/*********************************************************************
*
- * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,v $
+ * File : README
*
- * Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
+ * Purpose : Give a short intro about Privoxy.
*
- * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
- * Privoxy team. http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net
+ * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001-2020 the
+ * Privoxy team. https://www.privoxy.org/
*
* Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
- * by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and
+ * by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and
* Junkbusters Corporation. http://www.junkbusters.com
*
- * This program is free software; you can redistribute it
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it
* and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
* Public License as published by the Free Software
* Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
* The GNU General Public License should be included with
* this file. If not, you can view it at
* http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
- * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
- * Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+ * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301,
+ * USA
*
*********************************************************************/
-This README is included with the development version of Privoxy,
-which will eventually become Privoxy v3.0 (and soon we hope!). See
-http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net.
+This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.32. See
+https://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
+is "UNRELEASED", but seems stable to us :).
-Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
-protecting privacy, filtering web page content, managing cookies,
-controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other
-obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a very flexible configuration and
-can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Internet
-Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
+enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling
+access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
+flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
+tastes. It has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
networks.
-Privoxy is based on the code of the Internet Junkbuster. Junkbuster
-was originally written by JunkBusters Corporation, and was released as
-free open-source software under the GNU GPL. Stefan Waldherr made many
-improvements, and started the SourceForge project to continue
-development. Several other developers are now contributing.
+Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2 or later.
+
+Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public Interest (SPI).
+
+Helping hands and donations are welcome:
+
+ * https://www.privoxy.org/participate
+
+ * https://www.privoxy.org/donate
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+1. CHANGES
+
+For a list of changes in this release, please have a look at the "ChangeLog",
+the "What's New" section or the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+2. INSTALL
+
+See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
+User Manual, for all other installation types.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+3. RUN
+
+privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
+[.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
+
+See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
+configuration and usage issues.
+
+If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
+file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
+'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+4. CONFIGURATION
+
+See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
+'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
+configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
+in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
+customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
+etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
+There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
+Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: https://
+www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
+
+Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
+you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
+127.0.0.1:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
+try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
+
+The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
+p.p/, as well other options.
+
+All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
+development process.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+5. DOCUMENTATION
+
+There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
+completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
+those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
+
+The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
+may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
+files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
+configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
+the top-level source directory.
+
+Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
+documentation is posted on https://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
+or can't find it.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
+
+We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
+configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
+with the best support.
+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+6.1. Please provide sufficient information
+
+A lot of support requests don't contain enough information and can't be solved
+without a lot of back and forth which causes unnecessary delays. Reading this
+section should help to prevent that.
+
+Before contacting us to report a problem, please try to verify that it is a
+Privoxy problem, and not a browser or site problem or documented behaviour that
+just happens to be different than what you expected. If unsure, try toggling
+off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
+
+If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the default
+configuration to see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having
+problems with a feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the
+mailing list if others can reproduce the problem.
+
+If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the problem may have been found
+and fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
+upgrade to the latest version and verify that the problem still exists.
+
+Please be sure to provide the following information when reporting problems or
+requesting support:
+
+ * The exact Privoxy version you are using.
+
+ * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, e.g. Windows XP SP2.
+
+ * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
+ Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
+
+ * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
+ problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
+
+ * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers,
+ or if you got your copy somewhere else.
+
+ * Whether you are using Privoxy together with another proxy such as Tor. If
+ so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
+
+ * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
+ without it?
+
+ * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
+ or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
+ taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the logfile
+ directive is being used and the following debug options are enabled (all of
+ them):
+
+ debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through.
+ # See also debug 1024.
+ debug 2 # show each connection status
+ debug 4 # show tagging-related messages
+ debug 8 # show header parsing
+ debug 128 # debug redirects
+ debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
+ debug 512 # Common Log Format
+ debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through,
+ # and the reason why.
+ debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
+ debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
+ debug 65536 # Log applying actions
+
+ If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
+
+ debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
+
+ If you suspect that Privoxy interprets the request or the response
+ incorrectly, please enable
+
+ debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
+
+ It's easy for us to ignore log messages that aren't relevant but missing
+ log messages may make it impossible to investigate a problem. If you aren't
+ sure which of the debug directives are relevant, please just enable all of
+ them and let us worry about it.
+ Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please
+ don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive
+ information as long as it's clear that you removed something.
- IMPORTANT CHANGE
------------------
+You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but if
+you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages
+and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your
+request if they have the same problem or already found a solution. Note that
+due to spam the trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
+SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a login that
+isn't directly linked to your name, though.
-IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 03/04/02: The default
-listening port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment.
-You will need to change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe
-firewall, etc.
+Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
+we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
+automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request. Please don't
+bother to add an email address when using the tracker. If you prefer to
+communicate through email, just use one of the mailing lists directly.
+The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
+understanding actions, and action debugging.
- INSTALL
---------
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-For tarball, first unpack:
+6.2. Get Support
- tar xzvf ijb-2.9.11-beta-src.tar.gz
- cd ijb-2.9.11-beta
+All users are welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing list, where
+the developers also hang around.
- autoheader [suggested for CVS source]
- autoconf [suggested for CVS source]
- ./configure (--help to see options)
- gmake (the make from gnu)
- su
- make -n install (to see where all the files will go)
- make install (to really install)
+Please don't send private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
+either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
-Redhat and SuSE src and binary RPMs can be built with 'make
-redhat-dist' or 'make suse-dist' (run ./configure first) from unpacked
-sources. BSD will (probably?) require gmake (from http://gnu.org). See
-the user-manual for OS/2 build instructions.
+If you have to contact a Privoxy developer directly for other reasons, please
+send a real mail and do not bother with SourceForge's messaging system. Answers
+to SourceForge messages are usually bounced by SourceForge's mail server in
+which case the developer wasted time writing a response you don't get. From
+your point of view it will look like your message has been completely ignored,
+so this is frustrating for all parties involved.
-Privoxy is also available via anonymous CVS:
+Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
+addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
+of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
+or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
- cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login
- cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current
+If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
+with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
+get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
+and you won't see them.
-This will create a directory named 'current'. Then, 'cd current', and
-then build as above.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+6.3. Reporting Problems
- RUN
-----
+"Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
-privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE]
- [--user USER] [config_file]
+ * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
+ function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
-Or for RedHat: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
-Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
+ * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
+ cause a crash. Documentation issues, for example spelling errors and
+ unclear descriptions, are bugs, too.
-See the man page or user-manual for a brief explanation of each.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+6.3.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
- CONFIGURATION
---------------
+Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
+blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
+problem of default.action file, to https://sourceforge.net/p/ijbswa/
+actionsfile-feedback/, the Actions File Tracker.
-See: 'config', 'ijb.action', and 're_filterfile'. These are all well
-commented. On Unix-like systems, these files are installed in
-/etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is
-installed. There are many significant changes and advances since
-v2.0.x. The user-manual has a run down of configuration options, and
-examples: http://ijbswa.sourceforge.net/user-manual/.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or
-whatever you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'.
-DEFAULT is localhost:8118.
+6.3.2. Reporting Bugs
-The ijb.action file can be configured via the web interface accessed
-via http://i.j.b/, as well other options.
+Before reporting bugs, please make sure that the bug has not already been
+submitted and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If
+already submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that
+might help to solve the issue.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- DOCUMENTATION
---------------
+6.4. Reporting security problems
-There is a growing amount of documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory,
-but it is not finished at this point. In particular, see the
-user-manual there, and developers should look at developer-manual.
+If you discovered a security problem or merely suspect that a bug might be a
+security issue, please mail Fabian Keil <fk@fabiankeil.de> (OpenPGP
+fingerprint: 4F36 C17F 3816 9136 54A1 E850 6918 2291 8BA2 371C).
-The best source of information on the current development version, may
-still be either comments in the source code, or the included
-configuration files, which are all well commented. These are 'config',
-'ijb.action', and 're_filterfile' in the toplevel source directory.
+Usually you should get a response within a day, otherwise it's likely that
+either your mail or the response didn't make it. If that happens, please mail
+to the developer list to request a status update.
-Some legacy documentation may also be included only to give an idea of
-what Privoxy can do under doc/obsolete/*. Much has changed since
-these docs were written, so beware.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager.
+6.5. Mailing Lists
+If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
+feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues that haven't been
+completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy users list. Technically
+interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are always
+welcome on the developers list. You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
+mailing lists, including list archives, at: https://lists.privoxy.org/mailman/
+listinfo. The lists hosted on privoxy.org have been created in 2016, the
+previously-used lists hosted at SourceForge are deprecated but the archives may
+still be useful: https://sourceforge.net/p/ijbswa/mailman/.
- CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
------
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-We value your feedback. However, to provide you with the best support,
-please note:
-
- * Use the support forum to get help:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
- * Submit bugs only thru our bug forum:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118
- Make sure that the bug has not already been submitted. Please try
- to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site
- bug first. If you are using your own custom configuration, please
- try the stock configs to see if the problem is a configuration
- related bug. And if not using the latest development snapshot,
- please try the latest one. Or even better, CVS sources.
- * Submit feature requests only thru our feature request forum:
- http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118&func=browse
-
-For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists:
-http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118
-
-Anyone interested in actively participating in development and related
-discussions can join the appropriate mailing list here:
-http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118. Archives are available
-here too.
+6.6. SourceForge support trackers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-ijbswa-developers@lists.sourceforge.net
+The SourceForge support trackers may be used as well, but have various
+technical problems that are unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. If you don't get
+a timely response, please try the mailing list as well.
-$Id: README,v 1.16 2002/03/09 14:52:43 swa Exp $