X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?p=privoxy.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Fuser-manual.sgml;h=3f88ffb0961355e4b666b11631555ac015fac70a;hp=30629488094b0e22dc437477345d97af222cfc72;hb=043a1d495ada3ded930834bd238dbdc90bac47ef;hpb=c45bdf10c161dbbaa4eeba42373163ad14759392
diff --git a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
index 30629488..3f88ffb0 100644
--- a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
+++ b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@
-
-
+
+
-
-
+
+
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
+Privoxy">
]>
- Copyright &my-copy; 2001 - 2006 by
+ Copyright &my-copy; 2001 - 2008 by
Privoxy Developers
-$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.18 2006/09/08 02:38:57 hal9 Exp $
+$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 2.57 2008/02/03 19:10:14 fabiankeil Exp $
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ Hal.
- You can find the latest version of the User Manual at Privoxy User Manual at http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
Please see the Contact section on how to
contact the developers.
@@ -135,7 +136,8 @@ Hal.
Features
In addition to the core
- features of ad blocking and cookie management,
+ features of ad blocking and
+ cookie management,
Privoxy provides many supplemental
features,
that give the end-user more control, more privacy and more freedom:
@@ -175,8 +177,10 @@ Hal.
How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:
+
+
-Red Hat, SuSE and Conectiva RPMs
+Red Hat and Fedora RPMs
RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-&p-version;-1.rpm,
@@ -188,8 +192,7 @@ How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system:
Note that on Red Hat, Privoxy will
not be automatically started on system boot. You will
need to enable that using chkconfig,
- ntsysv, or similar methods. Note that SuSE will
-automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
+ ntsysv, or similar methods.
@@ -207,7 +210,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Debian
+Debian and Ubuntu
DEBs can be installed with apt-get install privoxy,
and will use /etc/privoxy for the location of
@@ -224,7 +227,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
in the same directory as you installed Privoxy in.
- Version 3.0.4 introduces full Windows service
+ Version 3.0.5 beta introduced full Windows service
functionality. On Windows only, the Privoxy
program has two new command line arguments to install and uninstall
Privoxy as a service.
@@ -249,7 +252,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
want Privoxy to run under, and whether or not you
want it to run whenever the system starts. You can start the
Windows services console with the following
- command: services.msc If you do not take the manual step
+ command: services.msc. If you do not take the manual step
of modifying Privoxy's service settings, it will
not start. Note too that you will need to give Privoxy a user account that
actually exists, or it will not be permitted to
@@ -259,7 +262,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX
+Solaris <!--, NetBSD, HP-UX-->
Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and
@@ -295,7 +298,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Mac OSX
+Mac OS X
Unzip the downloaded file (you can either double-click on the file
from the finder, or from the desktop if you downloaded it there).
@@ -334,6 +337,25 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
+
+FreeBSD
+
+
+ Privoxy is part of FreeBSD's Ports Collection, you can build and install
+ it with cd /usr/ports/www/privoxy; make install clean.
+
+
+ If you don't use the ports, you can fetch and install
+ the package with pkg_add -r privoxy.
+
+
+ The port skeleton and the package can also be downloaded from the
+ File Release
+ Page, but there's no reason to use them unless you're interested in the
+ beta releases which are only available there.
+
+
+
Gentoo
@@ -362,7 +384,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
The most convenient way to obtain the Privoxy sources
- is to download the source tarball from our project
+ is to download the source tarball from our
+ project download
page.
@@ -421,161 +444,156 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
What's New in this Release
- There are many improvements and new features in Privoxy &p-version;
- :
+ There are many improvements and new features since Privoxy 3.0.6, the last stable release:
- Mulitiple filter files can now be specifed in config. This allows for
- locally defined filters that can be maintained separately from the filters as
- supplied by the developers.
+ Two new actions server-header-tagger
+ and client-header-tagger
+ that can be used to create arbitrary tags
+ based on client and server headers.
+ These tags can then subsequently be used
+ to control the other actions used for the current request,
+ greatly increasing &my-app;'s flexibility and selectivity. See tag patterns for more information on tags.
+
+
+
+
+
+ Header filtering is done with dedicated header filters now. As a result
+ the actions filter-client-headers and filter-server-headers
+ that were introduced with Privoxy 3.0.5 to apply
+ content filters to the headers have been removed.
+ See the new actions server-header-filter
+ and client-header-filter for details.
+
+
+
+
+ There are four new options for the main config file:
+
+
+
+
+
+ allow-cgi-request-crunching
+ which allows requests for Privoxy's internal CGI pages to be
+ blocked, redirected or (un)trusted like ordinary requests.
+
+
+
+
+ split-large-forms
+ that will work around a browser bug that caused IE6 and IE7 to
+ ignore the Submit button on the Privoxy's edit-actions-for-url CGI
+ page.
+
+
+
+
+ accept-intercepted-requests
+ which allows to combine Privoxy with any packet filter to create an
+ intercepting proxy for HTTP/1.1 requests (and for HTTP/1.0 requests
+ with Host header set). This means clients can be forced to use
+ &my-app; even if their proxy settings are configured differently.
+
+
+
+
+ templdir
+ to designate an alternate location for &my-app;'s
+ locally customized CGI templates so that
+ these are not overwritten during upgrades.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ A new command line option --pre-chroot-nslookup hostname to
+ initialize the resolver library before chroot'ing. On some systems this
+ reduces the number of files that must be copied into the chroot tree.
+ (Patch provided by Stephen Gildea)
-
-
-
- There are a number of new actions:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- content-type-overwrite
-
-
-
-
- crunch-client-header
-
-
-
-
- crunch-if-none-match
-
-
-
-
- crunch-server-header
-
-
-
-
- filter-client-headers
-
-
-
-
- filter-server-headers
-
-
-
-
- force-text-mode
-
-
-
-
- handle-as-empty-document
-
-
-
-
- hide-accept-language
-
-
-
-
- hide-content-disposition
-
-
-
-
- hide-if-modified-since
-
-
-
-
- inspect-jpegs
-
-
-
-
- overwrite-last-modified
-
-
-
-
- redirect
-
-
-
-
- treat-forbidden-connects-like-blocks
-
-
-
-
-
- In addition, fast-redirects
- has been significantly improved with enhanced syntax.
+
+
+ The forward-override action
+ allows changing of the forwarding settings through the actions files.
+ Combined with tags, this allows to choose the forwarder based on
+ client headers like the User-Agent, or the request origin.
+
+
+
- And hide-referrer
- has a new option, conditional block.
+ The redirect action can now use regular
+ expression substitutions against the original URL.
-
-
+
- MS-Windows versions can now be
- installed and
- started as a Windows service.
+ zlib support is now available as a compile
+ time option to filter compressed content. Patch provided by Wil Mahan.
+
+
+
+
+ Improve various filters, and add new ones.
+
- config has two new options:
- enable-remote-http-toggle,
- and forwarded-connect-retries.
+ Include support for RFC 3253 so that Subversion works
+ with &my-app;. Patch provided by Petr Kadlec.
+
+
+
- And there is improved handling of the user-manual
- option, for placing documentation and help files on the local system.
+ Logging can be completely turned off by not specifying a logfile directive.
+
- Actions files problems and suggestions are now being directed to: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288.
- Please use this to report such configuration related problems as missed
- ads, sites that don't function properly due to one action or another,
- innocent images being blocked, etc.
+ A number of improvements to Privoxy's internal CGI pages, including the
+ use of favicons for error and control pages.
-
+
- In addition, there are various bug fixes and significant enhancements, including
- error pages should no longer be cached if the problem is fixed, better DNS
- error handling, and various logging improvements.
+ Many bugfixes, memory leaks addressed, code improvements, and logging
+ improvements.
-
+
+ For a more detailed list of changes please have a look at the ChangeLog.
+
@@ -590,60 +608,145 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
+
+
+ The recommended way to upgrade &my-app; is to backup your old
+ configuration files, install the new ones, verify that &my-app;
+ is working correctly and finally merge back your changes using
+ diff and maybe patch.
+
+
+ There are a number of new features in each &my-app; release and
+ most of them have to be explicitly enabled in the configuration
+ files. Old configuration files obviously don't do that and due
+ to syntax changes using old configuration files with a new
+ &my-app; isn't always possible anyway.
+
+
- Some installers may remove earlier versions completely, including
- configuration files. Save any important configuration files!
+ Note that some installers remove earlier versions completely,
+ including configuration files, therefore you should really save
+ any important configuration files!
- On the other hand, some installers may not overwrite any existing configuration
- files, thinking you will want to do that. You may want to manually check
- your saved files against the newer versions to see if the improvements have
- merit, or whether there are new options that you may want to consider.
- There are a number of new features, but most won't be available unless
- these features are incorporated into your configuration somehow.
+ On the other hand, other installers don't overwrite existing configuration
+ files, thinking you will want to do that yourself.
-
- See the full documentation on
- fast-redirects
- which has changed syntax, and may require adjustments to local configs.
-
-
+
+ standard.action now only includes the enabled actions.
+ Not all actions as before.
+
+
+
+
+ In the default configuration only fatal errors are logged now.
+ You can change that in the debug section
+ of the configuration file. You may also want to enable more verbose
+ logging until you verified that the new &my-app; version is working
+ as expected.
+
+
+
- The jarfile, cookie logger, is off by default now.
+ Three other config file settings are now off by default:
+ enable-remote-toggle,
+ enable-remote-http-toggle,
+ and enable-edit-actions.
+ If you use or want these, you will need to explicitly enable them, and
+ be aware of the security issues involved.
+
+
+ The filter-client-headers and
+ filter-server-headers actions that were introduced with
+ Privoxy 3.0.5 to apply content filters to
+ the headers have been removed and replaced with new actions.
+ See the What's New section above.
+
+
+
+
+
+
-
Some installers may not automatically start
Privoxy after installation.
+-->
+
-Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application>
+Quickstart to Using Privoxy
@@ -676,18 +779,21 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Set your browser to use Privoxy as HTTP and
- HTTPS (SSL) proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of
+ HTTPS (SSL) proxy
+ by setting the proxy configuration for address of
127.0.0.1 and port 8118.
DO NOT activate proxying for FTP or
- any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)! It won't work!
+ any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) unless you intend to prevent your
+ browser from using these protocols.
Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
- If using Privoxy to manage cookies, you should
- remove any currently stored cookies too.
+ If using Privoxy to manage
+ cookies,
+ you should remove any currently stored cookies too.
@@ -696,40 +802,47 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
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.
+ to no initial configuration is required in most cases, you may want
+ to enable the
+ web-based action editor though.
+ Be sure to read the warnings first.
See the Configuration section for more
configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
- next section for a quick
introduction to how Privoxy blocks ads and
- banners.]]>
+ banners.
- If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are
+ If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
- Privoxy's behaviour, take a look at the Privoxy's behavior, take a look at the actions files. As a quick start, you might
find the richly commented examples
helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the web-based user interface. The
- Appendix Anatomy of an
- Action has hints how to debug actions that
+ Appendix Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
+ Action has hints on how to understand and debug actions that
misbehave.
+
@@ -744,7 +857,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
-
+
@@ -770,7 +883,8 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
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. So there is a trade off here. If you want
+ 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
problem sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
@@ -808,13 +922,17 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
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.
+ such embedded URLs. &my-app; 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.
- The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image, and
+ linkend="handle-as-image">handle-as-image,
+ handle-as-empty-document,and
set-image-blocker:
@@ -823,12 +941,14 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- block - 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 Privoxy's
- own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened.
+ block - 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
+ Privoxy's own built-in BLOCKED page instead to
+ let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below).
@@ -848,6 +968,15 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
+
+
+ handle-as-empty-document -
+ sends an empty document instead of Privoxy's
+ normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither
+ HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files.
+
+
+
+
+ Advanced users will eventually want to explore &my-app;
+ filters as well. Filters
+ are very different from blocks.
+ A block 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 no-no for
+ nasty-word. 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.
+
+
The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
the special Privoxy editor at http://config.privoxy.org/show-status
(shortcut: http://p.p/show-status). This
- is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
- appropriate actions file, and click
+ is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.
+
+
+
+ Note that as of Privoxy 3.0.7 beta the
+ action editor is disabled by default. Check the
+ enable-edit-actions
+ section in the configuration file to learn why and in which
+ cases it's safe to enable again.
+
+
+
+ If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
+ actions file, and click
Edit. It is best to put personal or
local preferences in user.action since this is not
meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
@@ -931,7 +1085,7 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
Actions Files in Use
-
+ [ Screenshot of Actions Files in Use ]
@@ -988,6 +1142,13 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
to now go to the Actions Files Tutorial.
The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.
+
+ There are also various
+ filters that can be used for ad blocking
+ (filters are a special subset of actions). These
+ fall into the advanced usage category, and are explained in
+ depth in later sections.
+
@@ -998,13 +1159,15 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Starting <application>Privoxy</application>
+Starting Privoxy
Before launching Privoxy for the first time, you
will want to configure your browser(s) to use
- Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is
+ Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)
+ proxy. The default is
127.0.0.1 (or localhost) for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions
- used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done!
+ used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done
+!
Please note that Privoxy can only proxy HTTP and
@@ -1013,10 +1176,11 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- Proxy Configuration (Mozilla)
+ Proxy Configuration Showing
+ Mozilla/Netscape HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) Settings
-
+ [ Screenshot of Mozilla Proxy Configuration ]
@@ -1027,21 +1191,21 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- With Firefox, this can be set under:
+ With Firefox, this is typically set under:
-
-
- Tools
- |_
- Options
- |_
- General
- |_
- Connection Settings
- |_
- Manual Proxy Configuration
+ Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network ->Connection -> Settings
+
+
+
+
+ Or optionally on some platforms:
+
+
+
+ Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Connection Settings -> Manual Proxy Configuration
+
@@ -1054,43 +1218,48 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
- Edit
- |_
- Preferences
- |_
- Advanced
- |_
- Proxies
- |_
- HTTP Proxy
+ Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy
+
- For Internet Explorer:
+ For Internet Explorer v.5-7:
-
-
- Tools
- |_
- Internet Properties
- |_
- Connections
- |_
- LAN Settings
+ Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings
Then, check Use Proxy and fill in the appropriate info
(Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include HTTPS (SSL), if you want HTTPS
- proxy support too.
+ proxy support too (sometimes labeled Secure). Make sure any
+ checkboxes like Use the same proxy server for all protocols is
+ UNCHECKED. You want only HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)!
+
+
+ Proxy Configuration Showing
+ Internet Explorer HTTP and HTTPS (Secure) Settings
+
+
+
+
+
+ [ Screenshot of IE Proxy Configuration ]
+
+
+
+
+
+
After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a
- re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. You
- are now ready to start enjoying the benefits of using
+ re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. Remove
+ any cookies,
+ if you want Privoxy to manage that. You are now
+ ready to start enjoying the benefits of using
Privoxy!
@@ -1103,44 +1272,38 @@ automatically start Privoxy in the boot process.
-Red Hat and Conectiva
+Red Hat and Fedora
- We use a script. Note that Red Hat does not start Privoxy upon booting per
- default. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config as
- its main configuration file.
+ A default Red Hat installation may not start &my-app; upon boot. It will use
+ the file /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration
+ file.
# /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-
-
-
-Debian
- We use a script. Note that Debian starts Privoxy upon booting per
- default. It will use the file
- /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration
- file.
+ Or ...
- # /etc/init.d/privoxy start
+ # service privoxy start
-
-SuSE
+
+Debian
-We use a script. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config
-as its main configuration file. Note that SuSE starts Privoxy upon booting
-your PC.
+ We use a script. Note that Debian typically starts &my-app; upon booting per
+ default. It will use the file
+ /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration
+ file.
- # rcprivoxy start
+ # /etc/init.d/privoxy start
@@ -1148,16 +1311,16 @@ your PC.
Windows
-Click on the Privoxy Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is
+Click on the &my-app; Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is
specified on the command line, Privoxy will look
for a file named config.txt. Note that Windows will
- automatically start Privoxy when the system starts if you chose that option
+ automatically start &my-app; when the system starts if you chose that option
when installing.
Privoxy can run with full Windows service functionality.
- On Windows only, the Privoxy program has two new command line arguments
- to install and uninstall Privoxy as a service. See the
+ On Windows only, the &my-app; program has two new command line arguments
+ to install and uninstall &my-app; as a service. See the
Windows Installation
instructions for details.
@@ -1186,10 +1349,10 @@ Example Unix startup command:
-Mac OSX
+Mac OS X
During installation, Privoxy is configured to
- start automatically when the system restarts. To start Privoxy by hand,
+ start automatically when the system restarts. To start &my-app; manually,
double-click on the StartPrivoxy.command icon in the
/Library/Privoxy folder. Or, type this command
in the Terminal:
@@ -1282,9 +1445,9 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all of
- the optional 1.1 features are as yet supported. In the unlikely event that
- you experience inexplicable problems with browsers that use HTTP/1.1 per default
+ Privoxy does not support all of the optional HTTP/1.1
+ features yet. In the unlikely event that you experience inexplicable problems
+ with browsers that use HTTP/1.1 per default
(like Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.), you might
try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For Mozilla, look under Edit ->
Preferences -> Debug -> Networking.
@@ -1380,7 +1543,6 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
--pidfile FILE
-
On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the
@@ -1392,7 +1554,6 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
--user USER[.GROUP]
-
After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of
@@ -1400,19 +1561,36 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only.
-
+ --chroot
-
Before changing to the user ID given in the --user option,
- chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the Privoxy
+ chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the &my-app;
process that the directory tree starts there. If set up carefully, this can limit
- the impact of possible vulnerabilities in Privoxy to the files contained in that hierarchy.
+ the impact of possible vulnerabilities in &my-app; to the files contained in that hierarchy.
Unix only.
+
+
+ --pre-chroot-nslookup hostname
+
+
+ Specifies a hostname to look up before doing a chroot. On some systems, initializing the
+ resolver library involves reading config files from /etc and/or loading additional shared
+ libraries from /lib. On these systems, doing a hostname lookup before the chroot reduces
+ the number of files that must be copied into the chroot tree.
+
+
+ For fastest startup speed, a good value is a hostname that is not in /etc/hosts but that
+ your local name server (listed in /etc/resolv.conf) can resolve without recursion
+ (that is, without having to ask any other name servers). The hostname need not exist,
+ but if it doesn't, an error message (which can be ignored) will be output.
+
+
+
configfile
@@ -1431,8 +1609,8 @@ must find a better place for this paragraph
- On MS Windows only there are two addition
- options to allow Privoxy to install and
+ On MS Windows only there are two additional
+ command-line options to allow Privoxy to install and
run as a service. See the
Window Installation section
for details.
@@ -1446,7 +1624,7 @@ for details.
-<application>Privoxy</application> Configuration
+Privoxy Configuration
All Privoxy configuration is stored
in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor.
@@ -1458,7 +1636,7 @@ for details.
-Controlling <application>Privoxy</application> with Your Web Browser
+Controlling Privoxy with Your Web BrowserPrivoxy's user interface can be reached through the special
URL http://config.privoxy.org/
@@ -1519,6 +1697,14 @@ for details.
your browser.
+
+ Note that several of the features described above are disabled by default
+ in Privoxy 3.0.7 beta and later.
+ Check the
+ configuration file to learn why
+ and in which cases it's safe to enable them again.
+
+
@@ -1572,7 +1758,7 @@ for details.
default.action (which you will most probably want
to define sooner or later) are probably best applied in
user.action, where you can preserve them across
- upgrades. standard.action is for
+ upgrades. standard.action is only for
Privoxy's internal use.
@@ -1605,9 +1791,9 @@ for details.
- The syntax of all configuration files has remained the same throughout the
- 3.x series. There have been enhancements, but no changes that would preclude
- the use of any configuration file from one version to the next.
+ The syntax of the configuration and filter files may change between different
+ Privoxy versions, unfortunately some enhancements cost backwards compatibility.
+
@@ -1617,7 +1803,7 @@ for details.
in a line. If the # is preceded by a backslash, it looses
its special function. Placing a # in front of an otherwise
valid configuration line to prevent it from being interpreted is called "commenting
- out" that line.
+ out" that line. Blank lines are ignored.
@@ -1675,7 +1861,8 @@ for details.
There are a number of such actions, with a wide range of functionality.
Each action does something a little different.
These actions give us a veritable arsenal of tools with which to exert
- our control, preferences and independence.
+ our control, preferences and independence. Actions can be combined so that
+ their effects are aggregated when applied against a given set of URLs.
There
@@ -1691,9 +1878,13 @@ for details.
that sets the initial values for all actions. It is intended to
provide a base level of functionality for
Privoxy's array of features. So it is
- a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well for users everywhere.
+ a set of broad rules that should work reasonably well as-is for most users.
This is the file that the developers are keeping updated, and making available to users.
+ The user's preferences as set in standard.action,
+ e.g. either Cautious (the default),
+ Medium, or Advanced (see
+ below).
@@ -1706,16 +1897,46 @@ for details.
- standard.action - is used by the web based editor,
+ standard.action - is used only by the web based editor
+ at
+ http://config.privoxy.org/edit-actions-list?f=default,
to set various pre-defined sets of rules for the default actions section
- in default.action. These have increasing levels of
- aggressiveness and have no influence on your browsing unless
- you select them explicitly in the editor. It is not recommend
- to edit this file.
+ in default.action.
+
+
+ EditSet to CautiousSet to MediumSet to Advanced
+
+
+ These have increasing levels of aggressiveness and have no
+ influence on your browsing unless you select them explicitly in the
+ editor. A default installation should be pre-set to
+ Cautious (versions prior to 3.0.5 were set to
+ Medium). New users should try this for a while before
+ adjusting the settings to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive
+ the settings, then the more likelihood there is of problems such as sites
+ not working as they should.
+
+
+ The Edit button allows you to turn each
+ action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The Cautious
+ button changes the actions list to low/safe settings which will activate
+ ad blocking and a minimal set of &my-app;'s features, and subsequently
+ there will be less of a chance for accidental problems. The
+ Medium button sets the list to a medium level of
+ other features and a low level set of privacy features. The
+ Advanced button sets the list to a high level of
+ ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See the chart below. The latter
+ three buttons over-ride any changes via with the
+ Edit button. More fine-tuning can be done in the
+ lower sections of this internal page.
+
+
+ It is not recommend to edit the standard.action file
+ itself.
The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined in
- standard.action are:
+ standard.action are:
Default Configurations
@@ -1729,7 +1950,7 @@ for details.
FeatureCautiousMedium
- Adventuresome
+ Advanced
@@ -1743,31 +1964,37 @@ for details.
- Ad-blocking by URL
- yes
- yes
- yes
+ Ad-blocking Aggressiveness
+ medium
+ high
+ highAd-filtering by size
- yes
+ noyesyes
- GIF de-animation
+ Ad-filtering by link
+ nono
- yesyes
-
- Referer forging
- no
- yes
- yes
+ Pop-up killing
+ blocks only
+ blocks only
+ blocks only
+
+
+
+ Privacy Features
+ low
+ medium
+ medium/high
@@ -1778,69 +2005,56 @@ for details.
- Pop-up killing
- unsolicited
- unsolicited
- all
-
-
-
- Fast redirects
- no
+ Referer forgingnoyes
-
-
-
- HTML taming
- yes
- yesyes
+
- JavaScript taming
- yes
+ GIF de-animation
+ noyesyes
+
- Web-bug killing
- yes
- yes
+ Fast redirects
+ no
+ noyes
- Fun text replacements
+ HTML tamingnonoyes
- Image tag reordering
+ JavaScript tamingnonoyes
- Ad-filtering by link
- no
+ Web-bug killingnoyes
+ yes
- Demoronizer
+ Image tag reorderingnonoyes
-
@@ -7430,8 +8290,9 @@ Requests
Chain of Events
- Let's take a quick look at the basic sequence of events when a web page is
- requested by your browser and Privoxy is on duty:
+ Let's take a quick look at how some of Privoxy's
+ core features are triggered, and the ensuing sequence of events when a web
+ page is requested by your browser:
@@ -7457,10 +8318,13 @@ Requests
linkend="BLOCK">+block patterns. If
so, the URL is then blocked, and the remote web server will not be contacted.
+handle-as-image
- is then checked and if it does not match, an
- HTML BLOCKED page is sent back. Otherwise, if it does match,
- an image is returned. The type of image depends on the setting of +set-image-blocker
+ and
+ +handle-as-empty-document
+ are then checked, and if there is no match, an
+ HTML BLOCKED 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
+ +set-image-blocker
(blank, checkerboard pattern, or an HTTP redirect to an image elsewhere).
@@ -7488,8 +8352,8 @@ Requests
- 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).
@@ -7512,7 +8376,7 @@ Requests
- If a +filter
+ If any +filter action
or +deanimate-gifs
action applies (and the document type fits the action), the rest of the page is
@@ -7525,7 +8389,7 @@ Requests
Privoxy back to your browser.
- If neither +filter
+ If neither a +filter action
or +deanimate-gifs
matches, then Privoxy passes the raw data through
@@ -7537,21 +8401,29 @@ Requests
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 Privoxy's
+ 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.
+
+ 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
+ Privoxy's core features only.
+
-Anatomy of an Action
+Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an Action
The way Privoxy applies
@@ -7571,7 +8443,16 @@ Requests
or not, is to disable it temporarily. This should be the first troubleshooting
step. See the Bookmarklets section on a quick
and easy way to do this (be sure to flush caches afterward!). Looking at the
- logs is a good idea too.
+ logs is a good idea too. (Note that both the toggle feature and logging are
+ enabled via config file settings, and may need to be
+ turned on.)
+
+
+ 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.
@@ -7606,65 +8487,23 @@ Requests
- Matches for http://google.com:
+ Matches for http://www.google.com:
In file: default.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- {-add-header
- -block
- -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
+ {+deanimate-gifs {last}
+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-client-headers
- -filter-server-headers
- -force-text-mode
- -handle-as-empty-document
- -handle-as-image
- -hide-accept-language
- -hide-content-disposition
+hide-forwarded-for-headers
+hide-from-header {block}
- -hide-if-modified-since
+hide-referrer {forge}
- -hide-user-agent
- -inspect-jpegs
- -kill-popups
- -limit-connect
- -overwrite-last-modified
- +prevent-compression
- -redirect
- -send-vanilla-wafer
- -send-wafer
+session-cookies-only
+set-image-blocker {pattern}
- -treat-forbidden-connects-like-blocks }
/
{ -session-cookies-only }
@@ -7690,41 +8529,42 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
The first listing
- is any matches for the standard.action file. No hits at
- all here on standard. Then next is default, or
- our default.action 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 actions file, this would be the section
- just below the aliases section near the top. This will apply to
- all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end of the listing
- -- /.
-
-
-
- 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
- .google.com. The first is negating our previous cookie setting,
- which was for default.action 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 actions file, this would be the
+ section just below the aliases section near the top. This
+ will apply to all URLs as signified by the single forward slash at the end
+ of the listing -- / .
+
+
+
+ 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 .google.com. The first is negating our previous
+ cookie setting, which was for +session-cookies-only
(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
- off any
- off any +fast-redirects
action, allowing this to take place unmolested. Note that there is a leading
dot here -- .google.com. This will match any hosts and
sub-domains, in the google.com domain also, such as
- www.google.com. So, apparently, we have these two actions
- defined somewhere in the lower part of our default.action
- file, and google.com is referenced somewhere in these latter
- sections.
+ www.google.com or mail.google.com. But it would not
+ match www.google.de! So, apparently, we have these two actions
+ defined as exceptions to the general rules at the top somewhere in the lower
+ part of our default.action file, and
+ google.com is referenced somewhere in these latter sections.
Then, for our user.action file, we again have no hits.
So there is nothing google-specific that we might have added to our own, local
- configuration.
+ configuration. If there was, those actions would over-rule any actions from
+ previously processed files, such as default.action.
+ user.action typically has the last word. This is the
+ best place to put hard and fast exceptions,
@@ -7741,6 +8581,7 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ]
@@ -7798,22 +8656,23 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- { +block +handle-as-image }
- .ad.doubleclick.net
-
- { +block +handle-as-image }
+ { +block }
ad*.
+ { +block }
+ .ad.
+
{ +block +handle-as-image }
- .doubleclick.net
+ .[a-vx-z]*.doubleclick.net
- We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is
- matched three different times. Each as an +block +handle-as-image,
+ We'll just show the interesting part here - the explicit matches. It is
+ matched three different times. Two +block sections,
+ and a +block +handle-as-image,
which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as:
- +imageblock. (+block-as-image. (Aliases are defined in
the first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more
than one action.)
@@ -7828,10 +8687,9 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]+blockand an
- +handle-as-image.
- The custom alias +imageblock just simplifies the process and make
- it more readable.
+ +handle-as-image.
+ The custom alias +block-as-image just
+ simplifies the process and make it more readable.
@@ -7848,6 +8706,7 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ]
Ooops, the /adsl/ is matching /ads in our
configuration! 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
- un blocks ({-block}) paths with
- adsl in them (remember, last match in the configuration wins).
- There are various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:
+ blank page. It is actually triggering two different actions here, and
+ the effects are aggregated so that the URL is blocked, and &my-app; 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
+ user.action file) that explicitly
+ un blocks (
+ {-block}) paths with
+ adsl in them (remember, last match in the configuration
+ wins). There are various ways to handle such exceptions. Example:
@@ -7911,8 +8793,10 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when
- making such changes. Or, try using Shift+Reload.
+ 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 Shift+Reload.
@@ -7929,19 +8813,21 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- 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 {+filter} actions. These
- tend to be harder to troubleshoot. Try adding the URL for the site to one of
- aliases that turn off +filter:
+ rules in the first section of default.action is causing
+ the problem. This would require some guesswork, and maybe a little trial and
+ error to isolate the offending rule. One likely cause would be one of the
+ +filter actions.
+ These tend to be harder to troubleshoot.
+ Try adding the URL for the site to one of aliases that turn off
+ +filter:
- {shop}
+ { shop }
.quietpc.com
.worldpay.com # for quietpc.com
.jungle.com
@@ -7951,8 +8837,8 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- {shop} is an alias that expands to
- { -filter -session-cookies-only }.
+ { shop } is an alias that expands to
+ { -filter -session-cookies-only }.
Or you could do your own exception to negate filtering:
@@ -7960,29 +8846,55 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ]
- {-filter}
+ { -filter }
+ # Disable ALL filter actions for sites in this section
.forbes.com
+ developer.ibm.com
+ localhost
- This would turn off all filtering for that site. This would probably be most
- appropriately put in user.action, for local site
- exceptions.
+ This would turn off all filtering for these sites. This is best
+ put in user.action, 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.
Images that are inexplicably being blocked, may well be hitting the
- +filter{banners-by-size} rule, which assumes
- that images of certain sizes are ad banners (works well most of the time
- since these tend to be standardized).
++filter{banners-by-size}
+ rule, which assumes
+ that images of certain sizes are ad banners (works well
+ most of the time since these tend to be standardized).
+
+
+
+ { fragile } 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.
+
+
+
+
+ { fragile }
+ # Handle with care: easy to break
+ mail.google.
+ mybank.example.com
+
- {fragile} is an alias that disables most actions. This can be
- used as a last resort for problem sites. Remember to flush caches! If this
- still does not work, you will have to go through the remaining actions one by
- one to find which one(s) is causing the problem.
+ Remember to flush caches! Note that the
+ mail.google reference lacks the TLD portion (e.g.
+ .com). This will effectively match any TLD with
+ google in it, such as mail.google.de.,
+ just as an example.
+
+
+ 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.
@@ -8006,10 +8918,159 @@ In file: user.action [ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ][ View ][ Edit ]