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 3.0.23. 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
132 6.1. Please provide sufficient information
134 A lot of support requests don't contain enough information and can't be solved
135 without a lot of back and forth which causes unnecessary delays. Reading this
136 section should help to prevent that.
138 Before contacting us to report a problem, please try to verify that it is a
139 Privoxy problem, and not a browser or site problem or documented behaviour that
140 just happens to be different than what you expected. If unsure, try toggling
141 off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
143 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the default
144 configuration to see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having
145 problems with a feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the
146 mailing list if others can reproduce the problem.
148 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the problem may have been found
149 and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
150 upgrade to the latest version and verify that the problem still exists.
152 Please be sure to provide the following information when reporting problems or
155 * The exact Privoxy version you are using.
157 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, e.g. Windows XP SP2.
159 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
160 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
162 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
163 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
165 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
166 via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
168 * Whether you are using Privoxy together with another proxy such as Tor. If
169 so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
171 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
174 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
175 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
176 taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the logfile
177 directive is being used and the following debug options are enabled (all of
180 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.
181 debug 2 # show each connection status
182 debug 4 # show I/O status
183 debug 8 # show header parsing
184 debug 128 # debug redirects
185 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
186 debug 512 # Common Log Format
187 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.
188 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
189 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
191 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
193 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
195 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it interprets the
196 request or the response incorrectly, please enable
198 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
200 It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant but missing
201 log messages may make it impossible to investigate a problem. If you aren't
202 sure which of the debug directives are relevant, please just enable all of
203 them and let us worry about it.
205 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please
206 don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive
207 information as long as it's clear that you removed something.
209 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but if
210 you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages
211 and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your
212 request if they have the same problem or already found a solution. Note that
213 due to spam the trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
214 SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a login that
215 isn't directly linked to your name, though.
217 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
218 we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
219 automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request. Please don't
220 bother to add an email address when using the tracker. If you prefer to
221 communicate through email, just use one of the mailing lists directly.
223 If you are new to reporting problems, you might be interested in How to Report
226 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
227 understanding actions, and action debugging.
229 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
233 All users are welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing list, where
234 the developers also hang around.
236 Please don't send private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
237 either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
239 If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other reasons, please
240 send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's messaging system. Answers
241 to SourceForge messages are usually bounced by SourceForge's mail server in
242 which case the developer wasted time writing a response you don't get. From
243 your point of view it will look like your message has been completely ignored,
244 so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
246 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
247 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
248 of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
249 or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
251 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
252 with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
253 get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
254 and you won't see them.
256 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
258 6.3. Reporting Problems
260 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
262 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
263 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
265 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
266 cause a crash. Documentation issues, for example spelling errors and
267 unclear descriptions, are bugs, too.
269 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
271 6.3.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
273 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
274 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
275 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
276 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
278 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
280 6.3.2. Reporting Bugs
282 Before reporting bugs, please make sure that the bug has not already been
283 submitted and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If
284 already submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that
285 might help to solve the issue.
287 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
289 6.4. Reporting security problems
291 If you discovered a security problem or merely suspect that a bug might be a
292 security issue, please mail Fabian Keil <fk@fabiankeil.de> (OpenPGP
293 fingerprint: 4F36 C17F 3816 9136 54A1 E850 6918 2291 8BA2 371C).
295 Usually you should get a response within a day, otherwise it's likely that
296 either your mail or the response didn't make it. If that happens, please mail
297 to the developer list to request a status update.
299 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
303 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
304 feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues that haven't been
305 completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy users list. Technically
306 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are always
307 welcome on the developers list. You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
308 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?
311 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
313 6.6. SourceForge support trackers
315 The SourceForge support trackers may be used as well, but have various
316 technical problems that are unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. If you don't get
317 a timely response, please try the mailing list as well. While it's hosted at
318 SourceForge as well, it usually works as expected.