From 6978284b9f6911ec04aa34da8d2c6f0b1bdefe6b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: hal9 <hal9@users.sourceforge.net>
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 01:31:48 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Several new Q/A's and other touch ups.
---
doc/source/faq.sgml | 188 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------
1 file changed, 147 insertions(+), 41 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/source/faq.sgml b/doc/source/faq.sgml
index bbbf493e..7f8fa0f1 100644
--- a/doc/source/faq.sgml
+++ b/doc/source/faq.sgml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: faq.sgml,v 1.31 2002/03/26 22:29:55 swa Exp $
+ $Id: faq.sgml,v 1.32 2002/03/27 00:57:03 hal9 Exp $
Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
<artheader>
<title>Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</title>
-<pubdate>$Id: faq.sgml,v 1.31 2002/03/26 22:29:55 swa Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: faq.sgml,v 1.32 2002/03/27 00:57:03 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
<authorgroup>
<author>
@@ -90,13 +90,14 @@ Please see the Contact section in the
copyrighted product of <ulink url="http://www.junkbusters.com">Junkbusters
Corporation</ulink>. Development of this effort stopped some time ago as of
version 2.0.2. Stefan Waldherr started the ijbswa project on <ulink
- url="http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net">Sourceforge</ulink> to rekindle
+ url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa/">Sourceforge</ulink> to rekindle
development. Other developers subsequently joined with Stefan, and have
- since added many new features, refinements and enhancements.
+ since added many new features, refinements and enhancements. The result
+ of this effort is <application>Privoxy</application>.
</para>
<para>
- The new <application>Privoxy</application> started with the same
- <application>Junkbuster</application> code base, but has changed
+ <application>Privoxy</application> started with the same
+ <application>Junkbuster 2.0.2</application> code base, but has advanced
significantly at this point.
</para>
@@ -106,13 +107,16 @@ Please see the Contact section in the
<sect3>
<title id="whyprivoxy">Why <quote>Privoxy</quote>? Why a name change at all?</title>
<para>
- <application>Privoxy</application> is for <quote>Privacy Enhancing Proxy</quote>.
+ <application>Privoxy</application> is the
+ <quote><emphasis>Privacy Enhancing Proxy</emphasis></quote>.
+</para>
+<para>
There are possible legal complications from the continued use of the
<application>Junkbuster</application> name, which is a trademark of
<ulink url="http://junkbusters.com">Junkbusters Corporation</ulink>.
- (There are no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the
- <application>Privoxy</application> project itself though, and they
- in fact still share our ideals and goals.)
+ (There are, however, no objections from Junkbusters Corporation to the
+ <application>Privoxy</application> project itself, and they, in fact, still
+ share our ideals and goals.)
</para>
<para>
@@ -125,12 +129,14 @@ Please see the Contact section in the
</sect3>
-<sect3 id="differs"><title>How does it differ from the old <application>Junkbuster?</application></title>
- <para>
- All the old features remain. The new <application>Privoxy</application>
- still blocks ads and banners, still manages cookies, and still helps protect
- your privacy. But, these are all enhanced, and many new features have been
- added, all in the same vein.
+<sect3 id="differs"><title>How does <application>Privoxy</application> differ
+from the old <application>Junkbuster?</application></title>
+<para>
+ <application>Privoxy</application> picks up where
+ <application>Junkbuster</application> left off. All the old features remain.
+ The new <application>Privoxy</application> still blocks ads and banners,
+ still manages cookies, and still helps protect your privacy. But, these are
+ all enhanced, and many new features have been added, all in the same vein.
</para>
<para>
The configuration has changed significantly as well. This is something that
@@ -277,6 +283,55 @@ Please see the Contact section in the
</sect3>
+
+<sect3>
+<title id="knows">How does <application>Privoxy</application> know what is
+an ad, and what is not?</title>
+<para>
+ <application>Privoxy</application> processes all the raw content of every
+ web page. So it reads everything on each page. It then compares this to the
+ rules as set up in the configuration files, and looks for any matches to
+ these rules. <application>Privoxy</application> makes heavy use of
+ <quote>regular expressions</quote>. (If you are not familiar with regular
+ expressions, it is explained briefly in <ulink
+ url="../user-manual/appendix.html">the user manual</ulink>.) Regular
+ expressions facilitate matching of one text string against another, using
+ wildcards to build complex patterns. So <application>Privoxy</application>
+ will typically look for URLs and other content that match certain key words
+ and expressions as defined in the configuration files. For instance a URL
+ that contains <quote>/banners</quote>, has a high probability of containing
+ ad banners, and thus would be a prime candidate to have a matching rule.
+</para>
+<para>
+ So <application>Privoxy</application> will look for these kinds of obvious
+ looking culprits. And also, will use lists of known organizations that
+ specialize in ads. Again, using complex patterns to match as many potential
+ combinations as possible since there tend to be many, many variations used by
+ advertisers, and new ones are being introduced all the time.
+</para>
+</sect3>
+
+<sect3>
+<title id="mistakes">Can <application>Privoxy</application> make mistakes?
+This does not sound very scientific.</title>
+<para>
+ Actually, it's a black art ;-) And yes, it is always possible to have a broad rule
+ accidentally block something by mistake. There is a good chance you may run
+ into such a situation at some point. It is tricky writing rules to cover
+ every conceivable possibility, and not occasionally get false positives.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ But this should not be a big concern since the
+ <application>Privoxy</application> configuration is very flexible, and
+ includes tools to help identify these types of situations so they can be
+ addressed as needed, allowing you to customize your installation.
+ (<link linkend="badsite">See the appendix below</link>.)
+</para>
+
+</sect3>
+
+
<sect3 id="browsers2"><title>My browser does the same things as
<application>Privoxy</application>. Why should I use
<application>Privoxy</application> at all?</title>
@@ -331,11 +386,12 @@ warranty? Registration?</title>
Well, helping the team is always a good idea. We welcome new developers,
RPM gurus or documentation makers. Simply get an account on sourceforge.net
and mail your id to the developer mailing list. Then read the
- section Quickstart in the developers manual.
+ section Quickstart in the <ulink url="http://privoxy.org/developer-manual/quickstart.html">
+ Developer's Manual</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
-Once we have added you to the team, you'll have write access to the CVS
-repository, and together we'll find a suitable task for you.
+ Once we have added you to the team, you'll have write access to the CVS
+ repository, and together we'll find a suitable task for you.
</para>
</sect4>
@@ -352,7 +408,7 @@ repository, and together we'll find a suitable task for you.
<title>Which browsers are supported by <application>Privoxy</application>?</title>
<para>
Any browser that can be configured to use a <quote>proxy</quote>, which
- is probably almost all browsers. Direct browser support is not necessary
+ should be virtually all browsers. Direct browser support is not necessary
since <application>Privoxy</application> runs as a separate application and
just exchanges standard HTML data with your browser.
</para>
@@ -382,10 +438,14 @@ repository, and together we'll find a suitable task for you.
</para>
<para>
See the <ulink
- url="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/">user-manual</ulink> for
+ url="../user-manual/index.html">user-manual</ulink> for
platform specific installation instructions. [FIXME: This is meant for after
the name change for 3.0!]
</para>
+ <para>
+ Note: Some installers may automatically uninstall
+ <application>Junkbuster</application>, if present!
+ </para>
</sect3>
@@ -397,6 +457,8 @@ special I have to do now?</title>
All browsers must be told to use <application>Privoxy</application>
as a proxy by specifying the correct proxy address and port number
in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. See below.
+ Also, you should flush your browser's memory and disk cache to get rid of any
+ cached items.
</para>
@@ -731,7 +793,7 @@ Note that normally only local users can connect to <application>Privoxy</applica
<sect3>
-<title id="filterfile">What is a <quote>default.filter</quote>?</title>
+<title id="filterfile">What is <quote>default.filter</quote>?</title>
<para>
The <quote>default.filter</quote> file is used to <quote>filter</quote> any
web page content. By <quote>filtering</quote> we mean it can modify, remove,
@@ -787,9 +849,10 @@ Note that normally only local users can connect to <application>Privoxy</applica
<para>
This is a configuration option for images that
<application>Privoxy</application> is stopping. You have the choice <!-- of
- the --> <!-- <application>Privoxy</application> logo, --> a checkerboard
+ the --> <!-- <application>Privoxy</application> logo, --> of a checkerboard
pattern, a transparent 1x1 GIF image (aka <quote>blank</quote>), or a custom
- URL or your choice.
+ URL of your choice. Note that to fit this category, the URL must match both
+ the <quote>+image</quote> and <quote>+block</quote> actions.
</para>
<para>
@@ -798,7 +861,9 @@ Note that normally only local users can connect to <application>Privoxy</applica
<quote>Edit Actions List</quote> selection at <ulink
url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink>. Or by hand editing the appropriate
actions file. This will only effect what is defined as <quote>images</quote>
- though.
+ though. Also, any URLs that generate the bright red <quote>Blocked</quote>
+ banner, can be moved to the <quote>+image-blocker</quote> section for the
+ same reason.
</para>
@@ -819,23 +884,43 @@ Note that normally only local users can connect to <application>Privoxy</applica
<sect3>
<title id="blockedisugly">I see large red banners on some pages that say
-<quote>Blocked</quote>. How do I get rid of this?</title>
+<quote>Blocked</quote>. Why and how do I get rid of this?</title>
<para>
These are URLs that match something in one of
<application>Privoxy's</application> block actions (+block). It is meant
to be a warning so that you know something has been blocked and an easy way
for you to see why. These are handled differently than what has been defined
- as <quote>images</quote> (e.g. ad banners). If you want them to be treated
- as if they were images, so that they can be made invisible, then move the
- offending URL from the <quote>+block</quote> section to the
- <quote>+imageblock</quote> section of your actions file. Alternately, you
- could modify the <quote><filename>block</filename></quote> HTML template that
- is used by <application>Privoxy</application> to display this, and make it
- something more to your liking.
+ explicitly as <quote>images</quote> (e.g. ad banners). Depending on the
+ URL itself, it is sometimes hard for <application>Privoxy</application> to
+ really know whether it is indeed an ad image or not.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ If you want them to be treated as if they were images, so that they can be
+ made invisible, then move the offending URL from the <quote>+block</quote>
+ section to the <quote>+imageblock</quote> section of your actions file. Just
+ be forewarned, if make any URL is made <quote>invisible</quote>, you may not
+ have any inkling that something has been removed from that page.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Alternately, you could modify the <quote><filename>block</filename></quote>
+ HTML template that is used by <application>Privoxy</application> to display
+ this, and make it something more to your liking.
</para>
</sect3>
+<sect3 id="alliseeisred">
+<title>I cannot see all of the <quote>Blocked</quote> page banner. All I
+see is a bright red square.</title>
+<para>
+ There is not enough space to fit the entire page. Try right clicking on the
+ visible, red portion, and select <quote>Show Frame</quote>, or equivalent.
+ This will usually allow you to see the entire Privoxy <quote>Blocked</quote>
+ page, and from there you can see just what is being blocked, and why.
+</para>
+</sect3>
+
<sect3 id="otherproxy">
<title>How can I make <application>Privoxy</application> work with other
proxies like <application>Squid</application>?</title>
@@ -1073,7 +1158,7 @@ speed up web browsing?</title>
No, it does not have this ability at all. You want something like
<ulink url="http://www.squid-cache.org/">Squid</ulink> for this. And, yes,
before you ask, <application>Privoxy</application> can co-exist
- with other kinds of proxies like <quote>Squid</quote>.
+ with other kinds of proxies like <application>Squid</application>.
</para>
</sect3>
@@ -1109,7 +1194,7 @@ Given the above problem, we have decided to remove the logo option entirely
<sect3>
<title id="wasted">I have large empty spaces now where ads used to be.
-Why does <application>Privoxy</application> leave these large gaps?</title>
+Why?</title>
<para>
It would be easy enough to just eliminate this space altogether, rather than
fill it with blank space. But, this would create problems with many pages
@@ -1145,11 +1230,12 @@ secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?</title>
<application>Privoxy</application> can run as a non-privileged
user, which is how we recommend it be run. Also, by default
<application>Privoxy</application> only listens to requests
- from <quote>localhost</quote>. It is not itself directly exposed to the
+ from <quote>localhost</quote>. The server aspect of
+ <application>Privoxy</application> is not itself directly exposed to the
Internet in this configuration. If you want to have
<application>Privoxy</application> serve as a LAN proxy, this will have to
be opened up to allow for LAN requests. In this case, we'd recommend
- you specify only the LAN gateway address, e.g. 192.168.1.1 in the main
+ you specify only the LAN gateway address, e.g. 192.168.1.1, in the main
<application>Privoxy</application> config file. All LAN hosts can then use
this as their proxy address in the browser proxy configuration. In this way,
<application>Privoxy</application> will not listen on any external ports.
@@ -1241,8 +1327,8 @@ What can I do?</title>
sign) in front of them. Add your problem page URL to one of these sections
that looks like it is disabling the feature that is causing the
problem. Re-try the page. There might be some trial and error involved. This
- is discussed in a little more detail in the <ulink
- url="../user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">user-manual
+ is discussed in a little more detail in the
+ <ulink url="../user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT">user-manual
appendix</ulink>.
</para>
@@ -1254,6 +1340,17 @@ What can I do?</title>
</sect3>
+<sect3 id="bugs">
+<title>Where and how do I submit bug reports? Feature Requests? Etc?</title>
+<para>
+ Feedback is encouraged, whether good, bad or ugly. Please see the contact
+ page in the <ulink url="../user-manual/contact.html">user-manual</ulink> for
+ details.
+
+</para>
+
+</sect3>
+
<sect3>
<title id="time">What time is it?</title>
<para>
@@ -1288,13 +1385,19 @@ This is referenced in the doc header already. HB 03/25/02
-->
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect1 id="copyright"><title>Copyright and History</title>
-<para>Please see the user manual for information on Copyright and History.
+<para>
+ Please see the
+<ulink url="../user-manual/copyright.html#HISTORY">user-manual</ulink> for
+ information on Copyright and History.
</para>
</sect1>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect1 id="seealso"><title>See also</title>
-<para>Please see the user manual for information on references.
+<para>
+ Please see the
+ <ulink url="../user-manual/seealso.html">user-manual</ulink> for
+ others references.
</para>
</sect1>
@@ -1323,6 +1426,9 @@ This is referenced in the doc header already. HB 03/25/02
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: faq.sgml,v $
+Revision 1.32 2002/03/27 00:57:03 hal9
+Touch ups for name change.
+
Revision 1.31 2002/03/26 22:29:55 swa
we have a new homepage!
--
2.49.0