X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?p=privoxy.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Ffaq.sgml;h=f99c085bd7f02f5d37202bdecc63fe1eaa5195be;hp=946bf021e54e682435de9ee4f5b1b52d36321170;hb=7ae12b2afe7124cc23216f76aec2acdd5c085595;hpb=3f683fdd9417edc5acd8290e0673928d8a090288 diff --git a/doc/source/faq.sgml b/doc/source/faq.sgml index 946bf021..f99c085b 100644 --- a/doc/source/faq.sgml +++ b/doc/source/faq.sgml @@ -8,15 +8,16 @@ - - - - + + + + + Privoxy"> ]> - Copyright &my-copy; 2001-2007 by + Copyright &my-copy; 2001-2010 by Privoxy Developers -$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.30 2007/11/04 15:16:40 hal9 Exp $ +$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.77 2011/03/03 14:22:12 fabiankeil Exp $ General Information -Who should use Privoxy? +Who should give &my-app; a try? - Anyone that is interested in security, privacy, or in + Anyone who is interested in security, privacy, or in finer-grained control over their web and Internet experience. - Everyone is encouraged to try &my-app;. @@ -161,15 +161,16 @@ Hal. me? &my-app; is certainly a good choice, especially for those who want more - control and security. Those that have the ability to fine-tune their installation - will benefit the most. One of Privoxy's - strength's is that it is highly configurable giving you the ability to + control and security. Those with the willingness to read the documentation + and the ability to fine-tune their installation will benefit the most. + + + One of Privoxy's + strengths is that it is highly configurable giving you the ability to completely personalize your installation. Being familiar with, or at least having an interest in learning about HTTP and other networking - protocols, HTML, - IP (Internet - Protocol), and + protocols, HTML, and Regular Expressions will be a big plus and will help you get the most out of &my-app;. @@ -180,25 +181,25 @@ me? Much of Privoxy's configuration can be done - with a Web browser. + with a Web browser. But there are areas where configuration is done using a text editor - to edit configuration files. + to edit configuration files. Also note that the web-based action editor + doesn't use authentication and should only be enabled in environments + where all clients with access to &my-app; listening port can be trusted. What is a <quote>proxy</quote>? How does Privoxy work? - A web proxy - is a service, based on a software such as - Privoxy, that clients (i.e. browsers) can use - instead of connecting directly to web servers on the Internet. The - clients then ask the proxy to fetch the objects they need (web pages, - images, movies etc) on their behalf, and when the proxy has done so, it - hands the results back to the client. It is a go-between. See - the Wikipedia proxy - definition for more. + A web proxy + is a service, based on a software such as &my-app;, that clients + (i.e. browsers) can use instead of connecting to web servers directly. + The clients then ask the proxy to request objects (web pages, images, movies etc) + on their behalf and to forward the data to the clients. + It is a go-between. For details, see + Wikipedia's proxy definition. There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security (firewalling), @@ -206,9 +207,9 @@ Privoxy work? to accommodate those needs. - Privoxy is a proxy that is primarily focused on privacy - protection, ad and junk elimination and freeing the user from restrictions placed on his - activities. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet, + &my-app; is a proxy that is primarily focused on + privacy enhancement, ad and junk elimination and freeing the user from + restrictions placed on his activities. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet, it is in a perfect position to filter outbound personal information that your browser is leaking, as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do this, all of which are under your complete control via the various configuration @@ -271,22 +272,13 @@ Junkbuster at all? from the old Junkbuster? Privoxy picks up where - Junkbuster left off. All the old features remain. + Junkbuster left off. The new Privoxy still blocks ads and banners, still manages cookies, and still - helps protect your privacy. But, these are all greatly enhanced, and many, - many new features have been added, all in the same vein. + helps protect your privacy. But, most of these features have been enhanced, + and many new ones have been added, all in the same vein. - - The configuration has changed significantly as well. This is something that - users will notice right off the bat if upgrading from - Junkbuster 2.0.x. The blocklist - cookielist, imagelist and much more has been - combined into the actions files, with a completely different - syntax. What's New - page for the latest updates.]]> - Privoxy's new features include: @@ -351,10 +343,11 @@ This does not sound very scientific. Will I have to configure Privoxy before I can use it? - No, not really. The default installation should give you a good starting - point, and block most ads and unwanted content. Many of - the more advanced features are off by default, and would require you to - activate them. + That depends on your expectations. + The default installation should give you a good starting + point, and block most ads and unwanted content, + but many of the more advanced features are off by default, and require + you to activate them. You do have to set up your browser to use @@ -365,7 +358,7 @@ This does not sound very scientific. And you will certainly run into situations where there are false positives, or ads not being blocked that you may not want to see. In these cases, you would certainly benefit by customizing Privoxy's - configuration to more closely match your individual situation. And we would + configuration to more closely match your individual situation. And we encourage you to do this. This is where the real power of Privoxy lies! @@ -386,8 +379,9 @@ Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all? Modern browsers do indeed have some of the same functionality as Privoxy. Maybe this is - adequate for you. But Privoxy is much more - versatile and powerful, and can do a number of things that browsers just can't. + adequate for you. But Privoxy is very + versatile and powerful, and can probably do a number of things + your browser just can't. In addition, a proxy is good choice if you use multiple browsers, or @@ -396,6 +390,13 @@ Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all? have to maintain a similar configuration for possibly many browsers or users. + + Note, however, that it's recommended to leverage both your browser's + and Privoxy's privacy enhancing features + at the same time. While your browser probably lacks some features + &my-app; offers, it should also be able to do some things more + reliable, for example restricting and suppressing JavaScript. + Why should I trust Privoxy? @@ -404,8 +405,8 @@ Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all? everything, and you can control everything. You can check every line of every configuration file yourself. You can check every last bit of source code should you desire. And even if you can't read code, - there should be some comfort in knowing that thousands of other people can, - and some of them do read it. You can build the software from scratch, if you want, + there should be some comfort in knowing that other people can, + and do read it. You can build the software from scratch, if you want, so that you know the executable is clean, and that it is yours. In fact, we encourage this level of scrutiny. It is one reason we use &my-app; ourselves. @@ -415,7 +416,7 @@ Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all? Is there is a license or fee? What about a warranty? Registration? - Privoxy is licensed under the Privoxy is free software and licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. It is free to use, copy, modify or distribute as you wish under the terms of this license. Please see the Copyright section for more @@ -425,8 +426,6 @@ warranty? Registration? There is no warranty of any kind, expressed, implied or otherwise. That is something that would cost real money ;-) There is no registration either. - Privoxy really is free - in every respect! @@ -434,14 +433,17 @@ warranty? Registration? Can Privoxy remove spyware? Adware? Viruses? - No, at least not reliable enough to trust it. &my-app; is not designed to be + No, at least not reliably enough to trust it. &my-app; is not designed to be a malware removal tool and the default configuration doesn't even try to filter out any malware. &my-app; could help prevent contact from (known) sites that use such tactics with appropriate configuration rules, and thus could conceivably - prevent contamination from such sites. + prevent contamination from such sites. However, keeping such a configuration + up to date would require a lot of time and effort that would be better spend + on keeping your software itself up to date so it doesn't have known + vulnerabilities. @@ -454,14 +456,17 @@ warranty? Registration? But it is probably not necessary to use &my-app; in conjunction with other ad-blocking products, and this could conceivably cause undesirable results. - It would be better to choose one software or the other and work a little to + It might be better to choose one software or the other and work a little to tweak its configuration to your liking. + + Note that this is an advice specific to ad blocking. + -I would like to help you, what can I do? +I would like to help you, what can I do? -Would you like to participate? +Would you like to participate? Well, we always need help. There is something for everybody who wants to help us. We welcome new developers, packagers, @@ -470,38 +475,70 @@ warranty? Registration? programmer. There are many other tasks available. In fact, the programmers often can't spend as much time programming because of some of the other, more mundane things that need to be done, like checking the - Tracker feedback sections. + Tracker feedback sections or responding to user questions on the mailing + lists. + + + So first thing, subscribe to the Privoxy Users + or the Privoxy + Developers mailing list, join the discussion, help out other users, provide general + feedback or report problems you noticed. - So first thing, get an account on SourceForge.net - and mail your id to the developers - mailing list. Then, please read the Developer's Manual, at least - the pertinent sections. + so we don't confuse you with the other name-less users. + + + We also have a Developer's Manual. + While it is partly out of date, it's still worth reading. + + + Our TODO list + may be of interest to you as well. + Please let us know if you want to work on one of the items listed. -Contribute! + -Software - If you are a vendor of a web-related software like a browser, web server - or proxy, and would like us to ensure that Privoxy - runs smoothly with your product, you might consider supplying us with a - copy or license. We can't, however, guarantee that we will fix all potential - compatibility issues as a result. + Privoxy has therefore become an associated + project of Software + in the Public Interest (SPI), which allows us to receive tax-deductible + donations in most western countries. + + + + We intend to use the donations to pay for our domain after transferring + it to SPI. Our goal is to make sure there's no single point of failure + and the bill gets paid and the site keeps running even if a some of + the currently active developers were to suddenly disappear for a while. - + + We would also like to spend some money on more reliable hosting, + on hardware to help make sure Privoxy + keeps running on platforms the developers currently can't test on, + and on technical books to educate our developers about said platforms + or to improve their knowledge in general. + + + + If you enjoy our software and feel like helping out with a donation, + please have a look at + SPI's donation page + to see what the options are. + + @@ -543,7 +580,7 @@ Include supported.sgml here: browser or not. Though this may not be the best approach for dealing with some of the common abuses of HTML in email. See How can I configure Privoxy - with Outlook Express? below for more on + with Outlook? below for more on this. @@ -580,12 +617,15 @@ Include supported.sgml here: special I have to do now? - All browsers must be told to use Privoxy + All browsers should be told to use Privoxy as a proxy by specifying the correct proxy address and port number - in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. See + in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. It's possible + to combine &my-app; with a packet filter to intercept HTTP requests + even if the client isn't explicitly configured to use &my-app;, + but where possible, configuring the client is recommended. See the User Manual for more - details. You should also flush your browser's memory and disk cache to get rid of any - cached junk items, and remove any stored + details. You should also flush your browser's memory and disk + cache to get rid of any cached junk items, and remove any stored cookies. @@ -599,9 +639,10 @@ special I have to do now? networked computer on a LAN), the proxy will be on 127.0.0.1 (sometimes referred to as localhost, which is the special name used by every computer on the Internet to refer - to itself) and the port will be 8118 (unless you have Privoxy - to run on a different port with the listen-address config option). + to itself) and the port will be 8118 (unless you used the listen-address + config option to tell Privoxy to run on + a different port). When configuring your browser's proxy settings you typically enter @@ -622,8 +663,7 @@ special I have to do now? Privoxy does not currently handle - any other protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, etc. Be sure that - proxying any of these other protocols is not activated. + any other protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, etc. @@ -686,11 +726,11 @@ Privoxy is running and being used. Advanced --> Cache and then click both Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache. - And, Firefox users would click + In some Firefox versions it's Tools --> Options --> Privacy --> Cache and then click Clear Cache Now. - + @@ -768,33 +808,17 @@ way to do this? There are several different <quote>actions</quote> files. What are the differences? - Three actions files - are being included by the developers, to be used for - different purposes: These are - default.action, the main actions file - which is actively maintained by the Privoxy - developers and typically sets the default policies, user.action, where users are encouraged - to make their private customizations, and standard.action, - which is for internal Privoxy use only. - Please see the actions chapter - in the User Manual for a more - detailed explanation. - - - - Earlier versions included three different versions of the - default.action file. The new scheme allows for - greater flexibility of local configuration, and for browser based - selection of pre-defined aggressiveness levels. + Please have a look at the the actions chapter + in the User Manual for a detailed explanation. Where can I get updated Actions Files? - Based on your feedback and the continuing development, updates of - default.action will be - made available from time to time on the default.action will be + made available from time to time on the files section of our project page. @@ -803,7 +827,7 @@ the differences? If you wish to receive an email notification whenever we release updates of Privoxy or the actions file, subscribe - to our announce mailing list, ijbswa-announce@lists.sourceforge.net. + to our announce mailing list, ijbswa-announce@lists.sourceforge.net. @@ -813,7 +837,8 @@ the differences? The syntax and purpose of configuration files has remained roughly the same throughout the 3.x series, but backwards compatibility is not guaranteed. Also each release contains updated, improved versions and it is - therefore strongly recommended to use the newer configuration files. + therefore strongly recommended to install the newer configuration files + and merge back your modifications. @@ -922,17 +947,16 @@ with a browser? Does that not raise security issues? If you run Privoxy for multiple untrusted users (e.g. in - a LAN), you will probably want to make sure that the the web-based - editor and remote toggle features are off by setting off by setting enable-edit-actions 0 and enable-remote-toggle 0 in the main configuration file. - Note that in the default configuration, only local users (i.e. those on - localhost) can connect to Privoxy, - so this is (normally) not a security problem. + As of &my-app; 3.0.7 these options are disabled by default. @@ -941,17 +965,28 @@ with a browser? Does that not raise security issues? What is the <filename>default.filter</filename> file? What is a <quote>filter</quote>? The default.filter - file is where filters as supplied by the developers are defined. + file is where filters as supplied by the developers are defined. Filters are a special subset of actions that can be used to modify or - remove, web page content on the fly. Filters apply to anything - in the page source (and optionally both client and server headers), including - HTML tags, and JavaScript. Regular expressions are used to accomplish this. + remove web page content or headers on the fly. Content filters can + be applied to anything in the page source, + header filters can be applied to either server or client headers. + Regular expressions are used to accomplish this. + + There are a number of pre-defined filters to deal with common annoyances. The filters are only defined here, to invoke them, you need to use the filter - action in one of the actions files. Filtering is automatically - disabled for inappropriate MIME types. + action in one of the actions files. Content filtering is automatically + disabled for inappropriate MIME types, but if you know better than Privoxy + what should or should not be filtered you can filter any content you like. + + + Filters should + not be confused with blocks, which + is a completely different action, and is more typically used to block ads and + unwanted sites. @@ -971,12 +1006,16 @@ with a browser? Does that not raise security issues? There is no GUI editor option for this part of the configuration, but you can disable/enable the various pre-defined filters of the included default.filter file with the web-based actions file editor - Note - that the custom actions editor must be explicitly enabled in the main config file - (see web-based actions file editor. + Note that the custom actions editor must be explicitly enabled in + the main config file (see enable-edit-actions). + + + If you intend to develop your own filters, you might want to have a look at + Privoxy-Filter-Test. @@ -1126,17 +1165,17 @@ on Win2K/NT/XP? -How can I make Privoxy work with other -proxies like Squid or Tor? +How can I make Privoxy work with other proxies? This can be done and is often useful to combine the benefits of - Privoxy with those of a another proxy. + Privoxy with those of a another proxy, + for example to cache content. See the forwarding chapter in the User Manual which - describes how to do this, and the - How do I use Privoxy together with - Tor section below. + describes how to do this. If you intend to use Privoxy with Tor, + please also have a look at + How do I use Privoxy together with Tor. @@ -1146,7 +1185,8 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? No, its more complicated than that. This only works with special kinds - of proxies known as intercepting proxies (see below). + of proxies known as intercepting proxies + (see below). @@ -1163,7 +1203,7 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? However, some people say transparent proxy when they mean intercepting proxy. If you are one of them, - please read the next entry. + please read the next entry. @@ -1179,26 +1219,33 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? As the Host header is required by HTTP/1.1 and as most - web sites don't work if it isn't set, this limitation shouldn't be a - problem. + web sites rely on it anyway, this limitation shouldn't be a problem. Please refer to your packet filter's documentation to learn how to - intercept and redirect traffic into Privoxy. Afterward you just have - to configure Privoxy to - accept intercepted requests. + intercept and redirect traffic into Privoxy. + Afterward you just have to configure Privoxy to + accept + intercepted requests. -How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook - Express? +How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook? - Outlook Express uses Internet Explorer - components to both render HTML, and fetch any HTTP requests that may be embedded in an HTML email. - So however you have Privoxy configured to work - with IE, this configuration should automatically be shared. + Versions of Outlook prior to Office 2007, use + Internet Explorer components to both render HTML, + and fetch any HTTP requests that may be embedded in an HTML email. So however + you have Privoxy configured to work with IE, this + configuration should automatically be shared, at least with older version of + Internet Explorer. + + + Starting with Office 2007, Microsoft is instead using the MS-Word rendering + engine with Outlook. It is unknown whether this can be configured to use a + proxy. + @@ -1255,7 +1302,7 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? method that browsers can use to store data between pages, or between browser sessions. Sometimes there is a good reason for this, and the user's life is a bit easier as a result. But there is a long history of some websites taking - advantage of this layer of trust, and using the data they glean from you and + advantage of this layer of trust, and using the data they glean from you and your browsing habits for their own purposes, and maybe to your potential detriment. Such sites are using you and storing their data on your system. That is why the privacy conscious watch from whom those cookies come, and why @@ -1339,18 +1386,18 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? then subsequently allowing three specific exceptions. - A more interesting approach is Privoxy's + Another approach is Privoxy's trustfile concept, which incorporates the notion of trusted referrers. See the User Manual Trust - documentation. + url="../user-manual/config.html#TRUSTFILE">Trust documentation + for details. These are fairly simple approaches and are not completely foolproof. There are various other configuration options that should be disabled (described elsewhere here and in the User Manual) so that users can't modify their own configuration and easily circumvent the - whitelist. + whitelist. @@ -1411,10 +1458,14 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? &my-app; for various purposes and can easily be modified using any text editor. All the template pages are installed in a sub-directory appropriately named: templates. Knowing something about HTML syntax - will of course be helpful. You cannot rename any of these files, or create - completely new templates, that is not possible. But you can change the page - content to whatever you like. Be forewarned that these files are subject to - being overwritten during upgrades, so be sure to save any customizations. + will of course be helpful. + + + Be forewarned that the default templates are subject to being overwritten + during upgrades. You can, however, create completely new templates, + place them in another directory and specify the alternate path in the main + config. For details, have a look at the templdir option. @@ -1422,12 +1473,12 @@ and thus avoid individual browser configuration? How can I remove the <quote>Go There Anyway</quote> link from the <emphasis>BLOCKED</emphasis> page? - There is more than one way to do it. + There is more than one way to do it (although Perl is not involved). Editing the BLOCKED template page (see above) may dissuade some users, but this method is easily circumvented. Where you need this level of control, you - should build &my-app; from source, and enable various features that are + might want to build &my-app; from source, and disable various features that are available as compile-time options. You should configure the sources as follows: @@ -1441,7 +1492,7 @@ the BLOCKED page? current configuration via any connected user's web browser. - Note that all of these features can also be toggled on/off via options in + Finally, all of these features can also be toggled on/off via options in Privoxy's main config file which means you don't have to recompile anything. @@ -1471,8 +1522,8 @@ has to add extra time to browsing. retrieved and displayed. The actual processing time required by Privoxy itself for each page, is relatively small in the overall scheme of things, and happens very quickly. This is typically - more than offset by time saved not downloading and rendering ad images (if ad - blocking is being used). + more than offset by time saved not downloading and rendering ad images and + other junk content (if ad blocking is being used). @@ -1481,17 +1532,17 @@ has to add extra time to browsing. deanimate-gifs actions may cause a perceived slowdown, since the entire document - needs to be buffered before displaying. And on very large documents, filtering may have - some measurable impact. How much depends on the page size, the actual - definition of the filter(s), etc. See below. Most other actions have little - to no impact on speed. + needs to be buffered before displaying. And on very large documents, + filtering may have some measurable impact. How much depends on the page size, + the actual definition of the filter(s), etc. See below. Most other actions + have little to no impact on speed. Also, when filtering is enabled but zlib support isn't available, compression is often disabled (see prevent-compression). - This can have an impact on speed as well. Again, the page size, etc. will - determine how much of an impact. + This can have an impact on speed as well, although it's probably smaller than + you might think. Again, the page size, etc. will determine how much of an impact. @@ -1621,9 +1672,9 @@ us help you. Your efforts are not wasted, and we do appreciate them. on (those suspicious) people with a more than average preference for privacy. - Your best bet is to chain Privoxy - with Tor, - an EFF supported onion routing system. + If you want to hide your IP address from most adversaries, + you should consider chaining Privoxy + with Tor. The configuration details can be found in How do I use Privoxy together with Tor section @@ -1634,15 +1685,15 @@ us help you. Your efforts are not wasted, and we do appreciate them. Can Privoxy guarantee I am anonymous? - No. Your chances of remaining anonymous are greatly improved, but unless you + No. Your chances of remaining anonymous are improved, but unless you chain Privoxy with Tor - or a similar system and know what you're doing when it comes to configuring - the rest of your system, it would be safest to assume that everything you do + or a similar proxy and know what you're doing when it comes to configuring + the rest of your system, you should assume that everything you do on the Web can be traced back to you. Privoxy can remove various information about you, - and allows you more freedom to decide which sites + and allows you more freedom to decide which sites you can trust, and what details you want to reveal. But it neither hides your IP address, nor can it guarantee that the rest of the system behaves correctly. There are several possibilities how a web sites can find @@ -1712,9 +1763,11 @@ us help you. Your efforts are not wasted, and we do appreciate them. If you verified that Privoxy and Tor are working, it is time to connect them. As far as Privoxy is concerned, Tor is just another proxy that can be reached - by socks4 or socks4a. Most likely you are interested in Tor - to increase your anonymity level, therefore you should use socks4a, to make sure DNS requests are - done through Tor and thus invisible to your local network. + by socks4, socks4a and socks5. Most likely you are interested in Tor + to increase your anonymity level, therefore you should use socks5, to make sure DNS + requests are done through Tor and thus invisible to your + local network. Using socks4a would work too, but with socks5 you get more precise error + messages. -# forward-socks4a / 127.0.0.1:9050 . +# forward-socks5 / 127.0.0.1:9050 . @@ -1768,14 +1821,15 @@ us help you. Your efforts are not wasted, and we do appreciate them. in your browser, confirm that Privoxy has reloaded its configuration and that there are no other forward lines, unless you know that you need them. If everything looks good, refer to - Tor + Tor Faq 4.2 to learn how to verify that you are really using Tor. Afterward, please take the time to at least skim through the rest of Tor's documentation. Make sure you understand what Tor does, why it is no replacement for - application level security, and why you shouldn't use it for unencrypted logins. + application level security, and why you probably don't want to + use it for unencrypted logins. ]]> @@ -1797,7 +1851,7 @@ content is being altered? - Also, different browsers use different encodings of Russian and Czech + Also, different browsers use different encodings of non-English characters, certain web servers convert pages on-the-fly according to the User Agent header. Giving a User Agent with the wrong operating system or browser manufacturer causes some sites in these languages @@ -1807,7 +1861,7 @@ content is being altered? weather maps of Intellicast have been blocked by their server when no Referer or cookie is provided, is another example. (But you can forge both headers without giving information away). There are - many other ways things that can go wrong when trying to fool a web server. The + many other ways things can go wrong when trying to fool a web server. The results of which could inadvertently cause pages to load incorrectly, partially, or even not at all. And there may be no obvious clues as to just what went wrong, or why. Nowhere will there be a message that says @@ -1941,14 +1995,21 @@ secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions? -How can I temporarily disable Privoxy? +Can I temporarily disable Privoxy? + + &my-app; doesn't have a transparent proxy mode, + but you can toggle off blocking and content filtering. + - The easiest way is to access Privoxy with your - browser by using the remote toggle URL: http://config.privoxy.org/toggle. + + See the Bookmarklets section of the User Manual for an easy way to access this - feature. + feature. Note that this is a feature that may need to be enabled in the main + config file. @@ -1958,8 +2019,8 @@ secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions? out of the picture? No, this just means all optional filtering and actions are disabled. - Privoxy is still acting as a proxy, but just not - doing any of the things that Privoxy would + Privoxy is still acting as a proxy, but just + doing less of the things that Privoxy would normally be expected to do. It is still a middle-man in the interaction between your browser and web sites. See below to bypass the proxy. @@ -2054,7 +2115,7 @@ from a webserver? FTP server? Privoxy does not do FTP at all, only HTTP - and HTTPS (SSL) protocols, so please don't try. + and HTTPS (SSL) protocols. @@ -2120,8 +2181,8 @@ and related issues? activated the fun filter which is clearly labeled Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! or you are using an older Privoxy version and have implicitly - activated it by choosing the Adventuresome profile in the - web-based editor. Please upgrade! + activated it by choosing the Advanced profile in the + web-based editor. Please upgrade. @@ -2136,6 +2197,42 @@ and related issues? + +How did you manage to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent? + + + We didn't. We make Privoxy available for download, but we don't go + around installing it on other people's systems behind their back. + If you discover Privoxy running on your system and are sure you didn't + install it yourself, somebody else did. You may not even be running + the real Privoxy, but maybe something else that only pretends to be + Privoxy, or maybe something that is based on the real Privoxy, + but has been modified. + + + Lately there have been reports of problems with some kind of + Privoxy versions that come preinstalled on some Netbooks. + Some of the problems described are inconsistent with the behaviour + of official Privoxy versions, which suggests that the preinstalled + software may contain vendor modifications that we don't know about + and thus can't debug. + + + Privoxy's license allows vendor + modifications, but the vendor has to comply with the license, + which involves informing the user about the changes and to make + the changes available under the same license as Privoxy itself. + + + If you are having trouble with a modified Privoxy version, + please try to talk to whoever made the modifications before + reporting the problem to us. Please also try to convince + whoever made the modifications to talk to us. If you think + somebody gave you a modified Privoxy version without complying + to the license, please let us know. + + + @@ -2234,31 +2331,31 @@ Request: img.example.com/sr.js Request: example.betamarker.com/example.html Request: www.lik-sang.com/Banners/bestsellers/skyscraper.php?likref=BSellers Request: img.example.com/pb.png -Request: www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js crunch! -Request: www.advertising-department.com/ats/switch.ps.php?26856 crunch! +Request: www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js crunch! (Blocked) +Request: www.advertising-department.com/ats/switch.ps.php?26856 crunch! (Blocked) Request: img.example.com/p.gif -Request: www.popuptraffic.com/assign.php?l=example&mode=behind crunch! -Request: www.popuptraffic.com/scripts/popup.php?hid=5c3cf&tmpl=PBa.tmpl crunch! -Request: www.popuptraffic.com/assign.php?l=example crunch! +Request: www.popuptraffic.com/assign.php?l=example&mode=behind crunch! (Blocked) +Request: www.popuptraffic.com/scripts/popup.php?hid=5c3cf&tmpl=PBa.tmpl crunch! (Blocked) +Request: www.popuptraffic.com/assign.php?l=example crunch! (Blocked) Request: www.lik-sang.com/Banners/best_sellers/best_sellers.css -Request: www.adtrak.net/adx.js crunch! +Request: www.adtrak.net/adx.js crunch! (Blocked) Request: img.example.com/hbg.gif Request: img.example.com/example.jpg Request: img.example.com/mt.png Request: img.example.com/mm.png Request: img.example.com/mb.png -Request: www.popuptraffic.com/scripts/popup.php?hid=a71b91fa5&tmpl=Ua.tmp crunch! +Request: www.popuptraffic.com/scripts/popup.php?hid=a71b91fa5&tmpl=Ua.tmp crunch! (Blocked) Request: www.example.com/tracker.js Request: www.lik-sang.com/Banners/best_sellers/lsi_head.gif -Request: www.adtrak.net/adjs.php?n=020548130&what=zone:61 crunch! -Request: www.adtrak.net/adjs.php?n=463594413&what=zone:58&source=Ua crunch! +Request: www.adtrak.net/adjs.php?n=020548130&what=zone:61 crunch! (Blocked) +Request: www.adtrak.net/adjs.php?n=463594413&what=zone:58&source=Ua crunch! (Blocked) Request: www.lik-sang.com/Banners/best_sellers/bottomani.swf -Request: mmm.elitemediagroup.net/install.php?allowpop=no&popupmincook=0&allowsp2=1 crunch! +Request: mmm.elitemediagroup.net/install.php?allowpop=no&popupmincook=0&allowsp2=1 crunch! (Blocked) Request: www.example.com/tracker.js?screen=1400x1050&win=962x693 -Request: www.adtrak.net/adlog.php?bannerid=1309&clientid=439&zoneid=61 crunch! +Request: www.adtrak.net/adlog.php?bannerid=1309&clientid=439&zoneid=61 crunch! (Blocked) Request: 66.70.21.80/scripts/click.php?hid=5c3cf599a9efd0320d26&si Request: 66.70.21.80/img/pixel.gif -Request: www.adtrak.net/adlog.php?bannerid=1309&clientid=439&zoneid=58&source=Ua&block=86400 crunch! +Request: www.adtrak.net/adlog.php?bannerid=1309&clientid=439&zoneid=58&source=Ua&block=86400 crunch! (Blocked) Request: 66.70.21.80/scripts/click.php?hid=a71b9f6504b0c5681fa5&si=Ua ]]> @@ -2277,7 +2374,9 @@ What can I do? First verify that it is indeed a Privoxy problem, by toggling off Privoxy through http://config.privoxy.org/toggle, + url="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle">http://config.privoxy.org/toggle + (the toggle feature may need to be enabled in the main + config), and then shift-reloading the problem page (i.e. holding down the shift key while clicking reload. Alternatively, flush your browser's disk and memory caches). @@ -2418,8 +2517,8 @@ every time I start IE. What gives? - -In Mac OSX, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use +<sect2 id="macosxie" renderas="sect3"> +<title>In Mac OS X, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use Privoxy as the HTTP proxy. Microsoft Internet Explorer (in versions like 5.1) respects system-wide @@ -2433,16 +2532,19 @@ every time I start IE. What gives? - -In Mac OSX, I dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to - uninstall it. Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to +<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="macosxuninstall"> +<title>In Mac OS X, I dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to + uninstall it. Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to empty the trash. + + Note: This ONLY applies to privoxy 3.0.6 and earlier. + Just dragging the Privoxy folder to the trash is - not enough to delete it. Privoxy supplies an + not enough to delete it. Privoxy supplies an uninstall.command file that takes care of - these details. Open the trash, drag the uninstall.command - file out of the trash and double-click on it. You will be prompted for + these details. Open the trash, drag the uninstall.command + file out of the trash and double-click on it. You will be prompted for confirmation and the administration password. @@ -2453,12 +2555,12 @@ every time I start IE. What gives? - -In Mac OSX Panther (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I +<sect2 renderas="sect3" id="macosximages"> +<title>In Mac OS X Panther (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I experience random delays in page loading. I'm using <literal>localhost</literal> as my browser's proxy setting. - We believe this is due to an IPv6-related bug in OSX, but don't fully + We believe this is due to an IPv6-related bug in Mac OS X, but don't fully understand the issue yet. In any case, changing the proxy setting to 127.0.0.1 instead of localhost works around the problem. @@ -2466,6 +2568,7 @@ every time I start IE. What gives? + I get a completely blank page at one site. <quote>View Source</quote> shows only: <markup><![CDATA[<html><body></body></html>]]></markup>. Without @@ -2512,11 +2615,15 @@ Why? some platforms due to DNS timeouts. - This can be caused by a problem with the local HOSTS + This can be caused by a problem with the local hosts file. If this file has been changed from the original, try reverting it to see if that helps. Make sure whatever name(s) are used for the local system, that they resolve both ways. + + You should also be able to work around the problem with the + hostname option. + @@ -2589,7 +2696,7 @@ Why? On the other hand, if you use non-Microsoft products, and you occasionally - notice wierd characters on pages, you might want to try it. + notice weird characters on pages, you might want to try it. @@ -2623,12 +2730,14 @@ Why? is done by the underlying operating system -- not Privoxy itself. Privoxy merely initiates the process and hands it off, and then later reports - whatever the outcome was. And tries to give a coherent message if there seems + whatever the outcome was and tries to give a coherent message if there seems to be a problem. In some cases, this might otherwise be mitigated by the browser itself which might try some work-arounds and alternate approaches (e.g - adding www. to the URL). In other cases, if - Privoxy is being chained with another proxy, this - could complicate the issue, and cause undue + adding www. to the URL). + + + In other cases, if Privoxy is being chained + with another proxy, this could complicate the issue, and cause undue delays and timeouts. In the case of a socks4a proxy, the socks server handles all the DNS. Privoxy would just be the messenger which is reporting whatever problem occurred @@ -2636,7 +2745,7 @@ Why? - In any case, newer versions include various improvements to help + In any case, versions newer than 3.0.3 include various improvements to help Privoxy better handle these cases. ]]> @@ -2652,10 +2761,13 @@ Why? are in the raw HTML source of the page, and the browser just ignores them. But the pattern matching in Privoxy's page filtering mechanism is trying to match against absurdly long strings and this becomes - very CPU-intensive, taking a long, long time to complete. Until a better - solution comes along, disable filtering on these pages, particularly the - js-annoyances and unsolicited-popups - filters. + very CPU-intensive, taking a long, long time to complete. + + + Until a better solution comes along, disable filtering on these pages, + particularly the js-annoyances and + unsolicited-popups filters. If you run into this problem + with a recent &my-app; version, please send a problem report. @@ -2667,7 +2779,8 @@ browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives? it does not happen. I would suspect some inadvertent interaction of software components such as anti-virus software, spyware protectors, personal firewalls or similar components. Try disabling (or uninstalling) these one - at a time and see if that helps. + at a time and see if that helps. Either way, if you are using a + recent &my-app; version, please report the problem. @@ -2681,6 +2794,100 @@ browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives? prevent-compression. + + As of &my-app; 3.0.9, zlib support is enabled in the default builds. + + + + + +On some HTTPS sites my browser warns me about unauthenticated content, + the URL bar doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken. + What's going on? + + Probably the browser is requesting ads through HTTPS and &my-app; + is blocking the requests. Privoxy's error messages are delivered + unencrypted and while it's obvious for the browser that the HTTPS + request is already blocked by the proxy, some warn about unauthenticated + content anyway. + + + To work around the problem you can redirect those requests to an invalid + local address instead of blocking them. While the redirects aren't + encrypted either, many browsers don't care. They simply follow the + redirect, fail to reach a server and display an error message instead + of the ad. + + + To do that, enable logging to figure out which requests get blocked by + &my-app; and add the hosts (no path patterns) to a section like this: + + + + + + + + Additionally you have to configure your browser to contact + 127.0.0.1:0 directly (instead of through &my-app;). + + + To add a proxy exception in Mozilla Firefox + open the Preferences, click the Settings + button located on the Network tab in the Advanced + section, and add 127.0.0.1:0 in the No Proxy for: + field. + + + + + +I get selinux error messages. How can I fix this? + + Please report the problem to the creator of your selinux policies. + + + The problem is that some selinux policy writers aren't familiar + with the application they are trying to secure and + thus create policies that make no sense. + + + In Privoxy's case the problem usually + is that the policy only allows outgoing connections for certain + destination ports (e.g. 80 and 443). While this may cover the + standard ports, websites occasionally use other ports as well. + This isn't a security problem and therefore Privoxy's + default configuration doesn't block these requests. + + + If you really want to block these ports (and don't be able + to load websites that don't use standard ports), you should + configure Privoxy to block these ports as well, so it doesn't + trigger the selinux warnings. + + + + + +I compiled &my-app; with Gentoo's portage and it appears to be very slow. Why? + + Probably you unintentionally compiled &my-app; without threading support + in which case requests have to be serialized and only one can be served + at the same time. + + + Check your USE flags and make sure they include + threads. If they don't, add the flag and rebuild &my-app;. + + + If you compiled &my-app; with threading support (on POSIX-based systems), + the Conditional #defines section on http://config.privoxy.org/show-status + will list FEATURE_PTHREAD as enabled. + @@ -2762,6 +2969,173 @@ browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives? 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA $Log: faq.sgml,v $ +Revision 2.77 2011/03/03 14:22:12 fabiankeil +Remove duplicated 'the' + +Revision 2.76 2010/11/22 10:35:02 fabiankeil +Mention socks5 in another part of the Tor section. + +Revision 2.75 2010/11/13 10:08:00 fabiankeil +Fix a link to the 'intercepting' entry and add another one + +Revision 2.74 2010/11/13 10:07:46 fabiankeil +Remove the product names in the 'otherproxy' entry's title. + +I'm tired of getting the 'otherproxy' entry as first hit +when searching the index for the Tor FAQ. + +Revision 2.73 2010/11/06 12:55:48 fabiankeil +Set p-version to 3.0.17 + +Revision 2.72 2010/02/27 12:13:17 fabiankeil +Fix spelling. + +Revision 2.71 2010/02/27 12:12:13 fabiankeil +Consistently recommending socks5 in the Tor entry and mention its advantage compared to socks4a. +Reported by David in #2960129. + +Revision 2.70 2010/02/20 18:08:31 ler762 +fix typo + +Revision 2.69 2010/02/13 17:38:27 fabiankeil +Update entities for 3.0.16 stable. + +Revision 2.68 2010/01/30 19:51:28 fabiankeil +New FAQ entry: How did you manage to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent? + +Also bump copyright. + +Revision 2.67 2009/11/15 14:24:12 fabiankeil +Prepare to generate docs for 3.0.16 UNRELEASED. + +Revision 2.66 2009/10/10 05:48:55 fabiankeil +Prepare for 3.0.15 beta. + +Revision 2.65 2009/07/18 16:24:39 fabiankeil +Bump entities for 3.0.14 beta. + +Revision 2.64 2009/07/18 12:18:52 fabiankeil +Don't describe the action files in the FAQ when we can simply link to the description in the User Manual. + +Revision 2.63 2009/06/15 15:08:03 fabiankeil +Patch #2806626 from Frédéric Crozat to fix a closing tag. + +Revision 2.62 2009/06/12 14:30:58 fabiankeil +Update entities for 3.0.13 beta. + +Revision 2.61 2009/06/12 11:52:33 fabiankeil +Mention the TODO list in the participate entry. + +Revision 2.60 2009/04/07 12:25:05 fabiankeil +In the "I would like to help ..." entry: +- Change the ids to more general ones as helping out doesn't require + joining the team (and joining the team requires significantly helping + out first, anyway). +- Add links to the subscription pages for the main mailing lists. + +Revision 2.59 2009/03/28 15:33:41 fabiankeil +Recommend the use of forward-socks5 when forwarding to Tor. +The error messages are more detailed than with forward-socks4a. + +Revision 2.58 2009/03/21 12:27:44 fabiankeil +Turn the donation entry title into a question, +also rephrase the content a bit. + +Revision 2.57 2009/03/19 19:07:49 fabiankeil +First draft of a "Donating" entry. To be polished tomorrow. + +Revision 2.56 2009/02/19 17:05:05 fabiankeil +Explain slowness when build with Gentoo's portage. + +Revision 2.55 2009/02/19 02:20:21 hal9 +Make some links in seealso conditional. Man page is now privoxy only links. + +Revision 2.54 2009/02/15 20:47:12 hal9 +Fix small typo. + +Revision 2.53 2009/02/15 20:46:13 hal9 +Update Outlook HTML rendering engine comments re: Office 2007. + +Revision 2.52 2009/02/14 10:27:52 fabiankeil +Finish last paragraph in the selinux entry which +I unintentionally committed with the last commit. + +Revision 2.51 2009/02/12 16:08:26 fabiankeil +Declare the code stable. + +Revision 2.50 2009/02/11 18:13:36 fabiankeil +State the obvious. + +Revision 2.49 2009/02/10 16:30:20 fabiankeil +Add a workaround for "unauthenticated content" warnings on HTTPS sites. + +Revision 2.48 2009/01/13 16:50:35 fabiankeil +The standard.action file is gone. + +Revision 2.47 2008/11/24 18:29:39 fabiankeil +Two changes suggested by Roger Dingledine: +- Use https://www.torproject.org/ in section 4.7, too. +- Replace the Tor wiki URL in section 4.10 with one + with a more useful anchor name. + +Revision 2.46 2008/08/30 15:37:35 fabiankeil +Update entities. + +Revision 2.45 2008/08/16 08:51:28 fabiankeil +Update version-related entities. + +Revision 2.44 2008/06/19 01:41:36 hal9 +Add short note about zlib being enabled in 3.0.9 + +Revision 2.43 2008/06/14 13:21:25 fabiankeil +Prepare for the upcoming 3.0.9 beta release. + +Revision 2.42 2008/06/07 13:11:15 fabiankeil +- Note that the "100% cpu problem" is worth + reporting if it happens with a recent release. +- Mention the hostname option as a workaround for + the "can't get my own hostname" issue. +- The profile formerly known as "Adventuresome" + is called "Advanced" now. +- Some white-space fixes. + +Revision 2.41 2008/06/06 15:32:09 fabiankeil +- Minor rewordings. +- Don't claim that all the old Junkbuster features remain. + Some of them have been removed or replaced with better ones. + +Revision 2.40 2008/02/22 05:54:27 markm68k +updates for mac os x + +Revision 2.39 2008/02/03 21:37:41 hal9 +Apply patch from Mark: s/OSX/OS X/ + +Revision 2.38 2008/01/19 17:52:39 hal9 +Re-commit to fix various minor issues for new release. + +Revision 2.37 2008/01/19 15:03:05 hal9 +Doc sources tagged for 3.0.8 release. + +Revision 2.36 2008/01/17 01:49:51 hal9 +Change copyright notice for docs s/2007/2008/. All these will be rebuilt soon +enough. + +Revision 2.35 2007/11/19 17:57:59 fabiankeil +A bunch of rewordings, minor updates and fixes. + +Revision 2.34 2007/11/19 02:38:11 hal9 +Minor revisions and rebuild + +Revision 2.33 2007/11/15 03:30:20 hal9 +Results of spell check. + +Revision 2.32 2007/11/13 03:03:42 hal9 +Various changes to reflect new features and revised configuration for the +upcoming release. + +Revision 2.31 2007/11/05 02:34:53 hal9 +Various changes in preparation for the upcoming release. Much yet to be done. + Revision 2.30 2007/11/04 15:16:40 hal9 Fix one silly typo. @@ -2848,7 +3222,7 @@ Revision 1.61.2.41 2004/04/05 13:44:05 oes Fixed allow-all-cookies alias name; closes SR #929746 Revision 1.61.2.40 2004/01/30 17:00:33 oes -Added OSX Panther problem +Added Mac OS X Panther problem Revision 1.61.2.39 2004/01/29 22:53:08 hal9 Minor changes for exempting docs of text/plain. Change copyright date. @@ -2935,28 +3309,28 @@ Revision 1.61.2.15 2002/08/10 11:34:22 oes Add disclaimer about probably being out-of-date Revision 1.61.2.14 2002/08/07 02:53:43 hal9 -Fix some minor markup errors, and move one OSX Q/A to troubleshooting section. +Fix some minor markup errors, and move one Mac OS X Q/A to troubleshooting section. Revision 1.61.2.13 2002/08/06 11:55:32 oes Added missing close tag Revision 1.61.2.12 2002/08/06 11:43:46 david__schmidt -Updated OSX uninstall FAQ... we have an uninstall script now. +Updated Mac OS X uninstall FAQ... we have an uninstall script now. Revision 1.61.2.11 2002/08/06 08:54:03 oes Style police: Fixed formatting details Revision 1.61.2.10 2002/08/02 14:00:25 david__schmidt -Made the OSX removal commands far less dangerous +Made the Mac OS X removal commands far less dangerous Revision 1.61.2.9 2002/08/02 13:14:45 oes -Added warning about sudo rm -r for Mac OSX deinstallation; moved this item to install section +Added warning about sudo rm -r for Mac OS X deinstallation; moved this item to install section Revision 1.61.2.8 2002/08/02 02:01:42 david__schmidt -Add FAQ item for MSIE on OSX HTTP proxy confusion +Add FAQ item for MSIE on Mac OS X HTTP proxy confusion Revision 1.61.2.7 2002/08/02 01:46:01 david__schmidt -Added FAQ item for Mac OSX uninstall woes +Added FAQ item for Mac OS X uninstall woes Revision 1.61.2.6 2002/07/30 20:04:56 hal9 Fix typo: 'schould'.