- 4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy -
--
+ +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:
+-
-
- Install Privoxy. See the Installation Section below for - platform specific information. -
+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.
+
-
-
- 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. -
+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.
+
-
-
- Start Privoxy, if the - installation program has not done this already (may vary - according to platform). See the section Starting Privoxy. -
+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:
+ +-
-
- 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. -
+Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select + "Copy Link + Location" from the pop-up menu.
+
-
-
- 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. -
+Set your browser to http://config.privoxy.org/show-status
+
-
-
- 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. -
+Find user.action in the top section, + and click on "Edit":
+ +
+
-
-
- 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". -
+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.
+
-
-
- Please see the section Contacting the - Developers on how to report bugs, problems with websites or - to get help. -
+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 enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy! -
+Now go back to the original page, and press SHIFT-Reload (or flush all browser caches). The image + should be gone now.
- 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. -
--
| - Prev - | -- Home - | -- Next - | -
| - What's New in this Release - | -- - | -- Starting Privoxy - | -
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.