1 /*********************************************************************
3 * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/readme.sgml,v $
5 * Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
7 * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2006 the SourceForge
8 * Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
10 * Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
11 * by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and
12 * Junkbusters Corporation. http://www.junkbusters.com
14 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it
15 * and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
16 * Public License as published by the Free Software
17 * Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
18 * your option) any later version.
20 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will
21 * be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
22 * implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
23 * PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public
24 * License for more details.
26 * The GNU General Public License should be included with
27 * this file. If not, you can view it at
28 * http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
29 * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
30 * Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
32 *********************************************************************/
34 This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.4. See
35 http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
36 is "beta", but seems stable to us :).
38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
41 privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
42 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
43 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
44 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
47 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
53 BIG NEWS! 2006, Privoxy 3.0.4 is released. This is a significant upgrade with
54 many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. There are fifteen new
55 actions available, and several actions have enhanced capabilites. Multiple
56 filter files are now supported as well. See the "What's New" section and the
57 "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
59 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
60 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
61 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
62 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
64 NEWS! March 2003, Privoxy 3.0.2 is released. This is the first maintenance
65 release of Privoxy. There are no significant new features in this release. Some
66 bugs are fixed, and some existing features have been enhanced. See ChangeLog
67 for details. Upgrading from 3.0.0 is recommended.
69 REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
70 Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
71 than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.
73 NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
74 Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.
76 IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
77 port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
78 change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.
80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
85 User Manual, for all other installation types.
87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
91 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
92 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
94 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
95 configuration and usage issues.
97 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
98 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
99 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
101 Or for Red Hat based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
103 Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
105 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
107 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
111 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
112 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
113 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
114 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
115 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are installed in /etc/
116 privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed. There
117 are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
118 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
119 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
121 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
122 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
123 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
124 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
126 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
127 p.p/, as well other options.
129 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
132 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
136 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
137 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
138 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
140 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
141 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
142 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
143 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
144 the toplevel source directory.
146 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
147 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
150 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
152 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
154 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
155 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
156 with the best support:
158 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
162 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
163 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
165 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
166 list, where the developers also hang around.
168 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
170 6.2. Reporting Problems
172 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
174 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
175 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
177 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
180 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
182 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
184 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
185 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
186 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
187 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
189 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
190 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
191 available from our the files section of our project page.
193 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
195 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
197 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
198 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
200 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
201 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
202 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
203 help solve the issue.
205 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
206 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
207 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
208 see if the problem is configuration related.
210 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
211 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
212 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
214 Please be sure to provide the following information:
216 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
217 CVS, please also give the date).
219 * The operating system and verions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP).
221 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
222 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
224 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
225 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com?somethingelse=123).
227 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
228 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
230 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as TOR. If
231 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
233 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
236 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
237 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
240 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
243 The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on understanding
244 actions, and action debugging.
246 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
248 6.3. Request New Features
250 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
251 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
252 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
254 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
258 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
259 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
260 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
261 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?