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) 2001-2011 the
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 Privoxy 3.0.18. See http://www.privoxy.org/ for
36 more information. The current code maturity level is "stable".
38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
41 enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling
42 access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
43 flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
44 tastes. It has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
47 Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.
49 Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public Interest (SPI).
51 Helping hands and donations are welcome:
53 * http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE
55 * http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE
57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
61 For a list of changes in this release, please have a look at the "ChangeLog",
62 the "What's New" section or the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual.
64 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
68 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
69 User Manual, for all other installation types.
71 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
75 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
76 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
78 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
79 configuration and usage issues.
81 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
82 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
83 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
85 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
89 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
90 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
91 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
92 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
93 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
94 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
95 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
96 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
97 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
99 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
100 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
101 127.0.0.1:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
102 try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
104 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
105 p.p/, as well other options.
107 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
111 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
112 User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
113 look at developer-manual.
115 The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
116 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
118 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
119 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
122 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
124 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
126 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
127 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
128 with the best support:
130 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
134 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
135 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
137 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
138 list, where the developers also hang around.
140 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
141 either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
143 If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other reasons, please
144 send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's messaging system. Answers
145 to SourceForge messages are usually bounced by SourceForge's mail server in
146 which case the developer wasted time writing a response you don't get. From
147 your point of view it will look like your message has been completely ignored,
148 so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
150 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
151 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
152 of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
153 or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
155 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
156 with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
157 get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
158 and you won't see them.
160 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
162 6.2. Reporting Problems
164 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
166 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
167 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
169 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
172 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
174 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
176 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
177 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
178 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
179 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
181 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
182 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
183 available from our the files section of our project page.
185 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
187 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
189 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
190 /?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
192 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
193 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
194 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
195 help to solve the issue.
197 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
198 documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
199 If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
201 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
202 see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
203 feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
204 others can reproduce the problem.
206 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
207 fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
208 upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
209 your bug still exists.
211 Please be sure to provide the following information:
213 * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
214 please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
215 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
217 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
218 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
219 should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
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 Privoxy developers
228 via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
230 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
231 so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
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
238 taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the logfile
239 directive is being used and the following debug options are enabled:
241 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.
242 debug 2 # show each connection status
243 debug 4 # show I/O status
244 debug 8 # show header parsing
245 debug 128 # debug redirects
246 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
247 debug 512 # Common Log Format
248 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.
249 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
250 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
252 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
254 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
256 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it interprets the
257 request or the response incorrectly, please enable
259 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
261 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please
262 don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive
263 information as long as it's clear that you removed something.
265 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but if
266 you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages
267 and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your
268 request if they have the same problem or already found a solution. Note that
269 due to spam the trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
270 SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a login that
271 isn't directly linked to your name, though.
273 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
274 we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
275 automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request. Please don't
276 bother to add an email address when using the tracker. If you prefer to
277 communicate through email, just use one of the mailing lists directly.
279 If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in How to Report
282 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
283 understanding actions, and action debugging.
285 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
287 6.3. Request New Features
289 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
290 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
291 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
293 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
297 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
298 feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues that haven't been
299 completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy users list. Technically
300 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are always
301 welcome on the developers list. You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
302 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?