+<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<HTML
><HEAD
><TITLE
>Appendix</TITLE
><META
NAME="GENERATOR"
-CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.64
-"><LINK
+CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.79"><LINK
REL="HOME"
-TITLE="Privoxy User Manual"
+TITLE="Privoxy 3.0.17 User Manual"
HREF="index.html"><LINK
REL="PREVIOUS"
TITLE="See Also"
HREF="seealso.html"><LINK
REL="STYLESHEET"
TYPE="text/css"
-HREF="../p_doc.css"></HEAD
+HREF="../p_doc.css"><META
+HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"
+CONTENT="text/html;
+charset=ISO-8859-1">
+<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="p_doc.css">
+</head
><BODY
CLASS="SECT1"
BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE"
><DIV
CLASS="NAVHEADER"
><TABLE
+SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
><TH
COLSPAN="3"
ALIGN="center"
->Privoxy User Manual</TH
+>Privoxy 3.0.17 User Manual</TH
></TR
><TR
><TD
VALIGN="bottom"
><A
HREF="seealso.html"
+ACCESSKEY="P"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
> <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
-> can use <SPAN
+> uses Perl-style <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"regular expressions"</SPAN
->
- in various config files. Assuming support for <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"pcre"</SPAN
-> (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.</P
+>"regular
+ expressions"</SPAN
+> in its <A
+HREF="actions-file.html"
+>actions
+ files</A
+> and <A
+HREF="filter-file.html"
+>filter file</A
+>,
+ through the <A
+HREF="http://www.pcre.org/"
+TARGET="_top"
+>PCRE</A
+> and
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>PCRS</SPAN
+> libraries.</P
><P
> If you are reading this, you probably don't understand what <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"regular
expressions"</SPAN
> are, or what they can do. So this will be a very brief
- introduction only. A full explanation would require a book ;-)</P
+ introduction only. A full explanation would require a <A
+HREF="http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/regex/"
+TARGET="_top"
+>book</A
+> ;-)</P
><P
-> <SPAN
+> Regular expressions provide a language to describe patterns that can be
+ run against strings of characters (letter, numbers, etc), to see if they
+ match the string or not. The patterns are themselves (sometimes complex)
+ strings of literal characters, combined with wild-cards, and other special
+ characters, called meta-characters. The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"Regular expressions"</SPAN
-> is a way of matching one character
- expression against another to see if it matches or not. One of the
+>"meta-characters"</SPAN
+> have
+ special meanings and are used to build complex patterns to be matched against.
+ Perl Compatible Regular Expressions are an especially convenient
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"expressions"</SPAN
-> is a literal string of readable characters
- (letter, numbers, etc), and the other is a complex string of literal
- characters combined with wild-cards, and other special characters, called
- meta-characters. The <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"meta-characters"</SPAN
-> have special meanings and
- are used to build the complex pattern to be matched against. Perl Compatible
- Regular Expressions is an enhanced form of the regular expression language
- with backward compatibility.</P
+>"dialect"</SPAN
+> of the regular expression language.</P
><P
> To make a simple analogy, we do something similar when we use wild-card
characters when listing files with the <B
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>.</I
+></SPAN
> - Matches any single character, e.g. <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"a"</SPAN
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>?</I
+></SPAN
> - The preceding character or expression is matched ZERO or ONE
times. Either/or.
</TD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>+</I
+></SPAN
> - The preceding character or expression is matched ONE or MORE
times.
</TD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>*</I
+></SPAN
> - The preceding character or expression is matched ZERO or MORE
times.
</TD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>\</I
+></SPAN
> - The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"escape"</SPAN
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
->[]</I
+>[ ]</I
+></SPAN
> - Characters enclosed in brackets will be matched if
any of the enclosed characters are encountered. For instance, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
->()</I
+>( )</I
+></SPAN
> - parentheses are used to group a sub-expression,
or multiple sub-expressions.
</TD
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>|</I
+></SPAN
> - The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"bar"</SPAN
></P
></P
><P
-><P
-></P
-><TABLE
-BORDER="0"
-><TBODY
-><TR
-><TD
-> <I
-CLASS="EMPHASIS"
->s/string1/string2/g</I
-> - This is used to rewrite strings of text.
- <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"string1"</SPAN
-> is replaced by <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"string2"</SPAN
-> in this
- example. There must of course be a match on <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"string1"</SPAN
-> first.
- </TD
-></TR
-></TBODY
-></TABLE
-><P
-></P
-></P
-><P
> These are just some of the ones you are likely to use when matching URLs with
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
list. This is enough to get us started with a few simple examples which may
be more illuminating:</P
><P
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>/.*/banners/.*</TT
></I
+></SPAN
> - A simple example
that uses the common combination of <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
> in the path
somewhere.</P
><P
-> A now something a little more complex:</P
+> And now something a little more complex:</P
><P
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>/.*/adv((er)?ts?|ertis(ing|ements?))?/</TT
></I
+></SPAN
> -
We have several literal forward slashes again (<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
CLASS="QUOTE"
>".*"</SPAN
>, so we are matching against any conceivable sub-path, just so
- it matches our expression. The only true literal that <I
+ it matches our expression. The only true literal that <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>must
match</I
+></SPAN
> our pattern is <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>adv</SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"ing"</SPAN
>
- <I
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>OR</I
+></SPAN
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"ements?"</SPAN
>, which would then match
either spelling.</P
><P
-> <I
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>/.*/advert[0-9]+\.(gif|jpe?g)</TT
></I
+></SPAN
> - Again
another path statement with forward slashes. Anything in the square brackets
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"[]"</SPAN
+>"[ ]"</SPAN
> can be matched. This is using <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"0-9"</SPAN
> is not
in the expression anywhere).</P
><P
-> <I
-CLASS="EMPHASIS"
-><TT
-CLASS="LITERAL"
->s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/i</TT
-></I
-> - This is
- a substitution. <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"MicroSuck"</SPAN
-> will replace any occurrence of
- <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"microsoft"</SPAN
->. The <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"i"</SPAN
-> at the end of the expression
- means ignore case. The <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"(?!.com)"</SPAN
-> means
- the match should fail if <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"microsoft"</SPAN
-> is followed by
- <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->".com"</SPAN
->. In other words, this acts like a <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"NOT"</SPAN
->
- modifier. In case this is a hyperlink, we don't want to break it ;-).</P
-><P
> We are barely scratching the surface of regular expressions here so that you
can understand the default <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
><P
> More reading on Perl Compatible Regular expressions:
<A
-HREF="http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html"
+HREF="http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html"
TARGET="_top"
->http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html</A
+>http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html</A
></P
+><P
+> For information on regular expression based substitutions and their applications
+ in filters, please see the <A
+HREF="filter-file.html"
+>filter file tutorial</A
+>
+ in this manual.</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
-NAME="AEN2732"
->14.2. <SPAN
-CLASS="APPLICATION"
->Privoxy</SPAN
->'s Internal Pages</A
+NAME="AEN5545"
+>14.2. Privoxy's Internal Pages</A
></H2
><P
> Since <SPAN
Privoxy main page:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2747"
+NAME="AEN5559"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
</P
></BLOCKQUOTE
><P
->
Alternately, this may be reached at <A
+>
There is a shortcut: <A
HREF="http://p.p/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://p.p/</A
->, but this
- variation may not work as reliably as the above in some configurations.
+> (But it
+ doesn't provide a fall-back to a real page, in case the request is not
+ sent through <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>)
</P
></LI
><LI
editing of actions files:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2754"
+NAME="AEN5567"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
Show the source code version numbers:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2759"
+NAME="AEN5572"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
Show the browser's request headers:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2764"
+NAME="AEN5577"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
Show which actions apply to a URL and why:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2769"
+NAME="AEN5582"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><LI
><P
>
- Toggle Privoxy on or off. In this case, <SPAN
+ Toggle Privoxy on or off. This feature can be turned off/on in the main
+ <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>config</TT
+> file. When toggled <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"off"</SPAN
+>, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Privoxy"</SPAN
-> continues
- to run, but only as a pass-through proxy, with no actions taking place:
+>
+ continues to run, but only as a pass-through proxy, with no actions taking
+ place:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2775"
+NAME="AEN5590"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
> Short cuts. Turn off, then on:
</P
><A
-NAME="AEN2779"
+NAME="AEN5594"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
</P
></BLOCKQUOTE
><A
-NAME="AEN2782"
+NAME="AEN5597"
></A
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
><LI
><P
> <A
-HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=enabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
+HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=enabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
TARGET="_top"
>Privoxy - Enable</A
>
><LI
><P
> <A
-HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=disabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
+HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=disabled','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
TARGET="_top"
>Privoxy - Disable</A
>
><LI
><P
> <A
-HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=toggle','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
+HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?mini=y&set=toggle','ijbstatus','width=250,height=100,resizable=yes,scrollbars=no,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
TARGET="_top"
>Privoxy - Toggle Privoxy</A
> (Toggles between enabled and disabled)
><LI
><P
> <A
-HREF="javascript:w=Math.floor(screen.width/2);h=Math.floor(screen.height*0.9);void(window.open('http://www.privoxy.org/actions','Feedback','screenx='+w+',width='+w+',height='+h+',scrollbars=yes,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,menubar=no,copyhistory=no').focus());"
+HREF="javascript:void(window.open('http://config.privoxy.org/show-url-info?url='+escape(location.href),'Why').focus());"
TARGET="_top"
->Privoxy - Submit Filter Feedback</A
+>Privoxy - Why?</A
>
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
><P
-> Credit: The site which gave me the general idea for these bookmarklets is
+> Credit: The site which gave us the general idea for these bookmarklets is
<A
-HREF="http://www.bookmarklets.com"
+HREF="http://www.bookmarklets.com/"
TARGET="_top"
>www.bookmarklets.com</A
>. They
>14.3. Chain of Events</A
></H2
><P
-> Let's take a quick look at the basic sequence of events when a web page is
- requested by your browser and <SPAN
+> Let's take a quick look at how some of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
->Privoxy</SPAN
-> is on duty:</P
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+>
+ core features are triggered, and the ensuing sequence of events when a web
+ page is requested by your browser:</P
><P
> <P
></P
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> traps any request for its own internal CGI
- pages (e.g http://p.p/) and sends the CGI page back to the browser.
+ pages (e.g <A
+HREF="http://p.p/"
+TARGET="_top"
+>http://p.p/</A
+>) and sends the CGI page back to the browser.
</P
></LI
><LI
> checks to see if the URL
matches any <A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+block"</SPAN
so, the URL is then blocked, and the remote web server will not be contacted.
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+handle-as-image"</SPAN
></A
>
- is then checked and if it does not match, an
+ and
+ <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
+><SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"+handle-as-empty-document"</SPAN
+></A
+>
+ are then checked, and if there is no match, an
HTML <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"BLOCKED"</SPAN
-> page is sent back. Otherwise, if it does match,
- an image is returned. The type of image depends on the setting of <A
+> page is sent back to the browser. Otherwise, if
+ it does match, an image is returned for the former, and an empty text
+ document for the latter. The type of image would depend on the setting of
+ <A
HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+set-image-blocker"</SPAN
><P
> If the URL pattern matches the <A
HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+fast-redirects"</SPAN
> Now the rest of the client browser's request headers are processed. If any
of these match any of the relevant actions (e.g. <A
HREF="actions-file.html#HIDE-USER-AGENT"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+hide-user-agent"</SPAN
></LI
><LI
><P
-> Now the web server starts sending its response back (i.e. typically a web page and related
- data).
+> Now the web server starts sending its response back (i.e. typically a web
+ page).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> First, the server headers are read and processed to determine, among other
things, the MIME type (document type) and encoding. The headers are then
- filtered as deterimed by the
+ filtered as determined by the
<A
-HREF="actions-file.html#PREVENT-SETTING-COOKIES"
-TARGET="_top"
+HREF="actions-file.html#CRUNCH-INCOMING-COOKIES"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+prevent-setting-cookies"</SPAN
+>"+crunch-incoming-cookies"</SPAN
></A
>,
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+session-cookies-only"</SPAN
>,
and <A
HREF="actions-file.html#DOWNGRADE-HTTP-VERSION"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+downgrade-http-version"</SPAN
></LI
><LI
><P
-> If the <A
-HREF="actions-file.html#KILL-POPUPS"
-TARGET="_top"
-><SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+kill-popups"</SPAN
-></A
->
- action applies, and it is an HTML or JavaScript document, the popup-code in the
- response is filtered on-the-fly as it is received.
- </P
-></LI
-><LI
-><P
-> If a <A
+> If any <A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+filter"</SPAN
></A
->
+> action
or <A
HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+deanimate-gifs"</SPAN
<TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>default.filter</TT
->) are processed against the buffered
- content. Filters are applied in the order they are specified in the
- <TT
-CLASS="FILENAME"
->default.filter</TT
-> file. Animated GIFs, if present, are
- reduced to either the first or last frame, depending on the action
+> and any other filter files) are
+ processed against the buffered content. Filters are applied in the order
+ they are specified in one of the filter files. Animated GIFs, if present,
+ are reduced to either the first or last frame, depending on the action
setting.The entire page, which is now filtered, is then sent by
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
> back to your browser.
</P
><P
-> If neither <A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+filter"</SPAN
></A
->
+> action
or <A
HREF="actions-file.html#DEANIMATE-GIFS"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+deanimate-gifs"</SPAN
></LI
><LI
><P
-> As the browser receives the now (probably filtered) page content, it
+> As the browser receives the now (possibly filtered) page content, it
reads and then requests any URLs that may be embedded within the page
source, e.g. ad images, stylesheets, JavaScript, other HTML documents (e.g.
- frames), sounds, etc. For each of these objects, the browser issues a new
- request. And each such request is in turn processed as above. Note that a
- complex web page may have many such embedded URLs.
+ frames), sounds, etc. For each of these objects, the browser issues a
+ separate request (this is easily viewable in <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+>
+ logs). And each such request is in turn processed just as above. Note that a
+ complex web page will have many, many such embedded URLs. If these
+ secondary requests are to a different server, then quite possibly a very
+ differing set of actions is triggered.
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
+><P
+> NOTE: This is somewhat of a simplistic overview of what happens with each URL
+ request. For the sake of brevity and simplicity, we have focused on
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+> core features only.</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="ACTIONSANAT"
->14.4. Anatomy of an Action</A
+>14.4. Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an Action</A
></H2
><P
> The way <SPAN
> applies
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
-TARGET="_top"
-><SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"actions"</SPAN
-></A
->
- and <A
+>actions</A
+> and <A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
-TARGET="_top"
-><SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"filters"</SPAN
-></A
+>filters</A
>
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
- <I
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>see</I
+></SPAN
> just what <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> is doing
is causing us a problem inadvertently. It can be a little daunting to look at
the actions and filters files themselves, since they tend to be filled with
- <SPAN
-CLASS="QUOTE"
->"regular expressions"</SPAN
-> whose consequences are not always
- so obvious. </P
+ <A
+HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
+>regular expressions</A
+> whose consequences are not
+ always so obvious. </P
><P
> One quick test to see if <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
HREF="appendix.html#BOOKMARKLETS"
>the Bookmarklets</A
> section on a quick
- and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!).</P
+ and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!). Looking at the
+ logs is a good idea too. (Note that both the toggle feature and logging are
+ enabled via <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>config</TT
+> file settings, and may need to be
+ turned <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"on"</SPAN
+>.)</P
+><P
+> Another easy troubleshooting step to try is if you have done any
+ customization of your installation, revert back to the installed
+ defaults and see if that helps. There are times the developers get complaints
+ about one thing or another, and the problem is more related to a customized
+ configuration issue.</P
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
how the current configuration will handle it. This will not
help with filtering effects (i.e. the <A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+filter"</SPAN
></A
> action) from
- the <TT
-CLASS="FILENAME"
->default.filter</TT
-> file since this is handled very
+ one of the filter files since this is handled very
differently and not so easy to trap! It also will not tell you about any other
URLs that may be embedded within the URL you are testing. For instance, images
such as ads are expressed as URLs within the raw page source of HTML pages. So
TARGET="_top"
>google.com</A
>,
- and look at it one section at a time:</P
+ and look at it one section at a time in a sample configuration (your real
+ configuration may vary):</P
><P
> <TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> Matches for http://google.com:
+> Matches for http://www.google.com:
---- File standard ---
-(no matches in this file)
-
---- File default ---
+ In file: default.action <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ View ]</SPAN
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ Edit ]</SPAN
+>
-{ -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs{last} -downgrade-http-version +fast-redirects
- -filter{popups} -filter{fun} -filter{shockwave-flash} -filter{crude-parental}
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{content-cookies}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
- -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -prevent-reading-cookies
- -prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ {+change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ +deanimate-gifs {last}
+ +fast-redirects {check-decoded-url}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ +hide-from-header {block}
+ +hide-referrer {forge}
+ +session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker {pattern}
/
-
+
{ -session-cookies-only }
.google.com
{ -fast-redirects }
.google.com
---- File user ---
+In file: user.action <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ View ]</SPAN
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ Edit ]</SPAN
+>
(no matches in this file) </PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></P
><P
-> This tells us how we have defined our
+> This is telling us how we have defined our
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"actions"</SPAN
></A
>, and
- which ones match for our example, <SPAN
+ which ones match for our test case, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"google.com"</SPAN
->. The first listing
- is any matches for the <TT
-CLASS="FILENAME"
->standard.action</TT
-> file. No hits at
- all here on <SPAN
+>.
+ Displayed is all the actions that are available to us. Remember,
+ the <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>+</TT
+> sign denotes <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"standard"</SPAN
->. Then next is <SPAN
+>"on"</SPAN
+>. <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>-</TT
+>
+ denotes <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"default"</SPAN
->, or
- our <TT
+>"off"</SPAN
+>. So some are <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"on"</SPAN
+> here, but many
+ are <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"off"</SPAN
+>. Each example we try may provide a slightly different
+ end result, depending on our configuration directives.</P
+><P
+> The first listing
+ is for our <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>default.action</TT
-> file. The large, multi-line listing,
- is how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default settings.
- If you look at your <SPAN
+> file. The large, multi-line
+ listing, is how the actions are set to match for all URLs, i.e. our default
+ settings. If you look at your <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"actions"</SPAN
-> file, this would be the section
- just below the <SPAN
+> file, this would be the
+ section just below the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"aliases"</SPAN
-> section near the top. This will apply to
- all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end of the listing
- -- <SPAN
+> section near the top. This
+ will apply to all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end
+ of the listing -- <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"/"</SPAN
+>" / "</SPAN
>.</P
><P
-> But we can define additional actions that would be exceptions to these general
- rules, and then list specific URLs (or patterns) that these exceptions would
- apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit matches for
- <SPAN
+> But we have defined additional actions that would be exceptions to these general
+ rules, and then we list specific URLs (or patterns) that these exceptions
+ would apply to. Last match wins. Just below this then are two explicit
+ matches for <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>".google.com"</SPAN
->. The first is negating our previous cookie setting,
- which was for <A
+>. The first is negating our previous
+
cookie setting, which was for <A
HREF="actions-file.html#SESSION-COOKIES-ONLY"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+session-cookies-only"</SPAN
></A
>
- (i.e. not persistent). So we will allow persistent cookies for google. The
- second turns <I
+ (i.e. not persistent). So we will allow persistent cookies for google, at
+ least that is how it is in this example. The second turns
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>off</I
-> any
- <A
+></SPAN
HREF="actions-file.html#FAST-REDIRECTS"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+fast-redirects"</SPAN
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"www.google.com"</SPAN
->. So, apparently, we have these two actions
- defined somewhere in the lower part of our <TT
+> or <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"mail.google.com"</SPAN
+>. But it would not
+ match <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"www.google.de"</SPAN
+>! So, apparently, we have these two actions
+ defined as exceptions to the general rules at the top somewhere in the lower
+ part of our <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>default.action</TT
->
- file, and <SPAN
+> file, and
+ <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"google.com"</SPAN
-> is referenced somewhere in these latter
- sections.</P
+> is referenced somewhere in these latter sections.</P
><P
> Then, for our <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>user.action</TT
-> file, we again have no hits.</P
+> file, we again have no hits.
+ So there is nothing google-specific that we might have added to our own, local
+ configuration. If there was, those actions would over-rule any actions from
+ previously processed files, such as <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>default.action</TT
+>.
+ <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>user.action</TT
+> typically has the last word. This is the
+ best place to put hard and fast exceptions,</P
><P
> And finally we pull it all together in the bottom section and summarize how
<SPAN
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
> Final results:
- -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs{last} -downgrade-http-version -fast-redirects
- -filter{popups} -filter{fun} -filter{shockwave-flash} -filter{crude-parental}
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{content-cookies}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{refresh-tags} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size}
- +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block} +hide-referer{forge}
- -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{pattern} -limit-connect
- +prevent-compression -session-cookies-only -prevent-reading-cookies
- -prevent-setting-cookies -kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer</PRE
+
+ -add-header
+ -block
+ +change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation}
+ -content-type-overwrite
+ -crunch-client-header
+ -crunch-if-none-match
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-server-header
+ +deanimate-gifs {last}
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ -fast-redirects
+ -filter {js-events}
+ -filter {content-cookies}
+ -filter {all-popups}
+ -filter {banners-by-link}
+ -filter {tiny-textforms}
+ -filter {frameset-borders}
+ -filter {demoronizer}
+ -filter {shockwave-flash}
+ -filter {quicktime-kioskmode}
+ -filter {fun}
+ -filter {crude-parental}
+ -filter {site-specifics}
+ -filter {js-annoyances}
+ -filter {html-annoyances}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ -filter {unsolicited-popups}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ -filter {google}
+ -filter {yahoo}
+ -filter {msn}
+ -filter {blogspot}
+ -filter {no-ping}
+ -force-text-mode
+ -handle-as-empty-document
+ -handle-as-image
+ -hide-accept-language
+ -hide-content-disposition
+ +hide-from-header {block}
+ -hide-if-modified-since
+ +hide-referrer {forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -limit-connect
+ -overwrite-last-modified
+ -prevent-compression
+ -redirect
+ -server-header-filter{xml-to-html}
+ -server-header-filter{html-to-xml}
+ -session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker {pattern} </PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
> and <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"session-cookies-only"</SPAN
+>,
+ which are activated specifically for this site in our configuration,
+ and thus show in the <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"Final Results"</SPAN
>.</P
><P
> Now another example, <SPAN
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> { +block +handle-as-image }
- .ad.doubleclick.net
-
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+> { +block{Domains starts with "ad"} }
ad*.
- { +block +handle-as-image }
- .doubleclick.net</PRE
+ { +block{Domain contains "ad"} }
+ .ad.
+
+ { +block{Doubleclick banner server} +handle-as-image }
+ .[a-vx-z]*.doubleclick.net</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></P
><P
-> We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is
- matched three different times. Each as an <SPAN
+> We'll just show the interesting part here - the explicit matches. It is
+ matched three different times. Two <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"+block{}"</SPAN
+> sections,
+ and a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+block +handle-as-image"</SPAN
+>"+block{} +handle-as-image"</SPAN
>,
which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as:
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+imageblock"</SPAN
+>"+block-as-image"</SPAN
>. (<A
HREF="actions-file.html#ALIASES"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Aliases"</SPAN
>
is done here -- as both a <A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+block"</SPAN
+>"+block{}"</SPAN
></A
>
- <I
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>and</I
+></SPAN
> an
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
-TARGET="_top"
><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+handle-as-image"</SPAN
>.
The custom alias <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"+imageblock"</SPAN
-> just simplifies the process and make
- it more readable.</P
+>"<TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>+block-as-image</TT
+>"</SPAN
+> just
+ simplifies the process and make it more readable.</P
><P
> One last example. Let's try <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/"</SPAN
+>"http://www.example.net/adsl/HOWTO/"</SPAN
>.
- This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm...</P
+ This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm ...</P
><P
> <TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
+> Matches for http://www.example.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
+
+ In file: default.action <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ View ]</SPAN
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>[ Edit ]</SPAN
+>
- { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade-http-version +fast-redirects
- +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{kill-popups}
- +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
- +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded-for-headers +hide-from-header{block}
- +hide-referer{forge} -hide-user-agent -handle-as-image +set-image-blocker{blank}
- +prevent-compression +session-cookies-only -prevent-setting-cookies
- -prevent-reading-cookies +kill-popups -send-vanilla-wafer -send-wafer }
+ {-add-header
+ -block
+ +change-x-forwarded-for{block}
+ -client-header-filter{hide-tor-exit-notation}
+ -content-type-overwrite
+ -crunch-client-header
+ -crunch-if-none-match
+ -crunch-incoming-cookies
+ -crunch-outgoing-cookies
+ -crunch-server-header
+ +deanimate-gifs
+ -downgrade-http-version
+ +fast-redirects {check-decoded-url}
+ -filter {js-events}
+ -filter {content-cookies}
+ -filter {all-popups}
+ -filter {banners-by-link}
+ -filter {tiny-textforms}
+ -filter {frameset-borders}
+ -filter {demoronizer}
+ -filter {shockwave-flash}
+ -filter {quicktime-kioskmode}
+ -filter {fun}
+ -filter {crude-parental}
+ -filter {site-specifics}
+ -filter {js-annoyances}
+ -filter {html-annoyances}
+ +filter {refresh-tags}
+ -filter {unsolicited-popups}
+ +filter {img-reorder}
+ +filter {banners-by-size}
+ +filter {webbugs}
+ +filter {jumping-windows}
+ +filter {ie-exploits}
+ -filter {google}
+ -filter {yahoo}
+ -filter {msn}
+ -filter {blogspot}
+ -filter {no-ping}
+ -force-text-mode
+ -handle-as-empty-document
+ -handle-as-image
+ -hide-accept-language
+ -hide-content-disposition
+ +hide-from-header{block}
+ +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent
+ -overwrite-last-modified
+ +prevent-compression
+ -redirect
+ -server-header-filter{xml-to-html}
+ -server-header-filter{html-to-xml}
+ +session-cookies-only
+ +set-image-blocker{blank} }
/
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+ { +block{Path contains "ads".} +handle-as-image }
/ads</PRE
></TD
></TR
> is matching <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"/ads"</SPAN
->! But
- we did not want this at all! Now we see why we get the blank page. We could
- now add a new action below this that explicitly does <I
+> in our
+ configuration! But we did not want this at all! Now we see why we get the
+ blank page. It is actually triggering two different actions here, and
+ the effects are aggregated so that the URL is blocked, and <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> is told
+ to treat the block as if it were an image. But this is, of course, all wrong.
+ We could now add a new action below this (or better in our own
+ <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>user.action</TT
+> file) that explicitly
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
->not</I
->
- block (<SPAN
+>un</I
+></SPAN
+> blocks (
+ <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"{-block}"</SPAN
->) paths with <SPAN
+></A
+>) paths with
+ <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"adsl"</SPAN
->. There are
- various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:</P
+> in them (remember, last match in the configuration
+ wins). There are various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:</P
><P
> <TABLE
BORDER="0"
></TABLE
></P
><P
-> Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when
- making such changes. Or, try using <TT
+> Now the page displays ;-)
+ Remember to flush your browser's caches when making these kinds of changes to
+ your configuration to insure that you get a freshly delivered page! Or, try
+ using <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>Shift+Reload</TT
>.</P
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> { +block +handle-as-image }
+> { +block{Path starts with "ads".} +handle-as-image }
/ads</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></P
><P
-> That actually was very telling and pointed us quickly to where the problem
+> That actually was very helpful 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 <SPAN
+ rules in the first section of <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>default.action</TT
+> 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
+ <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
+><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"{+filter}"</SPAN
-> actions. Try
- adding the URL for the site to one of aliases that turn off <SPAN
+>"+filter"</SPAN
+></A
+> actions.
+ These tend to be harder to troubleshoot.
+ Try adding the URL for the site to one of aliases that turn off
+ <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
+><SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"+filter"</SPAN
+></A
>:</P
><P
> <TABLE
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> {shop}
+> { shop }
.quietpc.com
.worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
.jungle.com
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"{shop}"</SPAN
+>"<TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>{ shop }</TT
+>"</SPAN
> is an <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"alias"</SPAN
> that expands to
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"{ -filter -session-cookies-only }"</SPAN
+>"<TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>{ -filter -session-cookies-only }</TT
+>"</SPAN
>.
Or you could do your own exception to negate filtering: </P
><P
><TD
><PRE
CLASS="SCREEN"
-> {-filter}
- .forbes.com</PRE
+> { -filter }
+ # Disable ALL filter actions for sites in this section
+ .forbes.com
+ developer.ibm.com
+ localhost</PRE
></TD
></TR
></TABLE
></P
><P
-> This would probably be most appropriately put in <TT
+> This would turn off all filtering for these sites. This is best
+ put in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>user.action</TT
->,
- for local site exceptions.</P
+>, for local site
+ exceptions. Note that when a simple domain pattern is used by itself (without
+ the subsequent path portion), all sub-pages within that domain are included
+ automatically in the scope of the action.</P
+><P
+> Images that are inexplicably being blocked, may well be hitting the
+<A
+HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER-BANNERS-BY-SIZE"
+><SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"+filter{banners-by-size}"</SPAN
+></A
+>
+ rule, which assumes
+ that images of certain sizes are ad banners (works well
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>most of the time</I
+></SPAN
+> since these tend to be standardized).</P
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
->"{fragile}"</SPAN
-> 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.</P
+>"<TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>{ fragile }</TT
+>"</SPAN
+> is an alias that disables most
+ actions that are the most likely to cause trouble. This can be used as a
+ last resort for problem sites. </P
+><P
+> <TABLE
+BORDER="0"
+BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
+WIDTH="100%"
+><TR
+><TD
+><PRE
+CLASS="SCREEN"
+> { fragile }
+ # Handle with care: easy to break
+ mail.google.
+ mybank.example.com</PRE
+></TD
+></TR
+></TABLE
+></P
+><P
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>Remember to flush caches!</I
+></SPAN
+> Note that the
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>mail.google</TT
+> reference lacks the TLD portion (e.g.
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>".com"</SPAN
+>). This will effectively match any TLD with
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>google</TT
+> in it, such as <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>mail.google.de.</TT
+>,
+ just as an example.</P
+><P
+>
+ 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.</P
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
><HR
ALIGN="LEFT"
WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
+SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
WIDTH="100%"
BORDER="0"
CELLPADDING="0"
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="seealso.html"
+ACCESSKEY="P"
>Prev</A
></TD
><TD
VALIGN="top"
><A
HREF="index.html"
+ACCESSKEY="H"
>Home</A
></TD
><TD
projects / privoxy.git / blobdiff