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18 <h1 class="TITLE"><a name="AEN2" id="AEN2">Privoxy Frequently Asked
21 <p class="PUBDATE"><sub><a href="copyright.html">Copyright</a> ©
22 2001-2014 by <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy
23 Developers</a></sub><br></p>
25 <p class="PUBDATE">$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.121 2016/05/03 13:21:55 fabiankeil
29 <div class="ABSTRACT">
30 <a name="AEN9" id="AEN9"></a>
32 <p>This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
33 <a href="https://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy</a>. It is
34 not a substitute for the <a href="../user-manual/index.html"
35 target="_top"><i class="CITETITLE">Privoxy User Manual</i></a>.</p>
37 <p>What is Privoxy?</p>
39 <p>Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering
40 capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and
41 HTTP headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other
42 obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a flexible configuration and
43 can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. It has
44 application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
47 <p>Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.</p>
49 <p>Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public
52 <p>Helping hands and donations are welcome:</p>
57 "https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE" target=
58 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE</a></p>
62 <p><a href="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
64 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE</a></p>
68 <p>Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy
69 represents the state at the release of version 3.0.25. You can find
70 the latest version of the document at <a href=
71 "https://www.privoxy.org/faq/" target=
72 "_top">https://www.privoxy.org/faq/</a>. Please see the <a href=
73 "contact.html">Contact section</a> if you want to contact the
82 <dt><b>Table of Contents</b></dt>
84 <dt>1. <a href="general.html">General Information</a></dt>
88 <dt>1.1. <a href="general.html#WHO-USES">Who should give
89 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> a try?</a></dt>
91 <dt>1.2. <a href="general.html#BESTCHOICE">Is Privoxy the best
92 choice for me?</a></dt>
94 <dt>1.3. <a href="general.html#PROXYMORON">What is a <span class=
95 "QUOTE">"proxy"</span>? How does Privoxy work?</a></dt>
97 <dt>1.4. <a href="general.html#OTHERSTUFF">Does Privoxy do
98 anything more than ad blocking?</a></dt>
100 <dt>1.5. <a href="general.html#NEWJB">What is this new version of
101 <span class="QUOTE">"Junkbuster"</span>?</a></dt>
103 <dt>1.6. <a href="general.html#WHYPRIVOXY">Why <span class=
104 "QUOTE">"Privoxy"</span>? Why change the name from Junkbuster at
107 <dt>1.7. <a href="general.html#DIFFERS">How does Privoxy differ
108 from the old Junkbuster?</a></dt>
110 <dt>1.8. <a href="general.html#WHATSANAD">How does Privoxy know
111 what is an ad, and what is not?</a></dt>
113 <dt>1.9. <a href="general.html#MISTAKES">Can Privoxy make
114 mistakes? This does not sound very scientific.</a></dt>
116 <dt>1.10. <a href="general.html#CONFIGORNOT">Will I have to
117 configure Privoxy before I can use it?</a></dt>
119 <dt>1.11. <a href="general.html#LAN">Can Privoxy run as a server
120 on a network?</a></dt>
122 <dt>1.12. <a href="general.html#BROWSERS2">My browser does the
123 same things as Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</a></dt>
125 <dt>1.13. <a href="general.html#WHYTRUST">Why should I trust
128 <dt>1.14. <a href="general.html#LICENSE">Is there is a license or
129 fee? What about a warranty? Registration?</a></dt>
131 <dt>1.15. <a href="general.html#SPYWARE">Can Privoxy remove
132 spyware? Adware? Viruses?</a></dt>
134 <dt>1.16. <a href="general.html#OTHERADS">Can I use Privoxy with
135 other ad-blocking software?</a></dt>
137 <dt>1.17. <a href="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS">I would like
138 to help you, what can I do?</a></dt>
142 <dt>1.17.1. <a href="general.html#PARTICIPATE">Would you like
143 to participate?</a></dt>
145 <dt>1.17.2. <a href="general.html#DONATE">Would you like to
152 <dt>2. <a href="installation.html">Installation</a></dt>
156 <dt>2.1. <a href="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS">Which browsers
157 are supported by Privoxy?</a></dt>
159 <dt>2.2. <a href="installation.html#WHICHOS">Which operating
160 systems are supported?</a></dt>
162 <dt>2.3. <a href="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT">Can I use
163 Privoxy with my email client?</a></dt>
165 <dt>2.4. <a href="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP">I just installed
166 Privoxy. Is there anything special I have to do now?</a></dt>
168 <dt>2.5. <a href="installation.html#LOCALHOST">What is the proxy
169 address of Privoxy?</a></dt>
171 <dt>2.6. <a href="installation.html#NOTHING">I just installed
172 Privoxy, and nothing is happening. All the ads are there. What's
175 <dt>2.7. <a href="installation.html#NOTUSED">I get a <span class=
176 "QUOTE">"Privoxy is not being used"</span> dummy page although
177 Privoxy is running and being used.</a></dt>
181 <dt>3. <a href="configuration.html">Configuration</a></dt>
185 <dt>3.1. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE">What exactly is
186 an <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> file?</a></dt>
188 <dt>3.2. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSS">The <span class=
189 "QUOTE">"actions"</span> concept confuses me. Please list some of
190 these <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span>.</a></dt>
192 <dt>3.3. <a href="configuration.html#ACTCONFIG">How are actions
193 files configured? What is the easiest way to do this?</a></dt>
195 <dt>3.4. <a href="configuration.html#AEN393">There are several
196 different <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> files. What are
197 the differences?</a></dt>
199 <dt>3.5. <a href="configuration.html#GETUPDATES">Where can I get
200 updated Actions Files?</a></dt>
202 <dt>3.6. <a href="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG">Can I use my old
203 config files?</a></dt>
205 <dt>3.7. <a href="configuration.html#DIFFICULT">Why is the
206 configuration so complicated?</a></dt>
208 <dt>3.8. <a href="configuration.html#YAHOO">How can I make my
209 Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</a></dt>
211 <dt>3.9. <a href="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES">What's the
212 difference between the <span class="QUOTE">"Cautious"</span>,
213 <span class="QUOTE">"Medium"</span> and <span class=
214 "QUOTE">"Advanced"</span> defaults?</a></dt>
216 <dt>3.10. <a href="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG">Why can I
217 change the configuration with a browser? Does that not raise
218 security issues?</a></dt>
220 <dt>3.11. <a href="configuration.html#FILTERFILE">What is the
221 <tt class="FILENAME">default.filter</tt> file? What is a
222 <span class="QUOTE">"filter"</span>?</a></dt>
224 <dt>3.12. <a href="configuration.html#LANCONFIG">How can I set up
225 Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN?</a></dt>
227 <dt>3.13. <a href="configuration.html#NOSEEUM">Instead of ads,
228 now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see
231 <dt>3.14. <a href="configuration.html#WHYSEEUM">Why would anybody
232 want to see a checkerboard pattern?</a></dt>
234 <dt>3.15. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKEDBYTEXT">I see some
235 images being replaced with text instead of the checkerboard
236 image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</a></dt>
238 <dt>3.16. <a href="configuration.html#SRVANY">Can Privoxy run as
239 a service on Win2K/NT/XP?</a></dt>
241 <dt>3.17. <a href="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY">How can I make
242 Privoxy work with other proxies?</a></dt>
244 <dt>3.18. <a href="configuration.html#PORT-80">Can I just set
245 Privoxy to use port 80 and thus avoid individual browser
246 configuration?</a></dt>
248 <dt>3.19. <a href="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT">Can Privoxy
249 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"transparent"</span> proxy?</a></dt>
251 <dt>3.20. <a href="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING">Can Privoxy
252 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"intercepting"</span>
255 <dt>3.21. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK">How can I
256 configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</a></dt>
258 <dt>3.22. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE">How can I
259 have separate rules just for HTML mail?</a></dt>
261 <dt>3.23. <a href="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES">I sometimes
262 notice cookies sneaking through. How?</a></dt>
264 <dt>3.24. <a href="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES">Are all
265 cookies bad? Why?</a></dt>
267 <dt>3.25. <a href="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES">How can I
268 allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</a></dt>
270 <dt>3.26. <a href="configuration.html#MULTIPLES">Can I have
271 separate configurations for different users?</a></dt>
273 <dt>3.27. <a href="configuration.html#WHITELISTS">Can I set-up
274 Privoxy as a whitelist of <span class="QUOTE">"good"</span>
277 <dt>3.28. <a href="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK">How can I turn
278 off ad-blocking?</a></dt>
280 <dt>3.29. <a href="configuration.html#TEMPLATES">How can I have
281 custom template pages, like the <span class="emphasis"><i class=
282 "EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span> page?</a></dt>
284 <dt>3.30. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKALL">How can I remove
285 the <span class="QUOTE">"Go There Anyway"</span> link from the
286 <span class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">BLOCKED</i></span>
291 <dt>4. <a href="misc.html">Miscellaneous</a></dt>
295 <dt>4.1. <a href="misc.html#SLOWSME">How much does Privoxy slow
296 my browsing down? This has to add extra time to
299 <dt>4.2. <a href="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES">I notice considerable
300 delays in page requests. What's wrong?</a></dt>
302 <dt>4.3. <a href="misc.html#CONFIGURL">What are
303 "http://config.privoxy.org/" and "http://p.p/"?</a></dt>
305 <dt>4.4. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS">How can I submit new ads, or
306 report problems?</a></dt>
308 <dt>4.5. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS2">If I do submit missed ads,
309 will they be included in future updates?</a></dt>
311 <dt>4.6. <a href="misc.html#NOONECARES">Why doesn't anyone answer
312 my support request?</a></dt>
314 <dt>4.7. <a href="misc.html#IP">How can I hide my IP
317 <dt>4.8. <a href="misc.html#ANONFORSURE">Can Privoxy guarantee I
318 am anonymous?</a></dt>
320 <dt>4.9. <a href="misc.html#PROXYTEST">A test site says I am not
321 using a Proxy.</a></dt>
323 <dt>4.10. <a href="misc.html#TOR">How do I use Privoxy together
326 <dt>4.11. <a href="misc.html#SITEBREAK">Might some things break
327 because header information or content is being altered?</a></dt>
329 <dt>4.12. <a href="misc.html#CACHING">Can Privoxy act as a
330 <span class="QUOTE">"caching"</span> proxy to speed up web
333 <dt>4.13. <a href="misc.html#FIREWALL">What about as a firewall?
334 Can Privoxy protect me?</a></dt>
336 <dt>4.14. <a href="misc.html#WASTED">I have large empty spaces /
337 a checkerboard pattern now where ads used to be. Why?</a></dt>
339 <dt>4.15. <a href="misc.html#SSL">How can Privoxy filter Secure
340 (HTTPS) URLs?</a></dt>
342 <dt>4.16. <a href="misc.html#SECURE">Privoxy runs as a
343 <span class="QUOTE">"server"</span>. How secure is it? Do I need
344 to take any special precautions?</a></dt>
346 <dt>4.17. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF">Can I temporarily disable
349 <dt>4.18. <a href="misc.html#REALLYOFF">When <span class=
350 "QUOTE">"disabled"</span> is Privoxy totally out of the
353 <dt>4.19. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF2">How can I tell Privoxy to
354 totally ignore certain sites?</a></dt>
356 <dt>4.20. <a href="misc.html#CRUNCH">My logs show Privoxy
357 <span class="QUOTE">"crunches"</span> ads, but also its own
358 internal CGI pages. What is a <span class=
359 "QUOTE">"crunch"</span>?</a></dt>
361 <dt>4.21. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS">Can Privoxy affect files
362 that I download from a webserver? FTP server?</a></dt>
364 <dt>4.22. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2">I just downloaded a Perl
365 script, and Privoxy altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</a></dt>
367 <dt>4.23. <a href="misc.html#HOSTSFILE">Should I continue to use
368 a <span class="QUOTE">"HOSTS"</span> file for
369 ad-blocking?</a></dt>
371 <dt>4.24. <a href="misc.html#SEEALSO">Where can I find more
372 information about Privoxy and related issues?</a></dt>
374 <dt>4.25. <a href="misc.html#MICROSUCK">I've noticed that Privoxy
375 changes <span class="QUOTE">"Microsoft"</span> to <span class=
376 "QUOTE">"MicroSuck"</span>! Why are you manipulating my
379 <dt>4.26. <a href="misc.html#VALID">Does Privoxy produce
380 <span class="QUOTE">"valid"</span> HTML (or XHTML)?</a></dt>
382 <dt>4.27. <a href="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY">How did you manage
383 to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</a></dt>
387 <dt>5. <a href="trouble.html">Troubleshooting</a></dt>
391 <dt>5.1. <a href="trouble.html#REFUSED">I cannot connect to any
392 websites. Or, I am getting <span class="QUOTE">"connection
393 refused"</span> message with every web page. Why?</a></dt>
395 <dt>5.2. <a href="trouble.html#ERROR503">Why am I getting a 503
396 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</a></dt>
398 <dt>5.3. <a href="trouble.html#FLUSHIT">I just added a new rule,
399 but the steenkin ad is still getting through. How?</a></dt>
401 <dt>5.4. <a href="trouble.html#BADSITE">One of my favorite sites
402 does not work with Privoxy. What can I do?</a></dt>
404 <dt>5.5. <a href="trouble.html#DUN">After installing Privoxy, I
405 have to log in every time I start IE. What gives?</a></dt>
407 <dt>5.6. <a href="trouble.html#FTP">I cannot connect to any FTP
408 sites. Privoxy is blocking me.</a></dt>
410 <dt>5.7. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIE">In Mac OS X, I can't
411 configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use Privoxy as the HTTP
414 <dt>5.8. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL">In Mac OS X, I
415 dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to uninstall it.
416 Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
417 empty the trash.</a></dt>
419 <dt>5.9. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES">In Mac OS X Panther
420 (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I experience random
421 delays in page loading. I'm using <tt class=
422 "LITERAL">localhost</tt> as my browser's proxy setting.</a></dt>
424 <dt>5.10. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXACCOUNTDELETION">I just
425 upgraded to Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and now <span class=
426 "APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> has stopped working.</a></dt>
428 <dt>5.11. <a href="trouble.html#BLANKPAGE">I get a completely
429 blank page at one site. <span class="QUOTE">"View Source"</span>
430 shows only: <span class=
431 "MARKUP"><html><body></body></html></span>.
432 Without Privoxy the page loads fine.</a></dt>
434 <dt>5.12. <a href="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME">My logs show many
435 <span class="QUOTE">"Unable to get my own hostname"</span> lines.
438 <dt>5.13. <a href="trouble.html#INUSE">When I try to launch
439 Privoxy, I get an error message <span class="QUOTE">"port 8118 is
440 already in use"</span> (or similar wording). Why?</a></dt>
442 <dt>5.14. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER">Pages with UTF-8
443 fonts are garbled.</a></dt>
445 <dt>5.15. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2">Why are binary
446 files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy is used?</a></dt>
448 <dt>5.16. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3">What is the
449 <span class="QUOTE">"demoronizer"</span> and why is it
452 <dt>5.17. <a href="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN">Why do I keep seeing
453 <span class="QUOTE">"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</span> in raw source
456 <dt>5.18. <a href="trouble.html#DNSERRORS">I am getting too many
457 DNS errors like <span class="QUOTE">"404 No Such Domain"</span>.
458 Why can't Privoxy do this better?</a></dt>
460 <dt>5.19. <a href="trouble.html#ALLCPU">At one site Privoxy just
461 hangs, and starts taking all CPU. Why is this?</a></dt>
463 <dt>5.20. <a href="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL">I just installed
464 Privoxy, and all my browsing has slowed to a crawl. What
467 <dt>5.21. <a href="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP">Why do my filters
468 work on some sites but not on others?</a></dt>
470 <dt>5.22. <a href="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS">On some HTTPS sites
471 my browser warns me about unauthenticated content, the URL bar
472 doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
473 What's going on?</a></dt>
475 <dt>5.23. <a href="trouble.html#SE-LINUX">I get selinux error
476 messages. How can I fix this?</a></dt>
478 <dt>5.24. <a href="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS">I compiled
479 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> with Gentoo's portage
480 and it appears to be very slow. Why?</a></dt>
482 <dt>5.25. <a href="trouble.html#TAINTED-SOCKETS">What are tainted
483 sockets and how do I prevent them?</a></dt>
487 <dt>6. <a href="contact.html">Contacting the developers, Bug
488 Reporting and Feature Requests</a></dt>
492 <dt>6.1. <a href="contact.html#SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION">Please
493 provide sufficient information</a></dt>
495 <dt>6.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT">Get
498 <dt>6.3. <a href="contact.html#REPORTING">Reporting
503 <dt>6.3.1. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS">Reporting Ads
504 or Other Configuration Problems</a></dt>
506 <dt>6.3.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS">Reporting
511 <dt>6.4. <a href="contact.html#SECURITY-CONTACT">Reporting
512 security problems</a></dt>
514 <dt>6.5. <a href="contact.html#MAILING-LISTS">Mailing
517 <dt>6.6. <a href="contact.html#SF-TRACKERS">SourceForge support
522 <dt>7. <a href="copyright.html">Privoxy Copyright, License and
527 <dt>7.1. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1484">License</a></dt>
529 <dt>7.2. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1493">History</a></dt>
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547 accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
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555 <td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">General Information</td>