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) 2001-2008 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 3.0.11. See
36 http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
37 is "UNRELEASED", but seems stable to us :).
39 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41 Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
42 enhancing privacy, modifying web page data, managing HTTP cookies, controlling
43 access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk.
44 Privoxy has a flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual
45 needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and
48 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54 Privoxy development is between releases. The current sources are development
55 quality. If you find problems please report them to the developers.
57 August 2008, Privoxy 3.0.10 is released! There are not any major new features,
58 but many improvements and refinements. As usual there are changes that effect
59 the configuration. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New" section and the
60 "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
62 June 2008, Privoxy 3.0.9 beta is released. There are no major new features, but
63 many improvements and refinements.
65 NEWS! January 2008, Privoxy 3.0.8 stable is released. This is a significant
66 upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. All Privoxy
67 users are encouraged to upgrade. See the "ChangeLog", and the "What's New"
68 section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
69 specifics. There are changes related to configuration, so anyone upgrading and
70 keeping their old configuration should read ahead first.
72 December 2007, Privoxy 3.0.7 is released. This is a beta release in preparation
73 for the forthcoming 3.0.8 release.
75 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
79 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
80 User Manual, for all other installation types.
82 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
86 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
87 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
89 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
90 configuration and usage issues.
92 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
93 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
94 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
96 Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
98 Or Debian and Ubuntu: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
104 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
105 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
106 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
107 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
108 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
109 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
110 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
111 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
112 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
114 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
115 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
116 localhost:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
117 try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
119 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
120 p.p/, as well other options.
122 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
125 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
129 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
130 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
131 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
133 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
134 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
135 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
136 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
137 the top-level source directory.
139 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
140 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
143 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
145 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
147 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
148 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
149 with the best support:
151 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
155 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
156 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
158 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
159 list, where the developers also hang around.
161 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
162 either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
164 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
165 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
166 of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
167 or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
169 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
170 with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
171 get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
172 and you won't see them.
174 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
176 6.2. Reporting Problems
178 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
180 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
181 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
183 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
186 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
188 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
190 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
191 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
192 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
193 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
195 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
196 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
197 available from our the files section of our project page.
199 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
201 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
203 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
204 /?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
206 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
207 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
208 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
209 help to solve the issue.
211 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
212 documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
213 If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
215 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
216 see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
217 feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
218 others can reproduce the problem.
220 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
221 fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
222 upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
223 your bug still exists.
225 Please be sure to provide the following information:
227 * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
228 please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
229 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
231 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
232 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
233 should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
235 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
236 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
238 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
239 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
241 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
242 via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
244 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
245 so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
247 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
250 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
251 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
254 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but
255 please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages and the
256 ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if
257 they have the same problem or already found a solution.
259 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
260 we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
261 automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
263 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
264 understanding actions, and action debugging.
266 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
268 6.3. Request New Features
270 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
271 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
272 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
274 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
278 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
279 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
280 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
281 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?