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- Privoxy 3.0.26 User Manual
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- <td width="10%" align="left" valign="bottom">
- <a href="whatsnew.html" accesskey="P">Prev</a>
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- <a href="startup.html" accesskey="N">Next</a>
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- <hr align="LEFT" width="100%">
- </div>
- <div class="SECT1">
- <h1 class="SECT1">
- <a name="QUICKSTART">4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy</a>
- </h1>
- <p>
- </p>
- <ul>
- <li>
- <p>
- Install <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>. See the <a
- href="installation.html">Installation Section</a> below for
- platform specific information.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Advanced users and those who want to offer <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> service to more than just their
- local machine should check the <a href="config.html">main config
- file</a>, especially the <a href=
- "config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL">security-relevant</a> options. These
- are off by default.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Start <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>, if the
- installation program has not done this already (may vary
- according to platform). See the section <a href=
- "startup.html">Starting <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span></a>.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Set your browser to use <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>
- as HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) <a href=
- "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server" target=
- "_top">proxy</a> by setting the proxy configuration for address
- of <tt class="LITERAL">127.0.0.1</tt> and port <tt class=
- "LITERAL">8118</tt>. <span class="emphasis"><i class=
- "EMPHASIS">DO NOT</i></span> activate proxying for <tt class=
- "LITERAL">FTP</tt> or any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)
- unless you intend to prevent your browser from using these
- protocols.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached
- ad images. If using <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> to
- manage <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
- target="_top">cookies</a>, you should remove any currently stored
- cookies too.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point
- for most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want
- to adjust the configuration, but that can be dealt with as the
- need arises. Little to no initial configuration is required in
- most cases, you may want to enable the <a href=
- "config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS" target="_top">web-based action
- editor</a> though. Be sure to read the warnings first.
- </p>
- <p>
- See the <a href="configuration.html">Configuration section</a>
- for more configuration options, and how to customize your
- installation. You might also want to look at the <a href=
- "quickstart.html#QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING">next section</a> for a
- quick introduction to how <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> blocks ads and banners.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
- blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> behavior, take a look at the <a
- href="actions-file.html">actions files</a>. As a quick start, you
- might find the <a href="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES">richly
- commented examples</a> helpful. You can also view and edit the
- actions files through the <a href="http://config.privoxy.org"
- target="_top">web-based user interface</a>. The Appendix <span
- class="QUOTE">"<a href=
- "appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
- Action</a>"</span> has hints on how to understand and debug
- actions that <span class="QUOTE">"misbehave"</span>.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Please see the section <a href="contact.html">Contacting the
- Developers</a> on how to report bugs, problems with websites or
- to get help.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
- </p>
- </li>
- </ul>
-
- <div class="SECT2">
- <h2 class="SECT2">
- <a name="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING">4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</a>
- </h2>
- <p>
- Ad blocking is but one of <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> array of features. Many of these
- features are for the technically minded advanced user. But, ad and
- banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.
- </p>
- <p>
- This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so you can
- get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
- information provided below, though this is highly recommended.
- </p>
- <p>
- First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking
- SPAM: the more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are
- to block things that were not intended. And the more likely that
- some things may not work as intended. So there is a trade off here.
- If you want extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
- <span class="QUOTE">"problem"</span> sites, and to spend more time
- adjusting the configuration to solve these unintended consequences.
- In short, there is not an easy way to eliminate <span class=
- "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">all</i></span> ads. Either take the
- easy way and settle for <span class="emphasis"><i class=
- "EMPHASIS">most</i></span> ads blocked with the default
- configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
- habits and preferences.
- </p>
- <p>
- Secondly, a brief explanation of <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> <span class=
- "QUOTE">"actions"</span>. <span class="QUOTE">"Actions"</span> in
- this context, are the directives we use to tell <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> to perform some task relating to HTTP
- transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> to take some <span class=
- "QUOTE">"action"</span>. Each action has a unique name and
- function. While there are many potential <span class=
- "APPLICATION">actions</span> in <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> arsenal, only a few are used for ad
- blocking. <a href="actions-file.html#ACTIONS">Actions</a>, and <a
- href="actions-file.html">action configuration files</a>, are
- explained in depth below.
- </p>
- <p>
- Actions are specified in <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span>
- configuration, followed by one or more URLs to which the action
- should apply. URLs can actually be URL type <a href=
- "actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS">patterns</a> that use wildcards so
- they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The actions,
- together with the URL patterns are called a section.
- </p>
- <p>
- When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one
- or more of the sections as defined in <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> configuration, or not. If so, then
- <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> will perform the
- respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens.
- Furthermore, web pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that
- your web browser will use to load additional components of the
- page, as it parses the original page's HTML content. An ad image
- for instance, is just an URL embedded in the page somewhere. The
- image itself may be on the same server, or a server somewhere else
- on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many such embedded
- URLs. <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> can deal with each
- URL individually, so, for instance, the main page text is not
- touched, but images from such-and-such server are blocked.
- </p>
- <p>
- The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: <tt class=
- "LITERAL"><a href="actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt>, <tt
- class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">handle-as-image</a></tt>, <tt
- class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT">handle-as-empty-document</a></tt>,and
- <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">set-image-blocker</a></tt>:
- </p>
- <p>
- </p>
- <ul>
- <li>
- <p>
- <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt> - this is perhaps the
- single most used action, and is particularly important for ad
- blocking. This action stops any contact between your browser
- and any URL patterns that match this action's configuration. It
- can be used for blocking ads, but also anything that is
- determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any
- communication with the remote server and sends <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>'s own built-in BLOCKED page
- instead to let you now what has happened (with some exceptions,
- see below).
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">handle-as-image</a></tt> -
- tells <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> to treat this
- URL as an image. <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span>'s
- default configuration already does this for all common image
- types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this is
- not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases.
- This is particularly important for ad blocking, since only if
- we know that it's an image of some kind, can we replace it with
- an image of our choosing, instead of the <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> BLOCKED page (which would only
- result in a <span class="QUOTE">"broken image"</span> icon).
- There are some limitations to this though. For instance, you
- can't just brute-force an image substitution for an entire HTML
- page in most situations.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT">handle-as-empty-document</a></tt>
- - sends an empty document instead of <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy's</span> normal BLOCKED HTML page. This
- is useful for file types that are neither HTML nor images, such
- as blocking JavaScript files.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER">set-image-blocker</a></tt>
- - tells <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> what to
- display in place of an ad image that has hit a block rule. For
- this to come into play, the URL must match a <tt class=
- "LITERAL"><a href="actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt>
- action somewhere in the configuration, <span class=
- "emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">and</i></span>, it must also
- match an <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE">handle-as-image</a></tt>
- action.
- </p>
- <p>
- The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad
- are:
- </p>
- <table border="0">
- <tbody>
- <tr>
- <td>
- <span class="emphasis"><i class=
- "EMPHASIS">pattern</i></span> - a checkerboard pattern,
- so that an ad replacement is obvious. This is the
- default.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </tbody>
- </table>
- <table border="0">
- <tbody>
- <tr>
- <td>
- <span class="emphasis"><i class=
- "EMPHASIS">blank</i></span> - A very small empty GIF
- image is displayed. This is the so-called <span class=
- "QUOTE">"invisible"</span> configuration option.
- </td>
- </tr>
- </tbody>
- </table>
- <table border="0">
- <tbody>
- <tr>
- <td>
- <span class="emphasis"><i class=
- "EMPHASIS">http://<URL></i></span> - A redirect to
- any image anywhere of the user's choosing (advanced
- usage).
- </td>
- </tr>
- </tbody>
- </table>
- </li>
- </ul>
-
- <p>
- Advanced users will eventually want to explore <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#FILTER">filters</a></tt> as well. Filters are
- very different from <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#BLOCK">blocks</a></tt>. A <span class=
- "QUOTE">"block"</span> blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented.
- Filters are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the
- page. An example filter usage: a text replacement of <span class=
- "QUOTE">"no-no"</span> for <span class="QUOTE">"nasty-word"</span>.
- That is a very simple example. This process can be used for ad
- blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has
- some pitfalls to be wary off.
- </p>
- <p>
- The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your
- browser through the special <span class=
- "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> editor at <a href=
- "http://config.privoxy.org/show-status" target=
- "_top">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</a> (shortcut: <a
- href="http://p.p/" target="_top">http://p.p/show-status</a>). This
- is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.
- </p>
- <p>
- Note that as of <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> 3.0.7 beta
- the action editor is disabled by default. Check the <a href=
- "config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS" target="_top">enable-edit-actions
- section in the configuration file</a> to learn why and in which
- cases it's safe to enable again.
- </p>
- <p>
- If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
- <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> file, and click <span class=
- "QUOTE">"<span class="GUIBUTTON">Edit</span>"</span>. It is best to
- put personal or local preferences in <tt class=
- "FILENAME">user.action</tt> since this is not meant to be
- overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
- other files. Here you can insert new <span class=
- "QUOTE">"actions"</span>, and URLs for ad blocking or other
- purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration. <span
- class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> will detect these changes
- automatically.
- </p>
- <p>
- A quick and simple step by step example:
- </p>
- <p>
- </p>
- <ul>
- <li>
- <p>
- Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select <span
- class="QUOTE">"<span class="GUIMENUITEM">Copy Link
- Location</span>"</span> from the pop-up menu.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Set your browser to <a href=
- "http://config.privoxy.org/show-status" target=
- "_top">http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</a>
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Find <tt class="FILENAME">user.action</tt> in the top section,
- and click on <span class="QUOTE">"<span class=
- "GUIBUTTON">Edit</span>"</span>:
- </p>
- <p>
- </p>
- <div class="FIGURE">
- <a name="AEN612"></a>
- <p>
- <b>Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</b>
- </p>
- <div class="MEDIAOBJECT">
- <p>
- <img src="files-in-use.jpg">
- </p>
- </div>
- </div>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- You should have a section with only <tt class="LITERAL"><a
- href="actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt> listed under
- <span class="QUOTE">"Actions:"</span>. If not, click a <span
- class="QUOTE">"<span class="GUIBUTTON">Insert new section
- below</span>"</span> button, and in the new section that just
- appeared, click the <span class="GUIBUTTON">Edit</span> button
- right under the word <span class="QUOTE">"Actions:"</span>.
- This will bring up a list of all actions. Find <tt class=
- "LITERAL"><a href="actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt> near
- the top, and click in the <span class="QUOTE">"Enabled"</span>
- column, then <span class="QUOTE">"<span class=
- "GUIBUTTON">Submit</span>"</span> just below the list.
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Now, in the <tt class="LITERAL"><a href=
- "actions-file.html#BLOCK">block</a></tt> actions section, click
- the <span class="QUOTE">"<span class=
- "GUIBUTTON">Add</span>"</span> button, and paste the URL the
- browser got from <span class="QUOTE">"<span class=
- "GUIMENUITEM">Copy Link Location</span>"</span>. Remove the <tt
- class="LITERAL">http://</tt> at the beginning of the URL. Then,
- click <span class="QUOTE">"<span class=
- "GUIBUTTON">Submit</span>"</span> (or <span class=
- "QUOTE">"<span class="GUIBUTTON">OK</span>"</span> if in a
- pop-up window).
- </p>
- </li>
- <li>
- <p>
- Now go back to the original page, and press <b class=
- "KEYCAP">SHIFT-Reload</b> (or flush all browser caches). The
- image should be gone now.
- </p>
- </li>
- </ul>
-
- <p>
- This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good
- reasons to use a wildcard pattern match to include potentially
- similar images from the same site. For a more extensive explanation
- of <span class="QUOTE">"patterns"</span>, and the entire actions
- concept, see <a href="actions-file.html">the Actions section</a>.
- </p>
- <p>
- For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you
- might want to now go to the <a href=
- "actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES">Actions Files Tutorial</a>. The
- ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.
- </p>
- <p>
- There are also various <a href=
- "actions-file.html#FILTER">filters</a> that can be used for ad
- blocking (filters are a special subset of actions). These fall into
- the <span class="QUOTE">"advanced"</span> usage category, and are
- explained in depth in later sections.
- </p>
- </div>
- </div>
- <div class="NAVFOOTER">
- <hr align="LEFT" width="100%">
- <table summary="Footer navigation table" width="100%" border="0"
- cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
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- <td width="33%" align="left" valign="top">
- <a href="whatsnew.html" accesskey="P">Prev</a>
- </td>
- <td width="34%" align="center" valign="top">
- <a href="index.html" accesskey="H">Home</a>
- </td>
- <td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">
- <a href="startup.html" accesskey="N">Next</a>
- </td>
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- What's New in this Release
- </td>
- <td width="34%" align="center" valign="top">
-
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- Starting Privoxy
- </td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- </body>
-</html>
-
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+<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="p_doc.css">
+</head
+><BODY
+CLASS="SECT1"
+BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE"
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+SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
+WIDTH="100%"
+BORDER="0"
+CELLPADDING="0"
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+><TH
+COLSPAN="3"
+ALIGN="center"
+>Privoxy 3.0.27 User Manual</TH
+></TR
+><TR
+><TD
+WIDTH="10%"
+ALIGN="left"
+VALIGN="bottom"
+><A
+HREF="whatsnew.html"
+ACCESSKEY="P"
+>Prev</A
+></TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="80%"
+ALIGN="center"
+VALIGN="bottom"
+></TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="10%"
+ALIGN="right"
+VALIGN="bottom"
+><A
+HREF="startup.html"
+ACCESSKEY="N"
+>Next</A
+></TD
+></TR
+></TABLE
+><HR
+ALIGN="LEFT"
+WIDTH="100%"></DIV
+><DIV
+CLASS="SECT1"
+><H1
+CLASS="SECT1"
+><A
+NAME="QUICKSTART"
+>4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy</A
+></H1
+><P
+></P
+><UL
+><LI
+><P
+> Install <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>. See the <A
+HREF="installation.html"
+>Installation Section</A
+> below for platform specific
+ information.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>
+ service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
+HREF="config.html"
+>main config file</A
+>, especially the <A
+HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
+>security-relevant</A
+> options. These are
+ off by default.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Start <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>, if the installation program has
+ not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
+ <A
+HREF="startup.html"
+>Starting <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+></A
+>.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Set your browser to use <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> as HTTP and
+ HTTPS (SSL) <A
+HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server"
+TARGET="_top"
+>proxy</A
+>
+ by setting the proxy configuration for address of
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>127.0.0.1</TT
+> and port <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>8118</TT
+>.
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>DO NOT</I
+></SPAN
+> activate proxying for <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>FTP</TT
+> or
+ any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) unless you intend to prevent your
+ browser from using these protocols.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
+ If using <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> to manage
+ <A
+HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
+TARGET="_top"
+>cookies</A
+>,
+ you should remove any currently stored cookies too.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
+ most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
+ configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
+ to no initial configuration is required in most cases, you may want
+ to enable the
+ <A
+HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
+TARGET="_top"
+>web-based action editor</A
+> though.
+ Be sure to read the warnings first.
+ </P
+><P
+> See the <A
+HREF="configuration.html"
+>Configuration section</A
+> for more
+ configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
+ You might also want to look at the <A
+HREF="quickstart.html#QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
+>next section</A
+> for a quick
+ introduction to how <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> blocks ads and
+ banners.</P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
+ blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+> behavior, take a look at the <A
+HREF="actions-file.html"
+>actions files</A
+>. As a quick start, you might
+ find the <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
+>richly commented examples</A
+>
+ helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
+HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
+TARGET="_top"
+>web-based user interface</A
+>. The
+ Appendix <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<A
+HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
+>Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
+ Action</A
+>"</SPAN
+> has hints on how to understand and debug actions that
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"misbehave"</SPAN
+>.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Please see the section <A
+HREF="contact.html"
+>Contacting the
+ Developers</A
+> on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get
+ help.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
+ </P
+></LI
+></UL
+><DIV
+CLASS="SECT2"
+><H2
+CLASS="SECT2"
+><A
+NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
+>4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</A
+></H2
+><P
+> Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+>
+ array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
+ user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
+><P
+> This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
+ you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
+ information provided below, though this is highly recommended.</P
+><P
+> First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
+ more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
+ things that were not intended. And the more likely that some things
+ may not work as intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
+ extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"problem"</SPAN
+> sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
+ configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
+ not an easy way to eliminate <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>all</I
+></SPAN
+> ads. Either take
+ the easy way and settle for <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>most</I
+></SPAN
+> ads blocked with the
+ default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
+ habits and preferences.</P
+><P
+> Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's </SPAN
+>
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"actions"</SPAN
+>. <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"Actions"</SPAN
+> in this context, are
+ the directives we use to tell <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> to perform
+ some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> to take some <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"action"</SPAN
+>. Each
+ action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>actions</SPAN
+> in <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+>
+ arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
+>Actions</A
+>, and <A
+HREF="actions-file.html"
+>action
+ configuration files</A
+>, are explained in depth below.</P
+><P
+> Actions are specified in <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+> configuration,
+ followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
+ can actually be URL type <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
+>patterns</A
+> that use
+ wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
+ actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
+><P
+> When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
+ of the sections as defined in <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+> configuration,
+ or not. If so, then <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> will perform the
+ respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
+ pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
+ use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
+ original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
+ embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
+ or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
+ such embedded URLs. <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> can deal with each URL individually, so, for
+ instance, the main page text is not touched, but images from such-and-such
+ server are blocked.</P
+><P
+> The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+>, <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
+>handle-as-image</A
+></TT
+>,
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
+>handle-as-empty-document</A
+></TT
+>,and
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
+>set-image-blocker</A
+></TT
+>:</P
+><P
+></P
+><UL
+><LI
+><P
+> <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+> - this is perhaps
+ the single most used action, and is particularly important for ad blocking.
+ This action stops any contact between your browser and any URL patterns
+ that match this action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads,
+ but also anything that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply
+ stops any communication with the remote server and sends
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>'s own built-in BLOCKED page instead to
+ let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below).
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
+>handle-as-image</A
+></TT
+> -
+ tells <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> to treat this URL as an image.
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>'s default configuration already does this
+ for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
+ is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
+ important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
+ some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> BLOCKED page (which would only result in
+ a <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"broken image"</SPAN
+> icon). There are some limitations to this
+ though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
+ an entire HTML page in most situations.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
+>handle-as-empty-document</A
+></TT
+> -
+ sends an empty document instead of <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy's</SPAN
+>
+ normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither
+ HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
+>set-image-blocker</A
+></TT
+> - tells
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> what to display in place of an ad image that
+ has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+> action somewhere in the
+ configuration, <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>and</I
+></SPAN
+>, it must also match an
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
+>handle-as-image</A
+></TT
+> action.
+ </P
+><P
+> The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
+ </P
+><P
+></P
+><TABLE
+BORDER="0"
+><TBODY
+><TR
+><TD
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>pattern</I
+></SPAN
+> - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
+ replacement is obvious. This is the default.
+ </TD
+></TR
+></TBODY
+></TABLE
+><P
+></P
+><P
+></P
+><TABLE
+BORDER="0"
+><TBODY
+><TR
+><TD
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>blank</I
+></SPAN
+> - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
+ This is the so-called <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"invisible"</SPAN
+> configuration option.
+ </TD
+></TR
+></TBODY
+></TABLE
+><P
+></P
+><P
+></P
+><TABLE
+BORDER="0"
+><TBODY
+><TR
+><TD
+> <SPAN
+CLASS="emphasis"
+><I
+CLASS="EMPHASIS"
+>http://<URL></I
+></SPAN
+> - A redirect to any image anywhere
+ of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
+ </TD
+></TR
+></TBODY
+></TABLE
+><P
+></P
+></LI
+></UL
+><P
+> Advanced users will eventually want to explore <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+>
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
+>filters</A
+></TT
+> as well. Filters
+ are very different from <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>blocks</A
+></TT
+>.
+ A <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"block"</SPAN
+> blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented. Filters
+ are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the page. An example
+ filter usage: a text replacement of <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"no-no"</SPAN
+> for
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"nasty-word"</SPAN
+>. That is a very simple example. This process can be
+ used for ad blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has
+ some pitfalls to be wary off.</P
+><P
+> The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
+ the special <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> editor at <A
+HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
+TARGET="_top"
+>http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
+>
+ (shortcut: <A
+HREF="http://p.p/"
+TARGET="_top"
+>http://p.p/show-status</A
+>). This
+ is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.</P
+><P
+> Note that as of <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> 3.0.7 beta the
+ action editor is disabled by default. Check the
+ <A
+HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
+TARGET="_top"
+>enable-edit-actions
+ section in the configuration file</A
+> to learn why and in which
+ cases it's safe to enable again.</P
+><P
+> If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"actions"</SPAN
+> file, and click
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Edit</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+>. It is best to put personal or
+ local preferences in <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>user.action</TT
+> since this is not
+ meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
+ other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"actions"</SPAN
+>, and URLs for ad
+ blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="APPLICATION"
+>Privoxy</SPAN
+> will detect these changes automatically.</P
+><P
+> A quick and simple step by step example:</P
+><P
+></P
+><UL
+><LI
+><P
+> Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIMENUITEM"
+>Copy Link Location</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+> from the
+ pop-up menu.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Set your browser to
+ <A
+HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
+TARGET="_top"
+>http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
+>
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Find <TT
+CLASS="FILENAME"
+>user.action</TT
+> in the top section, and click
+ on <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Edit</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+>:
+ </P
+><DIV
+CLASS="FIGURE"
+><A
+NAME="AEN640"
+></A
+><P
+><B
+>Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
+></P
+><DIV
+CLASS="MEDIAOBJECT"
+><P
+><IMG
+SRC="files-in-use.jpg"></P
+></DIV
+></DIV
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> You should have a section with only
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+> listed under
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"Actions:"</SPAN
+>.
+ If not, click a <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Insert new section below</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+>
+ button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Edit</SPAN
+> button right under the word <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"Actions:"</SPAN
+>.
+ This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
+ <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+> near the top, and click
+ in the <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"Enabled"</SPAN
+> column, then <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Submit</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+>
+ just below the list.
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Now, in the <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+><A
+HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
+>block</A
+></TT
+> actions section,
+ click the <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Add</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+> button, and paste the URL the
+ browser got from <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIMENUITEM"
+>Copy Link Location</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+>.
+ Remove the <TT
+CLASS="LITERAL"
+>http://</TT
+> at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>Submit</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+> (or
+ <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"<SPAN
+CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
+>OK</SPAN
+>"</SPAN
+> if in a pop-up window).
+ </P
+></LI
+><LI
+><P
+> Now go back to the original page, and press <B
+CLASS="KEYCAP"
+>SHIFT-Reload</B
+>
+ (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
+ </P
+></LI
+></UL
+><P
+> This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
+ wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
+ site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"patterns"</SPAN
+>, and
+ the entire actions concept, see <A
+HREF="actions-file.html"
+>the Actions
+ section</A
+>.</P
+><P
+> For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
+ to now go to the <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
+>Actions Files Tutorial</A
+>.
+ The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.</P
+><P
+> There are also various
+ <A
+HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
+>filters</A
+> that can be used for ad blocking
+ (filters are a special subset of actions). These
+ fall into the <SPAN
+CLASS="QUOTE"
+>"advanced"</SPAN
+> usage category, and are explained in
+ depth in later sections.</P
+></DIV
+></DIV
+><DIV
+CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
+><HR
+ALIGN="LEFT"
+WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
+SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
+WIDTH="100%"
+BORDER="0"
+CELLPADDING="0"
+CELLSPACING="0"
+><TR
+><TD
+WIDTH="33%"
+ALIGN="left"
+VALIGN="top"
+><A
+HREF="whatsnew.html"
+ACCESSKEY="P"
+>Prev</A
+></TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="34%"
+ALIGN="center"
+VALIGN="top"
+><A
+HREF="index.html"
+ACCESSKEY="H"
+>Home</A
+></TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="33%"
+ALIGN="right"
+VALIGN="top"
+><A
+HREF="startup.html"
+ACCESSKEY="N"
+>Next</A
+></TD
+></TR
+><TR
+><TD
+WIDTH="33%"
+ALIGN="left"
+VALIGN="top"
+>What's New in this Release</TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="34%"
+ALIGN="center"
+VALIGN="top"
+> </TD
+><TD
+WIDTH="33%"
+ALIGN="right"
+VALIGN="top"
+>Starting Privoxy</TD
+></TR
+></TABLE
+></DIV
+></BODY
+></HTML
+>
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