5. Starting Privoxy
Before launching Privoxy for the first time, you - will want to configure your browser(s) to use - Privoxy as a HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) - proxy. The default is - 127.0.0.1 (or localhost) for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions - used port 8000). This is the one configuration step that must be done!
Please note that Privoxy can only proxy HTTP and - HTTPS traffic. It will not work with FTP or other protocols.
-
- With Firefox, this is typically set under:
Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Network ->Connection -> Settings
- Or optionally on some platforms:
Edit -> Preferences -> General -> Connection Settings -> Manual Proxy Configuration
- With Netscape (and - Mozilla), this can be set under:
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy
For Internet Explorer v.5-7:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings
Then, check "Use Proxy" and fill in the appropriate info - (Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include HTTPS (SSL), if you want HTTPS - proxy support too (sometimes labeled "Secure"). Make sure any - checkboxes like "Use the same proxy server for all protocols" is - UNCHECKED. You want only HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)!
-
After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a - re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. Remove - any cookies, - if you want Privoxy to manage that. You are now - ready to start enjoying the benefits of using - Privoxy!
Privoxy itself is typically started by specifying the - main configuration file to be used on the command line. If no configuration - file is specified on the command line, Privoxy - will look for a file named config in the current - directory. Except on Win32 where it will try config.txt.
5.1. Red Hat and Fedora
A default Red Hat installation may not start Privoxy upon boot. It will use - the file /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration - file.
# /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start |
Or ...
# service privoxy start |
5.2. Debian
We use a script. Note that Debian typically starts Privoxy upon booting per - default. It will use the file - /etc/privoxy/config as its main configuration - file.
# /etc/init.d/privoxy start |
5.3. Windows
Click on the Privoxy Icon to start Privoxy. If no configuration file is - specified on the command line, Privoxy will look - for a file named config.txt. Note that Windows will - automatically start Privoxy when the system starts if you chose that option - when installing.
Privoxy can run with full Windows service functionality. - On Windows only, the Privoxy program has two new command line arguments - to install and uninstall Privoxy as a service. See the - Windows Installation - instructions for details.
5.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX and others
Example Unix startup command:
# /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config |
5.5. OS/2
During installation, Privoxy is configured to - start automatically when the system restarts. You can start it manually by - double-clicking on the Privoxy icon in the - Privoxy folder.
5.6. Mac OS X
After downloading the privoxy software, unzip the downloaded file by - double-clicking on the zip file icon. Then, double-click on the - installer package icon and follow the installation process.
The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful - installation. In addition, the privoxy service will automatically - start every time your computer starts up.
To prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your - computer starts up, remove or rename the folder named - /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.
A simple application named Privoxy Utility has been created which - enables administrators to easily start and stop the privoxy service.
In addition, the Privoxy Utility presents a simple way for - administrators to edit the various privoxy config files. A method - to uninstall the software is also available.
An administrator username and password must be supplied in order for - the Privoxy Utility to perform any of the tasks.
5.7. AmigaOS
Start Privoxy (with RUN <>NIL:) in your - startnet script (AmiTCP), in - s:user-startup (RoadShow), as startup program in your - startup script (Genesis), or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx). - Privoxy will automatically quit when you quit your - TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that - Privoxy is still running).
5.8. Gentoo
A script is again used. It will use the file /etc/privoxy/config - as its main configuration file.
/etc/init.d/privoxy start - |
Note that Privoxy is not automatically started at - boot time by default. You can change this with the rc-update - command.
-
rc-update add privoxy default - |
5.9. Command Line Options
Privoxy may be invoked with the following - command-line options:
--version -
Print version info and exit. Unix only. -
--help -
Print short usage info and exit. Unix only. -
--no-daemon -
Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group - leader, and don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. -
--pidfile FILE -
On startup, write the process ID to FILE. Delete the - FILE on exit. Failure to create or delete the - FILE is non-fatal. If no FILE - option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. -
--user USER[.GROUP] -
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. -
--chroot -
Before changing to the user ID given in the --user option, - chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the Privoxy - process that the directory tree starts there. If set up carefully, this can limit - the impact of possible vulnerabilities in Privoxy to the files contained in that hierarchy. - Unix only. -
--pre-chroot-nslookup hostname -
Specifies a hostname to look up before doing a chroot. On some systems, initializing the - resolver library involves reading config files from /etc and/or loading additional shared - libraries from /lib. On these systems, doing a hostname lookup before the chroot reduces - the number of files that must be copied into the chroot tree. -
For fastest startup speed, a good value is a hostname that is not in /etc/hosts but that - your local name server (listed in /etc/resolv.conf) can resolve without recursion - (that is, without having to ask any other name servers). The hostname need not exist, - but if it doesn't, an error message (which can be ignored) will be output. -
configfile -
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. If no config file is found, - Privoxy will fail to start. -
On MS Windows only there are two additional - command-line options to allow Privoxy to install and - run as a service. See the -Window Installation section -for details.
