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) 2001-2009 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 3.0.12. 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 is between releases. The current code base should be considered
55 development quality. Please report any problems to the developers.
57 February 2009, Privoxy 3.0.11 is released.
59 As usual there are changes that effect the configuration. See the "ChangeLog",
60 and the "What's New" section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for
61 details and specifics.
63 This is a stable release, and marks a departure for Privoxy development.
65 Previously, odd numbered releases were considered beta versions and were only
66 released at the end of the development cycle when the code was already believed
67 to be stable. Usually it was, so the stable release contained pretty much the
68 same code, but got a higher version number. In the future we intend to release
69 several snapshots between stable releases. There will probably still be about
70 two stable releases per year, but hopefully about six snapshots instead of the
71 two betas we have now. The intentions is to make testing without CVS access
74 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
78 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
79 User Manual, for all other installation types.
81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
86 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
88 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
89 configuration and usage issues.
91 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
92 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
93 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
95 Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
97 Or Debian and Ubuntu: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
103 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
104 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
105 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
106 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
107 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
108 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
109 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
110 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
111 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
113 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
114 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
115 localhost:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
116 try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
118 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
119 p.p/, as well other options.
121 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
124 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
128 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
129 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
130 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
132 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
133 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
134 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
135 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
136 the top-level source directory.
138 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
139 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
142 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
144 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
146 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
147 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
148 with the best support:
150 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
154 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
155 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
157 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
158 list, where the developers also hang around.
160 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
161 either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
163 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
164 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
165 of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
166 or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
168 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
169 with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
170 get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
171 and you won't see them.
173 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
175 6.2. Reporting Problems
177 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
179 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
180 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
182 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
185 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
187 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
189 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
190 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
191 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
192 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
194 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
195 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
196 available from our the files section of our project page.
198 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
200 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
202 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
203 /?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
205 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
206 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
207 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
208 help to solve the issue.
210 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
211 documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
212 If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
214 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
215 see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
216 feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
217 others can reproduce the problem.
219 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
220 fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
221 upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
222 your bug still exists.
224 Please be sure to provide the following information:
226 * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
227 please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
228 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
230 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
231 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
232 should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
234 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
235 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
237 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
238 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
240 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
241 via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
243 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
244 so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
246 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
249 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
250 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
253 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but
254 please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages and the
255 ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your request if
256 they have the same problem or already found a solution.
258 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
259 we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
260 automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request.
262 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
263 understanding actions, and action debugging.
265 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
267 6.3. Request New Features
269 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
270 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
271 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
273 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
277 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
278 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
279 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
280 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?