The original Internet - Junkbuster™ (tm) is a copyrighted product of Junkbusters Corporation. - Development of this effort stopped some time ago as of version 2.0.2. Stefan - Waldherr started the ijbswa project on Sourceforge to - rekindle development. Other developers subsequently joined with Stefan, and - have since added many new features, refinements and enhancements. The result - of this effort is Privoxy. -
Privoxy has evolved from the - Junkbuster 2.0.2 code base, and has advanced - significantly at this point. -
- Please see the History section for more - information on the history of Junkbuster and - Privoxy. -
Privoxy is the - "Privacy Enhancing Proxy".
There are potential legal complications from the continued use of the - Junkbuster name, which is a registered trademark of - Junkbusters Corporation. - And thus they "own" the rights to the name. - (There are, however, no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the - Privoxy 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 - code, that it was time to make a clean break from the past and make - a name in their own right, especially now with the pending - release of version 3.0.
Privoxy picks up where - Junkbuster left off. All the old features remain. - The new 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 you are upgrading from - Junkbuster 2.0.x. The "blocklist" - file does not exist any more. This is replaced by "actions" - files, such as default.actions. This is where most of - the per site configuration is now. -
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. -
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 idividual user settings. -
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. -
Improved cookie management features (e.g. session based cookies). -
GIF de-animation. -
Bypass many click-tracking scripts (avoids script redirection). -
Multi-threaded (POSIX and native threads). -
User-customizable HTML templates for all proxy-generated pages (e.g. "blocked" page). -
Auto-detection and re-reading of config file changes. -
Improved signal handling, and a true daemon mode (Unix). -
Every feature now controllable on a per-site or per-location basis, configuration - more powerful and versatile over-all. -
Many smaller new features added, limitations and bugs removed, and security holes fixed. -
When you connect to a web site with Privoxy, - you are really connecting to your locally running version of - Privoxy. Privoxy - intercepts your requests for the web page, and relays that to the - "real" web site. The web site sends the HTTP data stream - back to Privoxy, where - Privoxy can work its magic before it - relays this data back to your web browser. -
Since Privoxy sits between you and the - WWW, it is in a position to intercept and completely manage all web traffic and - HTTP content before it gets to your browser. - Privoxy uses various programming methods to do - this, all of which is under your control via the various configuration - files and options. -
There are many kinds of proxies. Privoxy best - fits the "filtering proxy" category. -
Privoxy processes all the raw content of every - web page. So it reads everything on each page. It then compares this to the - rules as set up in the configuration files, and looks for any matches to - these rules. Privoxy makes heavy use of - "regular expressions". (If you are not familiar with regular - expressions, it is explained briefly in the user manual.) Regular - expressions facilitate matching of one text string against another, using - wildcards to build complex patterns. So Privoxy - will typically look for URLs and other content that match certain key words - and expressions as defined in the configuration files. For instance a URL - that contains "/banners", has a high probability of containing - ad banners, and thus would be a prime candidate to have a matching rule.
So Privoxy will look for these kinds of obvious - looking culprits. And also, will use lists of known organizations that - specialize in ads. Again, using complex patterns to match as many potential - combinations as possible since there tend to be many, many variations used by - advertisers, and new ones are being introduced all the time.
Actually, it's a black art ;-) And yes, it is always possible to have a broad rule - accidentally block something by mistake. There is a good chance you may run - into such a situation at some point. It is tricky writing rules to cover - every conceivable possibility, and not occasionally get false positives.
But this should not be a big concern since the - Privoxy configuration is very flexible, and - includes tools to help identify these types of situations so they can be - addressed as needed, allowing you to customize your installation. - (See the Troubleshooting section below.)
Modern browsers do indeed have some of the same - functionality as Privoxy. Maybe this is - adequate for you. But Privoxy is much more - versatile and powerful, and can do a number of things that browsers just can't. -
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. - -
Privoxy is licensed under the GNU General Public - License (GPL). It is free to use, copy, modify or distribute as you wish - under the terms of this license. Please see the Copyright section for more information on the - license and copyright. Or the LICENSE file - that should be included. - -
There is no warranty of any kind, expressed, implied or otherwise. That is - something that would cost real money ;-) There is no registration either. - Privoxy really is free - in every respect! - -
We, of course, welcome donations and use the money for domain registering, - regular world-wide get-togethers (hahaha). Anyway, we'll soon describe the - process how to donate money to the team.
Well, helping the team is always a good idea. We welcome new developers, - RPM gurus or documentation makers. Simply get an account on sourceforge.net - and mail your id to the developer mailing list. Then read the - section Quickstart in 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.
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 to web servers directly. The clients then + ask the proxy to request objects (web pages, images, movies etc) on + their behalf and to forward the data to the clients. It is a + "go-between". For details, see Wikipedia's + proxy definition.
+ +There are many reasons to use web proxies, such as security + (firewalling), 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 enhancement, ad and junk elimination and + freeing the user from restrictions placed on his activities. Sitting + between your browser(s) and the Internet, it is in a perfect position + to filter outbound personal information that your browser is leaking, + as well as inbound junk. It uses a variety of techniques to do this, + all of which are under your complete control via the various + configuration 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.
+A long time ago, there was the Internet + Junkbuster, by Anonymous Coders and Junkbusters Corporation. + 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 ads on users, give up autonomy over their + browsing, and for tracking them, keeps evolving. Unfortunately, the + Internet Junkbuster did not. Version + 2.0.2, published in 1998, was the last official release, available from + Junkbusters Corporation. Fortunately, it had been released under the + GNU GPL, which allowed further development by others.
+ +So Stefan Waldherr started maintaining an improved version of the + software, to which eventually a number of people contributed patches. + It could already replace banners with a transparent image, and had a + first version of pop-up killing, but it was still very closely based on + the original, with all its limitations, such as the lack of HTTP/1.1 + support, flexible per-site configuration, or content modification. The + last release from this effort was version 2.0.2-10, published in + 2000.
+ +Then, some developers picked up the thread, and started turning the + software inside out, upside down, and then reassembled it, adding many + new features along the way.
+ +The result of this is Privoxy, + whose first stable version, 3.0, was released August, 2002.
+ +As of 2012 the Junkbusters Corporation's website + (http://www.junkbusters.com/) has been shut down, but Privoxy is still + actively maintained.
+Though outdated, Junkbusters Corporation continued to offer their + original version of the Internet + Junkbuster for a while, so publishing our Junkbuster-derived software under the same name + would have led to confusion.
+ +There were also potential legal reasons not to use the Junkbuster name, as it was (and maybe still is) a + registered trademark of Junkbusters Corporation. There were, however, + no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the Privoxy project itself, and they, in fact, shared + our ideals and goals.
+ +The Privoxy developers also believed that there were 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 picks up where Junkbuster left off. Privoxy still blocks ads and banners, still + manages 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.
+ +Privoxy's new features include:
+ +Supports "Connection: keep-alive". Outgoing connections can be + kept alive independently from the client.
+Supports IPv6, provided the operating system does so too, and + the configure script detects it.
+Supports tagging which allows to change the behaviour based on + client and server headers.
+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 + http://config.privoxy.org/ (shortcut: http://p.p/). Browser-based tracing + of rule and filter effects. Remote toggling.
+Web page filtering (text replacements, removes banners based on + size, invisible "web-bugs" and HTML + annoyances, 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.
+Support for Perl Compatible Regular Expressions in the + configuration files, and a more sophisticated and flexible + configuration syntax.
+GIF de-animation.
+Bypass many click-tracking scripts (avoids script + redirection).
+User-customizable HTML templates for most proxy-generated pages + (e.g. "blocked" page).
+Auto-detection and re-reading of config file changes.
+Most features are controllable on a per-site or per-location + basis.
+Many smaller new features added, limitations and bugs + removed.
+Privoxy's approach to blocking ads + is twofold:
+ +First, there are certain patterns in the locations (URLs) of banner + images. This applies to both the path (you wouldn't guess how many web + sites serve their banners from a directory called "banners"!) and the host (blocking the big banner + hosting services like doublecklick.net already helps a lot). + Privoxy takes advantage of this fact + by using URL patterns 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 sizes. But you can't tell the + size of an image by its URL without downloading it, and if you do, it's + too late to save bandwidth. Therefore, Privoxy also inspects the HTML sources of web + pages while they are loaded, and replaces references to images with + standard banner sizes by dummy references, so that your browser doesn't + request them anymore in the first place.
+ +Both of this involves a certain amount of guesswork and is, of + course, freely and readily configurable.
+Actually, it's a black art ;-) And yes, it is always possible to + have a broad rule accidentally block or change something by mistake. + You will almost surely run into such situations at some point. It is + tricky writing rules to cover every conceivable possibility, and not + occasionally get false positives.
+ +But this should not be a big concern since the Privoxy configuration is very flexible, and + includes tools to help identify these types of situations so they can + be addressed as needed, allowing you to customize your installation. + (See the Troubleshooting section + below.)
+That depends on your expectations. The default installation should + give you a good starting point, and block most ads and unwanted + content, but many of the more advanced features are off by default, and + require you to activate them.
+ +You do have to set up your browser to use Privoxy (see the Installation section below).
+ +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 encourage you to do this. This is where + the real power of Privoxy lies!
+Yes, Privoxy 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.
+Modern browsers do indeed have some of the same functionality as Privoxy. Maybe this is adequate for you. But + Privoxy is very versatile and + powerful, and can probably do a number of things your browser just + can't.
+ +In addition, a proxy is good choice if you use multiple browsers, or + 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 reliably, 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 free software and + licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2. It is free to + use, copy, modify or distribute as you wish under the terms of this + license. Please see the Copyright section + for more information on the license and copyright. Or the LICENSE file that should be included.
+ +There is no + warranty 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 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 or responding to user questions on the mailing + lists.
+ +So first thing, subscribe to the Privoxy Users or the Privoxy Developers mailing list, join the + discussion, help out other users, provide general feedback or report + problems you noticed.
+ +If you intend to help out with the trackers, you also might want + to get an account on SourceForge.net so we don't confuse you + with the other name-less users.
+ +We also have a Developer's Manual. While it is partly out of date, it's + still worth reading.
+ +Our TODO list may be of interest to you as well. Please + let us know if you want to work on one of the items listed.
+Donations are welcome. Our TODO list is rather long and being able to pay one + (or more) developers to work on Privoxy would make a huge difference, + even if it was only for a couple of weeks. Donations may also be used + for Privoxy-related travel expenses (for example to attend + conferences), for hardware used for Privoxy development and for + hosting expenses etc.
+ +Privoxy is an associated project + of Software in the + Public Interest (SPI), which allows us to receive tax-deductible + donations in the United States. If you want to donate through SPI, + please use SPI's donation page to see what the options are.
+ +You can also donate to Privoxy using a bank account or a "Paypal" + address:
+ +
+ Name on account: Zwiebelfreunde
+ e.V.
+ IBAN: DE95430609671126825604
+ BIC: GENODEM1GLS
+ Bank: GLS Bank
+ "Paypal" address: privoxy@zwiebelfreunde.de
+ +Donations made through Zwiebelfreunde e.V. are tax-deductible in + Germany and other countries that recognize German charitable clubs. + Feel free to use the Subject field to provide a name to be credited + and a list of TODO list items you are interested in the most. For + example: Max Mustermann: #16, #1, #14.
+ +Note that donations made through Zwiebelfreunde e.V. currently + can't be checked automatically so you may not get credited right + away. The credits currently reflect donations received before + 2016-01-14.
+ +If you have any questions regarding donations please mail to + either the public user mailing list or, if it's a private matter, to + Fabian Keil + (Privoxy's SPI liaison) directly.
+