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) 2001-2010 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 3.0.17. 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 November 2010, Privoxy 3.0.17 stable is released.
63 This is mainly a bug-fix release for the previously released Privoxy 3.0.16. It
64 contains fixes for two bugs that could cause connections to appear to hang
65 under certain circumstances when keep-alive support was enabled. As usual,
66 there are also a bunch of minor improvements. For details please see the
67 "ChangeLog", the "What's New" section or the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User
70 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
74 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
75 User Manual, for all other installation types.
77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
81 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
82 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [--pre-chroot-nslookup HOSTNAME ][config_file]
84 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
85 configuration and usage issues.
87 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
88 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
89 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
95 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
96 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
97 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
98 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
99 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
100 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
101 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
102 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
103 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
105 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
106 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is
107 127.0.0.1:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not
108 try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
110 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
111 p.p/, as well other options.
113 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
117 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
118 User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
119 look at developer-manual.
121 The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
122 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
124 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
125 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
128 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
130 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
132 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
133 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
134 with the best support:
136 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
140 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
141 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
143 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
144 list, where the developers also hang around.
146 Please don't sent private support requests to individual Privoxy developers,
147 either use the mailing lists or the support trackers.
149 Note that the Privoxy mailing lists are moderated. Posts from unsubscribed
150 addresses have to be accepted manually by a moderator. This may cause a delay
151 of several days and if you use a subject that doesn't clearly mention Privoxy
152 or one of its features, your message may be accidentally discarded as spam.
154 If you aren't subscribed, you should therefore spend a few seconds to come up
155 with a proper subject. Additionally you should make it clear that you want to
156 get CC'd. Otherwise some responses will be directed to the mailing list only,
157 and you won't see them.
159 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
161 6.2. Reporting Problems
163 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
165 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
166 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
168 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
171 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
173 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
175 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
176 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
177 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
178 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
180 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
181 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
182 available from our the files section of our project page.
184 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
186 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
188 Please report all bugs through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/tracker
189 /?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
191 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
192 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
193 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
194 help to solve the issue.
196 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug or
197 documented behaviour that just happens to be different than what you expected.
198 If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
200 If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
201 see if the problem is configuration related. If you're having problems with a
202 feature that is disabled by default, please ask around on the mailing list if
203 others can reproduce the problem.
205 If you aren't using the latest Privoxy version, the bug may have been found and
206 fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
207 upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify that
208 your bug still exists.
210 Please be sure to provide the following information:
212 * The exact Privoxy version you are using (if you got the source from CVS,
213 please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
214 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
216 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
217 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
218 should do, in case of GNU/Linux, please also name the distribution.
220 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
221 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
223 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
224 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
226 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the Privoxy developers
227 via SourceForge, or if you got your copy somewhere else.
229 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
230 so, please temporary disable the other proxy to see if the symptoms change.
232 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
235 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
236 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
237 taken). To get a meaningful logfile, please make sure that the logfile
238 directive is being used and the following debug options are enabled:
240 debug 1 # Log the destination for each request Privoxy let through. See also debug 1024.
241 debug 2 # show each connection status
242 debug 4 # show I/O status
243 debug 8 # show header parsing
244 debug 128 # debug redirects
245 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
246 debug 512 # Common Log Format
247 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests Privoxy didn't let through, and the reason why.
248 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
249 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
251 If you are having trouble with a filter, please additionally enable
253 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
255 If you are using Privoxy 3.0.17 or later and suspect that it interprets the
256 request or the response incorrectly, please enable
258 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
260 Note that Privoxy log files may contain sensitive information so please
261 don't submit any logfiles you didn't read first. You can mask sensitive
262 information as long as it's clear that you removed something.
264 You don't have to tell us your actual name when filing a problem report, but if
265 you don't, please use a nickname so we can differentiate between your messages
266 and the ones entered by other "anonymous" users that may respond to your
267 request if they have the same problem or already found a solution. Note that
268 due to spam the trackers may not always allow to post without being logged into
269 SourceForge. If that's the case, you are still free to create a login that
270 isn't directly linked to your name, though.
272 Please also check the status of your request a few days after submitting it, as
273 we may request additional information. If you use a SF id, you should
274 automatically get a mail when someone responds to your request. Please don't
275 bother to add an email address when using the tracker. If you prefer to
276 communicate through email, just use one of the mailing lists directly.
278 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
279 understanding actions, and action debugging.
281 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
283 6.3. Request New Features
285 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
286 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
287 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
289 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
293 If you prefer to communicate through email, instead of using a web interface,
294 feel free to use one of the mailing lists. To discuss issues that haven't been
295 completely diagnosed yet, please use the Privoxy users list. Technically
296 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are always
297 welcome on the developers list. You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
298 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?