+ 4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy +
++
+-
+
-
+
+ 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 (SSL) proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address + of 127.0.0.1 and port 8118. DO NOT activate proxying for FTP or any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) + unless you intend to prevent your browser from using these + protocols. +
+
+ -
+
+ Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached + ad images. If using Privoxy to + manage cookies, you should remove any currently stored + cookies too. +
+
+ -
+
+ 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, you may want to enable the web-based action + editor though. Be sure to read the warnings first. +
++ See the Configuration section + for more configuration options, and how to customize your + installation. You might also want to look at the next section for a + quick introduction to how Privoxy blocks ads and banners. +
+
+ -
+
+ If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are + blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune Privoxy's behavior, 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 "Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an + Action" has hints on how to understand and debug + actions that "misbehave". +
+
+ -
+
+ Please see the section Contacting the + Developers on how to report bugs, problems with websites or + to get help. +
+
+ -
+
+ Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy! +
+
+
+ 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 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 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. 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 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. +
++ The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: block, handle-as-image, 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's own built-in BLOCKED page + instead to let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, + see below). +
+
+ -
+
+ handle-as-image - + tells Privoxy to treat this + URL as an image. 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 "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. +
+
+ -
+
+ 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 + 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 "invisible" configuration option. + ++ +
++ + ++ http://<URL> - A redirect to + any image anywhere of the user's choosing (advanced + usage). + +
+
+ Advanced users will eventually want to explore Privoxy filters as well. Filters are + very different from blocks. A "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 "no-no" for "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. +
++ 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. +
++ Note that as of Privoxy 3.0.7 beta + the action editor is disabled by default. Check the 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 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": +
++
+ +
+ -
+
+ 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. +
+
+ -
+
+ 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). +
+
+ -
+
+ 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. 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. +
+