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) 2001,2002 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., 59
30 * Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
32 *********************************************************************/
34 This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.1.1, which
35 will someday become Privoxy v3.2. See http://www.privoxy.org/ for more
36 information. The current code level is technically alpha, but is not yet
37 significantly different from the 3.0.0 stable branch at this time..
39 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
41 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
42 privacy, filtering web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and
43 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
44 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
45 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
48 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
54 REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
55 Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
56 than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.
58 NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
59 Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.
61 WARNING! If upgrading from earlier versions of this project via RPM packages,
62 the new package will delete any previously installed 'Junkbuster' packages.
64 IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
65 port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
66 change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.
68 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
72 To build Privoxy from source, autoconf, GNU make (gmake), and, of course, a C
73 compiler like gcc are required.
75 When building from a source tarball (either release version or nightly CVS
76 tarball), first unpack the source:
78 tar xzvf privoxy-3.1.1-beta-src* [.tgz or .tar.gz]
81 For retrieving the current CVS sources, you'll need CVS installed. Note that
82 sources from CVS are development quality, and may not be stable, or well
83 tested. To download CVS source:
85 cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa login
86 cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/ijbswa co current
89 This will create a directory named current/, which will contain the source
92 Then, in either case, to build from unpacked tarball or CVS source:
96 ./configure # (--help to see options)
97 make # (the make from gnu, gmake for *BSD)
99 make -n install # (to see where all the files will go)
100 make install # (to really install)
102 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
104 |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
105 |The "make install" target is temporary quite broken! It is recommended to use|
106 |a binary package, or do a source build, and manually install the components. |
108 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
110 If you have gnu make, you can have the first four steps automatically done for
115 in the freshly downloaded or unpacked source directory.
117 For more detailed instructions on how to build Redhat and SuSE RPMs, Windows
118 self-extracting installers, building on platforms with special requirements
119 etc, please consult the developer manual.
121 For binary RPM installation, and other platforms, see the user-manual as well.
123 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
127 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
128 [.GROUP]] [config_file]
130 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
131 configuration and usage issues.
133 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
134 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
135 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
137 Or for Red Hat based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
139 Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start
141 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
143 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
147 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', and 'default.filter'.
148 'user.action' is for personal and local configuration preferences. These are
149 all well commented. Most of the magic is in '*.action' files. 'user.action'
150 should be used for any actions customizations. On Unix-like systems, these
151 files are installed in /etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable
152 itself is installed. There are many significant changes and advances since
153 Junkbuster v2.0.x. The User Manual has an explanation of all configuration
154 options, and examples: http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
156 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
157 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
158 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
159 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
161 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
162 p.p/, as well other options.
164 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
167 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
171 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it is not
172 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
173 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
175 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
176 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
177 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
178 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
179 the toplevel source directory.
181 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
182 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
185 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
187 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
189 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
190 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
191 with the best support:
193 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
197 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
198 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
200 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
201 list, where the developers also hang around.
203 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
207 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
208 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
210 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
211 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form.
213 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
214 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
215 The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on action
216 debugging. If you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock
217 configs to see if the problem is configuration related.
219 If not using the latest version, chances are that the bug has 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 your
222 bug, but this is not required for reporting.
224 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
226 6.3. Request New Features
228 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
229 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
230 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
232 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
234 6.4. Report Ads or Other Actions-Related Problems
236 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
237 blocked, and any other problems relating to the default.action file through our
238 actions feedback mechanism located at http://www.privoxy.org/actions/. On this
239 page, you will also find a bookmark which will take you back there from any
240 troubled site and even pre-fill the form!
242 New, improved default.action files will occasionally be made available based on
243 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
244 available from our the files section of our project page.
246 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
250 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
251 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
252 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
253 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?