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- # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config - - |
An init script is provided for SuSE and Redhat.
Please see the section Contacting the + Developers on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get + help. +For for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy! +
4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking
For RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
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.If no configuration file is specified on the command line, +> + 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 recommended.
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. And the more likely that some things + may not work as 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 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, +> to perform + some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell Privoxy will fail to start.
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 to take some "actions" files. These - are where various cookie actions are defined, ad and banner blocking, - and other aspects of "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. The + actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.
When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more + of the sections as defined in Privoxy's configuration, + or not. If so, then Privoxy configuration. There - are several such files included, with varying levels of aggressiveness.
will perform the + respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web + pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will + use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the + original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an 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. Privoxy can deal with each URL individually, so, for + instance, the main page text is not touched, but images from such-and-such + server are blocked.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 +> The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image, default.action and disable this feature. If you use more - than one browser, it would make more sense to let - handle-as-empty-document,and + set-image-blocker:
block - this is perhaps + the single most used action, and is particularly important for ad blocking. + 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 and sends + Privoxy handle this. In which case, the browser(s) - should be set to accept all cookies.
's own built-in BLOCKED page instead to + let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below). +handle-as-image - + tells Privoxy is HTTP/1.1 compliant, but not all 1.1 - features are as yet implemented. If browsers that support HTTP/1.1 (like - to treat this URL as an image. + 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 Privoxy's default configuration already does this + for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this + is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly + important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of + some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the + Privoxy BLOCKED page (which would only result in + a "+downgrade" config option in - default.action.
"broken image" icon). There are some limitations to this + though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for + an entire HTML page in most situations. +handle-as-empty-document - + sends an empty document instead of Privoxy's + normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither + HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files. +
After running set-image-blocker - tells + 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 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 match an + handle-as-image action. +
The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are: +
pattern - a checkerboard 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 "edit the actions list". - (This is an internal page and does not require Internet access.)"invisible" configuration option. + http://<URL> - A redirect to any image anywhere + of the user's choosing (advanced usage). + In fact, various aspects of
Advanced users will eventually want to explore Privoxy - configuration can be viewed from this page, including - current configuration parameters, source code version numbers, - the browser's request headers, and filters as well. Filters + are very different from blocks. + A "actions" that apply - to a given URL. In addition to the default.action file - editor mentioned above, Privoxy can also - be turned "block" blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented. Filters + are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the page. An example + filter usage: a text replacement of "on" and "no-no" for + "off" from this page.
"nasty-word". That is a very simple example. This process can be + used for ad blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has + some pitfalls to be wary off.If you encounter problems, please verify it is a - The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through + the special Privoxy bug, by disabling - 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.
Note that as of 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 3.0.7 beta the + action editor is disabled by default. Check the + Appendix. If a bug, please report it - to the developers (see below).
4.1. Command Line Options
enable-edit-actions + section in the configuration file to learn why and in which + cases it's safe to enable again.If you decided to enable the action editor, 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 may be invoked with the following - command-line options:
will detect these changes automatically.A quick and simple step by step example:
--version -
Print version info and exit, Unix only. -
Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select + "Copy Link Location" from the + pop-up menu. +--help Set your browser to + http://config.privoxy.org/show-status -
Print a short usage info and exit, Unix only. -
--no-daemon -
Find user.action in the top section, and click + on "Edit": +Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group - leader, don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. -
- - option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. -
--user USER[.GROUP] You should have a section with only + block listed under + "Actions:". + If not, click a "Insert new section below" - + button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the + Edit button right 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.
After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of - USER, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the - privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only. +> 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" (or + "OK" if in a pop-up window).
configfile Now go back to the original page, and press SHIFT-Reload -
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. + (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. + The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.
There are also various + filters that can be used for ad blocking + (filters are a special subset of actions). These + fall into the "advanced" usage category, and are explained in + depth in later sections.