1 /*********************************************************************
3 * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,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.,
30 * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 ,
33 *********************************************************************/
35 This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.4. See
36 http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
37 is "beta", but seems stable to us :).
39 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
42 privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
43 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
44 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
45 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
48 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54 BIG NEWS! 2006, Privoxy 3.0.4 is released. This is a significant upgrade with
55 many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. There are fifteen new
56 actions available, and several actions have enhanced capabilites. Multiple
57 filter files are now supported as well. See the "What's New" section and the
58 "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
60 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
61 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
62 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
63 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
65 NEWS! March 2003, Privoxy 3.0.2 is released. This is the first maintenance
66 release of Privoxy. There are no significant new features in this release. Some
67 bugs are fixed, and some existing features have been enhanced. See ChangeLog
68 for details. Upgrading from 3.0.0 is recommended.
70 REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
71 Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
72 than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.
74 NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
75 Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.
77 IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
78 port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
79 change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.
81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
86 User Manual, for all other installation types.
88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
92 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
93 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
95 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
96 configuration and usage issues.
98 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
99 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
100 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
102 Or for Red Hat based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
104 Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
106 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
108 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
112 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
113 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
114 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
115 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
116 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are installed in /etc/
117 privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed. There
118 are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
119 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
120 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
122 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
123 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
124 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
125 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
127 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
128 p.p/, as well other options.
130 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
133 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
137 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
138 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
139 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
141 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
142 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
143 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
144 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
145 the toplevel source directory.
147 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
148 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
151 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
153 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
155 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
156 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
157 with the best support:
159 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
163 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
164 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
166 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
167 list, where the developers also hang around.
169 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
171 6.2. Reporting Problems
173 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
175 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
176 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
178 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
181 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
183 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
185 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
186 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
187 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
188 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
190 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
191 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
192 available from our the files section of our project page.
194 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
196 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
198 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
199 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
201 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
202 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
203 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
204 help solve the issue.
206 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
207 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
208 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
209 see if the problem is configuration related.
211 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
212 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
213 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
215 Please be sure to provide the following information:
217 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
218 CVS, please also give the date).
220 * The operating system and verions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP).
222 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
223 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
225 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
226 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com?somethingelse=123).
228 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
229 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
231 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as TOR. If
232 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
234 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
237 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
238 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
241 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
244 The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on understanding
245 actions, and action debugging.
247 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
249 6.3. Request New Features
251 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
252 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
253 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
255 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
259 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
260 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
261 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
262 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?