Anyone that is interested in security, privacy, or in - finer-grained control over their web and Internet experience. - Everyone is encouraged to try Privoxy. -
Privoxy is certainly a good choice, especially for those who want more - control and security. Those that have the ability to fine-tune their installation - will benefit the most. One of Privoxy's - strength's 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, - IP (Internet - Protocol), 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. -
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.
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 - (and is) 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. -
Though outdated, Junkbusters Corporation - continues to offer their original version of the Internet - Junkbuster, so publishing our - Junkbuster-derived software under the same name - led to confusion.
There are also potential legal complications from our use of the - Junkbuster name, which is a registered trademark of - Junkbusters Corporation. - 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 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. All the old features remain. - The new Privoxy still blocks ads and banners, - still manages cookies, and still - helps protect your privacy. But, these have all been greatly enhanced, and many, - many new features have been added, all in the same vein. -
Privoxy's new features include:
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", JavaScript and HTML annoyances, - pop-up windows, header manipulation, 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 - 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. -
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.)
No, not really. The default installation should give you a good starting - point, and block most ads and unwanted content. Many of - the more advanced features are off by default, and would 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 would - 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 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 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. -
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 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. - Privoxy really is free - in every respect! -
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.
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 would be better to choose one software or the other and work a little to - tweak its configuration to your liking.
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.
We, of course, welcome donations and could use money for domain registering, - buying software to test Privoxy 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.
If you are a vendor of a web-related software like a browser, web server - or proxy, and would like us to ensure that Privoxy - runs smoothly with your product, you might consider supplying us with a - copy or license. We can't, however, guarantee that we will fix all potential - compatibility issues as a result.
+ 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. +
++ We are currently offering the following sponsor levels as an + experiment: +
++ Logo shown at the bottom of the Privoxy + homepage. Logo, link and self description on the sponsor + page. +
++ Logo shown randomly at the bottom of the Privoxy + homepage. Logo, link and self description on the sponsor + page. +
++ Logo and link on the sponsor + page. +
++ The logo sizes depend on the sponsor level. Logos are served from + our server, no requests are made to the sponsor website unless the + links are being used. +
++ The details may change over time but changes will only affect new + sponsors (or existing sponsors that explicitly agreed to the + changes). +
++ If you want to become a sponsor, please contact Fabian Keil. New + sponsors are only accepted if no developer objects. +
+