X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?p=privoxy.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fsource%2Fuser-manual.sgml;h=7cd5fbc66e48074348ab41cf13fede34d892c62d;hp=b10bfdccac297da40441084bb566f45d81a990e7;hb=97110184221edacdb7d4dfc29de0e38d63f4d831;hpb=a0cb01e440d1d50a42b2327af2ab82bd41170858 diff --git a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml index b10bfdcc..7cd5fbc6 100644 --- a/doc/source/user-manual.sgml +++ b/doc/source/user-manual.sgml @@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ This file belongs into ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/ - $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.36 2002/03/05 22:53:28 hal9 Exp $ + $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.57 2002/03/24 20:33:30 hal9 Exp $ Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge - IJBSWA team. http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net + Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/ Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and @@ -26,32 +26,37 @@ Hal Burgiss
-Junkbuster User Manual +Privoxy User Manual -$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.36 2002/03/05 22:53:28 hal9 Exp $ +$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.57 2002/03/24 20:33:30 hal9 Exp $ - By: Junkbuster Developers + By: Privoxy Developers - The user manual gives the users information on how to install and configure - Internet Junkbuster. Internet - Junkbuster is an application that provides privacy and - security to users of the World Wide Web. + The user manual gives users information on how to install, configure and use + Privoxy. Privoxy is a + web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, + filtering web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and + removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet + Junk. Privoxy has a very flexible configuration + and can be customized to suit individual needs and + tastes. Privoxy has application for both + stand-alone systems and multi-user networks. -You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/user-manual/. +You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/. - - Feel free to send a note to the developers at ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net. - + + + @@ -61,19 +66,26 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at Introduction - Internet Junkbuster is a web proxy with advanced + Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, filtering and modifying web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet Junk. - Junkbuster has a very flexible configuration and - can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Internet - Junkbuster has application for both stand-alone systems and + Privoxy has a very flexible configuration and + can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks. + + Privoxy is derived from + Internet Junkbuster by Junkbusters Corporation, + which is no longer under development. Many enhancements and + new features have been added. + + + This documentation is included with the current BETA version of - Internet Junkbuster and mostly complete at this + Privoxy and is mostly complete at this point. The most up to date reference for the time being is still the comments in the source files and in the individual configuration files. Development of version 3.0 is currently nearing completion, and includes many significant @@ -83,8 +95,9 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at New Features - In addition to Junkbuster's traditional features - of ad and banner blocking and cookie management, this is a list of new - features currently under development: + In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional + feature of ad and banner blocking and cookie management, + Privoxy provides new features, some of them + currently under development: + Integrated browser based configuration and control utility (http://i.j.b). Browser-based tracing of rule + url="http://p.p">http://p.p). Browser-based tracing of rule and filter effects. - + Blocking of annoying pop-up browser windows. @@ -183,7 +200,7 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at Installation - Junkbuster is available as raw source code, or + Privoxy is available as raw source code, or pre-compiled binaries. See the Junkbuster Home Page - for current release info. Junkbuster is also available - via Privoxy Home Page + for binaries and current release info. Privoxy + is also available via CVS. This is the recommended approach at this time. But please be aware that CVS is constantly changing, and it may break in mysterious ways. @@ -225,8 +242,8 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at - autoheader [suggested for CVS source] - autoconf [suggested for CVS source] + autoheader + autoconf ./configure make redhat-dist @@ -289,10 +306,10 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at - rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm + rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm - This will place the Junkbuster configuration - files in /etc/junkbuster/, and log files in - /var/log/junkbuster/. + This will place the Privoxy configuration + files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files in + /var/log/privoxy/. @@ -321,8 +338,8 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at -    /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm +    /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm -    /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/junkbuster-2.9.11-1.src.rpm +    /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.11-1.src.rpm @@ -345,14 +362,14 @@ You can find the latest version of the user manual at Invoking and Configuring JunkBuster +<application>Privoxy</application> Configuration + + All Privoxy configuration is kept + in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor. + Many important aspects of Privoxy can + also be controlled easily with a web browser. + + + + + + + +Controlling <application>Privoxy</application> with Your Web Browser + + Privoxy can be reached by the special + URL http://p.p/ (or alternately + http://www.privoxy.org/config/), + which is an internal page. You will see the following section: + + + + + + +Please choose from the following options: + + * Show information about the current configuration + * Show the source code version numbers + * Show the client's request headers. + * Show which actions apply to a URL and why + * Toggle Privoxy on or off + * Edit the actions list + + + + + + This should be self-explanatory. Note the last item is an editor for the + actions list, which is where much of the ad, banner, cookie, + and URL blocking magic is configured as well as other advanced features of + Privoxy. This is an easy way to adjust various + aspects of Privoxy configuration. The actions + file, and other configuration files, are explained in detail below. + Privoxy will automatically detect any changes + to these files. + + + + Toggle Privoxy On or Off is handy for sites that might + have problems with your current actions and filters, or just to test if + a site misbehaves, whether it is Privoxy + causing the problem or not. Privoxy continues + to run as a proxy in this case, but all filtering is disabled. + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Configuration Files Overview For Unix, *BSD and Linux, all configuration files are located in - /etc/junkbuster/ by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and + /etc/privoxy/ by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and AmigaOS these are all in the same directory as the - Junkbuster executable. The name and number of + Privoxy executable. The name and number of configuration files has changed from previous versions, and is subject to change as development progresses. @@ -475,12 +559,11 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - The ijb.action file is used to define various + The default.action file is used to define various actions relating to images, banners, pop-ups, access restrictions, banners and cookies. There is a CGI based editor for this file that can be accessed via http://i.j.b. This is the easiest method of - configuring actions. (Other actions + url="http://p.p">http://p.p. (Other actions files are included as well with differing levels of filtering and blocking, e.g. ijb-basic.action.) @@ -488,8 +571,9 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - The re_filterfile file can be used to rewrite the raw - page content, including text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript. + The default.filter file can be used to re-write the raw + page content, including viewable text as well as embedded HTML and JavaScript, + and whatever else lurks on any given web page. @@ -497,13 +581,13 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - ijb.action and re_filterfile + default.action and default.filter can use Perl style regular expressions for maximum flexibility. All files use the # character to denote a comment. Such - lines are not processed by Junkbuster. After + lines are not processed by Privoxy. After making any changes, there is no need to restart - Junkbuster in order for the changes to take - effect. Junkbuster should detect such changes + Privoxy in order for the changes to take + effect. Privoxy should detect such changes automatically. @@ -513,90 +597,8 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Also, what constitutes a default setting, may change, so please check all your configuration files on important issues. - - - - - - -Command Line Options - - JunkBuster may be invoked with the following - command-line options: - - - - - - - - --version - - - Print version info and exit, Unix only. - - - - - --help - - - Print a short usage info and exit, Unix only. - - - - - --no-daemon - - - Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group - leader, don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. - - - - - --pidfile FILE - - - - On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the - FILE on exit. Failiure to create or delete the - FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE - option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. - - - - - --user USER - - - - After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of - USER. Exit if the privileges are not sufficient to do - so. Unix only. - - - - - configfile - - - If no configfile is included on the command line, - JunkBuster will look for a file named - config in the current directory (except on Win32 - where it will look for config.txt instead). Specify - full path to avoid confusion. - - - - - - - - - @@ -621,7 +623,8 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - Indicates that the blockfile is named blocklist.ini. + Indicates that the blockfile is named blocklist.ini. (A + default installation does not use this.) @@ -636,7 +639,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) existing configuration line, you can make it a comment and it will be treated as if it weren't there. This is called commenting out an option and can be useful to turn off features: If you comment out the - logfile line, junkbuster will not + logfile line, Privoxy will not log to a file at all. Watch for the default: section in each explanation to see what happens if the option is left unset (or commented out). @@ -648,7 +651,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - There are various aspects of Junkbuster behavior + There are various aspects of Privoxy behavior that can be tuned. @@ -659,17 +662,17 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Defining Other Configuration Files - Junkbuster can use a number of other files to tell it + Privoxy can use a number of other files to tell it what ads to block, what cookies to accept, etc. This section of the - configuration file tells Junkbuster where to find + configuration file tells Privoxy where to find all those other files. On Windows and AmigaOS, - Junkbuster looks for these files in the same + Privoxy looks for these files in the same directory as the executable. On Unix and OS/2, - Junkbuster looks for these files in the current + Privoxy looks for these files in the current working directory. In either case, an absolute path name can be used to avoid problems. @@ -689,7 +692,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - confdir /etc/junkbuster # No trailing /, please. + confdir /etc/privoxy # No trailing /, please. @@ -705,7 +708,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - logdir /var/log/junkbuster + logdir /var/log/privoxy @@ -717,40 +720,52 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - The ijb.action file contains patterns to specify the actions to - apply to requests for each site. Default: Cookies to and from all - destinations are kept only during the current browser session (i.e. they - are not saved to disk). Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are - filtered if re_filterfile specified. No sites are blocked. An - empty image is displayed for filtered ads and other images (formerly - tinygif). The syntax of this file is explained in detail below. + The default.action file contains patterns to specify the + actions to apply to requests for each site. Default: Cookies to and from all + destinations are kept only during the current browser session (i.e. they are + not saved to disk). Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are + filtered through selected sections of default.filter. No sites + are blocked. Privoxy displays a checkboard type + pattern for filtered ads and other images. The syntax of this file is + explained in detail below. Other + actions files are included, and you are free to use any of + them. They have varying degrees of aggressiveness. - actionsfile ijb.action + actionsfile default.action - The re_filterfile file contains content modification rules. - These rules permit powerful changes on the content of Web pages, e.g., you - could disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances, rewrite the actual - content, or just have some fun replacing Microsoft with - MicroSuck wherever it appears on a Web page. Default: No - content modification, or whatever the developers are playing with :-/ + The default.filter file contains content modification rules + that use regular expressions. These rules permit powerful + changes on the content of Web pages, e.g., you could disable your favorite + JavaScript annoyances, re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some + fun replacing Microsoft with MicroSuck wherever + it appears on a Web page. Default: whatever the developers are playing with + :-/ + + + + Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to slow down + page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has passed + the filters. (It does not really take longer, but seems that way since + the page is not incrementally displayed.) This effect will be more noticeable + on slower connections. + - re_filterfile re_filterfile + filterfile default.filter @@ -759,7 +774,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with - Junkbuster (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you + Privoxy (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you think it should block) but in most cases you probably will never look at it. @@ -771,7 +786,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like /var/log/junkbuster.* + On SuSE Linux systems, you can place a line like /var/log/privoxy.* +1024k 644 nobody.nogroup in /etc/logfiles, with the effect that cron.daily will automatically archive, gzip, and empty the log, when it exceeds 1M size. @@ -794,7 +809,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) The jarfile defines where - Junkbuster stores the cookies it intercepts. Note + Privoxy stores the cookies it intercepts. Note that if you use a jarfile, it may grow quite large. Default: Don't store intercepted cookies. @@ -811,7 +826,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) If you specify a trustfile, - Junkbuster will only allow access to sites that + Privoxy will only allow access to sites that are named in the trustfile. You can also mark sites as trusted referrers, with the effect that access to untrusted sites will be granted, if a link from a trusted referrer was used. The link target will then be added to the @@ -862,7 +877,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) This part of the configuration file contains options that control how - Junkbuster operates. + Privoxy operates. @@ -883,7 +898,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Proxy-info-url can be set to a URL that contains more info - about this Junkbuster installation, it's + about this Privoxy installation, it's configuration and policies. It is used in many of the proxy-generated pages and its use is highly recommended in multi-user installations, since your users will want to know why certain content is blocked or modified. Default: @@ -902,7 +917,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Listen-address specifies the address and port where - Junkbuster will listen for connections from your + Privoxy will listen for connections from your Web browser. The default is to listen on the localhost port 8118, and this is suitable for most users. (In your web browser, under proxy configuration, list the proxy server as localhost and the @@ -914,14 +929,14 @@ configuration section below. HB.) serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you will need to override the default. The syntax is listen-address [<ip-address>]:<port>. If you leave - out the IP address, junkbuster will bind to all + out the IP address, Privoxy will bind to all interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable from the Internet. In that case, consider using access control lists (acl's) (see aclfile above), or a firewall. - For example, suppose you are running Junkbuster on + For example, suppose you are running Privoxy on a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address. You want it to serve requests from inside only: @@ -989,12 +1004,12 @@ configuration section below. HB.) It is highly recommended that you enable ERROR - reporting (debug 8192), at least until the next stable release. + reporting (debug 8192), at least until v3.0 is released. The reporting of FATAL errors (i.e. ones which crash - JunkBuster) is always on and cannot be disabled. + Privoxy) is always on and cannot be disabled. @@ -1034,12 +1049,12 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - Junkbuster normally uses + Privoxy normally uses multi-threading, a software technique that permits it to handle many different requests simultaneously. In some cases you may wish to disable this -- particularly if you're trying to debug a problem. The single-threaded option forces - Junkbuster to handle requests sequentially. + Privoxy to handle requests sequentially. Default: Multi-threaded mode. @@ -1055,27 +1070,27 @@ configuration section below. HB.) toggle allows you to temporarily disable all - Junkbuster's filtering. Just set toggle + Privoxy's filtering. Just set toggle 0. - The Windows version of Junkbuster puts an icon in + The Windows version of Privoxy puts an icon in the system tray, which also allows you to change this option. If you right-click on that icon (or select the Options menu), one choice is Enable. Clicking on enable toggles - Junkbuster on and off. This is useful if you want - to temporarily disable Junkbuster, e.g., to access + Privoxy on and off. This is useful if you want + to temporarily disable Privoxy, e.g., to access a site that requires cookies which you would otherwise have blocked. This can also - be toggled via a web browser at the Junkbuster - internal address of http://i.j.b on + be toggled via a web browser at the Privoxy + internal address of http://p.p on any platform. - toggle 1 means Junkbuster runs + toggle 1 means Privoxy runs normally, toggle 0 means that - Junkbuster becomes a non-anonymizing non-blocking + Privoxy becomes a non-anonymizing non-blocking proxy. Default: 1 (on). @@ -1092,7 +1107,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) For content filtering, i.e. the +filter and +deanimate-gif actions, it is necessary that - Junkbuster buffers the entire document body. + Privoxy buffers the entire document body. This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust. With nasty consequences. @@ -1118,12 +1133,12 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - To enable the web-based ijb.action file editor set + To enable the web-based default.action file editor set enable-edit-actions to 1, or 0 to disable. Note - that you must have compiled JunkBuster with + that you must have compiled Privoxy with support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. This internal page can be reached at http://i.j.b. + url="http://p.p">http://p.p. @@ -1143,16 +1158,16 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - Allow JunkBuster to be toggled on and off + Allow Privoxy to be toggled on and off remotely, using your web browser. Set enable-remote-toggleto 1 to enable, and 0 to disable. Note that you must have compiled - JunkBuster with support for this feature, + Privoxy with support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy can toggle - it on or off (see http://i.j.b), and + it on or off (see http://p.p), and their changes will affect all users. For shared proxies, you probably want to disable this. Default: enabled. @@ -1251,12 +1266,12 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - IMPORTANT NOTE: If the junkbuster is using a + IMPORTANT NOTE: If Privoxy is using a forwarder (see below) or a gateway for a particular destination URL, the DST_ADDR that is examined is the address of the forwarder or the gateway and NOT the address of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local - Junkbuster to determine the address of the + Privoxy to determine the address of the ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for). @@ -1281,14 +1296,14 @@ configuration section below. HB.) A silly example to illustrate permitting any host on the class-C subnet with - Junkbuster to go anywhere: + Privoxy to go anywhere: - permit-access www.junkbusters.com/24 + permit-access www.privoxy.com/24 @@ -1302,7 +1317,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - deny-access ident.junkbusters.com + deny-access ident.privoxy.com @@ -1356,7 +1371,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - An ISP may want to provide a Junkbuster that is + An ISP may want to provide a Privoxy that is accessible by the world and yet restrict use of some of their private content to hosts on its internal network (i.e. its own subscribers). Say, for instance the ISP owns the Class-B IP address block 123.124.0.0 (a 16 @@ -1414,7 +1429,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Junkbuster + Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Privoxy SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A. The difference is that SOCKS 4A will resolve the target hostname using DNS on the SOCKS server, not our local DNS client. @@ -1477,7 +1492,9 @@ configuration section below. HB.) + Some users have reported difficulties related to LPWA's use of . as the last element of the domain, and have said that this can be fixed with this: @@ -1532,7 +1549,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Also, we're told they insist on getting cookies and JavaScript, so you should - add home.com to the cookie file. We consider JavaScript a security risk. + allow cookies from home.com. We consider JavaScript a potential security risk. Java need not be enabled. @@ -1585,7 +1602,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.com. And host-b has a PPP connection to - isp-b.com. host-a can run a Junkbuster proxy with + isp-b.com. host-a can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this: @@ -1601,7 +1618,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - host-b can run a Junkbuster proxy with forwarding + host-b can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this: @@ -1645,9 +1662,9 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - If you intend to chain Junkbuster and + If you intend to chain Privoxy and squid locally, then chain as - browser -> squid -> junkbuster is the recommended way. + browser -> squid -> privoxy is the recommended way. @@ -1658,7 +1675,7 @@ configuration section below. HB.) - # Define junkbuster as parent cache + # Define Privoxy as parent cache @@ -1667,13 +1684,13 @@ configuration section below. HB.) # Define ACL for protocol FTP acl FTP proto FTP - # Do not forward ACL FTP to junkbuster + # Do not forward ACL FTP to privoxy always_direct allow FTP - # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to junkbuster + # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to privoxy always_direct allow CONNECT - # Forward the rest to junkbuster + # Forward the rest to privoxy never_direct allow all @@ -1693,14 +1710,14 @@ configuration section below. HB.) Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 --> - Junkbuster has a number of options specific to the + Privoxy has a number of options specific to the Windows GUI interface: If activity-animation is set to 1, the - Junkbuster icon will animate when - Junkbuster is active. To turn off, set to 0. + Privoxy icon will animate when + Privoxy is active. To turn off, set to 0. @@ -1715,7 +1732,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 If log-messages is set to 1, - Junkbuster will log messages to the console + Privoxy will log messages to the console window: @@ -1767,7 +1784,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 If log-highlight-messages is set to 1, - Junkbuster will highlight portions of the log + Privoxy will highlight portions of the log messages with a bold-faced font: @@ -1811,7 +1828,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 show-on-task-bar controls whether or not - Junkbuster will appear as a button on the Task bar + Privoxy will appear as a button on the Task bar when minimized: @@ -1827,7 +1844,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 If close-button-minimizes is set to 1, the Windows close - button will minimize Junkbuster instead of closing + button will minimize Privoxy instead of closing the program (close with the exit option on the File menu). @@ -1843,8 +1860,8 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 The hide-console option is specific to the MS-Win console - version of JunkBuster. If this option is used, - Junkbuster will disconnect from and hide the + version of Privoxy. If this option is used, + Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the command console. @@ -1869,37 +1886,38 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 The Actions File - The ijb.action file (formerly - actionsfile) is used to define what actions - Junkbuster takes, and thus determines how images, + The default.action file (formerly + actionsfile or ijb.action) is used to define what actions + Privoxy takes, and thus determines how images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are handled. Images can be anything you want, including ads, banners, or just - some obnoxious image that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted + some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. - not written to disk). Changes to ijb.action should - be immediately visible to Junkbuster without + not written to disk). Changes to default.action should + be immediately visible to Privoxy without the need to restart. + + The easiest way to edit actions file is with a browser by + loading http://p.p/, and then select + Edit Actions List. A text editor can also be used. + + To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated. You can trace this process by visiting http://i.j.b/show-url-info. + url="http://p.p/show-url-info">http://p.p/show-url-info. - - The actions file can be edited with a browser by loading - http://i.j.b/, and then select - Edit Actions. - There are four types of lines in this file: comments (begin with a # character), actions, aliases and patterns, all of which are explained below, as well as the configuration file syntax that - Junkbuster understands. + Privoxy understands. @@ -1984,7 +2002,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - If Junkbuster was compiled with + If Privoxy was compiled with pcre support (default), Perl compatible regular expressions can be used. See the pcre/docs/ directory or man perlre (also available on If nothing is specified in this file, no actions are taken. - So in this case JunkBuster would just be a + So in this case Privoxy would just be a normal, non-blocking, non-anonymizing proxy. You must specifically enable the privacy and blocking features you need (although the - provided default ijb.action file will + provided default default.action file will give a good starting point). @@ -2105,7 +2123,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - The list of valid Junkbuster actions are: + The list of valid Privoxy actions are: @@ -2130,7 +2148,9 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - Block this URL totally. + Block this URL totally. In a default installation, a blocked + URL will result in bright red banner that says BLOCKED, + with a reason why it is being blocked. @@ -2171,7 +2191,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 +downgrade will downgrade HTTP/1.1 client requests to HTTP/1.0 and downgrade the responses as well. Use this action for servers that use HTTP/1.1 protocol features that - Junkbuster doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 + Privoxy doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 is only partially implemented. Default is not to downgrade requests. @@ -2203,7 +2223,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 The +fast-redirects option enables interception of these - requests by Junkbuster, who will cut off all but + requests by Privoxy, who will cut off all but the last valid URL in the request and send a local redirect back to your browser without contacting the remote site. @@ -2220,17 +2240,80 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - Filter the website through the re_filterfile: - + Apply the filters in the section_header + section of the default.filter file to the site(s). + default.filter sections are grouped according to like + functionality. + + - +filter{filename} + +filter{section_header} + + + Filter sections that are pre-defined in the supplied + default.filter include: + + +
+ + + html-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse. + + + + + js-annoyances: Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse + + + + + no-poups: Kill all popups in JS and HTML + + + + + frameset-borders: Give frames a border + + + + + webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) + + + + + no-refresh: Automatic refresh sucks on auto-dialup lines + + + + + fun: Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! + + + + + nimda: Remove (virus) Nimda code. + + + + + banners-by-size: Kill banners by size + + + + + crude-parental: Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez" + + +
+ @@ -2322,13 +2405,13 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 + + ++image-blocker{blank} will send a 1x1 transparent GIF +image. And finally, +image-blocker{http://xyz.com} will send a +HTTP temporary redirect to the specified image. This has the advantage of the +icon being being cached by the browser, which will speed up the display. ++image-blocker{pattern} will send a checkboard type pattern + + + - +image-blocker{logo} + +image-blocker{blank} - +image-blocker{http://i.j.b/send-banner} + +image-blocker{pattern} + +image-blocker{http://p.p/send-banner} @@ -2393,7 +2485,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 By default (i.e. in the absence of a +limit-connect - action), Junkbuster will only allow CONNECT + action), Privoxy will only allow CONNECT requests to port 443, which is the standard port for https as a precaution. @@ -2433,7 +2525,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 +no-compression prevents the website from compressing the data. Some websites do this, which can be a problem for - Junkbuster, since +filter, + Privoxy, since +filter, +no-popup and +gif-deanimate will not work on compressed data. This will slow down connections to those websites, though. Default is nocompression is turned on. @@ -2617,17 +2709,21 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - Turn on page filtering, with one exception for sourceforge: - + Turn on page filtering according to rules in the defined sections + of refilterfile, and make one exception for + sourceforge: + - # Run everything through the default filter file (re_filterfile): - {+filter} - - # But please don't re_filter code from sourceforge! + # Run everything through the filter file, using only the + # specified sections: + +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}\ + +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} + + # Then disable filtering of code from sourceforge! {-filter} .cvs.sourceforge.net @@ -2695,6 +2791,16 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 + + Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to + misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways + a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header + content he may depend on. There is no way to have hard and fast rules + for all sites. See the Appendix + for a brief example on troubleshooting actions. + + + @@ -2704,7 +2810,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 Aliases - Custom actions, known to Junkbuster + Custom actions, known to Privoxy as aliases, can be defined by combining other actions. These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in actions. Currently, an alias can contain any character except space, tab, =, @@ -2712,7 +2818,7 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 z, 0-9, +, and -. Alias names are not case sensitive, and must be defined before anything else in the - ijb.actionfile ! And there can only be one set of + default.actionfile ! And there can only be one set of aliases defined. @@ -2785,16 +2891,24 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 The Filter File - The filter file defines what filtering of web pages - Junkbuster does. The default filter file is - re_filterfile, located in the config directory. In this - file, any document content, whether viewable text or - embedded non-visible content, can be changed. + Any web page can be dynamically modified with the filter file. This + modification can be removal, or re-writing, of any web page content, + including tags and non-visible content. The default filter file is + default.filter, located in the config directory. + + + + The included example file is divided into sections. Each section begins + with the FILTER keyword, followed by the identifier + for that section, e.g. FILTER: webbugs. Each section performs + a similar type of filtering, such as html-annoyances. + This file uses regular expressions to alter or remove any string in the - target page. Some examples from the included default re_filterfile: + target page. The expressions can only operate on one line at a time. Some + examples from the included default default.filter: @@ -2806,9 +2920,24 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 - # The status bar is for displaying link targets, not pointless buzzwords. - # Again, check it out on http://www.airport-cgn.de/. - s/status='.*?';*//ig + FILTER: html-annoyances + + # New browser windows should be resizeable and have a location and status + # bar. Make it so. + # + s/resizable="?(no|0)"?/resizable=1/ig s/noresize/yesresize/ig + s/location="?(no|0)"?/location=1/ig s/status="?(no|0)"?/status=1/ig + s/scrolling="?(no|0|Auto)"?/scrolling=1/ig + s/menubar="?(no|0)"?/menubar=1/ig + + # The <BLINK> tag was a crime! + # + s*<blink>|</blink>**ig + + # Is this evil? + # + #s/framespacing="?(no|0)"?//ig + #s/margin(height|width)=[0-9]*//gi @@ -2816,32 +2945,37 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 Just for kicks, replace any occurrence of Microsoft with - MicroSuck: + MicroSuck, and have a little fun with topical buzzwords: + FILTER: fun + s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig + + # Buzzword Bingo: + # + s/industry-leading|cutting-edge|award-winning/<font color=red><b>BINGO!</b></font>/ig - Kill those auto-refresh tags: + Kill those pesky little web-bugs: - # Kill refresh tags. I like to refresh myself. Manually. - # check it out on http://www.airport-cgn.de/ and go to the arrivals page. - # - s/<meta[^>]*http-equiv[^>]*refresh.*URL=([^>]*?)"?>/<link rev="x-refresh" href=$1>/i - s/<meta[^>]*http-equiv="?page-enter"?[^>]*content=[^>]*>/<!--no page enter for me-->/i + # webbugs: Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) + FILTER: webbugs + + s/<img\s+[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1\D[^>]*?(width|height)\s*=\s*['"]?1(\D[^>]*?)?>/<!-- Squished WebBug -->/sig @@ -2858,10 +2992,10 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 Templates - When Junkbuster displays one of its internal + When Privoxy displays one of its internal pages, such as a 404 Not Found error page, it uses the appropriate template. - On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are locate in - /etc/junkbuster/templates by default. These may be + On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are located in + /etc/privoxy/templates by default. These may be customized, if desired. @@ -2874,17 +3008,17 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 -Quickstart to Using Junkbuster +Quickstart to Using <application>Privoxy</application> - Install package, then run and enjoy! JunkBuster - accepts only one command line option -- the configuration file to be - used. Example Unix startup command: + Install package, then run and enjoy! Privoxy + is typically started by specifying the main configuration file to be + used on the command line. Example Unix startup command: - # /usr/sbin/junkbuster /etc/junkbuster/config + # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config @@ -2894,21 +3028,21 @@ Removed references to Win32. HB 09/23/01 -For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/junkbuster start +For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start -For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/junkbuster start +For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start If no configuration file is specified on the command line, - Junkbuster will look for a file named + Privoxy will look for a file named config in the current directory. Except on Win32 where it will try config.txt. If no file is specified on the command line and no default configuration file can be found, - Junkbuster will fail to start. + Privoxy will fail to start. @@ -2926,57 +3060,57 @@ For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/junkbuster start The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting point, though may be somewhat aggressive in blocking junk. You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent cookies, and add these to - ijb.action as needed. By default, most of these will + default.action as needed. By default, most of these will be accepted only during the current browser session, until you add them to the configuration. If you want the browser to handle this instead, you will - need to edit ijb.action and disable this feature. If you + need to edit default.action and disable this feature. If you use more than one browser, it would make more sense to let - Junkbuster handle this. In which case, the + Privoxy handle this. In which case, the browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies. If a particular site shows problems loading properly, try adding it to the {fragile} section of - ijb.action. This will turn off most actions for + default.action. This will turn off most actions for this site. - Junkbuster is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 + Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 features are as yet implemented. If browsers that support HTTP/1.1 (like Mozilla or recent versions of I.E.) experience problems, you might try to force HTTP/1.0 compatibility. For Mozilla, look under Edit -> Preferences -> Debug -> Networking. Or set the +downgrade config option in - ijb.action. + default.action. - After running Junkbuster for a while, you can + After running Privoxy for a while, you can start to fine tune the configuration to suit your personal, or site, preferences and requirements. There are many, many aspects that can - be customized. Actions (as specified in ijb.action) + be customized. Actions (as specified in default.action) can be adjusted by pointing your browser to - http://i.j.b/, + http://p.p/, and then follow the link to edit the actions list. (This is an internal page and does not require Internet access.) - In fact, various aspects of Junkbuster + In fact, various aspects of Privoxy configuration can be viewed from this page, including current configuration parameters, source code version numbers, the browser's request headers, and actions that apply - to a given URL. In addition to the ijb.action file - editor mentioned above, Junkbuster can also + to a given URL. In addition to the default.action file + editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also be turned on and off from this page. If you encounter problems, please verify it is a - Junkbuster bug, by disabling - Junkbuster, and then trying the same page. + Privoxy bug, by disabling + Privoxy, and then trying the same page. Also, try another browser if possible to eliminate browser or site problems. Before reporting it as a bug, see if there is not a configuration option that is enabled that is causing the page not to load. You can @@ -2984,26 +3118,126 @@ For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/junkbuster start the developers (see below). + + + + + +Command Line Options + + Privoxy may be invoked with the following + command-line options: + + + + + + + + --version + + + Print version info and exit, Unix only. + + + + + --help + + + Print a short usage info and exit, Unix only. + + + + + --no-daemon + + + Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group + leader, don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. + + + + + --pidfile FILE + + + + On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the + FILE on exit. Failiure to create or delete the + FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE + option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. + + + + + --user USER[.GROUP] + + + + After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of + USER, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the + privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only. + + + + + configfile + + + If no configfile is included on the command line, + Privoxy will look for a file named + config in the current directory (except on Win32 + where it will look for config.txt instead). Specify + full path to avoid confusion. + + + + + + + + + + + + Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests - Please do not use the mailing lists for feature requests or - bug reports. They are not as easily tracked this way! +We value your feedback. However, to provide you with the best support, +please note: + + + + Use the Sourceforge support forum to get + help. + + Submit bugs only thru our Sourceforge bug + forum. +Make sure that the bug has not already been submitted. Please try to +verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not +a browser or site bug first. If you are using your own custom configuration, +please try the stock configs to see if the problem is a configuration +related bug. And if not using the latest development snapshot, please +try the latest one. Or even better, CVS sources. + + + + Submit feature requests only thru our Sourceforge feature request forum. + + + - - Feature requests and other questions should be posted to the Feature - request page at SourceForge. There is also an archive there. +For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. @@ -3013,15 +3247,6 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) Archives are available here too. - - Please report bugs, using the form at - Sourceforge. - Please try to verify that it is a Junkbuster bug, - and not a browser or site bug first. Also, check to make sure this is not - already a known bug. If you are using your own custom configuration, please - try the stock configs to see if the problem is a configuration related bug. - - @@ -3031,7 +3256,7 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) License - Internet Junkbuster is free software; you can + Privoxy is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. @@ -3056,15 +3281,23 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) History - Junkbuster was originally written by Anonymous + Privoxy is derived from + the Internet Junkbuster, with many + improvments and enhancements over the original. + + + + Junkbuster was originally written by Anonymous Coders and Junkbuster's Corporation, and was released as free open-source software under the GNU GPL. Stefan Waldherr made many improvements, and started the SourceForge project to - rekindle development. There are now several active developers contributing. - The last stable release was v2.0.2, which has now grown whiskers ;-). + url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa/">SourceForge project + Privoxy to rekindle development. There are now several active + developers contributing. The last stable release of + Junkbuster was v2.0.2, which has now + grown whiskers ;-). @@ -3082,12 +3315,12 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) -   http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/ +   http://www.privoxy.org/ -   http://i.j.b/ +   http://p.p/ @@ -3124,7 +3357,7 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) Regular Expressions - Junkbuster can use regular expressions + Privoxy can use regular expressions in various config files. Assuming support for pcre (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions) is compiled in, which is the default. Such configuration directives do not require regular expressions, but they can be @@ -3237,7 +3470,7 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) These are just some of the ones you are likely to use when matching URLs with - Junkbuster, and is a long way from a definitive + Privoxy, and is a long way from a definitive list. This is enough to get us started with a few simple examples which may be more illuminating: @@ -3336,7 +3569,7 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) We are barely scratching the surface of regular expressions here so that you - can understand the default Junkbuster + can understand the default Privoxy configuration files, and maybe use this knowledge to customize your own installation. There is much, much more that can be done with regular expressions. Now that you know enough to get started, you can learn more on @@ -3350,6 +3583,360 @@ communication (bugs, feature requests, etc.) + + + + + +<application>Privoxy</application>'s Internal Pages + + + Since Privoxy proxies each requested + web page, it is easy for Privoxy to + trap certain URLs. In this way, we can talk directly to + Privoxy, and see how it is + configured, see how our rules are being applied, change these + rules and other configuration options, and even turn + Privoxy's filtering off, all with + a web browser. + + + + + The URLs listed below are the special ones that allow direct access + to Privoxy. Of course, + Privoxy must be running to access these. If + not, you will get a friendly error message. Internet access is not + necessary either. + + + + + + + + Privoxy main page: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/ + +
+ + Alternately, this may be reached at http://p.p/, but this + variation may not work as reliably as the above in some configurations. + + + + + + Show information about the current configuration: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/show-status + +
+ + + + + Show the source code version numbers: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/show-version + +
+ + + + + Show the client's request headers: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/show-request + +
+ + + + + Show which actions apply to a URL and why: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/show-url-info + +
+ + + + + Toggle Privoxy on or off: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/toggle + +
+ + Short cuts. Turn off, then on: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/toggle?set=disable + +
+
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/toggle?set=enable + +
+ + + + + Edit the actions list file: + +
+ + http://www.privoxy.org/config/edit-actions + +
+ + + + + + + These may be bookmarked for quick reference. + + + + + + + + +Anatomy of an Action + + + The way Privoxy applies actions + to any given URL can be complex, and not always so easy to understand what + is happening. And sometimes we need to be able to see + just what Privoxy is doing. Especially, + if something Privoxy is doing is causing + us a problem inadvertantly. It can be a little daunting to look at + the actions files themselves, since they tend to be filled with + regular expressions whose consequences are not always + so obvious. Privoxy provides the + http://www.privoxy.org/config/show-url-info + page that can show us very specifically how actions + are being applied to any given URL. This is a big help for troubleshooting. + + + + First, enter one URL (or partial URL) at the prompt, and then + Privoxy will tell us + how the current configuration will handle it. This will not + help with filtering effects from the default.filter file! It + also will not tell you about any other URLs that may be embedded within the + URL you are testing. For instance, images such as ads are expressed as URLs + within the raw page source of HTML pages. So you will only get info for the + actual URL that is pasted into the prompt area -- not any sub-URLs. If you + want to know about embedded URLs like ads, you will have to dig those out of + the HTML source. Use your browser's View Page Source option + for this. + + + + Let's look at an example, google.com, + one section at a time: + + + + + System default actions: + + { -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects -filter + -hide-forwarded -hide-from -hide-referer -hide-user-agent -image + -image-blocker -limit-connect -no-compression -no-cookies-keep + -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set -no-popups -vanilla-wafer -wafer } + + + + + + This is the top section, and only tells us of the compiled in defaults. This + is basically what Privoxy would do if there + were not any actions defined, i.e. it does nothing. Every action + is disabled. This is not particularly informative for our purposes here. OK, + next section: + + + + + + Matches for http://google.com: + + { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects + +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups} + +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal} + +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge} + -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression + +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups + -vanilla-wafer -wafer } + / + + { -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set } + .google.com + + { -fast-redirects } + .google.com + + + + + + This is much more informative, and tells us how we have defined our + actions, and which ones match for our example, + google.com. The first grouping shows our default + settings, which would apply to all URLs. If you look at your actions + file, this would be the section just below the aliases section + near the top. This applies to all URLs as signified by the single forward + slash -- /. + + + + + These are the default actions we have enabled. But we can define additional + actions that would be exceptions to these general rules, and then list + specific URLs that these exceptions would apply to. Last match wins. + Just below this then are two explict matches for .google.com. + The first is negating our various cookie blocking actions (i.e. we will allow + cookies here). The second is allowing fast-redirects. 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 actions defined + somewhere in the lower part of our actions file, and + google.com is referenced in these sections. + + + + + And now we pull it altogether in the bottom section and summarize how + Privoxy is appying all its actions + to google.com: + + + + + + + Final results: + + -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects + +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups} + +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal} + +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge} + -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} -limit-connect +no-compression + -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups -vanilla-wafer + -wafer + + + + + + Now another example, ad.doubleclick.net: + + + + + + { +block +image } + .ad.doubleclick.net + + { +block +image } + ad*. + + { +block +image } + .doubleclick.net + + + + + + We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is + matched three different times. Each as an +block +image, + which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as: + +imageblock. (Aliases are defined in the + first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more + than one action.) + + + + Any one of these would have done the trick and blocked this as an unwanted + image. This is unnecessarily redundant since the last case effectively + would also cover the first. No point in taking chances with these guys + though ;-) Note that if you want an ad or obnoxious + URL to be invisible, it should be defined as ad.doubleclick.net + is done here -- as both a +block and an + +image. The custom alias +imageblock does this + for us. + + + + One last example. Let's try http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/. + This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm... + + + + + + Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/: + + { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects + +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups} + +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal} + +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge} + -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression + +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups + -vanilla-wafer -wafer } + / + + { +block +image } + /ads + + + + + + Ooops, the /adsl/ is matching /ads! 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 explictly does not + block (-block) pages with adsl. There are various ways to + handle such exceptions. Example: + + + + + + { -block } + /adsl + + + + + + Now the page displays ;-) + + + + +