X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/?p=privoxy.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Ftext%2Fuser-manual.txt;h=e3566a086719443b6253c01cb55a8156e3f615b7;hp=c0ce7eef84dcf62de7c6ea0aeefd670053704730;hb=c2a0d29a53b2852c6945df960917262ab6033c11;hpb=03d2cac4577e038b74a8b6601fadbbcfff22b03e diff --git a/doc/text/user-manual.txt b/doc/text/user-manual.txt index c0ce7eef..e3566a08 100644 --- a/doc/text/user-manual.txt +++ b/doc/text/user-manual.txt @@ -1,406 +1,693 @@ Privoxy User Manual -By: Privoxy Developers +Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Privoxy Developers -$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.64 2002/04/03 03:53:43 hal9 Exp $ +$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.117 2002/05/17 13:56:16 oes Exp $ -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. +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. + +Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm). You can find the latest version of the user manual at http://www.privoxy.org/ -user-manual/. +user-manual/. Please see the Contact section on how to contact the developers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Introduction - 1.1. New Features + 1.1. Features 2. Installation - 2.1. Source - 2.2. Red Hat - 2.3. SuSE - 2.4. OS/2 - 2.5. Windows - 2.6. Other + 2.1. Binary Packages + + 2.1.1. Red Hat, SuSE RPMs and Conectiva + 2.1.2. Debian + 2.1.3. Windows + 2.1.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX + 2.1.5. OS/2 + 2.1.6. Max OSX + 2.1.7. AmigaOS + + 2.2. Building from Source + +3. Note to Upgraders +4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy + + 4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking + +5. Starting Privoxy + + 5.1. RedHat, Conectiva and Debian + 5.2. SuSE + 5.3. Windows + 5.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX and others + 5.5. OS/2 + 5.6. MAX OSX + 5.7. AmigaOS + 5.8. Command Line Options + +6. Privoxy Configuration + + 6.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser + 6.2. Configuration Files Overview -3. Quickstart to Using Privoxy +7. The Main Configuration File - 3.1. Command Line Options + 7.1. Configuration and Log File Locations + + 7.1.1. confdir + 7.1.2. logdir + 7.1.3. actionsfile + 7.1.4. filterfile + 7.1.5. logfile + 7.1.6. jarfile + 7.1.7. trustfile + + 7.2. Local Set-up Documentation + + 7.2.1. user-manual + 7.2.2. trust-info-url + 7.2.3. admin-address + 7.2.4. proxy-info-url + + 7.3. Debugging + + 7.3.1. debug + 7.3.2. single-threaded + + 7.4. Access Control and Security + + 7.4.1. listen-address + 7.4.2. toggle + 7.4.3. enable-remote-toggle + 7.4.4. enable-edit-actions + 7.4.5. ACLs: permit-access and deny-access + 7.4.6. buffer-limit + + 7.5. Forwarding + + 7.5.1. forward + 7.5.2. forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a + 7.5.3. Advanced Forwarding Examples + + 7.6. Windows GUI Options -4. Privoxy Configuration +8. Actions Files - 4.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser - 4.2. Configuration Files Overview - 4.3. The Main Configuration File + 8.1. Finding the Right Mix + 8.2. How to Edit + 8.3. How Actions are Applied to URLs + 8.4. Patterns + + 8.4.1. The Domain Pattern + 8.4.2. The Path Pattern + + 8.5. Actions - 4.3.1. Defining Other Configuration Files - 4.3.2. Other Configuration Options - 4.3.3. Access Control List (ACL) - 4.3.4. Forwarding - 4.3.5. Windows GUI Options + 8.5.1. add-header + 8.5.2. block + 8.5.3. crunch-incoming-cookies + 8.5.4. crunch-outgoing-cookies + 8.5.5. deanimate-gifs + 8.5.6. downgrade-http-version + 8.5.7. fast-redirects + 8.5.8. filter + 8.5.9. handle-as-image + 8.5.10. hide-forwarded-for-headers + 8.5.11. hide-from-header + 8.5.12. hide-referrer + 8.5.13. hide-user-agent + 8.5.14. kill-popups + 8.5.15. limit-connect + 8.5.16. prevent-compression + 8.5.17. send-vanilla-wafer + 8.5.18. send-wafer + 8.5.19. session-cookies-only + 8.5.20. set-image-blocker + 8.5.21. Summary - 4.4. The Actions File + 8.6. Aliases + 8.7. Actions Files Tutorial - 4.4.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax - 4.4.2. Actions - 4.4.3. Aliases + 8.7.1. default.action + 8.7.2. user.action - 4.5. The Filter File - 4.6. Templates +9. The Filter File -5. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests -6. Copyright and History + 9.1. Filter File Tutorial - 6.1. License - 6.2. History +10. Templates +11. Contacting the Developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests -7. See Also -8. Appendix + 11.1. Get Support + 11.2. Report Bugs + 11.3. Request New Features + 11.4. Report Ads or Other Actions-Related Problems + 11.5. Other - 8.1. Regular Expressions - 8.2. Privoxy's Internal Pages +12. Privoxy Copyright, License and History + + 12.1. License + 12.2. History + 12.3. Authors + +13. See Also +14. Appendix + + 14.1. Regular Expressions + 14.2. Privoxy's Internal Pages - 8.2.1. Bookmarklets + 14.2.1. Bookmarklets - 8.3. Anatomy of an Action + 14.3. Chain of Events + 14.4. Anatomy of an Action 1. Introduction -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. - -Privoxy is based on the code of the Internet Junkbuster. Junkbuster was -originally written by JunkBusters Corporation, and was released as free -open-source software under the GNU GPL. Stefan Waldherr made many improvements, -and started the SourceForge project to continue development. - -Privoxy continues the Junkbuster tradition, but adds many refinements and -enhancements. - -This documentation is included with the current BETA version of 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 changes and enhancements over earlier versions. The target -release date for stable v3.0 is "soon" ;-) +This documentation is included with the current beta version of Privoxy, +v.2.9.15, 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 changes and enhancements over earlier +versions. The target release date for stable v3.0 is "soon" ;-). -Since this is a BETA version, not all new features are well tested. This +Since this is a beta version, not all new features are well tested. This documentation may be slightly out of sync as a result (especially with CVS sources). And there may be bugs, though hopefully not many! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -1.1. New Features +1.1. Features -In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional feature of ad and banner +In addition to Internet Junkbuster's traditional features 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://p.p). - Browser-based tracing of rule and filter effects. + * Integrated browser based configuration and control utility at http:// + config.privoxy.org/ (shortcut: http://p.p/). Browser-based tracing of rule + and filter effects. Remote toggling. - * Blocking of annoying pop-up browser windows. + * Web page content filtering (removes banners based on size, invisible + "web-bugs", JavaScript and HTML annoyances, pop-up windows, etc.) + + * Modularized configuration that allows for standard settings and user + settings to reside in separate files, so that installing updated actions + files won't overwrite individual user settings. - * HTTP/1.1 compliant (most, but not all 1.1 features are supported). + * HTTP/1.1 compliant (but not all optional 1.1 features are supported). * Support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions in the configuration files, and generally a more sophisticated and flexible configuration syntax over previous versions. - * GIF de-animation. + * Improved cookie management features (e.g. session based cookies). - * Web page content filtering (removes banners based on size, invisible - "web-bugs", JavaScript, pop-ups, status bar abuse, etc.) + * GIF de-animation. * Bypass many click-tracking scripts (avoids script redirection). * Multi-threaded (POSIX and native threads). - * Auto-detection and re-reading of config file changes. - - * User-customizable HTML templates (e.g. 404 error page). + * User-customizable HTML templates for all proxy-generated pages (e.g. + "blocked" page). - * Improved cookie management features (e.g. session based cookies). + * Auto-detection and re-reading of config file changes. * Improved signal handling, and a true daemon mode (Unix). - * Builds from source on most UNIX-like systems. Packages available for: Linux - (RedHat, SuSE, or Debian), Windows, Sun Solaris, Mac OSX, OS/2, HP-UX 11 - and AmigaOS. + * Every feature now controllable on a per-site or per-location basis, + configuration more powerful and versatile over-all. - * In addition, the configuration is much more powerful and versatile - over-all. + * Many smaller new features added, limitations and bugs removed, and security + holes fixed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Installation -Privoxy is available as raw source code, or pre-compiled binaries. See the -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. +Privoxy is available both in convenient pre-compiled packages for a wide range +of operating systems, and as raw source code. For most users, we recommend +using the packages, which can be downloaded from our Privoxy Project Page. + +Note: If you have a previous Junkbuster or Privoxy installation on your system, +you will need to remove it. On some platforms, this may be done for you as part +of their installation procedure. (See below for your platform). In any case be +sure to backup your old configuration if it is valuable to you. See the note to +upgraders section below. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -2.1. Source +2.1. Binary Packages -For gzipped tar archives, unpack the source: +How to install the binary packages depends on your operating system: - tar xzvf privoxy-2.9.13-beta-src* [.tgz or .tar.gz] - cd privoxy-2.9.13-beta - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need the CVS package installed -first. To download CVS source: +2.1.1. Red Hat, SuSE RPMs and Conectiva - cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login - cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current - cd current - +RPMs can be installed with rpm -Uvh privoxy-2.9.15-1.rpm, and will use /etc/ +privoxy for the location of configuration files. -This will create a directory named current/, which will contain the source -tree. +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. -Then, in either case, to build from tarball/CVS source: +If you have problems with failed dependencies, try rebuilding the SRC RPM: rpm +--rebuild privoxy-2.9.15-1.src.rpm;. This will use your locally installed +libraries and RPM version. - ./configure (--help to see options) - make (the make from gnu, gmake for *BSD) - su - make -n install (to see where all the files will go) - make install (to really install) - +Also note that if you have a Junkbuster RPM installed on your system, you need +to remove it first, because the packages conflict. Otherwise, RPM will try to +remove Junkbuster automatically, before installing Privoxy. -For Redhat and SuSE Linux RPM packages, see below. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +2.1.2. Debian + +FIXME. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -2.2. Red Hat +2.1.3. Windows -To build Redhat RPM packages, install source as above. Then: +Just double-click the installer, which will guide you through the installation +process. You will find the configuration files in the same directory as you +installed Privoxy in. We do not use the registry of Windows. - autoheader - autoconf - ./configure - make redhat-dist - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +2.1.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX -This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example: +Create a new directory, cd to it, then unzip and untar the archive. For the +most part, you'll have to figure out where things go. FIXME. - /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - /usr/src/redhat/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.11-1.src.rpm +2.1.5. OS/2 -To install, of course: +First, make sure that no previous installations of Junkbuster and / or Privoxy +are left on your system. You can do this by - rpm -Uvv /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm - +Then, just double-click the WarpIN self-installing archive, which will guide +you through the installation process. A shadow of the Privoxy executable will +be placed in your startup folder so it will start automatically whenever OS/2 +starts. -This will place the Privoxy configuration files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files -in /var/log/privoxy/. +The directory you choose to install Privoxy into will contain all of the +configuration files. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -2.3. SuSE +2.1.6. Max OSX -To build SuSE RPM packages, install source as above. Then: +Unzip the downloaded package (you can either double-click on the file in the +finder, or on the desktop if you downloaded it there). Then, double-click on +the package installer icon and follow the installation process. Privoxy will be +installed in the subdirectory /Applications/Privoxy.app. Privoxy will set +itself up to start automatically on system bring-up via /System/Library/ +StartupItems/Privoxy. - autoheader - autoconf - ./configure - make suse-dist - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -This will create both binary and src RPMs in the usual places. Example: +2.1.7. AmigaOS - /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm +Copy and then unpack the lha archive to a suitable location. All necessary +files will be installed into Privoxy directory, including all configuration and +log files. To uninstall, just remove this directory. - /usr/src/packages/SRPMS/privoxy-2.9.11-1.src.rpm +Start Privoxy (with RUN <>NIL:) in your startnet script (AmiTCP), in s: +user-startup (RoadShow), as startup program in your startup script (Genesis), +or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx). Privoxy will automatically quit when +you quit your TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack +may display that Privoxy is still running). -To install, of course: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - rpm -Uvv /usr/src/packages/RPMS/i686/privoxy-2.9.11-1.i686.rpm - +2.2. Building from Source -This will place the Privoxy configuration files in /etc/privoxy/, and log files -in /var/log/privoxy/. +The most convenient way to obtain the Privoxy sources is to download the source +tarball from our project page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- +If you like to live on the bleeding edge and are not afraid of using possibly +unstable development versions, you can check out the up-to-the-minute version +directly from the CVS repository or simply download the nightly CVS tarball. -2.4. OS/2 +To build Privoxy from source, autoconf, GNU make (gmake), and, of course, a C +compiler like gcc are required. -Privoxy is packaged in a WarpIN self- installing archive. The self-installing -program will be named depending on the release version, something like: -privoxyos2_setup_1.2.3.exe. In order to install it, simply run this executable -or double-click on its icon and follow the WarpIN installation panels. A shadow -of the Privoxy executable will be placed in your startup folder so it will -start automatically whenever OS/2 starts. +When building from a source tarball (either release version or nightly CVS +tarball), first unpack the source: -The directory you choose to install Privoxy into will contain all of the -configuration files. + tar xzvf privoxy-2.9.15-beta-src* [.tgz or .tar.gz] + cd privoxy-2.9.15-beta -If you would like to build binary images on OS/2 yourself, you will need a few -Unix-like tools: autoconf, autoheader and sh. These tools will be used to -create the required config.h file, which is not part of the source distribution -because it differs based on platform. You will also need a compiler. The -distribution has been created using IBM VisualAge compilers, but you can use -any compiler you like. GCC/EMX has the disadvantage of needing to be -single-threaded due to a limitation of EMX's implementation of the select() -socket call. +For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need CVS installed. Note that +sources from CVS are development quality, and may not be stable, or well +tested. To download CVS source: -In addition to needing the source code distribution as outlined earlier, you -will want to extract the os2seutp directory from CVS: + cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login + cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current + cd current - cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login - cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co os2setup - +This will create a directory named current/, which will contain the source +tree. -This will create a directory named os2setup/, which will contain the -Makefile.vac makefile and os2build.cmd which is used to completely create the -binary distribution. The sequence of events for building the executable for -yourself goes something like this: +Then, in either case, to build from unpacked tarball or CVS source: - cd current autoheader autoconf - sh configure - cd ..\os2setup - nmake -f Makefile.vac - + ./configure # (--help to see options) + make # (the make from gnu, gmake for *BSD) + su + make -n install # (to see where all the files will go) + make install # (to really install) -You will see this sequence laid out in os2build.cmd. +If you have gnu make, you can have the first four steps automatically done for +you by just typing: + + make + +in the freshly downloaded or unpacked source directory. + +For more detailed instructions on how to build Redhat and SuSE RPMs, Windows +self-extracting installers, building on platforms with special requirements +etc, please consult the developer manual. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -2.5. Windows +3. Note to Upgraders + +There are very significant changes from earlier Junkbuster versions to the +current Privoxy. The number, names, syntax, and purposes of configuration files +have substantially changed. Junkbuster 2.0.x configuration files will not +migrate, Junkbuster 2.9.x and Privoxy configurations will need to be ported. +The functionalities of the old blockfile, cookiefile and imagelist are now +combined into the "actions files". default.action, is the main actions file. +Local exceptions should best be put into user.action. -Click-click. (I need help on this. Not a clue here. Also for configuration -section below. HB.) +A "filter file" (typically default.filter) is new as of Privoxy 2.9.x, and +provides some of the new sophistication (explained below). config is much the +same as before. +If upgrading from a 2.0.x version, you will have to use the new config files, +and possibly adapt any personal rules from your older files. When porting +personal rules over from the old blockfile to the new actions files, please +note that even the pattern syntax has changed. If upgrading from 2.9.x +development versions, it is still recommended to use the new configuration +files. + +A quick list of things to be aware of before upgrading: + + * The default listening port is now 8118 due to a conflict with another + service (NAS). + + * Some installers may remove earlier versions completely. Save any important + configuration files! + + * Privoxy is controllable with a web browser at the special URL: http:// + config.privoxy.org/ (Shortcut: http://p.p/). Many aspects of configuration + can be done here, including temporarily disabling Privoxy. + + * The primary configuration files for cookie management, ad and banner + blocking, and many other aspects of Privoxy configuration are the actions + files. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with the new actions + concept below, before modifying these files. Locally defined rules should + go into user.action. + + * Some installers may not automatically start Privoxy after installation. + ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -2.6. Other +4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy -Some quick notes on other Operating Systems. + * If upgrading, from versions before 2.9.16, please back up any configuration + files. See the Note to Upgraders Section. + + * Install Privoxy. See the Installation Section below for platform specific + information. + + * Advanced users and those who want to offer Privoxy service to more than + just their local machine should check the main config file, especially the + security-relevant options. These are off by default. + + * Start Privoxy, if the installation program has not done this already (may + vary according to platform). See the section Starting Privoxy. + + * Set your browser to use Privoxy as HTTP and HTTPS proxy by setting the + proxy configuration for address of 127.0.0.1 and port 8118. (Junkbuster and + earlier versions of Privoxy used port 8000.) See the section Starting + Privoxy below for more details on this. + + * Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad + images. + + * 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. + + See the Configuration section for more configuration options, and how to + customize your installation. + + * If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are + blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune Privoxy's behaviour, 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 "misbehave". + + * Please see the section Contacting the Developers on how to report bugs or + problems with websites or to get help. + + * Now enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -For FreeBSD (and other *BSDs?), the build will require gmake instead of the -included make. gmake is available from http://www.gnu.org. The rest should be -the same as above for Linux/Unix. +4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking + +Ad blocking is but one of Privoxy's array of features. Many of these features +are for the technically minded advanced user. But, ad and banner blocking is +surely common ground for everybody. + +This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so you can get up to +speed quickly without having to read the more extensive information provided +below, though this is highly recommeneded. + +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 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 not an easy way to eliminate all ads. Either take the easy way and +settle for most ads blocked with the default configuration, or jump in and +tweak it for your personal surfing habits and preferences. + +Secondly, a brief explanation of Privoxy's "actions". "Actions" in this +context, are the directives we use to tell Privoxy to perform some task +relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell Privoxy to take some +"action". Each action has a unique name and function. While there are many +potential actions in Privoxy's arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. +Actions, and action configuration files, are explained in depth below. + +Actions are specified in Privoxy's configuration, followed by one or more URLs +to which the action should apply. URLs can actually be URL type patterns that +use wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. + +When you connect to a website, the full path of the URL will either match one +of the "actions" as defined in Privoxy's configuration, or not. If so, then +Privoxy will perform the action accordingly. If not, then nothing special +happens. Futhermore, web pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your +web browser will display as it parses the original page's HTML content. An ad +image for instance, is just a 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. + +The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image, +and set-image-blocker: + + * 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. If this + is the only action that matches for this particular URL, then Privoxy will + display its own BLOCKED page to let you now what has happened. + + * handle-as-image - forces Privoxy to treat this URL as if it were an image. + Privoxy knows about common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many + situations where this does not apply. So we'll force it. This is + particularly important for ad blocking, since once we can treat it as an + image, we can make more intelligent decisisions on how to handle it. There + are some limitations to this though. For instance, you can't just force an + image substituion for an entire HTML page in most situations. + + * set-image-blocker - tells Privoxy what to display in place of an ad image + that has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a + block action somewhere in the configuration. And, it must also either be of + a known image type, or match an handle-as-image action. + + The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are: + + pattern - a checkboard pattern, so that an ad replacement is obvious. + This is the default. + + blank - A very small empty GIF image is displayed. This is the so-called + "invisible" configuration option. + + http:// - A redirect to any URL of the user's choosing (advanced + usage). + +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 "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 +other files. Here you can insert new "actions", and URLs for ad blocking or +other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration. Privoxy will +detect these changes automatically. + +A quick and simple step by step example: + + * Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select "Copy Link Location" + from the pop-up menu. + + * Set your browser to http://config.privoxy.org/show-status + + * Find user.action in the top section, and click on "Edit": + + Figure 1. Actions Files in Use + + Screenshot of Files in Use + + * You should have an Actions section labeled +block. If not, click the "Edit" + button just under the word "Actions". This will bring up a list of all + actions. Find block near the top, and click in the "Enabled" column, then + "Submit" just below the list. + + * Now, in the +block actions section, click the "Add" button, and paste the + URL the browser got from "Copy Link Location". Remove the http:// at the + beginning of the URL. Then, click "Submit". + + * Now go back to the original page, and press SHIFT-Reload (or flush all + browser caches). The image should be gone now. + +This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a +wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same +site. For a more extensive explanation of "patterns", and the entire actions +concept, see the Actions section. + +For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want to +now go to the Actions Files Tutorial. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -3. Quickstart to Using Privoxy +5. 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 localhost -for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 800). This is -the one required configuration that must be done! +browser(s) to use Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS 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! With Netscape (and Mozilla), this can be set under Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy. For Internet Explorer: Tools -> Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting. Then, check "Use Proxy" and fill in -the appropriate info (Address: localhost, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy +the appropriate info (Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too. After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a -re-reading of all pages and get rid of any ads that may be cached. You are now -ready to start enjoying the benefits of using Privoxy. +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 Privoxy! Privoxy is typically started by specifying the main configuration file to be -used on the command line. Example Unix startup command: +used on the command line. If no configuration file is specified on the command +line, Privoxy will look for a file named config in the current directory. +Except on Win32 where it will try config.txt. - - # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config - - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +5.1. RedHat, Conectiva and Debian + +We use a script. Note that RedHat does not start Privoxy upon booting per +default. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration +file. FIXME: Debian?? + + # /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +5.2. SuSE + +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. + + # rcprivoxy start + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +5.3. Windows + +Click on the Privoxy 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 upon booting you PC. -An init script is provided for SuSE and Redhat. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +5.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX and others + +Example Unix startup command: + + # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config -For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start +5.5. OS/2 -If no configuration file is specified on the command line, 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, Privoxy will fail to start. +FIXME. -The included default configuration files should give a reasonable starting -point, though may be somewhat aggressive in blocking junk. Most of the per site -configuration is done in the "actions" files. These are where various cookie -actions are defined, ad and banner blocking, and other aspects of Privoxy -configuration. There are several such files included, with varying levels of -aggressiveness. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -You will probably want to keep an eye out for sites that require persistent -cookies, and add these to 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 default.action and disable this feature. If you use more than one -browser, it would make more sense to let Privoxy handle this. In which case, -the browser(s) should be set to accept all cookies. +5.6. MAX OSX -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 default.action. +FIXME. -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 default.action) -can be adjusted by pointing your browser to 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 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 default.action file editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also be turned -"on" and "off" from this page. +5.7. AmigaOS -If you encounter problems, please verify it is a 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 then add an exception for that page or site. For instance, -try adding it to the {fragile} section of default.action. This will turn off -most actions for this site. For more on troubleshooting problem sites, see the -Appendix. If a bug, please report it to the developers (see below). +FIXME. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -3.1. Command Line Options +5.8. Command Line Options Privoxy may be invoked with the following command-line options: * --version - Print version info and exit, Unix only. + Print version info and exit. Unix only. * --help - Print a short usage info and exit, Unix only. + Print 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 become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group leader, and don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. * --pidfile FILE - On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the FILE on exit. Failiure + On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the FILE on exit. Failure to create or delete the FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. @@ -414,11 +701,12 @@ Privoxy may be invoked with the following command-line options: 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. + look for "config.txt" instead). Specify full path to avoid confusion. If no + config file is found, Privoxy will fail to start. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4. Privoxy Configuration +6. Privoxy Configuration All Privoxy configuration is stored in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor. Many important aspects of Privoxy can also be controlled @@ -426,38 +714,36 @@ easily with a web browser. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser +6.1. Controlling Privoxy with Your Web Browser -Privoxy can be reached by the special URL http://p.p/ (or alternately http:// -config.privoxy.org/), which is an internal page. You will see the following -section: +Privoxy's user interface can be reached through the special URL http:// +config.privoxy.org/ (shortcut: http://p.p/), which is a built-in page and works +without Internet access. 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 - + Privoxy Menu + ? View & change the current configuration + ? View the source code version numbers + ? View the request headers. + ? Look up which actions apply to a URL and why + ? Toggle Privoxy on or off -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. +This should be self-explanatory. Note the first item leads to an editor for the +actions files, which is where 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. "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. +your current actions and filters. You can in fact use it as a test to see +whether it is Privoxy causing the problem or not. Privoxy continues to run as a +proxy in this case, but all manipulation is disabled, i.e. Privoxy acts like a +normal forwarding proxy. There is even a toggle Bookmarklet offered, so that +you can toggle Privoxy with one click from your browser. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.2. Configuration Files Overview +6.2. Configuration Files Overview For Unix, *BSD and Linux, all configuration files are located in /etc/privoxy/ by default. For MS Windows, OS/2, and AmigaOS these are all in the same @@ -465,28 +751,51 @@ directory as the Privoxy executable. The name and number of configuration files has changed from previous versions, and is subject to change as development progresses. -The installed defaults provide a reasonable starting point, though possibly -aggressive by some standards. For the time being, there are only three default -configuration files (this will change in time): +The installed defaults provide a reasonable starting point, though some +settings may be aggressive by some standards. For the time being, the principle +configuration files are: * The main configuration file is named config on Linux, Unix, BSD, OS/2, and - AmigaOS and config.txt on Windows. - - * 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://p.p. - (Other actions files are included as well with differing levels of - filtering and blocking, e.g. basic.action.) - - * 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. - -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 Privoxy. After making any changes, there is no need -to restart Privoxy in order for the changes to take effect. Privoxy should -detect such changes automatically. + AmigaOS and config.txt on Windows. This is a required file. + + * default.action (the main actions file) is used to define which "actions" + relating to banner-blocking, images, pop-ups, content modification, cookie + handling etc should be applied by default. It also defines many exceptions + (both positive and negative) from this default set of actions that enable + Privoxy to selectively eliminate the junk, and only the junk, on as many + websites as possible. + + Multiple actions files may be defined in config. These are processed in the + order they are defined. Local customizations and locally preferred + exceptions to the default policies as defined in 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 Privoxy's internal use. + + There is also a web based editor that can be accessed from http:// + config.privoxy.org/show-status (Shortcut: http://p.p/show-status) for the + various actions files. + + * default.filter (the 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. The filtering jobs are only + pre-defined here; whether to apply them or not is up to the actions files. + +All files use the "#" character to denote a comment (the rest of the line will +be ignored) and understand line continuation through placing a backslash ("\") +as the very last character 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. + +The actions files and default.filter can use Perl style regular expressions for +maximum flexibility. + +After making any changes, there is no need to restart Privoxy in order for the +changes to take effect. Privoxy detects such changes automatically. Note, +however, that it may take one or two additional requests for the change to take +effect. When changing the listening address of Privoxy, these "wake up" +requests must obviously be sent to the old listening address. While under development, the configuration content is subject to change. The below documentation may not be accurate by the time you read this. Also, what @@ -495,1256 +804,2948 @@ configuration files on important issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.3. The Main Configuration File +7. The Main Configuration File Again, the main configuration file is named config on Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and config.txt on Windows. Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For example: - blockfile blocklist.ini - - -Indicates that the blockfile is named "blocklist.ini". (A default installation -does not use this.) - -A "#" indicates a comment. Any part of a line following a "#" is ignored, -except if the "#" is preceded by a "\". + confdir /etc/privoxy -Thus, by placing a "#" at the start of an 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, 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). +Assigns the value /etc/privoxy to the option confdir and thus indicates that +the configuration directory is named "/etc/privoxy/". -Long lines can be continued on the next line by using a "\" as the very last -character. +All options in the config file except for confdir and logdir are optional. +Watch out in the below description for what happens if you leave them unset. -There are various aspects of Privoxy behavior that can be tuned. +The main config file controls all aspects of Privoxy's operation that are not +location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter where you may be +surfing). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.3.1. Defining Other Configuration Files +7.1. Configuration and Log File Locations -Privoxy can use a number of other files to tell it what ads to block, what -cookies to accept, and perform other functions. This section of the -configuration file tells Privoxy where to find all those other files. +Privoxy can (and normally does) use a number of other files for additional +configuration, help and logging. This section of the configuration file tells +Privoxy where to find those other files. -On Windows and AmigaOS, Privoxy looks for these files in the same directory as -the executable. On Unix and OS/2, Privoxy looks for these files in the current -working directory. In either case, an absolute path name can be used to avoid -problems. +The user running Privoxy, must have read permission for all configuration +files, and write permission to any files that would be modified, such as log +files. -When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and per-user -config will be stored in subdirectories of "confdir". For now, only confdir/ -templates is used for storing HTML templates for CGI results. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -The location of the configuration files: +7.1.1. confdir - confdir /etc/privoxy # No trailing /, please. +Specifies: - -The directory where all logging (i.e. logfile and jarfile) takes place. No -trailing "/", please: - - logdir /var/log/privoxy + The directory where the other configuration files are located - -Note that all file specifications below are relative to the above two -directories! - -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 default.action +Type of value: - -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. - - filterfile default.filter + Path name - -The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The logfile -can be useful for tracking down a problem with 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. - -Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to periodically -remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job (see "man cron"). -For Redhat, a logrotate script has been included. - -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. - -Default: Log to the a file named logfile. Comment out to disable logging. - - logfile logfile +Default value: - -The "jarfile" defines where Privoxy stores the cookies it intercepts. Note that -if you use a "jarfile", it may grow quite large. Default: Don't store -intercepted cookies. - - #jarfile jarfile + /etc/privoxy (Unix) or Privoxy installation dir (Windows) - -If you specify a "trustfile", 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 "trustfile". This -is a very restrictive feature that typical users most probably want to leave -disabled. Default: Disabled, don't use the trust mechanism. - - #trustfile trust +Effect if unset: - -If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line -documentation about your blocking policy and to specify the URL(s) here. They -will appear on the page that your users receive when they try to access -untrusted content. Use multiple times for multiple URLs. Default: Don't display -links on the "untrusted" info page. - - trust-info-url http://www.example.com/why_we_block.html - trust-info-url http://www.example.com/what_we_allow.html + Mandatory - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -4.3.2. Other Configuration Options - -This part of the configuration file contains options that control how Privoxy -operates. - -"Admin-address" should be set to the email address of the proxy administrator. -It is used in many of the proxy-generated pages. Default: fill@me.in.please. - - #admin-address fill@me.in.please +Notes: - -"Proxy-info-url" can be set to a URL that contains more info 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: Don't show a link to on-line documentation. - - proxy-info-url http://www.example.com/proxy.html + No trailing "/", please - -"Listen-address" specifies the address and port where 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 port as -"8118"). - -If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to -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 -[]:". If you leave 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 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: - - listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118 + When development goes modular and multi-user, the blocker, filter, and + per-user config will be stored in subdirectories of "confdir". For now, the + configuration directory structure is flat, except for confdir/templates, + where the HTML templates for CGI output reside (e.g. Privoxy's 404 error + page). +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If you want it to listen on all addresses (including the outside connection): +7.1.2. logdir - listen-address :8118 +Specifies: - -If you do this, consider using ACLs (see "aclfile" above). Note: you will need -to point your browser(s) to the address and port that you have configured here. -Default: localhost:8118 (127.0.0.1:8118). - -The debug option sets the level of debugging information to log in the logfile -(and to the console in the Windows version). A debug level of 1 is informative -because it will show you each request as it happens. Higher levels of debug are -probably only of interest to developers. - - debug 1 # GPC = show each GET/POST/CONNECT request - debug 2 # CONN = show each connection status - debug 4 # IO = show I/O status - debug 8 # HDR = show header parsing - debug 16 # LOG = log all data into the logfile - debug 32 # FRC = debug force feature - debug 64 # REF = debug regular expression filter - debug 128 # = debug fast redirects - debug 256 # = debug GIF de-animation - debug 512 # CLF = Common Log Format - debug 1024 # = debug kill pop-ups - debug 4096 # INFO = Startup banner and warnings. - debug 8192 # ERROR = Non-fatal errors - - -It is highly recommended that you enable ERROR reporting (debug 8192), at least -until v3.0 is released. - -The reporting of FATAL errors (i.e. ones which crash Privoxy) is always on and -cannot be disabled. - -If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set "debug 512" ONLY, do -not enable anything else. - -Multiple "debug" directives, are OK - they're logical-OR'd together. - - debug 15 # same as setting the first 4 listed above + The directory where all logging takes place (i.e. where logfile and jarfile + are located) - -Default: - - debug 1 # URLs - debug 4096 # Info - debug 8192 # Errors - *we highly recommended enabling this* +Type of value: - -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 Privoxy to handle requests sequentially. -Default: Multi-threaded mode. - - #single-threaded + Path name - -"toggle" allows you to temporarily disable all Privoxy's filtering. Just set -"toggle 0". - -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 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 Privoxy internal address of -http://p.p on any platform. - -"toggle 1" means Privoxy runs normally, "toggle 0" means that Privoxy becomes a -non-anonymizing non-blocking proxy. Default: 1 (on). - - toggle 1 +Default value: - -For content filtering, i.e. the "+filter" and "+deanimate-gif" actions, it is -necessary that 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. - -The buffer-limit option lets you set the maximum size in Kbytes that each -buffer may use. When the documents buffer exceeds this size, it is flushed to -the client unfiltered and no further attempt to filter the rest of it is made. -Remember that there may multiple threads running, which might require -increasing the "buffer-limit" Kbytes each, unless you have enabled -"single-threaded" above. - - buffer-limit 4069 + /var/log/privoxy (Unix) or Privoxy installation dir (Windows) - -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 Privoxy with support for -this feature, otherwise this option has no effect. This internal page can be -reached at http://p.p. - -Security note: If this is enabled, anyone who can use the proxy can edit the -actions file, and their changes will affect all users. For shared proxies, you -probably want to disable this. Default: enabled. - - enable-edit-actions 1 +Effect if unset: - -Allow Privoxy to be toggled on and off remotely, using your web browser. Set -"enable-remote-toggle"to 1 to enable, and 0 to disable. Note that you must have -compiled 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://p.p), and their changes will affect all users. For shared -proxies, you probably want to disable this. Default: enabled. - - enable-remote-toggle 1 + Mandatory + +Notes: + + No trailing "/", please - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.3.3. Access Control List (ACL) - -Access controls are included at the request of some ISPs and systems -administrators, and are not usually needed by individual users. Please note the -warnings in the FAQ that this proxy is not intended to be a substitute for a -firewall or to encourage anyone to defer addressing basic security weaknesses. - -If no access settings are specified, the proxy talks to anyone that connects. -If any access settings file are specified, then the proxy talks only to IP -addresses permitted somewhere in this file and not denied later in this file. - -Summary -- if using an ACL: +7.1.3. actionsfile -Client must have permission to receive service. - -LAST match in ACL wins. - -Default behavior is to deny service. - -The syntax for an entry in the Access Control List is: - - ACTION SRC_ADDR[/SRC_MASKLEN] [ DST_ADDR[/DST_MASKLEN] ] +Specifies: - -Where the individual fields are: - - ACTION = "permit-access" or "deny-access" - - SRC_ADDR = client hostname or dotted IP address - SRC_MASKLEN = number of bits in the subnet mask for the source - - DST_ADDR = server or forwarder hostname or dotted IP address - DST_MASKLEN = number of bits in the subnet mask for the target + The actions file(s) to use - -The field separator (FS) is whitespace (space or tab). - -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 Privoxy to determine the -address of the ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for). - -Here are a few examples to show how the ACL features work: - -"localhost" is OK -- no DST_ADDR implies that ALL destination addresses are OK: - - permit-access localhost +Type of value: - -A silly example to illustrate permitting any host on the class-C subnet with -Privoxy to go anywhere: - - permit-access www.privoxy.com/24 + File name, relative to confdir, without the .action suffix - -Except deny one particular IP address from using it at all: - - deny-access ident.privoxy.com +Default values: - -You can also specify an explicit network address and subnet mask. Explicit -addresses do not have to be resolved to be used. - - permit-access 207.153.200.0/24 + standard # Internal purposes, no editing recommended + + default # Main actions file + + user # User customizations - -A subnet mask of 0 matches anything, so the next line permits everyone. - - permit-access 0.0.0.0/0 +Effect if unset: - -Note, you cannot say: - - permit-access .org + No actions are taken at all. Simple neutral proxying. - -to allow all *.org domains. Every IP address listed must resolve fully. - -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 bit netmask). This is how they could do it: - - permit-access 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 # other clients can go anywhere - # with the following exceptions: - - deny-access 0.0.0.0/0 123.124.0.0/16 # block all external requests for - # sites on the ISP's network - - permit 0.0.0.0/0 www.my_isp.com # except for the ISP's main - # web site - - permit 123.124.0.0/16 0.0.0.0/0 # the ISP's clients can go - # anywhere +Notes: - -Note that if some hostnames are listed with multiple IP addresses, the primary -value returned by DNS (via gethostbyname()) is used. Default: Anyone can access -the proxy. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -4.3.4. Forwarding - -This feature allows chaining of HTTP requests via multiple proxies. It can be -used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when accessing specific -domains by routing requests to those domains to a special purpose filtering -proxy such as lpwa.com. Or to use a caching proxy to speed up browsing. - -It can also be used in an environment with multiple networks to route requests -via multiple gateways allowing transparent access to multiple networks without -having to modify browser configurations. - -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. - -The syntax of each line is: - - forward target_domain[:port] http_proxy_host[:port] - forward-socks4 target_domain[:port] socks_proxy_host[:port] http_proxy_host[: -port] - forward-socks4a target_domain[:port] socks_proxy_host[:port] http_proxy_host[: -port] + Multiple actionsfile lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended! - -If http_proxy_host is ".", then requests are not forwarded to a HTTP proxy but -are made directly to the web servers. - -Lines are checked in sequence, and the last match wins. - -There is an implicit line equivalent to the following, which specifies that -anything not finding a match on the list is to go out without forwarding or -gateway protocol, like so: - - forward .* . # implicit + The default values include standard.action, which is used for internal + purposes and should be loaded, default.action, which is the "main" actions + file maintained by the developers, and user.action, where you can make your + personal additions. - -In the following common configuration, everything goes to Lucent's LPWA, except -SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle): - - forward .* lpwa.com:8000 - forward :443 . + Actions files are where all the per site and per URL configuration is done + for ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc. There is + no point in using Privoxy without at least one actions file. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -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: +7.1.4. filterfile - forward lpwa. lpwa.com:8000 +Specifies: - -(NOTE: the syntax for specifying target_domain has changed since the previous -paragraph was written -- it will not work now. More information is welcome.) - -In this fictitious example, everything goes via an ISP's caching proxy, except -requests to that ISP: - - forward .* caching.myisp.net:8000 - forward myisp.net . + The filter file to use +Type of value: + + File name, relative to confdir + +Default value: + + default.filter (Unix) or default.filter.txt (Windows) + +Effect if unset: + + No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all +filter{name} actions in + the actions files are turned neutral. + +Notes: + + The 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. + + The +filter{name} actions rely on the relevant filter (name) to be defined + in the filter file! + + A pre-defined filter file called default.filter that contains a bunch of + handy filters for common problems is included in the distribution. See the + section on the filter action for a list. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -For the @home network, we're told the forwarding configuration is this: +7.1.5. logfile - forward .* proxy:8080 +Specifies: + The log file to use + +Type of value: + + File name, relative to logdir + +Default value: + + logfile (Unix) or privoxy.log (Windows) + +Effect if unset: + + No log file is used, all log messages go to the console (stderr). + +Notes: + + The windows version will additionally log to the console. + + The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level + of detail and number of messages are set with the debug option (see below). + The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with 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. + + Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to + periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job + (see "man cron"). For Red Hat, a logrotate script has been included. + + 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. + + Any log files must be writable by whatever user Privoxy is being run as + (default on UNIX, user id is "privoxy"). + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Also, we're told they insist on getting cookies and JavaScript, so you should -allow cookies from home.com. We consider JavaScript a potential security risk. -Java need not be enabled. - -In this example direct connections are made to all "internal" domains, but -everything else goes through Lucent's LPWA by way of the company's SOCKS -gateway to the Internet. +7.1.6. jarfile - forward-socks4 .* lpwa.com:8000 firewall.my_company.com:1080 - forward my_company.com . +Specifies: + + The file to store intercepted cookies in + +Type of value: + + File name, relative to logdir + +Default value: + + jarfile (Unix) or privoxy.jar (Windows) + +Effect if unset: + Intercepted cookies are not stored at all. + +Notes: + + The jarfile may grow to ridiculous sizes over time. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -This is how you could set up a site that always uses SOCKS but no forwarders: +7.1.7. trustfile - forward-socks4a .* . firewall.my_company.com:1080 +Specifies: + + The trust file to use + +Type of value: + + File name, relative to confdir + +Default value: + Unset (commented out). When activated: trust (Unix) or trust.txt (Windows) + +Effect if unset: + + The whole trust mechanism is turned off. + +Notes: + + The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and + should be used with care. It is NOT recommended for the casual user. + + If you specify a trust file, Privoxy will only allow access to sites that + are named in the trustfile. You can also mark sites as trusted referrers + (with +), 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 "trustfile". Possible applications include limiting Internet + access for children. + + If you use + operator in the trust file, it may grow considerably over + time. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -An advanced example for network administrators: +7.2. Local Set-up Documentation -If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content to -their subscribers, you can configure forwarding to pass requests to the -specific host that's connected to that ISP so that everybody can see all of the -content on all of the ISPs. +If you intend to operate Privoxy for more users than just yourself, it might be +a good idea to let them know how to reach you, what you block and why you do +that, your policies, etc. -This is a bit tricky, but here's an example: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -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 Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this: +7.2.1. user-manual - forward .* . - forward isp-b.com host-b:8118 +Specifies: - -host-b can run a Privoxy proxy with forwarding like this: - - forward .* . - forward isp-a.com host-a:8118 + Location of the Privoxy User Manual. + +Type of value: + + A fully qualified URI + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + http://www.privoxy.org/version/user-manual/ will be used, where version is + the Privoxy version. + +Notes: + + The User Manual URI is used for help links from some of the internal CGI + pages. The manual itself is normally packaged with the binary + distributions, so you probably want to set this to a locally installed + copy. For multi-user setups, you could provide a copy on a local webserver + for all your users and use the corresponding URL here. + + Examples: + + Unix, in local filesystem: + + user-manual file:///usr/share/doc/privoxy-2.9.15/user-manual/ + + Any platform, on local webserver (called "local-webserver"): + + user-manual http://local-webserver/privoxy-user-manual/ + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Warning | + |-----------------------------------------------------------------| + |If set, this option should be the first option in the config | + |file, because it is used while the config file is being read. | + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ -Now, anyone on the Internet (including users on host-a and host-b) can set -their browser's proxy to either host-a or host-b and be able to browse the -content on isp-a or isp-b. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Here's another practical example, for University of Kent at Canterbury students -with a network connection in their room, who need to use the University's Squid -web cache. +7.2.2. trust-info-url - forward *. ssbcache.ukc.ac.uk:3128 # Use the proxy, except for: - forward .ukc.ac.uk . # Anything on the same domain as us - forward * . # Host with no domain specified - forward 129.12.*.* . # A dotted IP on our /16 network. - forward 127.*.*.* . # Loopback address - forward localhost.localdomain . # Loopback address - forward www.ukc.mirror.ac.uk . # Specific host +Specifies: + A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an + untrusted page is denied. + +Type of value: + + URL + +Default value: + + Two example URL are provided + +Effect if unset: + + No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page. + +Notes: + + The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism + has been activated. (See trustfile above.) + + If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line + documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here. Use + multiple times for multiple URLs. + + The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up + locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first + place! + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If you intend to chain Privoxy and squid locally, then chain as browser -> -squid -> privoxy is the recommended way. - -Your squid configuration could then look like this: - - # Define Privoxy as parent cache - - cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 0 no-query - - # Define ACL for protocol FTP - acl FTP proto FTP +7.2.3. admin-address - # Do not forward ACL FTP to privoxy - always_direct allow FTP +Specifies: + + An email address to reach the proxy administrator. + +Type of value: + + Email address + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface. + +Notes: + + If both admin-address and proxy-info-url are unset, the whole "Local + Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will not be shown. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - # Do not forward ACL CONNECT (https) to privoxy - always_direct allow CONNECT +7.2.4. proxy-info-url - # Forward the rest to privoxy - never_direct allow all +Specifies: + + A URL to documentation about the local Privoxy setup, configuration or + policies. + +Type of value: + + URL + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user + interface. + +Notes: + + If both admin-address and proxy-info-url are unset, the whole "Local + Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will not be shown. + + This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.3.5. Windows GUI Options +7.3. Debugging -Privoxy has a number of options specific to the Windows GUI interface: +These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem. Note that you might +also want to invoke Privoxy with the --no-daemon command line option when +debugging. -If "activity-animation" is set to 1, the Privoxy icon will animate when -"Privoxy" is active. To turn off, set to 0. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - activity-animation 1 +7.3.1. debug + +Specifies: + + Key values that determine what information gets logged to the logfile. + +Type of value: + + Integer values +Default value: + + 12289 (i.e.: URLs plus informational and warning messages) + +Effect if unset: + + Nothing gets logged. + +Notes: + + The available debug levels are: + + debug 1 # show each GET/POST/CONNECT request + debug 2 # show each connection status + debug 4 # show I/O status + debug 8 # show header parsing + debug 16 # log all data into the logfile + debug 32 # debug force feature + debug 64 # debug regular expression filter + debug 128 # debug fast redirects + debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation + debug 512 # Common Log Format + debug 1024 # debug kill pop-ups + debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings. + debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors + + To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use multiple + debug lines. + + A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request as + it happens. 1, 4096 and 8192 are highly recommended so that you will notice + when things go wrong. The other levels are probably only of interest if you + are hunting down a specific problem. They can produce a hell of an output + (especially 16). + + The reporting of fatal errors (i.e. ones which crash Privoxy) is always on + and cannot be disabled. + + If you want to use CLF (Common Log Format), you should set "debug 512" ONLY + and not enable anything else. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If "log-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will log messages to the console window: +7.3.2. single-threaded - log-messages 1 +Specifies: + + Whether to run only one server thread + +Type of value: + None + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability + to serve multiple requests simultaneously. + +Notes: + + This option is only there for debug purposes and you should never need to + use it. It will drastically reduce performance. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If "log-buffer-size" is set to 1, the size of the log buffer, i.e. the amount -of memory used for the log messages displayed in the console window, will be -limited to "log-max-lines" (see below). +7.4. Access Control and Security -Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and eat -up all your memory! +This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects of +Privoxy's configuration. - log-buffer-size 1 - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -log-max-lines is the maximum number of lines held in the log buffer. See above. +7.4.1. listen-address - log-max-lines 200 +Specifies: - -If "log-highlight-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will highlight portions of the -log messages with a bold-faced font: - - log-highlight-messages 1 + The IP address and TCP port on which Privoxy will listen for client + requests. - -The font used in the console window: - - log-font-name Comic Sans MS +Type of value: - -Font size used in the console window: - - log-font-size 8 + [IP-Address]:Port + +Default value: + 127.0.0.1:8118 + +Effect if unset: + + Bind to 127.0.0.1 (localhost), port 8118. This is suitable and recommended + for home users who run Privoxy on the same machine as their browser. + +Notes: + + You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port. + + If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to + serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, + you will need to override the default. + + If you leave 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 "ACLs" below), + or a firewall. + +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: + + listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118 + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -"show-on-task-bar" controls whether or not Privoxy will appear as a button on -the Task bar when minimized: +7.4.2. toggle - show-on-task-bar 0 +Specifies: + + Initial state of "toggle" status + +Type of value: + 1 or 0 + +Default value: + + 1 + +Effect if unset: + + Act as if toggled on + +Notes: + + If set to 0, Privoxy will start in "toggled off" mode, i.e. behave like a + normal, content-neutral proxy where all ad blocking, filtering, etc are + disabled. See enable-remote-toggle below. This is not really useful + anymore, since toggling is much easier via the web interface than via + editing the conf file. + + The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray if + this option is present. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If "close-button-minimizes" is set to 1, the Windows close button will minimize -Privoxy instead of closing the program (close with the exit option on the File -menu). +7.4.3. enable-remote-toggle - close-button-minimizes 1 +Specifies: + + Whether or not the web-based toggle feature may be used + +Type of value: + + 0 or 1 +Default value: + + 1 + +Effect if unset: + + The web-based toggle feature is disabled. + +Notes: + + When toggled off, Privoxy acts like a normal, content-neutral proxy, i.e. + it acts as if none of the actions applied to any URL. + + For the time being, access to the toggle feature can not be controlled + separately by "ACLs" or HTTP authentication, so that everybody who can + access Privoxy (see "ACLs" and listen-address above) can toggle it for all + users. So this option is not recommended for multi-user environments with + untrusted users. + + Note that you must have compiled Privoxy with support for this feature, + otherwise this option has no effect. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -The "hide-console" option is specific to the MS-Win console version of Privoxy. -If this option is used, Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the command -console. +7.4.4. enable-edit-actions - #hide-console +Specifies: + + Whether or not the web-based actions file editor may be used + +Type of value: + + 0 or 1 + +Default value: + + 1 + +Effect if unset: + + The web-based actions file editor is disabled. + +Notes: + + For the time being, access to the editor can not be controlled separately + by "ACLs" or HTTP authentication, so that everybody who can access Privoxy + (see "ACLs" and listen-address above) can modify its configuration for all + users. So this option is not recommended for multi-user environments with + untrusted users. + + Note that you must have compiled Privoxy with support for this feature, + otherwise this option has no effect. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.4. The Actions File +7.4.5. ACLs: permit-access and deny-access -The "default.action" file (formerly actionsfile or ijb.action) is used to -define what actions Privoxy takes, and thus determines how ad images, cookies -and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are handled. These -can be accepted or rejected for all sites, or just those sites you choose. See -below for a complete list of actions. +Specifies: + + Who can access what. + +Type of value: + + src_addr[/src_masklen] [dst_addr[/dst_masklen]] + + Where src_addr and dst_addr are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or + valid DNS names, and src_masklen and dst_masklen are subnet masks in CIDR + notation, i.e. integer values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in + bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole destination part are + optional. + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + Don't restrict access further than implied by listen-address + +Notes: + + Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems + administrators, and are not usually needed by individual users. For a + typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that Privoxy only + listens on the localhost (127.0.0.1) or internal (home) network address by + means of the listen-address option. + + Please see the warnings in the FAQ that this proxy is not intended to be a + substitute for a firewall or to encourage anyone to defer addressing basic + security weaknesses. + + Multiple ACL lines are OK. If any ACLs are specified, then the Privoxy + talks only to IP addresses that match at least one permit-access line and + don't match any subsequent deny-access line. In other words, the last match + wins, with the default being deny-access. + + If Privoxy is using a forwarder (see forward below) for a particular + destination URL, the dst_addr that is examined is the address of the + forwarder and NOT the address of the ultimate target. This is necessary + because it may be impossible for the local Privoxy to determine the IP + address of the ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for). + + You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address + lookups take time. All DNS names must resolve! You can not use domain + patterns like "*.org" or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to + multiple IP addresses, only the first one is used. + + Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects + if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other + sites. + +Examples: + + Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and listen-address are + set: "localhost" is OK. The absence of a dst_addr implies that all + destination addresses are OK: + + permit-access localhost + + Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to + nothing but www.example.com: + + permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32 + + Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere, + with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access + www.dirty-stuff.example.com: + + permit-access 192.168.45.64/26 + deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Anything you want can blocked, including ads, banners, or just 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 default.action should be immediately visible to Privoxy without the -need to restart. +7.4.6. buffer-limit -Note that some sites may misbehave, or possibly not work at all with some -actions. This may require some tinkering with the rules to get the most mileage -of Privoxy's features, and still be able to see and enjoy just what you want -to. There is no general rule of thumb on these things. There just are too many -variables, and sites are always changing. +Specifies: + + Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering. + +Type of value: + + Size in Kbytes + +Default value: + + 4096 + +Effect if unset: + + Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit. + +Notes: + + For content filtering, i.e. the +filter and +deanimate-gif actions, it is + necessary that 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. + Hence this option. + + When a document buffer size reaches the buffer-limit, it is flushed to the + client unfiltered and no further attempt to filter the rest of the document + is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads running, which might + require up to buffer-limit Kbytes each, unless you have enabled + "single-threaded" above. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -The easiest way to edit the "actions" file is with a browser by loading http:// -p.p/, and then select "Edit Actions List". A text editor can also be used. +7.5. Forwarding -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://p.p/show-url-info. +This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of multiple +proxies. It can be used to better protect privacy and confidentiality when +accessing specific domains by routing requests to those domains through an +anonymous public proxy (see e.g. http://www.multiproxy.org/anon_list.htm) Or to +use a caching proxy to speed up browsing. Or chaining to a parent proxy may be +necessary because the machine that Privoxy runs on has no direct Internet +access. -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 Privoxy understands. +Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. Privoxy supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS +4A protocols. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.4.1. URL Domain and Path Syntax - -Generally, a pattern has the form /, where both the and - part are optional. If you only specify a domain part, the "/" can be -left out: - -www.example.com - is a domain only pattern and will match any request to -"www.example.com". +7.5.1. forward -www.example.com/ - means exactly the same. +Specifies: + + To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed. + +Type of value: + + target_domain[:port] http_parent[/port] + + Where target_domain is a domain name pattern (see the chapter on domain + matching in the default.action file), http_parent is the address of the + parent HTTP proxy as an IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or as a + valid DNS name (or "." to denote "no forwarding", and the optional port + parameters are TCP ports, i.e. integer values from 1 to 64535 + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + Don't use parent HTTP proxies. + +Notes: + + If http_parent is ".", then requests are not forwarded to another HTTP + proxy but are made directly to the web servers. + + Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match + wins. + +Examples: + + Everything goes to an example anonymizing proxy, except SSL on port 443 + (which it doesn't handle): + + forward .* anon-proxy.example.org:8080 + forward :443 . + + Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests to + that ISP's sites: + + forward .*. caching-proxy.example-isp.net:8000 + forward .example-isp.net . + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +7.5.2. forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a + +Specifies: + + Through which SOCKS proxy (and to which parent HTTP proxy) specific + requests should be routed. + +Type of value: + + target_domain[:port] socks_proxy[/port] http_parent[/port] + + Where target_domain is a domain name pattern (see the chapter on domain + matching in the default.action file), http_parent and socks_proxy are IP + addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names (http_parent may be + "." to denote "no HTTP forwarding"), and the optional port parameters are + TCP ports, i.e. integer values from 1 to 64535 + +Default value: + + Unset + +Effect if unset: + + Don't use SOCKS proxies. + +Notes: + + Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match + wins. + + The difference between forward-socks4 and forward-socks4a is that in the + SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the + SOCKS server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally. + + If http_parent is ".", then requests are not forwarded to another HTTP + proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through + a SOCKS proxy. + +Examples: + + From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all "internal" + domains, but everything outbound goes through their ISP's proxy by way of + example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to the Internet. + + forward-socks4a .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.example-isp.net:8080 + forward .example.com . + + A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent + looks like this: + + forward-socks4 .*. socks-gw.example.com:1080 . + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -www.example.com/index.html - matches only the single document "/index.html" on -"www.example.com". +7.5.3. Advanced Forwarding Examples -/index.html - matches the document "/index.html", regardless of the domain. So -would match any page named "index.html" on any site. +If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content only to +their subscribers, you can configure multiple Privoxies which have connections +to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that your users +can see the internal content of all ISPs. -index.html - matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name -and there is no top-level domain called ".html". +Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.net. And host-b has a PPP +connection to isp-b.net. Both run Privoxy. Their forwarding configuration can +look like this: -The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the domain -starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end. For example: +host-a: + + forward .*. . + forward .isp-b.net host-b:8118 + +host-b: + + forward .*. . + forward .isp-a.net host-a:8118 + +Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either host-a or host-b +and be able to browse the internal content of both isp-a and isp-b. + +If you intend to chain Privoxy and squid locally, then chain as browser -> +squid -> privoxy is the recommended way. + +Assuming that Privoxy and squid run on the same box, your squid configuration +could then look like this: + + # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP) + cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query + + # Define ACL for protocol FTP + acl ftp proto FTP + + # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy + always_direct allow ftp + + # Forward all the rest to Privoxy + never_direct allow all + +You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to squid's address +and port. Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult http_port in +squid.conf. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +7.6. Windows GUI Options + +Privoxy has a number of options specific to the Windows GUI interface: + +If "activity-animation" is set to 1, the Privoxy icon will animate when +"Privoxy" is active. To turn off, set to 0. + + activity-animation 1 + + +If "log-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will log messages to the console window: + + log-messages 1 + + +If "log-buffer-size" is set to 1, the size of the log buffer, i.e. the amount +of memory used for the log messages displayed in the console window, will be +limited to "log-max-lines" (see below). + +Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and eat +up all your memory! + + log-buffer-size 1 + + +log-max-lines is the maximum number of lines held in the log buffer. See above. + + log-max-lines 200 + + +If "log-highlight-messages" is set to 1, Privoxy will highlight portions of the +log messages with a bold-faced font: + + log-highlight-messages 1 + -.example.com - matches any domain or sub-domain that ENDS in ".example.com". +The font used in the console window: -www. - matches any domain that STARTS with "www". + log-font-name Comic Sans MS + +Font size used in the console window: + + log-font-size 8 + + +"show-on-task-bar" controls whether or not Privoxy will appear as a button on +the Task bar when minimized: + + show-on-task-bar 0 + + +If "close-button-minimizes" is set to 1, the Windows close button will minimize +Privoxy instead of closing the program (close with the exit option on the File +menu). + + close-button-minimizes 1 + + +The "hide-console" option is specific to the MS-Win console version of Privoxy. +If this option is used, Privoxy will disconnect from and hide the command +console. + + #hide-console + + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8. Actions Files + +The actions files are used to define what actions Privoxy takes for which URLs, +and thus determine how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP +content and transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts +thereof). There are three such files included with Privoxy (as of version +2.9.15), with differing purposes: + + * default.action - is the primary action file 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. This is the file that the + developers are keeping updated, and making available to users. + + * user.action - is intended to be for local site preferences and exceptions. + As an example, if your ISP or your bank has specific requirements, and need + special handling, this kind of thing should go here. This file will not be + upgraded. + + * standard.action - is used by the web based editor, 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. + +The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main configuration +file, and are processed in the order they are defined. The content of these can +all be viewed and edited from http://config.privoxy.org/show-status. + +An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use "aliases" +in an actions file, you have to place the (optional) alias section at the top +of that file. Then comes the default set of rules which will apply universally +to all sites and pages (be very careful with using such a universal set in +user.action or any other actions file after default.action, because it will +override the result from consulting any previous file). And then below that, +exceptions to the defined universal policies. You can regard user.action as an +appendix to default.action, with the advantage that is a separate file, which +makes preserving your personal settings across Privoxy upgrades easier. + +Actions can be used to block anything you want, including ads, banners, or just +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), content can be modified, JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking fooled, and +much more. See below for a complete list of actions. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.1. Finding the Right Mix + +Note that some actions, like cookie suppression or script disabling, may render +some sites unusable that rely on these techniques to work properly. Finding the +right mix of actions is not always easy and certainly a matter of personal +taste. In general, it can be said that the more "aggressive" your default +settings (in the top section of the actions file) are, the more exceptions for +"trusted" sites you will have to make later. If, for example, you want to kill +popup windows per default, you'll have to make exceptions from that rule for +sites that you regularly use and that require popups for actually useful +content, like maybe your bank, favorite shop, or newspaper. + +We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in the +distribution actions files. But there is no general rule of thumb on these +things. There just are too many variables, and sites are constantly changing. +Sooner or later you will want to change the rules (and read this chapter again +:). + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.2. How to Edit + +The easiest way to edit the actions files is with a browser by using our +browser-based editor, which can be reached from http://config.privoxy.org/ +show-status. The editor allows both fine-grained control over every single +feature on a per-URL basis, and easy choosing from wholesale sets of defaults +like "Cautious", "Medium" or "Advanced". + +If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also directly edit +the the actions files. Look at default.action which is richly commented. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.3. How Actions are Applied to URLs + +Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections, like the " +alias" sections which will be discussed later. For now let's concentrate on +regular sections: They have a heading line (often split up to multiple lines +for readability) which consist of a list of actions, separated by whitespace +and enclosed in curly braces. Below that, there is a list of URL patterns, each +on a separate line. + +To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is +compared to all patterns in each action file file. Every time it matches, the +list of applicable actions for the URL is incrementally updated, using the +heading of the section in which the pattern is located. If multiple matches for +the same URL set the same action differently, the last match wins. If not, the +effects are aggregated (e.g. a URL might match both the "+handle-as-image" and +"+block" actions). + +You can trace this process for any given URL by visiting http:// +config.privoxy.org/show-url-info. + +More detail on this is provided in the Appendix, Anatomy of an Action. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.4. Patterns + +Generally, a pattern has the form /, where both the and + are optional. (This is why the pattern / matches all URLs). + +www.example.com/ + + is a domain-only pattern and will match any request to www.example.com, + regardless of which document on that server is requested. + +www.example.com + + means exactly the same. For domain-only patterns, the trailing / may be + omitted. + +www.example.com/index.html + + matches only the single document /index.html on www.example.com. + +/index.html + + matches the document /index.html, regardless of the domain, i.e. on any web + server. + +index.html + + matches nothing, since it would be interpreted as a domain name and there + is no top-level domain called .html. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.4.1. The Domain Pattern + +The matching of the domain part offers some flexible options: if the domain +starts or ends with a dot, it becomes unanchored at that end. For example: + +.example.com + + matches any domain that ENDS in .example.com + +www. + + matches any domain that STARTS with www. + +.example. + + matches any domain that CONTAINS .example. (Correctly speaking: It matches + any FQDN that contains example as a domain.) + Additionally, there are wild-cards that you can use in the domain names themselves. They work pretty similar to shell wild-cards: "*" stands for zero -or more arbitrary characters, "?" stands for any single character. And you can -define character classes in square brackets and they can be freely mixed: +or more arbitrary characters, "?" stands for any single character, you can +define character classes in square brackets and all of that can be freely +mixed: + +ad*.example.com + + matches "adserver.example.com", "ads.example.com", etc but not + "sfads.example.com" + +*ad*.example.com + + matches all of the above, and then some. + +.?pix.com + + matches www.ipix.com, pictures.epix.com, a.b.c.d.e.upix.com etc. + +www[1-9a-ez].example.c* + + matches www1.example.com, www4.example.cc, wwwd.example.cy, + wwwz.example.com etc., but not wwww.example.com. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.4.2. The Path Pattern + +Privoxy uses Perl compatible regular expressions (through the PCRE library) for +matching the path. -ad*.example.com - matches "adserver.example.com", "ads.example.com", etc but -not "sfads.example.com". +There is an Appendix with a brief quick-start into regular expressions, and +full (very technical) documentation on PCRE regex syntax is available on-line +at http://www.pcre.org/man.txt. You might also find the Perl man page on +regular expressions (man perlre) useful, which is available on-line at http:// +www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html. -*ad*.example.com - matches all of the above, and then some. +Note that the path pattern is automatically left-anchored at the "/", i.e. it +matches as if it would start with a "^" (regular expression speak for the +beginning of a line). -.?pix.com - matches "www.ipix.com", "pictures.epix.com", "a.b.c.d.e.upix.com", -etc. +Please also note that matching in the path is case INSENSITIVE by default, but +you can switch to case sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the "(? +-i)" switch: www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.* will match only documents whose +path starts with PaTtErN in exactly this capitalization. -www[1-9a-ez].example.com - matches "www1.example.com", "www4.example.com", -"wwwd.example.com", "wwwz.example.com", etc., but not "wwww.example.com". +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -If Privoxy was compiled with "pcre" support (the default), Perl compatible -regular expressions can be used. These are more flexible and powerful than -other types of "regular expressions". See the pcre/docs/ directory or "man -perlre" (also available on http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html) for -details. A brief discussion of regular expressions is in the Appendix. For -instance: +8.5. Actions -/.*/advert[0-9]+\.jpe?g - would match a URL from any domain, with any path that -includes "advert" followed immediately by one or more digits, then a "." and -ending in either "jpeg" or "jpg". So we match "example.com/ads/advert2.jpg", -and "www.example.com/ads/banners/advert39.jpeg", but not "www.example.com/ads/ -banners/advert39.gif" (no gifs in the example pattern). +All actions are disabled by default, until they are explicitly enabled +somewhere in an actions file. Actions are turned on if preceded with a "+", and +turned off if preceded with a "-". So a +action means "do that action", e.g. ++block means "please block URLs that match the following patterns", and -block +means "don't block URLs that match the following patterns, even if +block +previously applied." -Please note that matching in the path is case INSENSITIVE by default, but you -can switch to case sensitive at any point in the pattern by using the "(?-i)" -switch: +Again, actions are invoked by placing them on a line, enclosed in curly braces +and separated by whitespace, like in {+some-action -some-other-action +{some-parameter}}, followed by a list of URL patterns, one per line, to which +they apply. Together, the actions line and the following pattern lines make up +a section of the actions file. -www.example.com/(?-i)PaTtErN.* - will match only documents whose path starts -with "PaTtErN" in exactly this capitalization. +There are three classes of actions: + * Boolean, i.e the action can only be "enabled" or "disabled". Syntax: + + +name # enable action name + -name # disable action name + + Example: +block + + * Parameterized, where some value is required in order to enable this type of + action. Syntax: + + +name{param} # enable action and set parameter to param, + # overwriting parameter from previous match if necessary + -name # disable action. The parameter can be omitted + + Note that if the URL matches multiple positive forms of a parameterized + action, the last match wins, i.e. the params from earlier matches are + simply ignored. + + Example: +hide-user-agent{ Mozilla 1.0 } + + * Multi-value. These look exactly like parameterized actions, but they behave + differently: If the action applies multiple times to the same URL, but with + different parameters, all the parameters from all matches are remembered. + This is used for actions that can be executed for the same request + repeatedly, like adding multiple headers, or filtering through multiple + filters. Syntax: + + +name{param} # enable action and add param to the list of parameters + -name{param} # remove the parameter param from the list of parameters + # If it was the last one left, disable the action. + -name # disable this action completely and remove all parameters from the list + + Examples: +add-header{X-Fun-Header: Some text} and +filter{html-annoyances} + +If nothing is specified in any actions file, no "actions" are taken. 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 actions files will give a good starting point). + +Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions to any rules +you make, should come in the latter part of the file (or in a file that is +processed later when using multiple actions files). For multi-valued actions, +the actions are applied in the order they are specified. Actions files are +processed in the order they are defined in config (the default installation has +three actions files). It also quite possible for any given URL pattern to match +more than one pattern and thus more than one set of actions! + +The list of valid Privoxy actions are: + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.1. add-header + +Typical use: + + Confuse log analysis, custom applications + +Effect: + + Sends a user defined HTTP header to the web server. + +Type: + + Multi-value. + +Parameter: + + Any string value is possible. Validity of the defined HTTP headers is not + checked. It is recommended that you use the "X-" prefix for custom headers. + +Notes: + + This action may be specified multiple times, in order to define multiple + headers. This is rarely needed for the typical user. If you don't know what + "HTTP headers" are, you definitely don't need to worry about this one. + +Example usage: + + +add-header{X-User-Tracking: sucks} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.2. block + +Typical use: + + Block ads or other obnoxious content + +Effect: + + Requests for URLs to which this action applies are blocked, i.e. the + requests are not forwarded to the remote server, but answered locally with + a substitute page or image, as determined by the handle-as-image and + set-image-blocker actions. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + Privoxy sends a special "BLOCKED" page for requests to blocked pages. This + page contains links to find out why the request was blocked, and a + click-through to the blocked content (the latter only if compiled with the + force feature enabled). The "BLOCKED" page adapts to the available screen + space -- it displays full-blown if space allows, or miniaturized and + text-only if loaded into a small frame or window. If you are using Privoxy + right now, you can take a look at the "BLOCKED" page. + + A very important exception occurs if both block and handle-as-image, apply + to the same request: it will then be replaced by an image. If + set-image-blocker (see below) also applies, the type of image will be + determined by its parameter, if not, the standard checkerboard pattern is + sent. + + It is important to understand this process, in order to understand how + Privoxy deals with ads and other unwanted content. + + The filter action can perform a very similar task, by "blocking" banner + images and other content through rewriting the relevant URLs in the + document's HTML source, so they don't get requested in the first place. + Note that this is a totally different technique, and it's easy to confuse + the two. + +Example usage (section): + + {+block} # Block and replace with "blocked" page + .nasty-stuff.example.com + + {+block +handle-as-image} # Block and replace with image + .ad.doubleclick.net + .ads.r.us + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.3. crunch-incoming-cookies + +Typical use: + + Prevent the web server from setting any cookies on your system + +Effect: + + Deletes any "Set-Cookie:" HTTP headers from server replies. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + This action is only concerned with incoming cookies. For outgoing cookies, + use crunch-outgoing-cookies. Use both to disable cookies completely. + + It makes no sense at all to use this action in conjunction with the + session-cookies-only action, since it would prevent the session cookies + from being set. + +Example usage: + + +crunch-incoming-cookies + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.4. crunch-outgoing-cookies + +Typical use: + + Prevent the web server from reading any cookies from your system + +Effect: + + Deletes any "Cookie:" HTTP headers from client requests. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + This action is only concerned with outgoing cookies. For incoming cookies, + use crunch-incoming-cookies. Use both to disable cookies completely. + + It makes no sense at all to use this action in conjunction with the + session-cookies-only action, since it would prevent the session cookies + from being read. + +Example usage: + + +crunch-outgoing-cookies + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.5. deanimate-gifs + +Typical use: + + Stop those annoying, distracting animated GIF images. + +Effect: + + De-animate GIF animations, i.e. reduce them to their first or last image. + +Type: + + Parameterized. + +Parameter: + + "last" or "first" + +Notes: + + This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If + the option "first" is given, the first frame of the animation is used as + the replacement. If "last" is given, the last frame of the animation is + used instead, which probably makes more sense for most banner animations, + but also has the risk of not showing the entire last frame (if it is only a + delta to an earlier frame). + + You can safely use this action with patterns that will also match non-GIF + objects, because no attempt will be made at anything that doesn't look like + a GIF. + +Example usage: + + +deanimate-gifs{last} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.6. downgrade-http-version + +Typical use: + + Work around (very rare) problems with HTTP/1.1 + +Effect: + + Downgrades HTTP/1.1 client requests and server replies to HTTP/1.0. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + This is a left-over from the time when Privoxy didn't support important + HTTP/1.1 features well. It is left here for the unlikely case that you + experience HTTP/1.1 related problems with some server out there. Not all + (optional) HTTP/1.1 features are supported yet, so there is a chance you + might need this action. + +Example usage (section): + + {+downgrade-http-version} + problem-host.example.com + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.7. fast-redirects + +Typical use: + + Fool some click-tracking scripts and speed up indirect links + +Effect: + + Cut off all but the last valid URL from requests. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they + will link to some script on their own servers, giving the destination as a + parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs resulting + from this scheme typically look like: http://some.place/click-tracker.cgi? + target=http://some.where.else. + + Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the + URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable, + since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go to. + Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your browser + ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds the + advertisers. + + This feature is currently not very smart and is scheduled for improvement. + It is likely to break some sites. You should expect to need possibly many + exceptions to this action, if it is enabled by default in default.action. + Some sites just don't work without it. + +Example usage: + + {+fast-redirects} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.8. filter + +Typical use: + + Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), + do fun text replacements, etc. + +Effect: + + Text documents, including HTML and JavaScript, to which this action + applies, are filtered on-the-fly through the specified regular expression + based substitutions. + +Type: + + Parameterized. + +Parameter: + + The name of a filter, as defined in the filter file (typically + default.filter, set by the filterfile option in the config file) + +Notes: + + For your convenience, there are a bunch of pre-defined filters available in + the distribution filter file that you can use. See the example below for a + list. + + This is potentially a very powerful feature! But "rolling your own" filters + requires a knowledge of regular expressions and HTML. + + 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. + + At this time, Privoxy cannot (yet!) uncompress compressed documents. If you + want filtering to work on all documents, even those that would normally be + sent compressed, use the prevent-compression action in conjunction with + filter. + + Filtering can achieve some of the effects as the block action, i.e. it can + be used to block ads and banners. + + Feedback with suggestions for new or improved filters is particularly + welcome! + +Example usage (with filters from the distribution default.filter file): + + +filter{html-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse. + + +filter{js-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse + + +filter{banners-by-size} # Kill banners by size (very efficient!) + + +filter{content-cookies} # Kill cookies that come sneaking in the HTML or JS content + + +filter{popups} # Kill all popups in JS and HTML + + +filter{webbugs} # Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking) + + +filter{fun} # Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! + + +filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizeable + + +filter{refresh-tags} # Kill automatic refresh tags (for dial-on-demand setups) + + +filter{nimda} # Remove Nimda (virus) code. + + +filter{shockwave-flash} # Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects + + +filter{crude-parental} # Kill all web pages that contain the words "sex" or "warez" + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.9. handle-as-image + +Typical use: + + Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by images if they + get blocked) + +Effect: + + This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs as + images. If the block action also applies, the presence or absence of this + mark decides whether an HTML "blocked" page, or a replacement image (as + determined by the set-image-blocker action) will be sent to the client as a + substitute for the blocked content. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + The below generic example section is actually part of default.action. It + marks all URLs with well-known image file name extensions as images and + should be left intact. + + Users will probably only want to use the handle-as-image action in + conjunction with block, to block sources of banners, whose URLs don't + reflect the file type, like in the second example section. + + Note that you cannot treat HTML pages as images in most cases. For + instance, (inline) ad frames require an HTML page to be sent, or they won't + display properly. Forcing handle-as-image in this situation will not + replace the ad frame with an image, but lead to error messages. + +Example usage (sections): + + # Generic image extensions: + # + {+handle-as-image} + /.*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp|ico)$ + + # These don't look like images, but they're banners and should be + # blocked as images: + # + {+block +handle-as-image} + some.nasty-banner-server.com/junk.cgi?output=trash + + # Banner source! Who cares if they also have non-image content? + ad.doubleclick.net + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.10. hide-forwarded-for-headers + +Typical use: + + Improve privacy by hiding the true source of the request + +Effect: + + Deletes any existing "X-Forwarded-for:" HTTP header from client requests, + and prevents adding a new one. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + It is fairly safe to leave this on. + + This action is scheduled for improvement: It should be able to generate + forged "X-Forwarded-for:" headers using random IP addresses from a + specified network, to make successive requests from the same client look + like requests from a pool of different users sharing the same proxy. + +Example usage: + + +hide-forwarded-for-headers + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.11. hide-from-header + +Typical use: + + Keep your (old and ill) browser from telling web servers your email address + +Effect: + + Deletes any existing "From:" HTTP header, or replaces it with the specified + string. + +Type: + + Parameterized. + +Parameter: + + Keyword: "block", or any user defined value. + +Notes: + + The keyword "block" will completely remove the header (not to be confused + with the block action). + + Alternately, you can specify any value you prefer to be sent to the web + server. If you do, it is a matter of fairness not to use any address that + is actually used by a real person. + + This action is rarely needed, as modern web browsers don't send "From:" + headers anymore. + +Example usage: + + +hide-from-header{block} + + or + + +hide-from-header{spam-me-senseless@sittingduck.example.com} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.12. hide-referrer + +Typical use: + + Conceal which link you followed to get to a particular site + +Effect: + + Deletes the "Referer:" (sic) HTTP header from the client request, or + replaces it with a forged one. + +Type: + + Parameterized. + +Parameter: + + + "block" to delete the header completely. + + + "forge" to pretend to be coming from the homepage of the server we are + talking to. + + + Any other string to set a user defined referrer. + +Notes: + + "forge" is the preferred option here, since some servers will not send + images back otherwise, in an attempt to prevent their valuable content from + being embedded elsewhere (and hence, without being surrounded by their + banners). + + hide-referer is an alternate spelling of hide-referrer and the two can be + can be freely substituted with each other. ("referrer" is the correct + English spelling, however the HTTP specification has a bug - it requires it + to be spelled as "referer".) + +Example usage: + + +hide-referrer{forge} + + or + + +hide-referrer{http://www.yahoo.com/} + ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.4.2. Actions - -Actions are enabled if preceded with a "+", and disabled if preceded with a -"-". Actions are invoked by enclosing the action name in curly braces (e.g. -{+some_action}), followed by a list of URLs to which the action applies. There -are three classes of actions: +8.5.13. hide-user-agent - * Boolean (e.g. "+/-block"): +Typical use: - {+name} # enable this action - {-name} # disable this action - + Conceal your type of browser and client operating system - * parameterized (e.g. "+/-hide-user-agent"): +Effect: - {+name{param}} # enable action and set parameter to "param" - {-name} # disable action - + Replaces the value of the "User-Agent:" HTTP header in client requests with + the specified value. - * Multi-value (e.g. "{+/-add-header{Name: value}}", "{+/-wafer{name=value}} - "): +Type: - {+name{param}} # enable action and add parameter "param" - {-name{param}} # remove the parameter "param" - {-name} # disable this action totally - + Parameterized. -If nothing is specified in this file, no "actions" are taken. 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 default.action file will give a good starting point). - -Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions to any rules -you make, should come in the latter part of the file. For multi-valued actions, -the actions are applied in the order they are specified. +Parameter: + + Any user-defined string. + +Notes: + + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ + | Warning | + |-----------------------------------------------------------------| + |This breaks many web sites that depend on looking at this header | + |in order to customize their content for different browsers | + |(which, by the way, is NOT a smart way to do that!). | + +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ + + Using this action in multi-user setups or wherever different types of + browsers will access the same Privoxy is not recommended. In single-user, + single-browser setups, you might use it to delete your OS version + information from the headers, because it is an invitation to exploit known + bugs for your OS. It is also occasionally useful to forge this in order to + access sites that won't let you in otherwise (though there may be a good + reason in some cases). Example of this: some MSN sites will not let Mozilla + enter, yet forging to a Netscape 6.1 user-agent works just fine. (Must be + just a silly MS goof, I'm sure :-). + + This action is scheduled for improvement. + +Example usage: + + +hide-user-agent{Netscape 6.1 (X11; I; Linux 2.4.18 i686)} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -The list of valid Privoxy "actions" are: +8.5.14. kill-popups - * Add the specified HTTP header, which is not checked for validity. You may - specify this many times to specify many different headers: +Typical use: - +add-header{Name: value} - + Eliminate those annoying pop-up windows - * 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, and an option to see it anyway. The page displayed for this - is the "blocked" template file. +Effect: - +block - + While loading the document, replace JavaScript code that opens pop-up + windows with (syntactically neutral) dummy code on the fly. - * De-animate all animated GIF images, i.e. reduce them to their last frame. - This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If - the option "first" is given, the first frame of the animation is used as - the replacement. If "last" is given, the last frame of the animation is - used instead, which probably makes more sense for most banner animations, - but also has the risk of not showing the entire last frame (if it is only a - delta to an earlier frame). +Type: - +deanimate-gifs{last} - +deanimate-gifs{first} - + Boolean. - * "+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 Privoxy doesn't handle well yet. HTTP/1.1 is - only partially implemented. Default is not to downgrade requests. +Parameter: - +downgrade - + N/A - * Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they - will link to some script on their own server, giving the destination as a - parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs resulting - from this scheme typically look like: http://some.place/some_script?http:// - some.where-else. +Notes: - Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the - URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable, - since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go to. - Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your browser - ask the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds the - advertisers. + This action is easily confused with the built-in, hardwired filter action, + but there are important differences: For kill-popups, the document need not + be buffered, so it can be incrementally rendered while downloading. But + kill-popups doesn't catch as many pop-ups as filter{popups} does. - The "+fast-redirects" option enables interception of these types of - 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 intermediate site(s). + Think of it as a fast and efficient replacement for a filter that you can + use if you don't want any filtering at all. Note that it doesn't make sense + to combine it with any filter action, since as soon as one filter applies, + the whole document needs to be buffered anyway, which destroys the + advantage of the kill-popups action over its filter equivalent. - +fast-redirects - + Killing all pop-ups is a dangerous business. Many shops and banks rely on + pop-ups to display forms, shopping carts etc, and killing only the unwanted + pop-ups would require artificial intelligence in Privoxy. If the only kind + of pop-ups that you want to kill are exit consoles (those really nasty + windows that appear when you close an other one), you might want to use + filter{js-annoyances} instead. - * 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. Filters can be used to re-write any of the raw page content. - This is a potentially a very powerful feature! +Example usage: - +filter{section_header} - + +kill-popups - Filter sections that are pre-defined in the supplied default.filter - include: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.15. limit-connect + +Typical use: - 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" - - * Block any existing X-Forwarded-for header, and do not add a new one: + Prevent abuse of Privoxy as a TCP proxy relay - +hide-forwarded - +Effect: - * If the browser sends a "From:" header containing your e-mail address, this - either completely removes the header ("block"), or changes it to the - specified e-mail address. + Specifies to which ports HTTP CONNECT requests are allowable. - +hide-from{block} - +hide-from{spam@sittingduck.xqq} - +Type: - * Don't send the "Referer:" (sic) header to the web site. You can block it, - forge a URL to the same server as the request (which is preferred because - some sites will not send images otherwise) or set it to a constant, user - defined string of your choice. + Parameterized. - +hide-referer{block} - +hide-referer{forge} - +hide-referer{http://nowhere.com} - +Parameter: - * Alternative spelling of "+hide-referer". It has the same parameters, and - can be freely mixed with, "+hide-referer". ("referrer" is the correct - English spelling, however the HTTP specification has a bug - it requires it - to be spelled "referer".) - - +hide-referrer{...} - - - * Change the "User-Agent:" header so web servers can't tell your browser - type. Warning! This breaks many web sites. Specify the user-agent value you - want. Example, pretend to be using Netscape on Linux: - - +hide-user-agent{Mozilla (X11; I; Linux 2.0.32 i586)} - - - * Treat this URL as an image. This only matters if it's also "+block"ed, in - which case a "blocked" image can be sent rather than a HTML page. See - "+image-blocker{}" below for the control over what is actually sent. If you - want invisible ads, they should be defined as images and blocked. And also, - "image-blocker" should be set to "blank". Note you cannot treat HTML pages - as images in most cases. For instance, frames require an HTML page to - display. Forcing an "image" in this situation just will not work. - - +image - - - * Decides what to do with URLs that end up tagged with "{+block +image}", e.g - an advertizement. There are five options. "-image-blocker" will send a HTML - "blocked" page, usually resulting in a "broken image" icon. "+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{blank} - +image-blocker{pattern} - +image-blocker{http://p.p/send-banner} - - - * By default (i.e. in the absence of a "+limit-connect" action), Privoxy will - only allow CONNECT requests to port 443, which is the standard port for - https as a precaution. + A comma-separated list of ports or port ranges (the latter using dashes, + with the minimum defaulting to 0 and the maximum to 65K). + +Notes: + + By default, i.e. if no limit-connect action applies, Privoxy only allows + HTTP CONNECT requests to port 443 (the standard, secure HTTPS port). Use + limit-connect if more fine-grained control is desired for some or all + destinations. The CONNECT methods exists in HTTP to allow access to secure websites - (https:// URLs) through proxies. It works very simply: the proxy connects + ("https://" URLs) through proxies. It works very simply: the proxy connects to the server on the specified port, and then short-circuits its - connections to the client and to the remote proxy. This can be a big + connections to the client and to the remote server. This can be a big security hole, since CONNECT-enabled proxies can be abused as TCP relays very easily. - If you want to allow CONNECT for more ports than this, or want to forbid - CONNECT altogether, you can specify a comma separated list of ports and - port ranges (the latter using dashes, with the minimum defaulting to 0 and - max to 65K): + If you don't know what any of this means, there probably is no reason to + change this one, since the default is already very restrictive. - +limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need no be specified. - +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK. - +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Port less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 - #and above 500 are OK. - +Example usages: - * "+no-compression" prevents the website from compressing the data. Some - websites do this, which can be a problem for 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 - "no-compression" is turned on. + +limit-connect{443} # This is the default and need not be specified. + +limit-connect{80,443} # Ports 80 and 443 are OK. + +limit-connect{-3, 7, 20-100, 500-} # Ports less than 3, 7, 20 to 100 and above 500 are OK. + +limit-connect{-} # All ports are OK (gaping security hole!) + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.16. prevent-compression + +Typical use: - +nocompression - + Ensure that servers send the content uncompressed, so it can be passed + through filters - * If the website sets cookies, "no-cookies-keep" will make sure they are - erased when you exit and restart your web browser. This makes profiling - cookies useless, but won't break sites which require cookies so that you - can log in for transactions. Default: on. +Effect: - +no-cookies-keep - + Adds a header to the request that asks for uncompressed transfer. - * Prevent the website from reading cookies: +Type: - +no-cookies-read - + Boolean. - * Prevent the website from setting cookies: +Parameter: - +no-cookies-set - + N/A - * Filter the website through a built-in filter to disable those obnoxious - JavaScript pop-up windows via window.open(), etc. The two alternative - spellings are equivalent. +Notes: - +no-popup - +no-popups - + More and more websites send their content compressed by default, which is + generally a good idea and saves bandwidth. But for the filter, + deanimate-gifs and kill-popups actions to work, Privoxy needs access to the + uncompressed data. Unfortunately, Privoxy can't yet(!) uncompress, filter, + and re-compress the content on the fly. So if you want to ensure that all + websites, including those that normally compress, can be filtered, you need + to use this action. - * This action only applies if you are using a jarfile for saving cookies. It - sends a cookie to every site stating that you do not accept any copyright - on cookies sent to you, and asking them not to track you. Of course, this - is a (relatively) unique header they could use to track you. + This will slow down transfers from those websites, though. If you use any + of the above-mentioned actions, you will typically want to use + prevent-compression in conjunction with them. - +vanilla-wafer - + Note that some (rare) ill-configured sites don't handle requests for + uncompressed documents correctly (they send an empty document body). If you + use prevent-compression per default, you'll have to add exceptions for + those sites. See the example for how to do that. - * This allows you to add an arbitrary cookie. It can be specified multiple - times in order to add as many cookies as you like. +Example usage (sections): - +wafer{name=value} - + # Set default: + # + {+prevent-compression} + / # Match all sites + + # Make exceptions for ill sites: + # + {-prevent-compression} + www.debianhelp.org + www.pclinuxonline.com -The meaning of any of the above is reversed by preceding the action with a "-", -in place of the "+". +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.17. send-vanilla-wafer -Some examples: +Typical use: + + Feed log analysis scripts with useless data. + +Effect: + + Sends a cookie with each request stating that you do not accept any + copyright on cookies sent to you, and asking the site operator not to track + you. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + The vanilla wafer is a (relatively) unique header and could conceivably be + used to track you. + + This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. + +Example usage: + + +send-vanilla-wafer + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Turn off cookies by default, then allow a few through for specified sites: +8.5.18. send-wafer - # Turn off all persistent cookies - { +no-cookies-read } - { +no-cookies-set } - # Allow cookies for this browser session ONLY - { +no-cookies-keep } +Typical use: + + Send custom cookies or feed log analysis scripts with even more useless + data. + +Effect: + + Sends a custom, user-defined cookie with each request. + +Type: + + Multi-value. + +Parameter: + + A string of the form "name=value". + +Notes: + + Being multi-valued, multiple instances of this action can apply to the same + request, resulting in multiple cookies being sent. + + This action is rarely used and not enabled in the default configuration. + +Example usage (section): + + {+send-wafer{UsingPrivoxy=true}} + my-internal-testing-server.void + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - # Exceptions to the above, sites that benefit from persistent cookies - { -no-cookies-read } - { -no-cookies-set } - { -no-cookies-keep } - .javasoft.com - .sun.com - .yahoo.com - .msdn.microsoft.com - .redhat.com +8.5.19. session-cookies-only - # Alternative way of saying the same thing - {-no-cookies-set -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-keep} - .sourceforge.net - .sf.net +Typical use: + + Allow only temporary "session" cookies (for the current browser session + only). + +Effect: + + Deletes the "expires" field from "Set-Cookie:" server headers. Most + browsers will not store such cookies permanently and forget them in between + sessions. + +Type: + + Boolean. + +Parameter: + + N/A + +Notes: + + This is less strict than crunch-incoming-cookies / crunch-outgoing-cookies + and allows you to browse websites that insist or rely on setting cookies, + without compromising your privacy too badly. + + Most browsers will not permanently store cookies that have been processed + by session-cookies-only and will forget about them between sessions. This + makes profiling cookies useless, but won't break sites which require + cookies so that you can log in for transactions. This is generally turned + on for all sites, and is the recommended setting. + It makes no sense at all to use session-cookies-only together with + crunch-incoming-cookies or crunch-outgoing-cookies. If you do, cookies will + be plainly killed. + + Note that it is up to the browser how it handles such cookies without an + "expires" field. If you use an exotic browser, you might want to try it out + to be sure. + +Example usage: + + +session-cookies-only + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Now turn off "fast redirects", and then we allow two exceptions: +8.5.20. set-image-blocker - # Turn them off! - {+fast-redirects} - - # Reverse it for these two sites, which don't work right without it. - {-fast-redirects} - www.ukc.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wac\.cgi\? - login.yahoo.com - - -Turn on page filtering according to rules in the defined sections of -refilterfile, and make one exception for 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 - - -Now some URLs that we want "blocked" (normally generates the "blocked" banner). -Many of these use regular expressions that will expand to match multiple URLs: - - # Blocklist: - {+block} - /.*/(.*[-_.])?ads?[0-9]?(/|[-_.].*|\.(gif|jpe?g)) - /.*/(.*[-_.])?count(er)?(\.cgi|\.dll|\.exe|[?/]) - /.*/(ng)?adclient\.cgi - /.*/(plain|live|rotate)[-_.]?ads?/ - /.*/(sponsor)s?[0-9]?/ - /.*/_?(plain|live)?ads?(-banners)?/ - /.*/abanners/ - /.*/ad(sdna_image|gifs?)/ - /.*/ad(server|stream|juggler)\.(cgi|pl|dll|exe) - /.*/adbanners/ - /.*/adserver - /.*/adstream\.cgi - /.*/adv((er)?ts?|ertis(ing|ements?))?/ - /.*/banner_?ads/ - /.*/banners?/ - /.*/banners?\.cgi/ - /.*/cgi-bin/centralad/getimage - /.*/images/addver\.gif - /.*/images/marketing/.*\.(gif|jpe?g) - /.*/popupads/ - /.*/siteads/ - /.*/sponsor.*\.gif - /.*/sponsors?[0-9]?/ - /.*/advert[0-9]+\.jpg - /Media/Images/Adds/ - /ad_images/ - /adimages/ - /.*/ads/ - /bannerfarm/ - /grafikk/annonse/ - /graphics/defaultAd/ - /image\.ng/AdType - /image\.ng/transactionID - /images/.*/.*_anim\.gif # alvin brattli - /ip_img/.*\.(gif|jpe?g) - /rotateads/ - /rotations/ - /worldnet/ad\.cgi - /cgi-bin/nph-adclick.exe/ - /.*/Image/BannerAdvertising/ - /.*/ad-bin/ - /.*/adlib/server\.cgi - /autoads/ +Typical use: + + Choose the replacement for blocked images + +Effect: + + This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. If both block and + handle-as-image also apply, i.e. if the request is to be blocked as an + image, then the parameter of this action decides what will be sent as a + replacement. + +Type: + + Parameterized. + +Parameter: + + + "pattern" to send a built-in checkerboard pattern image. The image is + visually decent, scales very well, and makes it obvious where banners + were busted. + + + "blank" to send a built-in transparent image. This makes banners + disappear completely, but makes it hard to detect where Privoxy has + blocked images on a given page and complicates troubleshooting if + Privoxy has blocked innocent images, like navigation icons. + + + "target-url" to send a redirect to target-url. You can redirect to any + image anywhere, even in your local filesystem (via "file:///" URL). + + A good application of redirects is to use special Privoxy-built-in + URLs, which send the built-in images, as target-url. This has the same + visual effect as specifying "blank" or "pattern" in the first place, + but enables your browser to cache the replacement image, instead of + requesting it over and over again. + +Notes: + + The URLs for the built-in images are "http://config.privoxy.org/ + send-banner?type=type", where type is either "blank" or "pattern". + + There is a third (advanced) type, called "auto". It is NOT to be used in + set-image-blocker, but meant for use from filters. Auto will select the + type of image that would have applied to the referring page, had it been an + image. + +Example usage: + + Built-in pattern: + + +set-image-blocker{pattern} + + Redirect to the BSD devil: + + +set-image-blocker{http://www.freebsd.org/gifs/dae_up3.gif} + Redirect to the built-in pattern for better caching: + + +set-image-blocker{http://config.privoxy.org/send-banner?type=pattern} + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +8.5.21. Summary 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. +designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header content, and other +criteria, 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.4.3. Aliases +8.6. Aliases 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, "=", "{" or "} -". But please use only "a"- "z", "0"-"9", "+", and "-". Alias names are not -case sensitive, and must be defined before anything else in the -default.actionfile! And there can only be one set of "aliases" defined. +other actions. These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in actions. +Currently, an alias name can contain any character except space, tab, "=", "{" +and "}", but we strongly recommend that you only use "a" to "z", "0" to "9", +"+", and "-". Alias names are not case sensitive, and are not required to start +with a "+" or "-" sign, since they are merely textually expanded. + +Aliases can be used throughout the actions file, but they must be defined in a +special section at the top of the file! And there can only be one such section +per actions file. Each actions file may have its own alias section, and the +aliases defined in it are only visible within that file. + +There are two main reasons to use aliases: One is to save typing for frequently +used combinations of actions, the other one is a gain in flexibility: If you +decide once how you want to handle shops by defining an alias called "shop", +you can later change your policy on shops in one place, and your changes will +take effect everywhere in the actions file where the "shop" alias is used. +Calling aliases by their purpose also makes your actions files more readable. + +Currently, there is one big drawback to using aliases, though: Privoxy's +built-in web-based action file editor honors aliases when reading the actions +files, but it expands them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are +of course preserved, but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit sections +that use aliases with it. This is likely to change in future versions of +Privoxy. + +Now let's define some aliases... + + # Useful custom aliases we can use later. + # + # Note the (required!) section header line and that this section + # must be at the top of the actions file! + # + {{alias}} + + # These aliases just save typing later: + # (Note that some already use other aliases!) + # + +crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies + -crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies + block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image + mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only + + # These aliases define combinations of actions + # that are useful for certain types of sites: + # + fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups + shop = -crunch-all-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups + + # Short names for other aliases, for really lazy people ;-) + # + c0 = +crunch-all-cookies + c1 = -crunch-all-cookies + +...and put them to use. These sections would appear in the lower part of an +actions file and define exceptions to the default actions (as specified further +up for the "/" pattern): + + # These sites are either very complex or very keen on + # user data and require minimal interference to work: + # + {fragile} + .office.microsoft.com + .windowsupdate.microsoft.com + .nytimes.com + + # Shopping sites: + # Allow cookies (for setting and retrieving your customer data) + # + {shop} + .quietpc.com + .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com + .scan.co.uk + + # These shops require pop-ups: + # + {shop -kill-popups -filter{popups}} + .dabs.com + .overclockers.co.uk -Now let's define a few aliases: +Aliases like "shop" and "fragile" are often used for "problem" sites that +require some actions to be disabled in order to function properly. - # Useful customer aliases we can use later. These must come first! - {{alias}} - +no-cookies = +no-cookies-set +no-cookies-read - -no-cookies = -no-cookies-set -no-cookies-read - fragile = - -block -no-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -no-popups - shop = -no-cookies -filter -fast-redirects - +imageblock = +block +image +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - #For people who don't like to type too much: ;-) - c0 = +no-cookies - c1 = -no-cookies - c2 = -no-cookies-set +no-cookies-read - c3 = +no-cookies-set -no-cookies-read - #... etc. Customize to your heart's content. - +8.7. Actions Files Tutorial -Some examples using our "shop" and "fragile" aliases from above: +The above chapters have shown which actions files there are and how they are +organized, how actions are specified and applied to URLs, how patterns work, +and how to define and use aliases. Now, let's look at an example default.action +and user.action file and see how all these pieces come together: - # These sites are very complex and require - # minimal interference. - {fragile} - .office.microsoft.com - .windowsupdate.microsoft.com - .nytimes.com +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - # Shopping sites - still want to block ads. - {shop} - .quietpc.com - .worldpay.com # for quietpc.com - .jungle.com - .scan.co.uk +8.7.1. default.action - # These shops require pop-ups - {shop -no-popups} - .dabs.com - .overclockers.co.uk - +Every config file should start with a short comment stating its purpose: + +# Sample default.action file + +Then, since this is the default.action file, the first section is a special +section for internal use that you needn't change or worry about: + +########################################################################## +# Settings -- Don't change! For internal Privoxy use ONLY. +########################################################################## + +{{settings}} +for-privoxy-version=3.0 + +After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example section +from the above chapter on aliases, that also explains why and how aliases are +used: + +########################################################################## +# Aliases +########################################################################## +{{alias}} + +# These aliases just save typing later: +# (Note that some already use other aliases!) +# ++crunch-all-cookies = +crunch-incoming-cookies +crunch-outgoing-cookies +-crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies +block-as-image = +block +handle-as-image +mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only + +# These aliases define combinations of actions +# that are useful for certain types of sites: +# +fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups +shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups + +Now come the regular sections, i.e. sets of actions, accompanied by URL +patterns to which they apply. Remember all actions are disabled when matching +starts, so we have to explicitly enable the ones we want. + +The first regular section is probably the most important. It has only one +pattern, "/", but this pattern matches all URLs.. Therefore, the set of actions +used in this "default" section will be applied to all requests as a start. It +can be partly or wholly overridden by later matches further down this file, or +in user.action, but it will still be largely responsible for your overall +browsing experience. + +Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is no real +need to disable any actions here, but we will do that nonetheless, to have a +complete listing for your reference. (Remember: A "+" preceding the action name +enables the action, a "-" disables!). Also note how this long line has been +made more readable by splitting it into multiple lines with line continuation. + +########################################################################## +# "Defaults" section: +########################################################################## + { \ + -add-header \ + -block \ + -crunch-incoming-cookies \ + -crunch-outgoing-cookies \ + +deanimate-gifs \ + -downgrade-http-version \ + +fast-redirects \ + +filter{html-annoyances} \ + +filter{js-annoyances} \ + -filter{content-cookies} \ + +filter{popups} \ + +filter{webbugs} \ + -filter{refresh-tags} \ + -filter{fun} \ + +filter{nimda} \ + +filter{banners-by-size} \ + -filter{shockwave-flash} \ + -filter{crude-parental} \ + -handle-as-image \ + +hide-forwarded-for-headers \ + +hide-from-header{block} \ + +hide-referrer{forge} \ + -hide-user-agent \ + -kill-popups \ + -limit-connect \ + +prevent-compression \ + -send-vanilla-wafer \ + -send-wafer \ + +session-cookies-only \ + +set-image-blocker{pattern} \ + } + / # forward slash will match *all* potential URL patterns. + +The default behavior is now set. Note that some actions, like not hiding the +user agent, are part of a "general policy" that applies universally and won't +get any exceptions defined later. Other choices, like not blocking (which is +understandably the default!) need exceptions, i.e. we need to specify +explicitly what we want to block in later sections. We will also want to make +exceptions from our general pop-up-killing, and use our defined aliases for +that. + +The first of our specialized sections is concerned with "fragile" sites, i.e. +sites that require minimum interference, because they are either very complex +or very keen on tracking you (and have mechanisms in place that make them +unusable for people who avoid being tracked). We will simply use our +pre-defined fragile alias instead of stating the list of actions explicitly: + +########################################################################## +# Exceptions for sites that'll break under the default action set: +########################################################################## + +# "Fragile" Use a minimum set of actions for these sites (see alias above): +# +{ fragile } +.office.microsoft.com # surprise, surprise! +.windowsupdate.microsoft.com + +Shopping sites are not as fragile, but they typically require cookies to log +in, and pop-up windows for shopping carts or item details. Again, we'll use a +pre-defined alias: + +# Shopping sites: +# +{ shop } +.quietpc.com +.worldpay.com # for quietpc.com +.jungle.com +.scan.co.uk + +Then, there are sites which rely on pop-up windows (yuck!) to work. Since we +made pop-up-killing our default above, we need to make exceptions now. Mozilla +users, who can turn on smart handling of unwanted pop-ups in their browsers, +can safely choose -filter{popups} (and -kill-popups) above and hence don't need +this section. Anyway, disabling an already disabled action doesn't hurt, so +we'll define our exceptions regardless of what was chosen in the defaults +section: + +# These sites require pop-ups too :( +# +{ -kill-popups -filter{popups} } +.dabs.com +.overclockers.co.uk +.deutsche-bank-24.de + +The fast-redirects action, which we enabled per default above, breaks some +sites. So disable it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves: + +{ -fast-redirects } +login.yahoo.com +edit.*.yahoo.com +.google.com +.altavista.com/.*(like|url|link):http +.altavista.com/trans.*urltext=http +.nytimes.com + +It is important that Privoxy knows which URLs belong to images, so that if they +are to be blocked, a substitute image can be sent, rather than an HTML page. +Contacting the remote site to find out is not an option, since it would destroy +the loading time advantage of banner blocking, and it would feed the +advertisers (in terms of money and information). We can mark any URL as an +image with the handle-as-image action, and marking all URLs that end in a known +image file extension is a good start: + +########################################################################## +# Images: +########################################################################## + +# Define which file types will be treated as images, in case they get +# blocked further down this file: +# +{ +handle-as-image } +/.*\.(gif|jpe?g|png|bmp|ico)$ + +And then there are known banner sources. They often use scripts to generate the +banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the request is for an image. +Hence we block them and mark them as images in one go, with the help of our +block-as-image alias defined above. (We could of course just as well use +block ++handle-as-image here.) Remember that the type of the replacement image is +chosen by the set-image-blocker action. Since all URLs have matched the default +section with its +set-image-blocker{pattern} action before, it still applies +and needn't be repeated: + +# Known ad generators: +# +{ block-as-image } +ar.atwola.com +.ad.doubleclick.net +.ad.*.doubleclick.net +.a.yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$ +.a[0-9].yimg.com/(?:(?!/i/).)*$ +bs*.gsanet.com +bs*.einets.com +.qkimg.net + +One of the most important jobs of Privoxy is to block banners. A huge bunch of +them are already "blocked" by the filter{banners-by-size} action, which we +enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner images from the pages +while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't request them anymore, and hence +they don't need to be blocked here. But this naturally doesn't catch all +banners, and some people choose not to use filters, so we need a comprehensive +list of patterns for banner URLs here, and apply the block action to them. + +First comes a bunch of generic patterns, which do most of the work, by matching +typical domain and path name components of banners. Then comes a list of +individual patterns for specific sites, which is omitted here to keep the +example short: + +########################################################################## +# Block these fine banners: +########################################################################## +{ +block } + +# Generic patterns: +# +ad*. +.*ads. +banner?. +count*. +/.*count(er)?\.(pl|cgi|exe|dll|asp|php[34]?) +/(?:.*/)?(publicite|werbung|rekla(ma|me|am)|annonse|maino(kset|nta|s)?)/ + +# Site-specific patterns (abbreviated): +# +.hitbox.com + +You wouldn't believe how many advertisers actually call their banner servers +ads.company.com, or call the directory in which the banners are stored simply +"banners". So the above generic patterns are surprisingly effective. + +But being very generic, they necessarily also catch URLs that we don't want to +block. The pattern .*ads. e.g. catches "nasty-ads.nasty-corp.com" as intended, +but also "downloads.sourcefroge.net" or "adsl.some-provider.net." So here come +some well-known exceptions to the +block section above. + +Note that these are exceptions to exceptions from the default! Consider the URL +"downloads.sourcefroge.net": Initially, all actions are deactivated, so it +wouldn't get blocked. Then comes the defaults section, which matches the URL, +but just deactivates the block action once again. Then it matches .*ads., an +exception to the general non-blocking policy, and suddenly +block applies. And +now, it'll match .*loads., where -block applies, so (unless it matches again +further down) it ends up with no block action applying. + +########################################################################## +# Save some innocent victims of the above generic block patterns: +########################################################################## + +# By domain: +# +{ -block } +adv[io]*. # (for advogato.org and advice.*) +adsl. # (has nothing to do with ads) +ad[ud]*. # (adult.* and add.*) +.edu # (universities don't host banners (yet!)) +.*loads. # (downloads, uploads etc) + +# By path: +# +/.*loads/ + +# Site-specific: +# +www.globalintersec.com/adv # (adv = advanced) +www.ugu.com/sui/ugu/adv + +Filtering source code can have nasty side effects, so make an exception for our +friends at sourceforge.net, and all paths with "cvs" in them. Note that -filter +disables all filters in one fell swoop! -The "shop" and "fragile" aliases are often used for "problem" sites that -require most actions to be disabled in order to function properly. +# Don't filter code! +# +{ -filter } +/.*cvs +.sourceforge.net + +The actual default.action is of course more comprehensive, but we hope this +example made clear how it works. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -4.5. The Filter File +8.7.2. user.action + +So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies, which +would be a reasonable starting point for many people. Now, you'd maybe want to +be more specific and have customized rules that are more suitable to your +personal habits and preferences. These would be for narrowly defined situations +like your ISP or your bank, and should be placed in user.action, which is +parsed after all other actions files and hence has the last word, over-riding +any previously defined actions. user.action is also a safe place for your +personal settings, since default.action is actively maintained by the Privoxy +developers and you'll probably want to install updated versions from time to +time. + +So let's look at a few examples of things that one might typically do in +user.action: + +# My user.action file. + +As aliases are local to the actions file that they are defined in, you can't +use the ones from default.action, unless you repeat them here: + +# (Re-)define aliases for this file: +# +{{alias}} +-crunch-all-cookies = -crunch-incoming-cookies -crunch-outgoing-cookies +mercy-for-cookies = -crunch-all-cookies -session-cookies-only +fragile = -block -crunch-all-cookies -filter -fast-redirects -hide-referer -kill-popups +shop = mercy-for-cookies -filter{popups} -kill-popups +allow-ads = -block -filter{banners-by-size} # (see below) + +Say you have accounts on some sites that you visit regularly, and you don't +want to have to log in manually each time. So you'd like to allow persistent +cookies for these sites. The mercy-for-cookies alias defined above does exactly +that, i.e. it disables crunching of cookies in any direction, and processing of +cookies to make them temporary. + +{ mercy-for-cookies } +sunsolve.sun.com +slashdot.org +.yahoo.com +.msdn.microsoft.com +.redhat.com + +Your bank needs popups and is allergic to some filter, but you don't know +which, so you disable them all: + +{ -filter -kill-popups } +.your-home-banking-site.com + +While browsing the web with Privoxy you noticed some ads that sneaked through, +but you were too lazy to report them through our fine and easy feedback system, +so you have added them here: + +{ +block } +www.a-popular-site.com/some/unobvious/path +another.popular.site.net/more/junk/here/ + +Note that, assuming the banners in the above example have regular image +extensions (most do), +handle-as-image need not be specified, since all URLs +ending in these extensions will already have been tagged as images in the +relevant section of default.action by now. + +Then you noticed that the default configuration breaks Forbes Magazine, but you +were too lazy to find out which action is the culprit, and you were again too +lazy to give feedback, so you just used the fragile alias on the site, and -- +whoa! -- it worked: + +{ fragile } +.forbes.com + +You like the "fun" text replacements in default.filter, but it is disabled in +the distributed actions file. (My colleagues on the team just don't have a +sense of humour, that's why! ;-). So you'd like to turn it on in your private, +update-safe config, once and for all: + +{ +filter{fun} } +/ # For ALL sites! + +Note that the above is not really a good idea: There are exceptions to the +filters in default.action for things that really shouldn't be filtered, like +code on CVS->Web interfaces. Since user.action has the last word, these +exceptions won't be valid for the "fun" filtering specified here. + +Finally, you might think about how your favourite free websites are funded, and +find that they rely on displaying banner advertisements to survive. So you +might want to specifically allow banners for those sites that you feel provide +value to you: + +{ allow-ads } +.sourceforge.net +.slashdot.org +.osdn.net + +Note that allow-ads has been aliased to -block -filter{banners-by-size} above. -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. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -This is potentially a very powerful feature, and requires knowledge of both -"regular expression" and HTML in order create custom filters. But, there are a -number of useful filters included with Privoxy for many common situations. +9. The Filter File -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". +All text substitutions that can be invoked through the filter action must first +be defined in the filter file, which is typically called default.filter and +which can be selected through the filterfile config option. -This file uses regular expressions to alter or remove any string in the target -page. The expressions can only operate on one line at a time. Some examples -from the included default default.filter: +Typical reasons for doing such substitutions are to eliminate common annoyances +in HTML and JavaScript, such as pop-up windows, exit consoles, crippled windows +without navigation tools, the infamous tag etc, to suppress images with +certain width and height attributes (standard banner sizes or web-bugs), or +just to have fun. The possibilities are endless. -Stop web pages from displaying annoying messages in the status bar by deleting -such references: +Filtering works on any text-based document type, including plain text, HTML, +JavaScript, CSS etc. (all text/* MIME types). Substitutions are made at the +source level, so if you want to "roll your own" filters, you should be familiar +with HTML syntax. - FILTER: html-annoyances +Just like the actions files, the filter file is organized in sections, which +are called filters here. Each filter consists of a heading line, that starts +with the keyword FILTER:, followed by the filter's name, and a short (one line) +description of what it does. Below that line come the jobs, i.e. lines that +define the actual text substitutions. By convention, the name of a filter +should describe what the filter eliminates. The comment is used in the +web-based user interface. - # 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 +Once a filter called name has been defined in the filter file, it can be +invoked by using an action of the form +filter{name} in any actions file. - # The tag was a crime! - # - s*|**ig +A filter header line for a filter called "foo" could look like this: - # Is this evil? - # - #s/framespacing="?(no|0)"?//ig - #s/margin(height|width)=[0-9]*//gi - +FILTER: foo Replace all "foo" with "bar" -Just for kicks, replace any occurrence of "Microsoft" with "MicroSuck", and -have a little fun with topical buzzwords: +Below that line, and up to the next header line, come the jobs that define what +text replacements the filter executes. They are specified in a syntax that +imitates Perl's s/// operator. If you are familiar with Perl, you will find +this to be quite intuitive, and may want to look at the PCRS man page for the +subtle differences to Perl behaviour. Most notably, the non-standard option +letter U is supported, which turns the default to ungreedy matching. - FILTER: fun +If you are new to regular expressions, you might want to take a look at the +Appendix on regular expressions, and see the Perl manual for the s/// +operator's syntax and Perl-style regular expressions in general. The below +examples might also help to get you started. - s/microsoft(?!.com)/MicroSuck/ig +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - # Buzzword Bingo: - # - s/industry-leading|cutting-edge|award-winning/BINGO!/ig - +9.1. Filter File Tutorial + +Now, let's complete our "foo" filter. We have already defined the heading, but +the jobs are still missing. Since all it does is to replace "foo" with "bar", +there is only one (trivial) job needed: + +s/foo/bar/ + +But wait! Didn't the comment say that all occurrences of "foo" should be +replaced? Our current job will only take care of the first "foo" on each page. +For global substitution, we'll need to add the g option: + +s/foo/bar/g + +Our complete filter now looks like this: + +FILTER: foo Replace all "foo" with "bar" +s/foo/bar/g + +Let's look at some real filters for more interesting examples. Here you see a +filter that protects against some common annoyances that arise from JavaScript +abuse. Let's look at its jobs one after the other: + +FILTER: js-annoyances Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse + +# Get rid of JavaScript referrer tracking. Test page: http://www.randomoddness.com/untitled.htm +# +s|()|$1"Not Your Business!"$2|Usg + +Following the header line and a comment, you see the job. Note that it uses | +as the delimiter instead of /, because the pattern contains a forward slash, +which would otherwise have to be escaped by a backslash (\). + +Now, let's examine the pattern: it starts with the text tag. + +That's more than we want, but the pattern continues: document\.referrer matches +only the exact string "document.referrer". The dot needed to be escaped, i.e. +preceded by a backslash, to take away its special meaning as a joker, and make +it just a regular dot. So far, the meaning is: Match from the start of the +first . You already know what .* means, so the whole +pattern translates to: Match from the start of the first " tag. Furthermore, the s +option says that the match may span multiple lines in the page, and the g +option again means that the substitution is global. + +So, to summarize, the pattern means: Match all scripts that contain the text +"document.referrer". Remember the parts of the script from (and including) the +start tag up to (and excluding) the string "document.referrer" as $1, and the +part following that string, up to and including the closing tag, as $2. + +Now the pattern is deciphered, but wasn't this about substituting things? So +lets look at the substitute: $1"Not Your Business!"$2 is easy to read: The text +remembered as $1, followed by "Not Your Business!" (including the quotation +marks!), followed by the text remembered as $2. This produces an exact copy of +the original string, with the middle part (the "document.referrer") replaced by +"Not Your Business!". + +The whole job now reads: Replace "document.referrer" by "Not Your Business!" +wherever it appears inside a