<!entity % dummy "INCLUDE">
<!entity supported SYSTEM "supported.sgml">
<!entity newfeatures SYSTEM "newfeatures.sgml">
+<!entity p-intro SYSTEM "privoxy.sgml">
+<!entity seealso SYSTEM "seealso.sgml">
]>
<!--
File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/user-manual.sgml,v $
This file belongs into
ijbswa.sourceforge.net:/home/groups/i/ij/ijbswa/htdocs/
- $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.62 2002/03/30 04:15:53 hal9 Exp $
+ $Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.63 2002/04/01 16:24:49 hal9 Exp $
Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 the SourceForge
Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
<artheader>
<title>Privoxy User Manual</title>
-<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.62 2002/03/30 04:15:53 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
+<pubdate>$Id: user-manual.sgml,v 1.63 2002/04/01 16:24:49 hal9 Exp $</pubdate>
<authorgroup>
<author>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect1 id="introduction"><title>Introduction</title>
-<para>
- <application>Privoxy</application> 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. <application>Privoxy</application> has a very
- flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
- tastes. <application>Privoxy</application> has application for both
- stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- <application>Privoxy</application> is based on the code of the
- <application>Internet Junkbuster</application>.
- <application>Junkbuster</application> 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.
-</para>
-
-<para>
- <application>Privoxy</application> continues the
- <application>Junkbuster</application> tradition, but adds many
- refinements and enhancements.
-</para>
+<!--
+ Include privoxy.sgml boilerplate:
+-->
+&p-intro;
<para>
This documentation is included with the current BETA version of
<application>Privoxy</application> is packaged in a WarpIN self-
installing archive. The self-installing program will be named depending
on the release version, something like:
- <filename>ijbos2_setup_1.2.3.exe</filename>. In order to install it, simply
+ <filename>privoxyos2_setup_1.2.3.exe</filename>. In order to install it, simply
run this executable or double-click on its icon and follow the WarpIN
installation panels. A shadow of the <application>Privoxy</application>
executable will be placed in your startup folder so it will start
<para>
Before launching <application>Privoxy</application> for the first time, you
will want to configure your browser(s) to use <application>Privoxy</application>
- and the HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is localhost for the proxy address,
+ as a HTTP and HTTPS proxy. The default is localhost for the proxy address,
and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 800). This is the one required
configuration that must be done!
</para>
With <application>Netscape</application> (and
<application>Mozilla</application>), this can be set under <literal>Edit
-> Preferences -> Advanced -> Proxies -> HTTP Proxy</literal>.
- For <application>Internet Explorer</application>: <literal>Tools >
+ For <application>Internet Explorer</application>: <literal>Tools ->
Internet Properties -> Connections -> LAN Setting</literal>. Then,
check <quote>Use Proxy</quote> and fill in the appropriate info (Address:
localhost, Port: 8118). Include if HTTPS proxy support too.
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
<sect1 id="configuration"><title><application>Privoxy</application> Configuration</title>
<para>
- All <application>Privoxy</application> configuration is kept
+ All <application>Privoxy</application> configuration is stored
in text files. These files can be edited with a text editor.
Many important aspects of <application>Privoxy</application> can
also be controlled easily with a web browser.
file that can be accessed via <ulink
url="http://p.p">http://p.p</ulink>. (Other actions
files are included as well with differing levels of filtering
- and blocking, e.g. <filename>ijb-basic.action</filename>.)
+ and blocking, e.g. <filename>basic.action</filename>.)
</para>
</listitem>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> can use a number of other files to tell it
- what ads to block, what cookies to accept, etc. This section of the
- configuration file tells <application>Privoxy</application> where to find
- all those other files.
+ what ads to block, what cookies to accept, and perform other functions. This
+ section of the configuration file tells <application>Privoxy</application>
+ where to find all those other files.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
<msgtext>
<literallayout>
- <emphasis>trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/why_we_block.html</emphasis>
- <emphasis>trust-info-url http://www.your-site.com/what_we_allow.html</emphasis>
+ <emphasis>trust-info-url http://www.example.com/why_we_block.html</emphasis>
+ <emphasis>trust-info-url http://www.example.com/what_we_allow.html</emphasis>
</literallayout>
</msgtext>
</literal>
<literal>
<msgtext>
<literallayout>
- <emphasis>proxy-info-url http://www.your-site.com/proxy.html</emphasis>
+ <emphasis>proxy-info-url http://www.example.com/proxy.html</emphasis>
</literallayout>
</msgtext>
</literal>
<para>
The <quote>default.action</quote> file (formerly
- <filename>actionsfile</filename> or <filename>ijb.action</filename>) is used to define what actions
- <application>Privoxy</application> takes, and thus determines how images,
- cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and transactions are
- handled. Images can be anything you want, including ads, banners, or just
- some obnoxious URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted
- or rejected, or accepted only during the current browser session (i.e.
- not written to disk). Changes to <filename>default.action</filename> should
- be immediately visible to <application>Privoxy</application> without
- the need to restart.
+ <filename>actionsfile</filename> or <filename>ijb.action</filename>) is used
+ to define what actions <application>Privoxy</application> takes, and thus
+ determines how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content
+ and transactions are handled. These can be accepted or rejected for all
+ sites, or just those sites you choose. See below for a complete list of
+ actions.
+</para>
+<para>
+ Anything you want can blocked, including ads, banners, or just some obnoxious
+ URL that you would rather not see. Cookies can be accepted or rejected, or
+ accepted only during the current browser session (i.e. not written to disk).
+ Changes to <filename>default.action</filename> should be immediately visible
+ to <application>Privoxy</application> without the need to restart.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ Note that some sites may misbehave, or possibly not work at all with some
+ actions. This may require some tinkering with the rules to get the most
+ mileage of <application>Privoxy's</application> features, and still be
+ able to see and enjoy just what you want to. There is no general rule of
+ thumb on these things. There just are too many variables, and sites are
+ always changing.
+
</para>
<para>
- The easiest way to edit <quote>actions</quote> file is with a browser by
+ The easiest way to edit the <quote>actions</quote> file is with a browser by
loading <ulink url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink>, and then select
<quote>Edit Actions List</quote>. A text editor can also be used.
</para>
</para>
<para>
- <emphasis>/index.html</emphasis> - matches the document <quote>/index.html</quote>, regardless of
- the domain.
+ <emphasis>/index.html</emphasis> - matches the document <quote>/index.html</quote>,
+ regardless of the domain. So would match any page named <quote>index.html</quote>
+ on any site.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- <emphasis>.example.com</emphasis> - matches any domain that <emphasis>ENDS</emphasis> in
- <quote>.example.com</quote>.
+ <emphasis>.example.com</emphasis> - matches any domain or sub-domain that
+ <emphasis>ENDS</emphasis> in <quote>.example.com</quote>.
</para>
<para>
<para>
If <application>Privoxy</application> was compiled with
- <quote>pcre</quote> support (default), Perl compatible regular expressions
- can be used. See the <filename>pcre/docs/</filename> directory or <quote>man
+ <quote>pcre</quote> support (the default), Perl compatible regular expressions
+ can be used. These are more flexible and powerful than other types
+ of <quote>regular expressions</quote>. See the <filename>pcre/docs/</filename> directory or <quote>man
perlre</quote> (also available on <ulink
url="http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html">http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/pod/perlre.html</ulink>)
for details. A brief discussion of regular expressions is in the
</para>
<para>
- Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. For multi-valued
- actions, the actions are applied in the order they are specified.
+ Later defined actions always over-ride earlier ones. So exceptions
+ to any rules you make, should come in the latter part of the file. For
+ multi-valued actions, the actions are applied in the order they are
+ specified.
</para>
<para>
<para>
Block this URL totally. In a default installation, a <quote>blocked</quote>
URL will result in bright red banner that says <quote>BLOCKED</quote>,
- with a reason why it is being blocked.
+ with a reason why it is being blocked, and an option to see it anyway.
+ The page displayed for this is the <quote>blocked</quote> template
+ file.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
Apply the filters in the <literal>section_header</literal>
section of the <filename>default.filter</filename> file to the site(s).
<filename>default.filter</filename> sections are grouped according to like
- functionality.
+ functionality. <application>Filters</application> can be used to
+ re-write any of the raw page content. This is a potentially a
+ very powerful feature!
</para>
<para>
Don't send the <quote>Referer:</quote> (sic) header to the web site. You
can block it, forge a URL to the same server as the request (which is
preferred because some sites will not send images otherwise) or set it to a
- constant string of your choice.
+ constant, user defined string of your choice.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
See <quote>+image-blocker{}</quote> below for the control over what is actually sent.
If you want <emphasis>invisible</emphasis> ads, they should be defined as
<emphasis>images</emphasis> and <emphasis>blocked</emphasis>. And also,
- <quote>image-blocker</quote> should be set to <quote>blank</quote>.
+ <quote>image-blocker</quote> should be set to <quote>blank</quote>. Note you
+ cannot treat HTML pages as images in most cases. For instance, frames
+ require an HTML page to display. Forcing an <quote>image</quote> in this
+ situation just will not work.
</para>
<para>
<literal>
<application>Privoxy</application>, since <quote>+filter</quote>,
<quote>+no-popup</quote> and <quote>+gif-deanimate</quote> will not work on
compressed data. This will slow down connections to those websites,
- though. Default is <quote>nocompression</quote> is turned on.
+ though. Default is <quote>no-compression</quote> is turned on.
</para>
<para>
</para>
<para>
- Now some URLs that we want <quote>blocked</quote>, ie we won't see them.
- Many of these use regular expressions that will expand to match multiple
- URLs:
+ Now some URLs that we want <quote>blocked</quote> (normally generates
+ the <quote>blocked</quote> banner). Many of these use regular expressions
+ that will expand to match multiple URLs:
</para>
<para>
<quote>z</quote>, <quote>0</quote>-<quote>9</quote>, <quote>+</quote>, and
<quote>-</quote>. Alias names are not case sensitive, and
<emphasis>must be defined before anything</emphasis> else in the
- <filename>default.action</filename>file ! And there can only be one set of
+ <filename>default.action</filename>file! And there can only be one set of
<quote>aliases</quote> defined.
</para>
</literal>
</para>
+<para>
+ The <quote>shop</quote> and <quote>fragile</quote> aliases are often used for
+ <quote>problem</quote> sites that require most actions to be disabled
+ in order to function properly.
+
+</para>
+
</sect3>
</sect2>
<filename>default.filter</filename>, located in the config directory.
</para>
+<para>
+ This is potentially a very powerful feature, and requires knowledge of both
+ <quote>regular expression</quote> and HTML in order create custom
+ filters. But, there are a number of useful filters included with
+ <application>Privoxy</application> for many common situations.
+</para>
+
<para>
The included example file is divided into sections. Each section begins
with the <literal>FILTER</literal> keyword, followed by the identifier
for that section, e.g. <quote>FILTER: webbugs</quote>. Each section performs
a similar type of filtering, such as <quote>html-annoyances</quote>.
-
</para>
<para>
On Linux, BSD, and Unix, these are located in
<filename>/etc/privoxy/templates</filename> by default. These may be
customized, if desired.
+</para>
+<para>
+ The default <quote>Blocked</quote> banner page with the bright red top
+ banner, is called just <quote><filename>blocked</filename></quote>. This
+ may be customized or replaced with something else if desired.
</para>
</sect2>
<para>
<application>Privoxy</application> is free software; you can
redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+<!--
+ <informalfigure float="0">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="gnu.jpg" format="jpg">
+ </imageobject>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GNU's Pet GNU</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </informalfigure>
+-->
License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
License, or (at your option) any later version.
</para>
+
<para>
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more
- details, which is available from <ulink
- url="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">the Free Software Foundation,
- Inc</ulink>, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+ details, which is available from the Free Software Foundation,
+ Inc, 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+</para>
+
+<para>
+ You should have received a copy of the <ulink
+ url="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public License</ulink>
+ along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+ 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<!-- ~~~~~ New section ~~~~~ -->
-<sect1 id="seealso"><title>See also</title>
-<para>
-
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa">http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa</ulink>,
- the Project Page for <application>Privoxy</application>.
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://www.privoxy.org/">http://www.privoxy.org/</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://p.p/">http://p.p/</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html">http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/">http://www.waldherr.org/junkbuster/</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://privacy.net/analyze/">http://privacy.net/analyze/</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
- <simplelist>
- <member>
- <ulink url="http://www.squid-cache.org/">http://www.squid-cache.org/</ulink>
- </member>
- </simplelist>
+<sect1 id="seealso"><title>See Also</title>
+<!--
+ Include seealso.sgml:
+-->
+&seealso;
-</para>
</sect1>
</para>
<para>
- Now the page displays ;-)
+ Now the page displays ;-) Be sure to flush your browser's caches when
+ making such changes. Or, try using <literal>Shift+Reload</literal>.
</para>
</screen>
</para>
+<para>
+ <quote>{fragile}</quote> is an alias that disables most actions. This can be
+ used as a last resort for problem sites. Remember to flush caches! If this
+ still does not work, you will have to go through the remaining actions one by
+ one to find which one(s) is causing the problem.
+</para>
+
</sect2>
</sect1>
Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
$Log: user-manual.sgml,v $
+ Revision 1.63 2002/04/01 16:24:49 hal9
+ Define entities to include boilerplate text. See doc/source/*.
+
Revision 1.62 2002/03/30 04:15:53 hal9
- Fix privoxy.org/config links.
- Paste in Bookmarklets from Toggle page.