Anyone who is interested in security, privacy, or in + finer-grained control over their web and Internet experience. +
Privoxy is certainly a good choice, especially for those who want more + control and security. Those with the willingness to read the documentation + and the ability to fine-tune their installation will benefit the most. +
One of Privoxy's + strengths is that it is highly configurable giving you the ability to + completely personalize your installation. Being familiar with, or at least + having an interest in learning about HTTP and other networking + protocols, HTML, and + "Regular + Expressions" + will be a big plus and will help you get the most out of Privoxy. + A new installation just includes a very basic configuration. The user + should take this as a starting point only, and enhance it as he or she + sees fit. In fact, the user is encouraged, and expected to, fine-tune the + configuration. +
Much of Privoxy's configuration can be done + with a Web browser. + But there are areas where configuration is done using a + text editor + to edit configuration files. Also note that the web-based action editor + doesn't use authentication and should only be enabled in environments + where all clients with access to Privoxy listening port can be trusted. +
A web proxy + is a service, based on a software such as + Privoxy, that clients (i.e. browsers) can use + instead of connecting directly to web servers on the Internet. The + clients then ask the proxy to fetch the objects they need (web pages, + images, movies etc) on their behalf, and when the proxy has done so, it + hands the results back to the client. It is a "go-between". See + the Wikipedia proxy + definition for more. +
There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security (firewalling), + efficiency (caching) and others, and there are any number of proxies + to accommodate those needs. +
Privoxy is a proxy that is primarily focused on privacy + protection, ad and junk elimination and freeing the user from restrictions placed on his + activities. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet, + it is in a perfect position to filter outbound personal information that your + browser is leaking, as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do + this, all of which are under your complete control via the various configuration + files and options. Being a proxy also makes it easier to share + configurations among multiple browsers and/or users. +
+ Yes, ad blocking is but one possible use. There are many, many ways Privoxy + can be used to sanitize and customize web browsing.
In the beginning, there was the +> A long time ago, there was the Junkbusters Corporation. It saved many users a lot of pain in the early days of +>. This saved many users a lot of pain in the early days of web advertising and user tracking.
But the web, its protocols and standards, and with it, the techniques for - forcing users to consume ads, give up autonomy over their browsing, and - for spying on them, kept evolving. Unfortunately, the Internet Junkbuster
Privoxy is the - "Privacy Enhancing Proxy". Also, its content - modification and junk suppression allow you to browse your - "private edition" of the web.
Though outdated, Junkbusters Corporation-derived software under the same name led to confusion.
There are also potential legal complications from the continued use of the +> There are also potential legal complications from our use of the Junkbuster project itself, and they, in fact, still share our ideals and goals.
The developers also believed that there are so many changes from the original +> The developers also believed that there are so many improvements over the original code, that it was time to make a clean break from the past and make a name in their own right.
Privoxy is the + "Privacy Enhancing Proxy". Also, its content + modification and junk suppression gives you, the user, more + control, more freedom, and allows you to browse your personal and + "private edition" of the web.
Privoxy still blocks ads and banners, - still manages cookies, and still helps protect your privacy. But, these are - all enhanced, and many new features have been added, all in the same vein. -
The configuration has changed significantly as well. This is something that - users will notice right off the bat if upgrading from - Junkbuster 2.0.x. The "blocklist" - "cookielist", "imagelist" and much more has been - combined into the "actions" files, with a completely different - syntax. See the note to - upgraders for details.
cookies, and still + helps protect your privacy. But, most of these features have been enhanced, + and many new ones have been added, all in the same vein. + Can be run as an "intercepting" proxy, which obviates the need to
+ configure browsers individually.
+ Sophisticated actions and filters for manipulating both server and client
+ headers.
+ Can be chained with other proxies.
+ Integrated browser based configuration and control utility at Web page content filtering (removes banners based on size,
+> Web page filtering (text replacements, removes banners based on size,
invisible "web-bugs", JavaScript and HTML annoyances, pop-up windows, etc.)
+>, JavaScript and HTML annoyances,
+ pop-up windows, etc.)
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.
+ a more sophisticated and flexible configuration syntax.
A web proxy is a service, based on a software such as Privoxy,
- that clients (i.e. browsers) can use instead of connecting directly to the web
- servers on the Internet. The clients then ask the proxy to fetch the objects
- they need (web pages, images, movies etc) on their behalf, and when the proxy
- has done so, it hands the results back to the client.
- There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security (firewalling),
- efficiency (caching) and others, and there are just as many different proxies
- to accommodate those needs.
- Privoxy is a proxy that is solely focused on privacy
- protection and junk elimination. Sitting between your browser(s) and the Internet,
- it is in a perfect position to filter outbound personal information that your
- browser is leaking, as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do
- this, all of which are under your control via the various configuration
- files and options.
- 1.4. What is a "proxy"? How does
-Privoxy work?
URL patterns to sort out and block the requests for banners.
to sort out and block the requests for things that sound + like they would be ads or banners. Second, banners tend to come in certain Both of this involves a certain amount of guesswork and is, of course, freely
- configurable.
No, not really. The default installation should give you a good starting +> That depends on your expectations. + The default installation should give you a good starting point, and block most unwanted content.
ads and unwanted content, + but many of the more advanced features are off by default, and require + you to activate them.You do have to set up your browser to use + Privoxy (see the Installation section below).
But you will certainly run into situations where there are false positives,
+> And you will certainly run into situations where there are false positives,
or ads not being blocked that you may not want to see. In these cases, you
would certainly benefit by customizing Privoxy's
- configuration to more closely match your individual situation. And we would
+ configuration to more closely match your individual situation. And we
encourage you to do this. This is where the real power of
+ Yes, Privoxy at all? runs as a server already, and can easily be configured to
+ "serve" more than one client. See How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN below.1.8. My browser does the same things as
-Privoxy. Why should I use
-1.11. Can Privoxy run as a server on a network?
Modern browsers do indeed have Privoxy is much more - versatile and powerful, and can do a number of things that browsers just can't. +> is very + versatile and powerful, and can probably do a number of things + your browser just can't.
In addition, a proxy is good choice if you use multiple browsers, or - have a LAN with multiple computers. This way all the configuration - is in one place, and you don't have to maintain a similar configuration - for possibly many browsers. + have a LAN with multiple computers since Privoxy can run as a server + application. This way all the configuration is in one place, and you don't + have to maintain a similar configuration for possibly many browsers or + users. +
Note, however, that it's recommended to leverage both your browser's + and Privoxy's privacy enhancing features + at the same time. While your browser probably lacks some features + Privoxy offers, it should also be able to do some things more + reliable, for example restricting and suppressing JavaScript. +
The most important reason is because you have access to + everything, and you can control everything. You can + check every line of every configuration file yourself. You can check every + last bit of source code should you desire. And even if you can't read code, + there should be some comfort in knowing that other people can, + and do read it. You can build the software from scratch, if you want, + so that you know the executable is clean, and that it is + yours. In fact, we encourage this level of scrutiny. It + is one reason we use Privoxy ourselves.
Privoxy is licensed under the is free software and licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL)GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. It is free to use, copy, modify or distribute as you wish under the terms of this license. Please see the of any kind, expressed, implied or otherwise. That is something that would cost real money ;-) There is no registration either. -
No, at least not reliably enough to trust it. Privoxy really is free - in every respect! -
is not designed to be + a malware removal tool and the default configuration doesn't even try to + filter out any malware.Privoxy could help prevent contact from (known) sites that use such + tactics with appropriate configuration rules, and thus could conceivably + prevent contamination from such sites. However, keeping such a configuration + up to date would require a lot of time and effort that would be better spend + on keeping your software itself up to date so it doesn't have known + vulnerabilities.
Privoxy should work fine with other proxies and other software in general.
But it is probably not necessary to use Privoxy in conjunction with other + ad-blocking products, and this could conceivably cause undesirable results. + It might be better to choose one software or the other and work a little to + tweak its configuration to your liking.
Note that this is an advice specific to ad blocking.
Well, we always need help. There is something for + everybody who wants to help us. We welcome new developers, packagers, + testers, documentation writers or really anyone with a desire to help in + any way. You DO NOT need to be a + "programmer". There are many other tasks available. In fact, + the programmers often can't spend as much time programming because of some + of the other, more mundane things that need to be done, like checking the + Tracker feedback sections. +
So first thing, get an account on SourceForge.net + and mail your id to the developers + mailing list. Then, please read the Developer's Manual, at least + the pertinent sections.
You can also start helping out without SourceForge.net account, + simply by showing up on the mailing list, helping out other users, + providing general feedback or reporting problems you noticed. +
We, of course, welcome donations and could use money for domain registering, @@ -684,10 +966,11 @@ CLASS="APPLICATION" > with, and, of course, for regular world-wide get-togethers (hahaha). If you enjoy the software and feel like helping us with a donation, just drop us a note.
+ and get your name on the list of contributors.If you are a vendor of a web-related software like a browser, web server @@ -707,39 +990,6 @@ CLASS="APPLICATION" copy or license. We can't, however, guarantee that we will fix all potential compatibility issues as a result.
Well, helping the team is always a good idea. We welcome new developers, - packaging gurus or documentation writers. Simply get an account on SourceForge.net - and mail your id to the developers - mailing list. Then read the Developer's Manual.
Once we have added you to the team, you'll have write access to the CVS repository, and - together we'll find a suitable task for you.