Junkbuster has
-application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.
-
-This documentation is included with the current BETA version of Internet
-Junkbuster and mostly complete at this point. The most up to date reference for
-the time being is still the comments in the source files and in the individual
-configuration files. Development of version 3.0 is currently nearing
+This documentation is included with the current beta version of Privoxy,
+v.2.9.14, and is mostly complete at this point. The most up to date reference
+for the time being is still the comments in the source files and in the
+individual configuration files. Development of version 3.0 is currently nearing
completion, and includes many significant changes and enhancements over earlier
-versions. The target release date for stable v3.0 is "soon" ;-)
+versions. The target release date for stable v3.0 is "soon" ;-).
-Since this is a BETA version, not all new features are well tested. This
-documentation may be slightly out of sync as a result. And there may be bugs,
-though hopefully not many!
+Since this is a beta version, not all new features are well tested. This
+documentation may be slightly out of sync as a result (especially with CVS
+sources). And there may be bugs, though hopefully not many!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1. New Features
-In addition to Junkbuster's traditional features of ad and banner blocking and
-cookie management, this is a list of new features currently under development:
+In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional feature of ad and banner
+blocking and cookie management, Privoxy provides new features, some of them
+currently under development:
- * Integrated browser based configuration and control utility (http://i.j.b).
+ * Integrated browser based configuration and control utility (http://p.p).
Browser-based tracing of rule and filter effects.
- * Modularized configuration that will allow for system wide settings, and
- individual user settings. (not implemented yet, probably a 3.1 feature)
-
* Blocking of annoying pop-up browser windows.
* HTTP/1.1 compliant (most, but not all 1.1 features are supported).
* Improved cookie management features (e.g. session based cookies).
+ * Improved signal handling, and a true daemon mode (Unix).
+
* Builds from source on most UNIX-like systems. Packages available for: Linux
- (RedHat, SuSE, or Debian), Windows, Sun Solaris, Mac OSX, OS/2.
+ (RedHat, SuSE, or Debian), Windows, Sun Solaris, Mac OSX, OS/2, HP-UX 11
+ and AmigaOS.
* In addition, the configuration is much more powerful and versatile
over-all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2. Installation
+3. Installation
-Junkbuster is available as raw source code, or pre-compiled binaries. See the
-Junkbuster Home Page for current release info. Junkbuster is also available via
-CVS. This is the recommended approach at this time. But please be aware that
-CVS is constantly changing, and it may break in mysterious ways.
+Privoxy is available as raw source code (tarball or via CVS), or pre-compiled
+binaries for various platforms. See the Privoxy Project Page for the most up to
+date release information. Privoxy is also available via CVS. This is the
+recommended approach at this time. But please be aware that CVS is constantly
+changing, and it may break in mysterious ways.
+
+At present, Privoxy is known to run on Win32, Mac OSX, OS/2, AmigaOS, Linux
+(RedHat, Suse, Debian), FreeBSD, and many flavors of Unix. There are source and
+binary releases for these available for download at http://sourceforge.net/
+project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.1. Source
+3.1. Source
+
+There are several ways to install Privoxy.
-For gzipped tar archives, unpack the source:
+To build Privoxy from source, autoconf and GNU make (gmake) are required.
+Source is available as gzipped tar archives. For this, first unpack the source:
- tar xzvf ijb_source_* [.tgz or .tar.gz]
- cd ijb_source_2.9.10_beta
+ tar xzvf privoxy-2.9.14-beta-src* [.tgz or .tar.gz]
+ cd privoxy-2.9.14-beta
For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need the CVS package installed
-first. To download CVS source:
+first. Note CVS source is development quality, and may not be stable, or well
+tested. To download CVS source:
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current
This will create a directory named current/, which will contain the source
tree.
-Then, in either case, to build from tarball/CVS source:
+Then, in either case, to build from unpacked tarball or CVS source:
+ autoheader
+ autoconf
./configure (--help to see options)
make (the make from gnu, gmake for *BSD)
su
make install (to really install)
+Redhat and SuSE src and binary RPMs can be built with "make redhat-dist" or "
+make suse-dist" from unpacked sources. You will need to run "autoconf;
+autoheader; ./configure" beforehand. *BSD will require gmake (from http://
+www.gnu.org).
+
For Redhat and SuSE Linux RPM packages, see below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.2. Red Hat
+3.1.1. Red Hat
-To build Redhat RPM packages, install source as above. Then:
+To build Redhat RPM packages from source, install source as above. Then:
- autoheader [suggested for CVS source]
- autoconf [suggested for CVS source]
+ autoheader
+ autoconf
./configure
make redhat-dist
This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example:
- /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm
+ /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.14-1.i686.rpm
- /usr/src/redhat/SRPMS/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.src.rpm
+ /usr/src/redhat/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.14-1.src.rpm
To install, of course:
- rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm
+ rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.14-1.i686.rpm
-This will place the Junkbuster configuration files in /etc/junkbuster/, and log
-files in /var/log/junkbuster/.
+This will place the Privoxy configuration files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files
+in /var/log/privoxy/. Run ckconfig privoxy on to have Privoxy start
+automatically during init.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.3. SuSE
+3.1.2. SuSE
To build SuSE RPM packages, install source as above. Then:
- autoheader [suggested for CVS source]
- autoconf [suggested for CVS source]
+ autoheader
+ autoconf
./configure
make suse-dist
This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example:
- /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm
+ /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.14-1.i686.rpm
- /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.src.rpm
+ /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.14-1.src.rpm
To install, of course:
- rpm -Uvv /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm
+ rpm -Uvv /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.14-1.i686.rpm
-This will place the Junkbuster configuration files in /etc/junkbuster/, and log
-files in /var/log/junkbuster/.
+This will place the Privoxy configuration files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files
+in /var/log/privoxy/.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.4. OS/2
+3.1.3. OS/2
-Junkbuster is packaged in a WarpIN self- installing archive. The
-self-installing program will be named depending on the release version,
-something like: ijbos2_setup_1.2.3.exe. In order to install it, simply run this
-executable or double-click on its icon and follow the WarpIN installation
-panels. A shadow of the Junkbuster executable will be placed in your startup
-folder so it will start automatically whenever OS/2 starts.
+Privoxy is packaged in a WarpIN self- installing archive. The self-installing
+program will be named depending on the release version, something like:
+privoxyos2_setup_2.9.14.exe. In order to install it, simply run this executable
+or double-click on its icon and follow the WarpIN installation panels. A shadow
+of the Privoxy executable will be placed in your startup folder so it will
+start automatically whenever OS/2 starts.
-The directory you choose to install Junkbuster into will contain all of the
+The directory you choose to install Privoxy into will contain all of the
configuration files.
If you would like to build binary images on OS/2 yourself, you will need a few
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.5. Windows
+3.1.4. Windows
Click-click. (I need help on this. Not a clue here. Also for configuration
section below. HB.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-2.6. Other
+3.1.5. Other
Some quick notes on other Operating Systems.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3. Invoking and Configuring JunkBuster
+4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy
-For Unix, *BSD and Linux, all configuration files are located in /etc/
-junkbuster/ by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and AmigaOS these are all in the
-same directory as the Junkbuster executable. The name and number of
-configuration files has changed from previous versions, and is subject to
-change as development progresses.
+Before launching Privoxy for the first time, you will want to configure your
+browser(s) to use Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is localhost
+for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 800). This is
+the one required configuration that must be done!
-The installed defaults provide a reasonable starting point, though possibly
-aggressive by some standards. For the time being, there are only three default
-configuration files (this will change in time):
+With Netscape (and Mozilla), this can be set under Edit -> Preferences ->
+Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy. For Internet Explorer: Tools -> Internet
+Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then, check "Use Proxy" and fill in
+the appropriate info (Address: localhost, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy
+support too.
- * The main configuration file is named config on Linux, Unix, BSD, OS/2, and
- AmigaOS and config.txt on Windows.
-
- * The ijb.action file is used to define various "actions" relating to images,
- banners, pop-ups, access restrictions, banners and cookies. There is a CGI
- based editor for this file that can be accessed via http://i.j.b. This is
- the easiest method of configuring actions. (Other actions files are
- included as well with differing levels of filtering and blocking, e.g.
- ijb-basic.action.)
-
- * The re_filterfile file can be used to rewrite the raw page content,
- including text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript.
-
-ijb.action and re_filterfile can use Perl style regular expressions for maximum
-flexibility. All files use the "#" character to denote a comment. Such lines
-are not processed by Junkbuster. After making any changes, there is no need to
-restart Junkbuster in order for the changes to take effect. Junkbuster should
-detect such changes automatically.
+After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a
+re-reading of all pages and get rid of any ads that may be cached. You are now
+ready to start enjoying the benefits of using Privoxy.
-While under development, the configuration content is subject to change. The
-below documentation may not be accurate by the time you read this. Also, what
-constitutes a "default" setting, may change, so please check all your
-configuration files on important issues.
+Privoxy is typically started by specifying the main configuration file to be
+used on the command line. Example Unix startup command:
+
+
+ # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config
+
+
+
+An init script is provided for SuSE and Redhat.
+
+For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
+
+For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
+
+If no configuration file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look
+for a file named config in the current directory. Except on Win32 where it will
+try config.txt. If no file is specified on the command line and no default
+configuration file can be found, Privoxy will fail to start.
+
+The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting
+point, though may be somewhat aggressive in blocking junk. Most of the per site
+configuration is done in the "actions" files. These are where various cookie
+actions are defined, ad and banner blocking, and other aspects of Privoxy
+configuration. There are several such files included, with varying levels of
+aggressiveness.
+
+You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent
+cookies, and add these to default.action as needed. By default, most of these
+will be accepted only during the current browser session, until you add them to
+the configuration. If you want the browser to handle this instead, you will
+need to edit default.action and disable this feature. If you use more than one
+browser, it would make more sense to let Privoxy handle this. In which case,
+the browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies.
+
+Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 features are as yet implemented.
+If browsers that support HTTP/1.1 (like Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.)
+experience problems, you might try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For
+Mozilla, look under Edit -> Preferences -> Debug -> Networking. Or set the
+"+downgrade" config option in default.action.
+
+After running Privoxy for a while, you can start to fine tune the configuration
+to suit your personal, or site, preferences and requirements. There are many,
+many aspects that can be customized. "Actions" (as specified in default.action)
+can be adjusted by pointing your browser to http://p.p/, and then follow the
+link to "edit the actions list". (This is an internal page and does not require
+Internet access.)
+
+In fact, various aspects of Privoxy configuration can be viewed from this page,
+including current configuration parameters, source code version numbers, the
+browser's request headers, and "actions" that apply to a given URL. In addition
+to the default.action file editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also be turned
+"on" and "off" from this page.
+
+If you encounter problems, please verify it is a Privoxy bug, by disabling
+Privoxy, and then trying the same page. Also, try another browser if possible
+to eliminate browser or site problems. Before reporting it as a bug, see if
+there is not a configuration option that is enabled that is causing the page
+not to load. You can then add an exception for that page or site. For instance,
+try adding it to the {fragile} section of default.action. This will turn off
+most actions for this site. For more on troubleshooting problem sites, see the
+Appendix. If a bug, please report it to the developers (see below).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.1. Command Line Options
+4.1. Command Line Options
-JunkBuster may be invoked with the following command-line options:
+Privoxy may be invoked with the following command-line options:
* --version
to create or delete the FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE option is given, no
PID file will be used. Unix only.
+ * --user USER[.GROUP]
+
+ After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of USER, and if
+ included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the privileges are not sufficient to do
+ so. Unix only.
+
* configfile
- If no configfile is included on the command line, JunkBuster will look for
- a file named "config" in the current directory (except on Win32 where it
- will look for "config.txt" instead). Specify full path to avoid confusion.
+ If no configfile is included on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
+ file named "config" in the current directory (except on Win32 where it will
+ look for "config.txt" instead). Specify full path to avoid confusion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2. The Main Configuration File
+5. Privoxy Configuration
+
+All Privoxy configuration is stored in text files. These files can be edited
+with a text editor. Many important aspects of Privoxy can also be controlled
+easily with a web browser.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+5.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser
+
+Privoxy can be reached by the special URL http://p.p/ (or alternately http://
+config.privoxy.org/), which is an internal page. You will see the following
+section:
+
+Please choose from the following options:
+
+ * Show information about the current configuration
+ * Show the source code version numbers
+ * Show the client's request headers.
+ * Show which actions apply to a URL and why
+ * Toggle Privoxy on or off
+ * Edit the actions list
+
+
+
+This should be self-explanatory. Note the last item is an editor for the
+"actions list", which is where much of the ad, banner, cookie, and URL blocking
+magic is configured as well as other advanced features of Privoxy. This is an
+easy way to adjust various aspects of Privoxy configuration. The actions file,
+and other configuration files, are explained in detail below. Privoxy will
+automatically detect any changes to these files.
+
+"Toggle Privoxy On or Off" is handy for sites that might have problems with
+your current actions and filters, or just to test if a site misbehaves, whether
+it is Privoxy causing the problem or not. Privoxy continues to run as a proxy
+in this case, but all filtering is disabled.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+5.2. Configuration Files Overview
+
+For Unix, *BSD and Linux, all configuration files are located in /etc/privoxy/
+by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and AmigaOS these are all in the same
+directory as the Privoxy executable. The name and number of configuration files
+has changed from previous versions, and is subject to change as development
+progresses.
+
+The installed defaults provide a reasonable starting point, though possibly
+aggressive by some standards. For the time being, there are only three default
+configuration files (this may change in time):
+
+ * The main configuration file is named config on Linux, Unix, BSD, OS/2, and
+ AmigaOS and config.txt on Windows.
+
+ * The default.action file is used to define various "actions" relating to
+ images, banners, pop-ups, access restrictions, banners and cookies. There
+ is a CGI based editor for this file that can be accessed via http://p.p.
+ (Other actions files are included as well with differing levels of
+ filtering and blocking, e.g. basic.action.)
+
+ * The default.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.
+
+default.action and default.filter can use Perl style regular expressions for
+maximum flexibility. All files use the "#" character to denote a comment. Such
+lines are not processed by Privoxy. After making any changes, there is no need
+to restart Privoxy in order for the changes to take effect. Privoxy should
+detect such changes automatically.
+
+While under development, the configuration content is subject to change. The
+below documentation may not be accurate by the time you read this. Also, what
+constitutes a "default" setting, may change, so please check all your
+configuration files on important issues.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+5.3. The Main Configuration File
Again, the main configuration file is named config on Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2,
and config.txt on Windows. Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword
blockfile blocklist.ini
-Indicates that the blockfile is named "blocklist.ini".
+Indicates that the blockfile is named "blocklist.ini". (A default installation
+does not use this.)
A "#" indicates a comment. Any part of a line following a "#" is ignored,
except if the "#" is preceded by a "\".
Thus, by placing a "#" at the start of an existing configuration line, you can
make it a comment and it will be treated as if it weren't there. This is called
"commenting out" an option and can be useful to turn off features: If you
-comment out the "logfile" line, junkbuster will not log to a file at all. Watch
+comment out the "logfile" line, Privoxy will not log to a file at all. Watch
for the "default:" section in each explanation to see what happens if the
option is left unset (or commented out).
Long lines can be continued on the next line by using a "\" as the very last
character.
-There are various aspects of Junkbuster behavior that can be tuned.
+There are various aspects of Privoxy behavior that can be tuned.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2.1. Defining Other Configuration Files
+5.3.1. Defining Other Configuration Files
-Junkbuster can use a number of other files to tell it what ads to block, what
-cookies to accept, etc. This section of the configuration file tells Junkbuster
-where to find all those other files.
+Privoxy can use a number of other files to tell it what ads to block, what
+cookies to accept, and perform other functions. This section of the
+configuration file tells Privoxy where to find all those other files.
-On Windows and AmigaOS, Junkbuster looks for these files in the same directory
-as the executable. On Unix and OS/2, Junkbuster looks for these files in the
-current working directory. In either case, an absolute path name can be used to
-avoid problems.
+On Windows and AmigaOS, Privoxy looks for these files in the same directory as
+the executable. On Unix and OS/2, Privoxy looks for these files in the current
+working directory. In either case, an absolute path name can be used to avoid
+problems.
When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and per-user
config will be stored in subdirectories of "confdir". For now, only confdir/
The location of the configuration files:
- confdir /etc/junkbuster # No trailing /, please.
+ confdir /etc/privoxy # No trailing /, please.
The directory where all logging (i.e. logfile and jarfile) takes place. No
trailing "/", please:
- logdir /var/log/junkbuster
+ logdir /var/log/privoxy
Note that all file specifications below are relative to the above two
directories!
-The "ijb.action" file contains patterns to specify the actions to apply to
+The "default.action" file contains patterns to specify the actions to apply to
requests for each site. Default: Cookies to and from all destinations are kept
only during the current browser session (i.e. they are not saved to disk).
-Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are filtered if "re_filterfile"
-specified. No sites are blocked. An empty image is displayed for filtered ads
-and other images (formerly "tinygif"). The syntax of this file is explained in
-detail below.
+Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are filtered through selected
+sections of "default.filter". No sites are blocked. Privoxy displays a
+checkboard type pattern for filtered ads and other images. The syntax of this
+file is explained in detail below. Other "actions" files are included, and you
+are free to use any of them. They have varying degrees of aggressiveness.
- actionsfile ijb.action
+ actionsfile default.action
-The "re_filterfile" file contains content modification rules. These rules
-permit powerful changes on the content of Web pages, e.g., you could disable
-your favorite JavaScript annoyances, rewrite the actual content, or just have
-some fun replacing "Microsoft" with "MicroSuck" wherever it appears on a Web
-page. Default: No content modification, or whatever the developers are playing
-with :-/
+The "default.filter" file contains content modification rules that use "regular
+expressions". These rules permit powerful changes on the content of Web pages,
+e.g., you could disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances, re-write the
+actual displayed text, or just have some fun replacing "Microsoft" with
+"MicroSuck" wherever it appears on a Web page. Default: whatever the developers
+are playing with :-/
+
+Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to slow down
+page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has passed the
+filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way since the page is
+not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more noticeable on slower
+connections.
- re_filterfile re_filterfile
+ filterfile default.filter
The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The logfile
-can be useful for tracking down a problem with Junkbuster (e.g., it's not
-blocking an ad you think it should block) but in most cases you probably will
-never look at it.
+can be useful for tracking down a problem with Privoxy (e.g., it's not blocking
+an ad you think it should block) but in most cases you probably will never look
+at it.
Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to periodically
remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job (see "man cron").
For Redhat, a logrotate script has been included.
-On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like "/var/log/junkbuster.* +1024k
-644 nobody.nogroup" in /etc/logfiles, with the effect that cron.daily will
+On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like "/var/log/privoxy.* +1024k 644
+nobody.nogroup" in /etc/logfiles, with the effect that cron.daily will
automatically archive, gzip, and empty the log, when it exceeds 1M size.
Default: Log to the a file named logfile. Comment out to disable logging.
logfile logfile
-The "jarfile" defines where Junkbuster stores the cookies it intercepts. Note
-that if you use a "jarfile", it may grow quite large. Default: Don't store
+The "jarfile" defines where Privoxy stores the cookies it intercepts. Note that
+if you use a "jarfile", it may grow quite large. Default: Don't store
intercepted cookies.
#jarfile jarfile
-If you specify a "trustfile", Junkbuster will only allow access to sites that
-are named in the trustfile. You can also mark sites as trusted referrers, with
-the effect that access to untrusted sites will be granted, if a link from a
-trusted referrer was used. The link target will then be added to the
-"trustfile". This is a very restrictive feature that typical users most
-probably want to leave disabled. Default: Disabled, don't use the trust
-mechanism.
+If you specify a "trustfile", Privoxy will only allow access to sites that are
+named in the trustfile. You can also mark sites as trusted referrers, with the
+effect that access to untrusted sites will be granted, if a link from a trusted
+referrer was used. The link target will then be added to the "trustfile". This
+is a very restrictive feature that typical users most probably want to leave
+disabled. Default: Disabled, don't use the trust mechanism.
#trustfile trust
untrusted content. Use multiple times for multiple URLs. Default: Don't display
links on the "untrusted" info page.
- trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/why_we_block.html
- trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/what_we_allow.html
+ trust-info-url http://www.example.com/why_we_block.html
+ trust-info-url http://www.example.com/what_we_allow.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2.2. Other Configuration Options
+5.3.2. Other Configuration Options
-This part of the configuration file contains options that control how
-Junkbuster operates.
+This part of the configuration file contains options that control how Privoxy
+operates.
"Admin-address" should be set to the email address of the proxy administrator.
It is used in many of the proxy-generated pages. Default: fill@me.in.please.
#admin-address fill@me.in.please
-"Proxy-info-url" can be set to a URL that contains more info about this
-Junkbuster installation, it's configuration and policies. It is used in many of
-the proxy-generated pages and its use is highly recommended in multi-user
+"Proxy-info-url" can be set to a URL that contains more info about this Privoxy
+installation, it's configuration and policies. It is used in many of the
+proxy-generated pages and its use is highly recommended in multi-user
installations, since your users will want to know why certain content is
blocked or modified. Default: Don't show a link to on-line documentation.
- proxy-info-url http://www.your-site.com/proxy.html
+ proxy-info-url http://www.example.com/proxy.html
-"Listen-address" specifies the address and port where Junkbuster will listen
-for connections from your Web browser. The default is to listen on the
-localhost port 8118, and this is suitable for most users. (In your web browser,
-under proxy configuration, list the proxy server as "localhost" and the port as
+"Listen-address" specifies the address and port where Privoxy will listen for
+connections from your Web browser. The default is to listen on the localhost
+port 8118, and this is suitable for most users. (In your web browser, under
+proxy configuration, list the proxy server as "localhost" and the port as
"8118").
If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to
serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you
will need to override the default. The syntax is "listen-address
-[<ip-address>]:<port>". If you leave out the IP address, junkbuster will bind
-to all interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable from the
+[<ip-address>]:<port>". If you leave out the IP address, Privoxy will bind to
+all interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable from the
Internet. In that case, consider using access control lists (acl's) (see
"aclfile" above), or a firewall.
-For example, suppose you are running Junkbuster on a machine which has the
-address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network (192.168.0.0) and has another
-outside connection with a different address. You want it to serve requests from
-inside only:
+For example, suppose you are running Privoxy on a machine which has the address
+192.168.0.1 on your local private network (192.168.0.0) and has another outside
+connection with a different address. You want it to serve requests from inside
+only:
listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118
It is highly recommended that you enable ERROR reporting (debug 8192), at least
-until the next stable release.
+until v3.0 is released.
-The reporting of FATAL errors (i.e. ones which crash JunkBuster) is always on
-and cannot be disabled.
+The reporting of FATAL errors (i.e. ones which crash Privoxy) is always on and
+cannot be disabled.
If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set "debug 512" ONLY, do
not enable anything else.
debug 8192 # Errors - *we highly recommended enabling this*
-Junkbuster normally uses "multi-threading", a software technique that permits
-it to handle many different requests simultaneously. In some cases you may wish
-to disable this -- particularly if you're trying to debug a problem. The
-"single-threaded" option forces Junkbuster to handle requests sequentially.
+Privoxy normally uses "multi-threading", a software technique that permits it
+to handle many different requests simultaneously. In some cases you may wish to
+disable this -- particularly if you're trying to debug a problem. The
+"single-threaded" option forces Privoxy to handle requests sequentially.
Default: Multi-threaded mode.
#single-threaded
-"toggle" allows you to temporarily disable all Junkbuster's filtering. Just set
+"toggle" allows you to temporarily disable all Privoxy's filtering. Just set
"toggle 0".
-The Windows version of Junkbuster puts an icon in the system tray, which also
+The Windows version of Privoxy puts an icon in the system tray, which also
allows you to change this option. If you right-click on that icon (or select
-the "Options" menu), one choice is "Enable". Clicking on enable toggles
-Junkbuster on and off. This is useful if you want to temporarily disable
-Junkbuster, e.g., to access a site that requires cookies which you would
-otherwise have blocked. This can also be toggled via a web browser at the
-Junkbuster internal address of http://i.j.b on any platform.
+the "Options" menu), one choice is "Enable". Clicking on enable toggles Privoxy
+on and off. This is useful if you want to temporarily disable Privoxy, e.g., to
+access a site that requires cookies which you would otherwise have blocked.
+This can also be toggled via a web browser at the Privoxy internal address of
+http://p.p on any platform.
-"toggle 1" means Junkbuster runs normally, "toggle 0" means that Junkbuster
-becomes a non-anonymizing non-blocking proxy. Default: 1 (on).
+"toggle 1" means Privoxy runs normally, "toggle 0" means that Privoxy becomes a
+non-anonymizing non-blocking proxy. Default: 1 (on).
toggle 1
For content filtering, i.e. the "+filter" and "+deanimate-gif" actions, it is
-necessary that Junkbuster buffers the entire document body. This can be
+necessary that Privoxy buffers the entire document body. This can be
potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending data indefinitely
and wait for your RAM to exhaust. With nasty consequences.
buffer-limit 4069
-To enable the web-based ijb.action file editor set enable-edit-actions to 1, or
-0 to disable. Note that you must have compiled JunkBuster with support for this
-feature, otherwise this option has no effect. This internal page can be reached
-at http://i.j.b.
+To enable the web-based default.action file editor set enable-edit-actions to
+1, or 0 to disable. Note that you must have compiled Privoxy with support for
+this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. This internal page can be
+reached at http://p.p.
Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy can edit the
actions file, and their changes will affect all users. For shared proxies, you
enable-edit-actions 1
-Allow JunkBuster to be toggled on and off remotely, using your web browser. Set
+Allow Privoxy to be toggled on and off remotely, using your web browser. Set
"enable-remote-toggle"to 1 to enable, and 0 to disable. Note that you must have
-compiled JunkBuster with support for this feature, otherwise this option has no
+compiled Privoxy with support for this feature, otherwise this option has no
effect.
Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy can toggle it
-on or off (see http://i.j.b), and their changes will affect all users. For
-shared proxies, you probably want to disable this. Default: enabled.
+on or off (see http://p.p), and their changes will affect all users. For shared
+proxies, you probably want to disable this. Default: enabled.
enable-remote-toggle 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2.3. Access Control List (ACL)
+5.3.3. Access Control List (ACL)
Access controls are included at the request of some ISPs and systems
administrators, and are not usually needed by individual users. Please note the
The field separator (FS) is whitespace (space or tab).
-IMPORTANT NOTE: If the junkbuster is using a forwarder (see below) or a gateway
-for a particular destination URL, the DST_ADDR that is examined is the address
-of the forwarder or the gateway and NOT the address of the ultimate target.
-This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local Junkbuster to
-determine the address of the ultimate target (that's often what gateways are
-used for).
+IMPORTANT NOTE: If Privoxy is using a forwarder (see below) or a gateway for a
+particular destination URL, the DST_ADDR that is examined is the address of the
+forwarder or the gateway and NOT the address of the ultimate target. This is
+necessary because it may be impossible for the local Privoxy to determine the
+address of the ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for).
Here are a few examples to show how the ACL features work:
A silly example to illustrate permitting any host on the class-C subnet with
-Junkbuster to go anywhere:
+Privoxy to go anywhere:
- permit-access www.junkbusters.com/24
+ permit-access www.privoxy.com/24
Except deny one particular IP address from using it at all:
- deny-access ident.junkbusters.com
+ deny-access ident.privoxy.com
You can also specify an explicit network address and subnet mask. Explicit
to allow all *.org domains. Every IP address listed must resolve fully.
-An ISP may want to provide a Junkbuster that is accessible by "the world" and
-yet restrict use of some of their private content to hosts on its internal
-network (i.e. its own subscribers). Say, for instance the ISP owns the Class-B
-IP address block 123.124.0.0 (a 16 bit netmask). This is how they could do it:
+An ISP may want to provide a Privoxy that is accessible by "the world" and yet
+restrict use of some of their private content to hosts on its internal network
+(i.e. its own subscribers). Say, for instance the ISP owns the Class-B IP
+address block 123.124.0.0 (a 16 bit netmask). This is how they could do it:
permit-access 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 # other clients can go anywhere
# with the following exceptions:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2.4. Forwarding
+5.3.4. Forwarding
This feature allows chaining of HTTP requests via multiple proxies. It can be
used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when accessing specific
via multiple gateways allowing transparent access to multiple networks without
having to modify browser configurations.
-Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Junkbuster SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A. The
+Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Privoxy SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A. The
difference is that SOCKS 4A will resolve the target hostname using DNS on the
SOCKS server, not our local DNS client.
forward :443 .
-See the FAQ for instructions on how to automate the login procedure for LPWA.
Some users have reported difficulties related to LPWA's use of "." as the last
element of the domain, and have said that this can be fixed with this:
Also, we're told they insist on getting cookies and JavaScript, so you should
-add home.com to the cookie file. We consider JavaScript a security risk. Java
-need not be enabled.
+allow cookies from home.com. We consider JavaScript a potential security risk.
+Java need not be enabled.
In this example direct connections are made to all "internal" domains, but
everything else goes through Lucent's LPWA by way of the company's SOCKS
This is a bit tricky, but here's an example:
host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.com. And host-b has a PPP connection to
-isp-b.com. host-a can run a Junkbuster proxy with forwarding like this:
+isp-b.com. host-a can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this:
forward .* .
forward isp-b.com host-b:8118
-host-b can run a Junkbuster proxy with forwarding like this:
+host-b can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this:
forward .* .
forward isp-a.com host-a:8118
forward www.ukc.mirror.ac.uk . # Specific host
-If you intend to chain Junkbuster and squid locally, then chain as browser ->
-squid -> junkbuster is the recommended way.
+If you intend to chain Privoxy and squid locally, then chain as browser ->
+squid -> privoxy is the recommended way.
-Your squid configuration could then look like this:
+Your squid configuration could then look like this (assuming that the IP
+address of the box is 192.168.0.1 ):
- # Define junkbuster as parent cache
+ # Define Privoxy as parent cache
- cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 0 no-query
+ cache_peer 192.168.0.1 parent 8118 0 no-query
+
+ # don't listen to the whole world
+ http_port 192.168.0.1:3128
+
+ # define the local lan
+ acl mylocallan src 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.5/255.255.255.255
+
+ # grant access for http to local lan
+ http_access allow mylocallan
# Define ACL for protocol FTP
acl FTP proto FTP
- # Do not forward ACL FTP to junkbuster
+ # Do not forward ACL FTP to privoxy
always_direct allow FTP
- # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to junkbuster
+ # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to privoxy
always_direct allow CONNECT
- # Forward the rest to junkbuster
+ # Forward the rest to privoxy
never_direct allow all
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.2.5. Windows GUI Options
+5.3.5. Windows GUI Options
-Junkbuster has a number of options specific to the Windows GUI interface:
+Privoxy has a number of options specific to the Windows GUI interface:
-If "activity-animation" is set to 1, the Junkbuster icon will animate when
-"Junkbuster" is active. To turn off, set to 0.
+If "activity-animation" is set to 1, the Privoxy icon will animate when
+"Privoxy" is active. To turn off, set to 0.
activity-animation 1
-If "log-messages" is set to 1, Junkbuster will log messages to the console
-window:
+If "log-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will log messages to the console window:
log-messages 1
log-max-lines 200
-If "log-highlight-messages" is set to 1, Junkbuster will highlight portions of
-the log messages with a bold-faced font:
+If "log-highlight-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will highlight portions of the
+log messages with a bold-faced font:
log-highlight-messages 1
log-font-size 8
-"show-on-task-bar" controls whether or not Junkbuster will appear as a button
-on the Task bar when minimized:
+"show-on-task-bar" controls whether or not Privoxy will appear as a button on
+the Task bar when minimized:
show-on-task-bar 0
If "close-button-minimizes" is set to 1, the Windows close button will minimize
-Junkbuster instead of closing the program (close with the exit option on the
-File menu).
+Privoxy instead of closing the program (close with the exit option on the File
+menu).
close-button-minimizes 1
-The "hide-console" option is specific to the MS-Win console version of
-JunkBuster. If this option is used, Junkbuster will disconnect from and hide
-the command console.
+The "hide-console" option is specific to the MS-Win console version of Privoxy.
+If this option is used, Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the command
+console.
#hide-console
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.3. The Actions File
+5.4. The Actions File
-The "ijb.action" file (formerly actionsfile) is used to define what actions
-Junkbuster takes, and thus determines how images, cookies and various other
-aspects of HTTP content and transactions are handled. Images can be anything
-you want, including ads, banners, or just some obnoxious image that you would
-rather not see. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or accepted only during
-the current browser session (i.e. not written to disk). Changes to ijb.action
-should be immediately visible to Junkbuster without the need to restart.
+The "default.action" file (formerly actionsfile or ijb.action) is used to
+define what actions Privoxy takes, and thus determines how ad images, cookies
+and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are handled. These
+can be accepted or rejected for all sites, or just those sites you choose. See
+below for a complete list of actions.
+
+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
+accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not written to disk).
+Changes to default.action should be immediately visible to Privoxy without the
+need to restart.
+
+Note that some sites may misbehave, or possibly not work at all with some
+actions. This may require some tinkering with the rules to get the most mileage
+of Privoxy's features, and still be able to see and enjoy just what you want
+to. There is no general rule of thumb on these things. There just are too many
+variables, and sites are always changing.
+
+The easiest way to edit the "actions" file is with a browser by loading http://
+p.p/, and then select "Edit Actions List". A text editor can also be used.
To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is
compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of
applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated. You can trace this
-process by visiting http://i.j.b/show-url-info.
-
-The actions file can be edited with a browser by loading http://i.j.b/, and
-then select "Edit Actions".
+process by visiting http://p.p/show-url-info.
There are four types of lines in this file: comments (begin with a "#"
character), actions, aliases and patterns, all of which are explained below, as
-well as the configuration file syntax that Junkbuster understands.
+well as the configuration file syntax that Privoxy understands.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.3.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax
+5.4.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax
Generally, a pattern has the form <domain>/<path>, where both the <domain> and
<path> part are optional. If you only specify a domain part, the "/" can be
www.example.com/index.html - matches only the single document "/index.html" on
"www.example.com".
-/index.html - matches the document "/index.html", regardless of the domain.
+/index.html - matches the document "/index.html", regardless of the domain. So
+would match any page named "index.html" on any site.
index.html - matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name
and there is no top-level domain called ".html".
The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the domain
starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end. For example:
-.example.com - matches any domain that ENDS in ".example.com".
+.example.com - matches any domain or sub-domain that ENDS in ".example.com".
www. - matches any domain that STARTS with "www".
www[1-9a-ez].example.com - matches "www1.example.com", "www4.example.com",
"wwwd.example.com", "wwwz.example.com", etc., but not "wwww.example.com".
-If Junkbuster was compiled with "pcre" support (default), Perl compatible
-regular expressions can be used. See the pcre/docs/ directory or "man perlre"
-(also available on http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html) for details.
-A brief discussion of regular expressions is in the Appendix. For instance:
+If Privoxy was compiled with "pcre" support (the default), Perl compatible
+regular expressions can be used. These are more flexible and powerful than
+other types of "regular expressions". See the pcre/docs/ directory or "man
+perlre" (also available on http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html) for
+details. A brief discussion of regular expressions is in the Appendix. For
+instance:
/.*/advert[0-9]+\.jpe?g - would match a URL from any domain, with any path that
includes "advert" followed immediately by one or more digits, then a "." and
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.3.2. Actions
+5.4.2. Actions
Actions are enabled if preceded with a "+", and disabled if preceded with a
"-". Actions are invoked by enclosing the action name in curly braces (e.g.
If nothing is specified in this file, no "actions" are taken. So in this case
-JunkBuster would just be a normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You
-must specifically enable the privacy and blocking features you need (although
-the provided default ijb.action file will give a good starting point).
+Privoxy would just be a normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must
+specifically enable the privacy and blocking features you need (although the
+provided default default.action file will give a good starting point).
-Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. For multi-valued actions,
+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.
-The list of valid Junkbuster "actions" are:
+The list of valid Privoxy "actions" are:
* Add the specified HTTP header, which is not checked for validity. You may
specify this many times to specify many different headers:
+add-header{Name: value}
- * Block this URL totally.
+ * Block this URL totally. In a default installation, a "blocked" URL will
+ result in bright red banner that says "BLOCKED", with a reason why it is
+ being blocked, and an option to see it anyway. The page displayed for this
+ is the "blocked" template file.
+block
* "+downgrade" will downgrade HTTP/1.1 client requests to HTTP/1.0 and
downgrade the responses as well. Use this action for servers that use HTTP/
- 1.1 protocol features that Junkbuster doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 is
+ 1.1 protocol features that Privoxy doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 is
only partially implemented. Default is not to downgrade requests.
+downgrade
ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds the
advertisers.
- The "+fast-redirects" option enables interception of these requests by
- Junkbuster, who will cut off all but the last valid URL in the request and
- send a local redirect back to your browser without contacting the remote
- site.
+ The "+fast-redirects" option enables interception of these types of
+ requests by Privoxy, who will cut off all but the last valid URL in the
+ request and send a local redirect back to your browser without contacting
+ the intermediate site(s).
+fast-redirects
- * Filter the website through the re_filterfile:
+ * Apply the filters in the section_header section of the default.filter file
+ to the site(s). default.filter sections are grouped according to like
+ functionality. Filters can be used to re-write any of the raw page content.
+ This is a potentially a very powerful feature!
- +filter{filename}
+ +filter{section_header}
+ Filter sections that are pre-defined in the supplied default.filter
+ include:
+
+ html-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse.
+
+ js-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse
+
+ no-poups: Kill all popups in JS and HTML
+
+ frameset-borders: Give frames a border
+
+ webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking)
+
+ no-refresh: Automatic refresh sucks on auto-dialup lines
+
+ fun: Text replacements for subversive browsing fun!
+
+ nimda: Remove (virus) Nimda code.
+
+ banners-by-size: Kill banners by size
+
+ crude-parental: Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or
+ "warez"
+
* Block any existing X-Forwarded-for header, and do not add a new one:
+hide-forwarded
* Don't send the "Referer:" (sic) header to the web site. You can block it,
forge a URL to the same server as the request (which is preferred because
- some sites will not send images otherwise) or set it to a constant string
- of your choice.
+ some sites will not send images otherwise) or set it to a constant, user
+ defined string of your choice.
+hide-referer{block}
+hide-referer{forge}
* Treat this URL as an image. This only matters if it's also "+block"ed, in
which case a "blocked" image can be sent rather than a HTML page. See
- "+image-blocker{}" below for the control over what is actually sent.
+ "+image-blocker{}" below for the control over what is actually sent. If you
+ want invisible ads, they should be defined as images and blocked. And also,
+ "image-blocker" should be set to "blank". Note you cannot treat HTML pages
+ as images in most cases. For instance, frames require an HTML page to
+ display. So a frame that is an ad, cannot be treated as an image. Forcing
+ an "image" in this situation just will not work.
+image
- * Decides what to do with URLs that end up tagged with "{+block +image}".
- There are 4 options. "-image-blocker" will send a HTML "blocked" page,
- usually resulting in a "broken image" icon. "+image-blocker{logo}" will
- send a "JunkBuster" image. "+image-blocker{blank}" will send a 1x1
- transparent GIF image. And finally, "+image-blocker{http://xyz.com}" will
- send a HTTP temporary redirect to the specified image. This has the
- advantage of the icon being being cached by the browser, which will speed
- up the display.
+ * Decides what to do with URLs that end up tagged with "{+block +image}", e.g
+ an advertizement. There are five options. "-image-blocker" will send a HTML
+ "blocked" page, usually resulting in a "broken image" icon. "+image-blocker
+ {blank}" will send a 1x1 transparent GIF image. And finally,
+ "+image-blocker{http://xyz.com}" will send a HTTP temporary redirect to the
+ specified image. This has the advantage of the icon being being cached by
+ the browser, which will speed up the display. "+image-blocker{pattern}"
+ will send a checkboard type pattern
- +image-blocker{logo}
+image-blocker{blank}
- +image-blocker{http://i.j.b/send-banner}
+ +image-blocker{pattern}
+ +image-blocker{http://p.p/send-banner}
- * By default (i.e. in the absence of a "+limit-connect" action), Junkbuster
- will only allow CONNECT requests to port 443, which is the standard port
- for https as a precaution.
+ * By default (i.e. in the absence of a "+limit-connect" action), Privoxy will
+ only allow CONNECT requests to port 443, which is the standard port for
+ https as a precaution.
The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites
(https:// URLs) through proxies. It works very simply: the proxy connects
* "+no-compression" prevents the website from compressing the data. Some
- websites do this, which can be a problem for Junkbuster, since "+filter",
+ websites do this, which can be a problem for Privoxy, since "+filter",
"+no-popup" and "+gif-deanimate" will not work on compressed data. This
will slow down connections to those websites, though. Default is
- "nocompression" is turned on.
+ "no-compression" is turned on.
+nocompression
login.yahoo.com
-Turn on page filtering, with one exception for sourceforge:
+Turn on page filtering according to rules in the defined sections of
+refilterfile, and make one exception for sourceforge:
- # Run everything through the default filter file (re_filterfile):
- {+filter}
-
- # But please don't re_filter code from sourceforge!
+ # Run everything through the filter file, using only the
+ # specified sections:
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}\
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
+
+ # Then disable filtering of code from sourceforge!
{-filter}
.cvs.sourceforge.net
-Now some URLs that we want "blocked", ie we won't see them. Many of these use
-regular expressions that will expand to match multiple URLs:
+Now some URLs that we want "blocked" (normally generates the "blocked" banner).
+Many of these use regular expressions that will expand to match multiple URLs:
# Blocklist:
{+block}
/autoads/
+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 he may
+depend on. There is no way to have hard and fast rules for all sites. See the
+Appendix for a brief example on troubleshooting actions.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.3.3. Aliases
+5.4.3. Aliases
-Custom "actions", known to Junkbuster as "aliases", can be defined by combining
+Custom "actions", known to Privoxy as "aliases", can be defined by combining
other "actions". These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in "actions".
Currently, an alias can contain any character except space, tab, "=", "{" or "}
". But please use only "a"- "z", "0"-"9", "+", and "-". Alias names are not
-case sensitive, and must be defined before anything else in the ijb.actionfile
-! And there can only be one set of "aliases" defined.
+case sensitive, and must be defined before anything else in the
+default.actionfile! And there can only be one set of "aliases" defined.
Now let's define a few aliases:
- # Useful customer aliases we can use later. These must come first!
+ # Useful custom aliases we can use later. These must come first!
{{alias}}
+no-cookies = +no-cookies-set +no-cookies-read
-no-cookies = -no-cookies-set -no-cookies-read
.overclockers.co.uk
+The "shop" and "fragile" aliases are often used for "problem" sites that
+require most actions to be disabled in order to function properly.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-3.4. The Filter File
+5.5. The Filter File
-The filter file defines what filtering of web pages Junkbuster does. The
-default filter file is re_filterfile, located in the config directory. In this
-file, any document content, whether viewable text or embedded non-visible
-content, can be changed.
+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 default.filter,
+located in the config directory.
+
+This is potentially a very powerful feature, and requires knowledge of both
+"regular expression" and HTML in order create custom filters. But, there are a
+number of useful filters included with Privoxy for many common situations.
+
+The included example file is divided into sections. Each section begins with
+the FILTER keyword, followed by the identifier for that section, e.g. "FILTER:
+webbugs". Each section performs a similar type of filtering, such as
+"html-annoyances".
This file uses regular expressions to alter or remove any string in the target
-page. Some examples from the included default re_filterfile:
+page. The expressions can only operate on one line at a time. Some examples
+from the included default default.filter:
Stop web pages from displaying annoying messages in the status bar by deleting
such references:
- # The status bar is for displaying link targets, not pointless buzzwords.
- # Again, check it out on http://www.airport-cgn.de/.
- s/status='.*?';*//ig
-
-
-Just for kicks, replace any occurrence of "Microsoft" with "MicroSuck":
+ FILTER: html-annoyances
- s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig
-
+ # New browser windows should be resizeable and have a location and status
+ # bar. Make it so.
+ #
+ s/resizable="?(no|0)"?/resizable=1/ig s/noresize/yesresize/ig
+ s/location="?(no|0)"?/location=1/ig s/status="?(no|0)"?/status=1/ig
+ s/scrolling="?(no|0|Auto)"?/scrolling=1/ig
+ s/menubar="?(no|0)"?/menubar=1/ig
-Kill those auto-refresh tags:
+ # The <BLINK> tag was a crime!
+ #
+ s*<blink>|</blink>**ig
- # Kill refresh tags. I like to refresh myself. Manually.
- # check it out on http://www.airport-cgn.de/ and go to the arrivals page.
+ # Is this evil?
#
- s/<meta[^>]*http-equiv[^>]*refresh.*URL=([^>]*?)"?>/<link rev="x-refresh" href
-=$1>/i
- s/<meta[^>]*http-equiv="?page-enter"?[^>]*content=[^>]*>/<!
---no page enter for me-->/i
+ #s/framespacing="?(no|0)"?//ig
+ #s/margin(height|width)=[0-9]*//gi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-3.5. Templates
+Just for kicks, replace any occurrence of "Microsoft" with "MicroSuck", and
+have a little fun with topical buzzwords:
-When Junkbuster 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 locate in /etc/junkbuster/templates by default. These may be customized, if
-desired.
+ FILTER: fun
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig
-4. Quickstart to Using Junkbuster
+ # Buzzword Bingo:
+ #
+ s/industry-leading|cutting-edge|award-winning/<font color=red><b>BINGO!</b></
+font>/ig
+
-Install package, then run and enjoy! JunkBuster accepts only one command line
-option -- the configuration file to be used. Example Unix startup command:
+Kill those pesky little web-bugs:
-
- # /usr/sbin/junkbuster /etc/junkbuster/config
-
-
+ # webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking)
+ FILTER: webbugs
-An init script is provided for SuSE and Redhat.
+ s/<img\s+[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1\D[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1
+(\D[^>]*?)?>/<!-- Squished WebBug -->/sig
+
-For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/junkbuster start
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/junkbuster start
+5.6. Templates
-If no configuration file is specified on the command line, Junkbuster will look
-for a file named config in the current directory. Except on Win32 where it will
-try config.txt. If no file is specified on the command line and no default
-configuration file can be found, Junkbuster will fail to start.
-
-Be sure your browser is set to use the proxy which is by default at localhost,
-port 8118. With Netscape (and Mozilla), this can be set under Edit ->
-Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy. For Internet Explorer: Tools
-> Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then, check "Use Proxy"
-and fill in the appropriate info (Address: localhost, Port: 8118). Include if
-HTTPS proxy support too.
+When Privoxy 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 /etc/privoxy/templates by default. These may be customized, if
+desired.
-The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting
-point, though may be somewhat aggressive in blocking junk. You will probably
-want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent cookies, and add
-these to ijb.action as needed. By default, most of these will be accepted only
-during the current browser session, until you add them to the configuration. If
-you want the browser to handle this instead, you will need to edit ijb.action
-and disable this feature. If you use more than one browser, it would make more
-sense to let Junkbuster handle this. In which case, the browser(s) should be
-set to accept all cookies.
-
-If a particular site shows problems loading properly, try adding it to the
-{fragile} section of ijb.action. This will turn off most actions for this site.
-
-Junkbuster is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 features are as yet
-implemented. If browsers that support HTTP/1.1 (like Mozilla or recent versions
-of I.E.) experience problems, you might try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility.
-For Mozilla, look under Edit -> Preferences -> Debug -> Networking. Or set the
-"+downgrade" config option in ijb.action.
-
-After running Junkbuster for a while, you can start to fine tune the
-configuration to suit your personal, or site, preferences and requirements.
-There are many, many aspects that can be customized. "Actions" (as specified in
-ijb.action) can be adjusted by pointing your browser to http://i.j.b/, and then
-follow the link to "edit the actions list". (This is an internal page and does
-not require Internet access.)
-
-In fact, various aspects of Junkbuster configuration can be viewed from this
-page, including current configuration parameters, source code version numbers,
-the browser's request headers, and "actions" that apply to a given URL. In
-addition to the ijb.action file editor mentioned above, Junkbuster can also be
-turned "on" and "off" from this page.
-
-If you encounter problems, please verify it is a Junkbuster bug, by disabling
-Junkbuster, and then trying the same page. Also, try another browser if
-possible to eliminate browser or site problems. Before reporting it as a bug,
-see if there is not a configuration option that is enabled that is causing the
-page not to load. You can then add an exception for that page or site. If a
-bug, please report it to the developers (see below).
+The default "Blocked" banner page with the bright red top banner, is called
+just "blocked". This may be customized or replaced with something else if
+desired.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-5. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests
-
-Please do not use the mailing lists for feature requests or bug reports. They
-are not as easily tracked this way!
-
-Feature requests and other questions should be posted to the Feature request
-page at SourceForge. There is also an archive there.
-
-Anyone interested in actively participating in development and related
-discussions can join the appropriate mailing list here. Archives are available
-here too.
+6. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests
-Please report bugs, using the form at Sourceforge. Please try to verify that it
-is a Junkbuster bug, and not a browser or site bug first. Also, check to make
-sure this is not already a known bug. If you are using your own custom
-configuration, please try the stock configs to see if the problem is a
-configuration related bug.
+We value your feedback. However, to provide you with the best support, please
+note:
+ * Use the Sourceforge Support Forum to get help:
+
+ http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
+
+
+ * Submit bugs only through our Sourceforge Bug Forum:
+
+ http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
+
+
+ Make sure that the bug has not already been submitted. Please try to verify
+ that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug first. If you are
+ using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to see if
+ the problem is a configuration related bug. And if not using the latest
+ development snapshot, please try the latest one. Or even better, CVS
+ sources. Please be sure to include the Privoxy/Junkbuster version,
+ platform, browser, any pertinent log data, any other relevant details
+ (please be specific) and, if possible, some way to reproduce the bug.
+
+ * Submit feature requests only through our Sourceforge feature request
+ forum:
+
+ http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118&func=browse.
+
+
+ * We will soon have an automated way to submit advertisements, incorrectly
+ blocked images, popups and the like. Check back.
+
+
+ * For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists:
+
+ http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118.
+
+
+ Anyone interested in actively participating in development and related
+ discussions can also join the appropriate mailing list. Archives are
+ available too.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-6. Copyright and History
+7. Copyright and History
-6.1. License
+7.1. Copyright
-Internet Junkbuster is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
-under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
-Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any
-later version.
+Privoxy is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
+version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
is available from the Free Software Foundation, Inc, 59 Temple Place - Suite
330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple
+Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA.
+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-6.2. History
+7.2. History
+
+Privoxy is evolved, and derived from, the Internet Junkbuster, with many
+improvments and enhancements over the original.
Junkbuster was originally written by Anonymous Coders and Junkbuster's
Corporation, and was released as free open-source software under the GNU GPL.
-Stefan Waldherr made many improvements, and started the SourceForge project to
-rekindle development. There are now several active developers contributing. The
-last stable release was v2.0.2, which has now grown whiskers ;-).
+Stefan Waldherr made many improvements, and started the SourceForge project
+Privoxy to rekindle development. There are now several active developers
+contributing. The last stable release of Junkbuster was v2.0.2, which has now
+grown whiskers ;-).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-7. See also
+8. See Also
+
+Other references and sites of interest to Privoxy users:
- http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa
+http://www.privoxy.org/, The Privoxy Home page.
- http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/
+http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa, the Project Page for Privoxy on
+Sourceforge.
- http://i.j.b/
+http://p.p/, access Privoxy from your browser. Alternately, http://
+config.privoxy.org may work in some situations where the first does not.
- http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html
+http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html
- http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/
+http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/
- http://privacy.net/analyze/
+http://privacy.net/analyze/
- http://www.squid-cache.org/
+http://www.squid-cache.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-8. Appendix
+9. Appendix
-8.1. Regular Expressions
+9.1. Regular Expressions
-Junkbuster can use "regular expressions" in various config files. Assuming
-support for "pcre" (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) is compiled in, which
-is the default. Such configuration directives do not require regular
-expressions, but they can be used to increase flexibility by matching a pattern
-with wild-cards against URLs.
+Privoxy can use "regular expressions" in various config files. Assuming support
+for "pcre" (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) is compiled in, which is the
+default. Such configuration directives do not require regular expressions, but
+they can be used to increase flexibility by matching a pattern with wild-cards
+against URLs.
If you are reading this, you probably don't understand what "regular
expressions" are, or what they can do. So this will be a very brief
replaced by "string2" in this example.
These are just some of the ones you are likely to use when matching URLs with
-Junkbuster, and is a long way from a definitive list. This is enough to get us
+Privoxy, and is a long way from a definitive list. This is enough to get us
started with a few simple examples which may be more illuminating:
/.*/banners/.* - A simple example that uses the common combination of "." and "
this is a hyperlink, we don't want to break it ;-).
We are barely scratching the surface of regular expressions here so that you
-can understand the default Junkbuster configuration files, and maybe use this
+can understand the default Privoxy configuration files, and maybe use this
knowledge to customize your own installation. There is much, much more that can
be done with regular expressions. Now that you know enough to get started, you
can learn more on your own :/
More reading on Perl Compatible Regular expressions: http://www.perldoc.com/
perl5.6/pod/perlre.html
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+9.2. Privoxy's Internal Pages
+
+Since Privoxy proxies each requested web page, it is easy for Privoxy to trap
+certain special URLs. In this way, we can talk directly to Privoxy, and see how
+it is configured, see how our rules are being applied, change these rules and
+other configuration options, and even turn Privoxy's filtering off, all with a
+web browser.
+
+The URLs listed below are the special ones that allow direct access to Privoxy.
+Of course, Privoxy must be running to access these. If not, you will get a
+friendly error message. Internet access is not necessary either.
+
+ * Privoxy main page:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/
+
+ Alternately, this may be reached at http://p.p/, but this variation may not
+ work as reliably as the above in some configurations.
+
+ * Show information about the current configuration:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/show-status
+
+ * Show the source code version numbers:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/show-version
+
+ * Show the client's request headers:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/show-request
+
+ * Show which actions apply to a URL and why:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info
+
+ * Toggle Privoxy on or off. In this case, "Privoxy" continues to run, but
+ only as a pass-through proxy, with no actions taking place:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/toggle
+
+ Short cuts. Turn off, then on:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=enable
+
+ * Edit the actions list file:
+
+ http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions
+
+These may be bookmarked for quick reference.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+9.2.1. Bookmarklets
+
+Here are some bookmarklets to allow you to easily access a "mini" version of
+this page. They are designed for MS Internet Explorer, but should work equally
+well in Netscape, Mozilla, and other browsers which support JavaScript. They
+are designed to run directly from your bookmarks - not by clicking the links
+below (although that will work for testing).
+
+To save them, right-click the link and choose "Add to Favorites" (IE) or "Add
+Bookmark" (Netscape). You will get a warning that the bookmark "may not be
+safe" - just click OK. Then you can run the Bookmarklet directly from your
+favourites/bookmarks. For even faster access, you can put them on the "Links"
+bar (IE) or the "Personal Toolbar" (Netscape), and run them with a single
+click.
+
+ * Enable Privoxy
+
+ * Disable Privoxy
+
+ * Toggle Privoxy (Toggles between enabled and disabled)
+
+ * View Privoxy Status
+
+Credit: The site which gave me the general idea for these bookmarklets is
+www.bookmarklets.com. They have more information about bookmarklets.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+9.3. Anatomy of an Action
+
+The way Privoxy applies "actions" and "filters" 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 see just what Privoxy is doing. Especially, if something
+Privoxy is doing is causing us a problem inadvertantly. It can be a little
+daunting to look at the actions and filters files themselves, since they tend
+to be filled with "regular expressions" whose consequences are not always so
+obvious. Privoxy provides the http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info page that
+can show us very specifically how actions are being applied to any given URL.
+This is a big help for troubleshooting.
+
+First, enter one URL (or partial URL) at the prompt, and then Privoxy will tell
+us how the current configuration will handle it. This will not help with
+filtering effects from the default.filter file! 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
+"View Page Source" option for this. Or right click on the ad, and grab the URL.
+
+Let's look at an example, google.com, one section at a time:
+
+ System default actions:
+
+ { -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects -filter
+ -hide-forwarded -hide-from -hide-referer -hide-user-agent -image
+ -image-blocker -limit-connect -no-compression -no-cookies-keep
+ -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set -no-popups -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+
+
+
+This is the top section, and only tells us of the compiled in defaults. This is
+basically what Privoxy would do if there were not any "actions" defined, i.e.
+it does nothing. Every action is disabled. This is not particularly informative
+for our purposes here. OK, next section:
+
+ Matches for http://google.com:
+
+ { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression
+ +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups
+ -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+ /
+
+ { -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set }
+ .google.com
+
+ { -fast-redirects }
+ .google.com
+
+
+
+This is much more informative, and tells us how we have defined our "actions",
+and which ones match for our example, "google.com". The first grouping shows
+our default settings, which would apply to all URLs. If you look at your
+"actions" file, this would be the section just below the "aliases" section near
+the top. This applies to all URLs as signified by the single forward slash -- "
+/".
+
+These are the default actions we have enabled. But we can define additional
+actions that would be exceptions to these general rules, and then list specific
+URLs that these exceptions would apply to. Last match wins. Just below this
+then are two explict matches for ".google.com". The first is negating our
+various cookie blocking actions (i.e. we will allow cookies here). The second
+is allowing "fast-redirects". Note that there is a leading dot here --
+".google.com". This will match any hosts and sub-domains, in the google.com
+domain also, such as "www.google.com". So, apparently, we have these actions
+defined somewhere in the lower part of our actions file, and "google.com" is
+referenced in these sections.
+
+And now we pull it altogether in the bottom section and summarize how Privoxy
+is appying all its "actions" to "google.com":
+
+ Final results:
+
+ -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} -limit-connect +no-compression
+ -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups -vanilla-wafer
+ -wafer
+
+
+
+Now another example, "ad.doubleclick.net":
+
+ { +block +image }
+ .ad.doubleclick.net
+
+ { +block +image }
+ ad*.
+
+ { +block +image }
+ .doubleclick.net
+
+
+
+We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is matched
+three different times. Each as an "+block +image", which is the expanded form
+of one of our aliases that had been defined as: "+imageblock". ("Aliases" are
+defined in the first section of the actions file and typically used to combine
+more than one action.)
+
+Any one of these would have done the trick and blocked this as an unwanted
+image. This is unnecessarily redundant since the last case effectively 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 "ad.doubleclick.net" is done here -- as both a "+block" and an
+"+image". The custom alias "+imageblock" does this for us.
+
+One last example. Let's try "http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/". This one is
+giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm...
+
+ Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
+
+ { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression
+ +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups
+ -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+ /
+
+ { +block +image }
+ /ads
+
+
+
+Ooops, the "/adsl/" is matching "/ads"! 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
+explictly does not block (-block) pages with "adsl". There are various ways to
+handle such exceptions. Example:
+
+ { -block }
+ /adsl
+
+
+
+Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when making
+such changes. Or, try using Shift+Reload.
+
+But now what about a situation where we get no explicit matches like we did
+with:
+
+ { -block }
+ /adsl
+
+
+
+That actually was very telling and pointed us quickly to where the problem was.
+If you don't get this kind of match, then it means one of the default rules in
+the first section is causing the problem. This would require some guesswork,
+and maybe a little trial and error to isolate the offending rule. One likely
+cause would be one of the "{+filter}" actions. Try adding the URL for the site
+to one of aliases that turn off "+filter":
+
+ {shop}
+ .quietpc.com
+ .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
+ .jungle.com
+ .scan.co.uk
+ .forbes.com
+
+
+
+"{shop}" is an "alias" that expands to "{ -filter -no-cookies -no-cookies-keep
+}". Or you could do your own exception to negate filtering:
+
+ {-filter}
+ .forbes.com
+
+
+
+"{fragile}" is an alias that disables most actions. This can be used as a last
+resort for problem sites. Remember to flush caches! If this still does not
+work, you will have to go through the remaining actions one by one to find
+which one(s) is causing the problem.
+
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff