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+ <div class="SECT1">
+ <h1 class="SECT1"><a name="ACTIONS-FILE" id="ACTIONS-FILE">8. Actions
+ Files</a></h1>
+
+ <p>The actions files are used to define what <span class=
+ "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">actions</i></span> <span class=
+ "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> takes for which URLs, and thus determines
+ how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and
+ transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts thereof).
+ There are a number of such actions, with a wide range of functionality.
+ Each action does something a little different. These actions give us a
+ veritable arsenal of tools with which to exert our control, preferences
+ and independence. Actions can be combined so that their effects are
+ aggregated when applied against a given set of URLs.</p>
+
+ <p>There are three action files included with <span class=
+ "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> with differing purposes:</p>
+
+ <ul>
+ <li>
+ <p><tt class="FILENAME">match-all.action</tt> - is used to define
+ which <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> relating to
+ banner-blocking, images, pop-ups, content modification, cookie
+ handling etc should be applied by default. It should be the first
+ actions file loaded</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p><tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt> - defines many exceptions
+ (both positive and negative) from the default set of actions that's
+ configured in <tt class="FILENAME">match-all.action</tt>. It is a set
+ of rules that should work reasonably well as-is for most users. This
+ file is only supposed to be edited by the developers. It should be
+ the second actions file loaded.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p><tt class="FILENAME">user.action</tt> - is intended to be for
+ local site preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or
+ your bank has specific requirements, and need special handling, this
+ kind of thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.</p>
+ </li>
+
+ <li>
+ <p><span class="GUIBUTTON">Edit</span> <span class="GUIBUTTON">Set to
+ Cautious</span> <span class="GUIBUTTON">Set to Medium</span>
+ <span class="GUIBUTTON">Set to Advanced</span></p>
+
+ <p>These have increasing levels of aggressiveness <span class=
+ "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">and have no influence on your browsing
+ unless you select them explicitly in the editor</i></span>. A default
+ installation should be pre-set to <tt class="LITERAL">Cautious</tt>.
+ New users should try this for a while before adjusting the settings
+ to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive the settings, then the
+ more likelihood there is of problems such as sites not working as
+ they should.</p>
+
+ <p>The <span class="GUIBUTTON">Edit</span> button allows you to turn
+ each action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The <span class=
+ "GUIBUTTON">Cautious</span> button changes the actions list to
+ low/safe settings which will activate ad blocking and a minimal set
+ of <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>'s features, and
+ subsequently there will be less of a chance for accidental problems.
+ The <span class="GUIBUTTON">Medium</span> button sets the list to a
+ medium level of other features and a low level set of privacy
+ features. The <span class="GUIBUTTON">Advanced</span> button sets the
+ list to a high level of ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See
+ the chart below. The latter three buttons over-ride any changes via
+ with the <span class="GUIBUTTON">Edit</span> button. More fine-tuning
+ can be done in the lower sections of this internal page.</p>
+
+ <p>While the actions file editor allows to enable these settings in
+ all actions files, they are only supposed to be enabled in the first
+ one to make sure you don't unintentionally overrule earlier
+ rules.</p>
+
+ <p>The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined
+ in <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt> are:</p>
+
+ <div class="TABLE">
+ <a name="AEN2777" id="AEN2777"></a>
+
+ <p><b>Table 1. Default Configurations</b></p>
+
+ <table border="1" frame="border" rules="all" class="CALSTABLE">
+ <col width="1*" title="C1">
+ <col width="1*" title="C2">
+ <col width="1*" title="C3">
+ <col width="1*" title="C4">
+
+ <thead>
+ <tr>
+ <th>Feature</th>
+
+ <th>Cautious</th>
+
+ <th>Medium</th>
+
+ <th>Advanced</th>
+ </tr>
+ </thead>
+
+ <tbody>
+ <tr>
+ <td>Ad-blocking Aggressiveness</td>
+
+ <td>medium</td>
+
+ <td>high</td>
+
+ <td>high</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Ad-filtering by size</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Ad-filtering by link</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Pop-up killing</td>
+
+ <td>blocks only</td>
+
+ <td>blocks only</td>
+
+ <td>blocks only</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Privacy Features</td>
+
+ <td>low</td>
+
+ <td>medium</td>
+
+ <td>medium/high</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Cookie handling</td>
+
+ <td>none</td>
+
+ <td>session-only</td>
+
+ <td>kill</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Referer forging</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>GIF de-animation</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Fast redirects</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>HTML taming</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>JavaScript taming</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Web-bug killing</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+
+ <tr>
+ <td>Image tag reordering</td>
+
+ <td>no</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+
+ <td>yes</td>
+ </tr>
+ </tbody>
+ </table>
+ </div>
+ </li>
+ </ul>
+
+ <p>The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main
+ configuration file, and are processed in the order they are defined (e.g.
+ <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt> is typically processed before
+ <tt class="FILENAME">user.action</tt>). The content of these can all be
+ viewed and edited from <a href="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
+ target="_top">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</a>. The over-riding
+ principle when applying actions, is that the last action that matches a
+ given URL wins. The broadest, most general rules go first (defined in
+ <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt>), followed by any exceptions
+ (typically also in <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt>), which are
+ then followed lastly by any local preferences (typically in <span class=
+ "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">user</i></span><tt class=
+ "FILENAME">.action</tt>). Generally, <tt class=
+ "FILENAME">user.action</tt> has the last word.</p>
+
+ <p>An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use
+ <span class="QUOTE">"aliases"</span> in an actions file, you have to
+ place the (optional) <a href="actions-file.html#ALIASES">alias
+ section</a> at the top of that file. Then comes the default set of rules
+ which will apply universally to all sites and pages (be <span class=
+ "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">very careful</i></span> with using such a
+ universal set in <tt class="FILENAME">user.action</tt> or any other
+ actions file after <tt class="FILENAME">default.action</tt>, because it
+ will override the result from consulting any previous file). And then
+ below that, exceptions to the defined universal policies. You can regard
+ <tt class="FILENAME">user.action</tt> as an appendix to <tt class=
+ "FILENAME">default.action</tt>, with the advantage that it is a separate
+ file, which makes preserving your personal settings across <span class=
+ "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> upgrades easier.</p>
+
+ <p>Actions can be used to block anything you want, including ads,
+ banners, or just some obnoxious URL whose content 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), content can be
+ modified, some JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking fooled, and much more.
+ See below for a <a href="actions-file.html#ACTIONS">complete list of
+ actions</a>.</p>
+
+ <div class="SECT2">
+ <h2 class="SECT2"><a name="AEN2876" id="AEN2876">8.1. Finding the Right
+ Mix</a></h2>
+
+ <p>Note that some <a href="actions-file.html#ACTIONS">actions</a>, 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.
+ And, things can always change, requiring refinements in the
+ configuration. In general, it can be said that the more <span class=
+ "QUOTE">"aggressive"</span> your default settings (in the top section
+ of the actions file) are, the more exceptions for <span class=
+ "QUOTE">"trusted"</span> sites you will have to make later. If, for
+ example, you want to crunch all cookies per default, you'll have to
+ make exceptions from that rule for sites that you regularly use and
+ that require cookies for actually useful purposes, like maybe your
+ bank, favorite shop, or newspaper.</p>
+
+ <p>We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in
+ the distribution actions files. But there is no general rule of thumb
+ on these 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 :).</p>