This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.47 2002/03/11 13:13:27 swa Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.48 2002/03/12 06:33:01 hal9 Exp $
Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
IJBSWA team. http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net
<artheader>
<title>Junkbuster User Manual</title>
-<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.47 2002/03/11 13:13:27 swa Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.48 2002/03/12 06:33:01 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
<authorgroup>
<author>
features currently under development:
</para>
+<!--
+ The section is in both user-manual and faq. Please keep in sync.
+-->
<para>
<itemizedlist>
and filter effects.
</para>
</listitem>
-
+<!--
<listitem>
<para>
Modularized configuration that will allow for system wide settings, and
individual user settings. (not implemented yet, probably a 3.1 feature)
</para>
</listitem>
-
+-->
<listitem>
<para>
Blocking of annoying pop-up browser windows.
<para>
<application>JunkBuster</application> can be reached by the special
URL <ulink url="http://i.j.b/">http://i.j.b/</ulink> (or alternately
- <ulink url="http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/">http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/</ulink>,
+ <ulink url="http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/">http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/config/</ulink>),
which is an internal page. You will see the following section:
</para>
</para>
<para>
- Indicates that the blockfile is named <quote>blocklist.ini</quote>.
+ Indicates that the blockfile is named <quote>blocklist.ini</quote>. (A
+ default installation does not use this.)
</para>
<para>
are not saved to disk). Pop-ups are disabled for all sites. All sites are
filtered through selected sections of <quote>re_filterfile</quote>. No sites
are blocked. The JunkBuster logo is displayed for filtered ads and other
- images . The syntax of this file is explained in detail <link
- linkend="actionsfile">below</link>.
+ images. The syntax of this file is explained in detail <link
+ linkend="actionsfile">below</link>. Other <quote>actions</quote> files
+ are included, and you are free to use any of them. They have varying
+ degrees of aggressiveness.
</para>
<para>
<para>
It is <emphasis>highly recommended</emphasis> that you enable ERROR
- reporting (debug 8192), at least until the next stable release.
+ reporting (debug 8192), at least until v3.0 is released.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
+<!--
See the FAQ for instructions on how to automate the login procedure for LPWA.
+-->
Some users have reported difficulties related to LPWA's use of
<quote>.</quote> as the last element of the domain, and have said that this
can be fixed with this:
<para>
Also, we're told they insist on getting cookies and JavaScript, so you should
- add home.com to the cookie file. We consider JavaScript a security risk.
+ allow cookies from home.com. We consider JavaScript a potential security risk.
Java need not be enabled.
</para>
<application>Junkbuster</application> takes, and thus determines how images,
cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are
handled. Images can be anything you want, including ads, banners, or just
- some obnoxious image that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted
+ some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted
or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e.
not written to disk). Changes to <filename>ijb.action</filename> should
be immediately visible to <application>Junkbuster</application> without
the need to restart.
</para>
+<para>
+ The easiest way to edit <quote>actions</quote> file is with a browser by
+ loading <ulink url="http://i.j.b/">http://i.j.b/</ulink>, and then select
+ <quote>Edit Actions List</quote>. A text editor can also be used.
+</para>
+
<para>
To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the request is
compared to all patterns in this file. Every time it matches, the list of
url="http://i.j.b/show-url-info">http://i.j.b/show-url-info</ulink>.
</para>
-<para>
- The actions file can be edited with a browser by loading
- <ulink url="http://i.j.b/">http://i.j.b/</ulink>, and then select
- <quote>Edit Actions</quote>.
-</para>
<para>
There are four types of lines in this file: comments (begin with a
<listitem>
<para>
- Block this URL totally.
+ Block this URL totally. In a default installation, a <quote>blocked</quote>
+ URL will result in bright red banner that says <quote>BLOCKED</quote>,
+ with a reason why it is being blocked.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
<listitem>
<para>
Treat this URL as an image. This only matters if it's also <quote>+block</quote>ed,
- in which case a <quote>blocked</quote> image can be sent rather than a HTML page.
- See <quote>+image-blocker{}</quote> below for the control over what is actually sent.
+ in which case a <quote>blocked</quote> image can be sent rather than a HTML page.
+ See <quote>+image-blocker{}</quote> below for the control over what is actually sent.
+ If you want <emphasis>invisible</emphasis> ads, they should be defined as
+ <emphasis>images</emphasis> and <emphasis>blocked</emphasis>. And also,
+ <quote>image-blocker</quote> should be set to <quote>blank</quote>.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
</literal>
</para>
+<para>
+ Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to
+ misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways
+ a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header
+ content he may depend on. There is no way to have hard and fast rules
+ for all sites. See the <link linkend="ACTIONSANAT">Appendix</link>
+ for a brief example on troubleshooting actions.
+
+</para>
+
</sect3>
<!-- ~ End section ~ -->
The URLs listed below are the special ones that allow direct access
to <application>JunkBuster</application>. Of course,
<application>JunkBuster</application> must be running to access these. If
- not, you will get a friendly error message.
-
+ not, you will get a friendly error message. Internet access is not
+ necessary either.
</para>
<para>
</sect2>
+
+<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
+<sect2 id="actionsanat">
+<title>Anatomy of an Action</title>
+
+<para>
+ The way <application>Junkbuster</application> applies <quote>actions</quote>
+ to any given URL can be complex, and not always so easy to understand what
+ is happening. And sometimes we need to be able to <emphasis>see</emphasis>
+ just what <application>Junkbuster</application> is doing. Especially,
+ if something <application>Junkbuster</application> is doing is causing
+ us a problem inadvertantly. It can be a little daunting to look at
+ the actions files themselves, since they tend to be filled with
+ <quote>regular expressions</quote> whose consequences are not always
+ so obvious.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ First, you enter one URL (or partial URL), and this page will tell you how
+ the currently configured <application>Junkbuster</application>
+ <quote>actions</quote> are being applied to that specific URL. This will not
+ help with filtering effects from the <filename>re_filterfile</filename>! It
+ also will not tell you about any other URLs that may be embedded within the
+ URL you are testing. For instance, images such as ads are expressed as URLs
+ within the raw page source of HTML pages. So you will only get info for the
+ actual URL that is pasted into the prompt area -- not any sub-URLs. If you
+ want to know about embedded URLs like ads, you will have to dig those out of
+ the HTML source. Use your browser's <quote>View Page Source</quote> option
+ for this.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Let's look at an example, <ulink url="http://google.com">google.com</ulink>,
+ one section at a time:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+ System default actions:
+
+ { -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects -filter
+ -hide-forwarded -hide-from -hide-referer -hide-user-agent -image
+ -image-blocker -limit-connect -no-compression -no-cookies-keep
+ -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set -no-popups -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ This is the top section, and only tells us of the compiled in defaults. This
+ is basically what <application>Junkbuster</application> would do if there
+ were not any <quote>actions</quote> defined, i.e. it does nothing. Every action
+ is disabled. This is not particularly informative for our purposes here. OK,
+ next section:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+
+ Matches for http://google.com:
+
+ { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression
+ +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups
+ -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+ /
+
+ { -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set }
+ .google.com
+
+ { -fast-redirects }
+ .google.com
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ This is much more informative, and tells us how we have defined our
+ <quote>actions</quote>, and which ones match for our example,
+ <quote>google.com</quote>. The first grouping shows our default
+ settings, which would apply to all URLs. If you look at your <quote>actions</quote>
+ file, this would be the section just below the <quote>aliases</quote> section
+ near the top. This applies to all URLs as signified by the single forward
+ slash -- <quote>/</quote>.
+
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ These are the default actions we have enabled. But we can define additional
+ actions that would be exceptions to these general rules, and then list
+ specific URLs that these exceptions would apply to. Last match wins.
+ Just below this then are two explict matches for <quote>.google.com</quote>.
+ The first is negating our various cookie blocking actions (i.e. we will allow
+ cookies here). The second is allowing <quote>fast-redirects</quote>. Note
+ that there is a leading dot here -- <quote>.google.com</quote>. This will
+ match any hosts and sub-domains, in the google.com domain also, such as
+ <quote>www.google.com</quote>. So, apparently, we have these actions defined
+ somewhere in the lower part of our actions file, and
+ <quote>google.com</quote> is referenced in these sections.
+
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ And now we pull it altogether in the bottom section and summarize how
+ <application>Junkbuster</application> is appying all its <quote>actions</quote>
+ to <quote>google.com</quote>:
+
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+
+ Final results:
+
+ -add-header -block -deanimate-gifs -downgrade -fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} -limit-connect +no-compression
+ -no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups -vanilla-wafer
+ -wafer
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Now another example, <quote>ad.doubleclick.net</quote>:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+
+ { +block +image }
+ .ad.doubleclick.net
+
+ { +block +image }
+ ad*.
+
+ { +block +image }
+ .doubleclick.net
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ We'll just show the interesting part here, the explicit matches. It is
+ matched three different times. Each as an <quote>+block +image</quote>,
+ which is the expanded form of one of our aliases that had been defined as:
+ <quote>+imageblock</quote>. (<quote>Aliases</quote> are defined in the
+ first section of the actions file and typically used to combine more
+ than one action.)
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Any one of these would have done the trick and blocked this as an unwanted
+ image. This is unnecessarily redundant since the last case effectively
+ would also cover the first. No point in taking chances with these guys
+ though ;-) Note that if you want an ad or obnoxious
+ URL to be invisible, it should be defined as <quote>ad.doubleclick.net</quote>
+ is done here -- as both a <quote>+block</quote> <emphasis>and</emphasis> an
+ <quote>+image</quote>. The custom alias <quote>+imageblock</quote> does this
+ for us.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ One last example. Let's try <quote>http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/</quote>.
+ This one is giving us problems. We are getting a blank page. Hmmm...
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+
+ Matches for http://www.rhapsodyk.net/adsl/HOWTO/:
+
+ { -add-header -block +deanimate-gifs -downgrade +fast-redirects
+ +filter{html-annoyances} +filter{js-annoyances} +filter{no-popups}
+ +filter{webbugs} +filter{nimda} +filter{banners-by-size} +filter{hal}
+ +filter{fun} +hide-forwarded +hide-from{block} +hide-referer{forge}
+ -hide-user-agent -image +image-blocker{blank} +no-compression
+ +no-cookies-keep -no-cookies-read -no-cookies-set +no-popups
+ -vanilla-wafer -wafer }
+ /
+
+ { +block +image }
+ /ads
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Ooops, the <quote>/adsl/</quote> is matching <quote>/ads</quote>! But
+ we did not want this at all! Now we see why we get the blank page. We could
+ now add a new action below this that explictly does <emphasis>not</emphasis>
+ block (-block) pages with <quote>adsl</quote>. There are various ways to
+ handle such exceptions. Example:
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ <screen>
+
+ { -block }
+ /adsl
+
+ </screen>
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Now the page displays ;-)
+
+</para>
+
+</sect2>
+
</sect1>
<!--
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 1.48 2002/03/12 06:33:01 hal9
+ Catching up to Andreas and re_filterfile changes.
+
Revision 1.47 2002/03/11 13:13:27 swa
correct feedback channels
projects / privoxy.git / commitdiff