1 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
5 >The Main Configuration File</TITLE
8 CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.79"><LINK
10 TITLE="Privoxy 3.0.27 User Manual"
11 HREF="index.html"><LINK
13 TITLE="Privoxy Configuration"
14 HREF="configuration.html"><LINK
17 HREF="actions-file.html"><LINK
20 HREF="../p_doc.css"><META
21 HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"
24 <LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="p_doc.css">
36 SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
45 >Privoxy 3.0.27 User Manual</TH
53 HREF="configuration.html"
67 HREF="actions-file.html"
82 >7. The Main Configuration File</A
85 > By default, the main configuration file is named <TT
89 with the exception of Windows, where it is named <TT
93 Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of
94 values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For
102 >confdir /etc/privoxy</I
106 > Assigns the value <TT
113 > and thus indicates that the configuration
114 directory is named <SPAN
116 >"/etc/privoxy/"</SPAN
119 > All options in the config file except for <TT
126 > are optional. Watch out in the below description
127 for what happens if you leave them unset.</P
129 > The main config file controls all aspects of <SPAN
133 operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter
134 where you may be surfing). Like the filter and action files, the config file is
135 a plain text file and can be modified with a text editor like emacs, vim or
143 >7.1. Local Set-up Documentation</A
146 > If you intend to operate <SPAN
150 than just yourself, it might be a good idea to let them know how to reach
151 you, what you block and why you do that, your policies, etc.
159 >7.1.1. user-manual</A
170 > Location of the <SPAN
180 >A fully qualified URI</P
195 >Effect if unset:</DT
199 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/"
201 >https://www.privoxy.org/<TT
208 will be used, where <TT
223 > The User Manual URI is the single best source of information on
227 >, and is used for help links from some
228 of the internal CGI pages. The manual itself is normally packaged with the
229 binary distributions, so you probably want to set this to a locally
236 > The best all purpose solution is simply to put the full local
254 > user-manual /usr/share/doc/privoxy/user-manual</PRE
259 > The User Manual is then available to anyone with access to
263 >, by following the built-in URL:
266 >http://config.privoxy.org/user-manual/</TT
268 (or the shortcut: <TT
270 >http://p.p/user-manual/</TT
274 > If the documentation is not on the local system, it can be accessed
275 from a remote server, as:
285 > user-manual http://example.com/privoxy/user-manual/</PRE
308 > If set, this option should be <SPAN
312 >the first option in the config
315 >, because it is used while the config file is being read
331 NAME="TRUST-INFO-URL"
332 >7.1.2. trust-info-url</A
343 > A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an untrusted page is denied.
365 >Effect if unset:</DT
368 > No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page.
375 > The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism has been
377 HREF="config.html#TRUSTFILE"
388 > If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line
389 documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here.
390 Use multiple times for multiple URLs.
393 > The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up
394 locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first place!
406 >7.1.3. admin-address</A
417 > An email address to reach the <SPAN
442 >Effect if unset:</DT
445 > No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
459 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
471 NAME="PROXY-INFO-URL"
472 >7.1.4. proxy-info-url</A
483 > A URL to documentation about the local <SPAN
487 configuration or policies.
509 >Effect if unset:</DT
512 > No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
526 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
530 > This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-)
543 >7.2. Configuration and Log File Locations</A
549 > can (and normally does) use a number of
550 other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
551 This section of the configuration file tells <SPAN
555 where to find those other files.</P
557 > The user running <SPAN
561 permission for all configuration files, and write permission to any files
562 that would be modified, such as log files and actions files.</P
580 >The directory where the other configuration files are located.</P
592 >/etc/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
601 > installation dir (Windows) </P
604 >Effect if unset:</DT
648 >An alternative directory where the templates are loaded from.</P
663 >Effect if unset:</DT
666 >The templates are assumed to be located in confdir/template.</P
675 > original templates are usually
676 overwritten with each update. Use this option to relocate customized
677 templates that should be kept. As template variables might change
678 between updates, you shouldn't expect templates to work with
682 > releases other than the one
683 they were part of, though.
694 NAME="TEMPORARY-DIRECTORY"
695 >7.2.3. temporary-directory</A
706 >A directory where Privoxy can create temporary files.</P
721 >Effect if unset:</DT
724 >No temporary files are created, external filters don't work.</P
733 HREF="actions-file.html#EXTERNAL-FILTER"
741 > has to create temporary files.
742 This directive specifies the directory the temporary files should
746 > It should be a directory only <SPAN
750 (and trusted users) can access.
773 > The directory where all logging takes place
790 >/var/log/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
799 > installation dir (Windows) </P
802 >Effect if unset:</DT
835 >7.2.5. actionsfile</A
838 NAME="DEFAULT.ACTION"
841 NAME="STANDARD.ACTION"
856 HREF="actions-file.html"
865 >Complete file name, relative to <TT
881 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
882 > match-all.action # Actions that are applied to all sites and maybe overruled later on.</P
889 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
890 > default.action # Main actions file</P
897 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
898 > user.action # User customizations</P
908 >Effect if unset:</DT
911 > No actions are taken at all. More or less neutral proxying.
921 > lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended!
924 > The default values are <TT
931 > actions file maintained by the developers, and
935 >, where you can make your personal additions.
938 > Actions files contain all the per site and per URL configuration for
939 ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc.
951 >7.2.6. filterfile</A
954 NAME="DEFAULT.FILTER"
966 HREF="filter-file.html"
975 >File name, relative to <TT
984 >default.filter (Unix) <SPAN
990 > default.filter.txt (Windows)</P
993 >Effect if unset:</DT
996 > No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all
1000 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1009 actions in the actions files are turned neutral.
1019 > lines are permitted.
1023 HREF="filter-file.html"
1025 > contain content modification
1027 HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
1028 >regular expressions</A
1029 >. These rules permit
1030 powerful changes on the content of Web pages, and optionally the headers
1031 as well, e.g., you could try to disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances,
1032 re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some fun
1033 playing buzzword bingo with web pages.
1040 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1049 actions rely on the relevant filter (<TT
1055 to be defined in a filter file!
1058 > A pre-defined filter file called <TT
1062 a number of useful filters for common problems is included in the distribution.
1063 See the section on the <TT
1066 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1073 > It is recommended to place any locally adapted filters into a separate
1094 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1100 > The log file to use
1107 >File name, relative to <TT
1120 >Unset (commented out)</I
1122 >. When activated: logfile (Unix) <SPAN
1128 > privoxy.log (Windows).</P
1131 >Effect if unset:</DT
1134 > No logfile is written.
1141 > The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level
1142 of detail and number of messages are set with the <TT
1146 option (see below). The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with
1150 > (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you
1151 think it should block) and it can help you to monitor what your browser
1155 > Depending on the debug options below, the logfile may be a privacy risk
1156 if third parties can get access to it. As most users will never look
1160 > only logs fatal errors by default.
1163 > For most troubleshooting purposes, you will have to change that,
1164 please refer to the debugging section for details.
1167 > Any log files must be writable by whatever user <SPAN
1171 is being run as (on Unix, default user id is <SPAN
1177 > To prevent the logfile from growing indefinitely, it is recommended to
1178 periodically rotate or shorten it. Many operating systems support log
1179 rotation out of the box, some require additional software to do it.
1180 For details, please refer to the documentation for your operating system.
1192 >7.2.8. trustfile</A
1197 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1203 > The name of the trust file to use
1210 >File name, relative to <TT
1223 >Unset (commented out)</I
1225 >. When activated: trust (Unix) <SPAN
1231 > trust.txt (Windows)</P
1234 >Effect if unset:</DT
1237 > The entire trust mechanism is disabled.
1244 > The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and should
1245 be used with care. It is <SPAN
1251 > recommended for the casual user.
1254 > If you specify a trust file, <SPAN
1258 access to sites that are specified in the trustfile. Sites can be listed
1265 > character limits access to this site
1266 only (and any sub-paths within this site), e.g.
1269 >~www.example.com</TT
1273 >~www.example.com/features/news.html</TT
1277 > Or, you can designate sites as <SPAN
1281 >trusted referrers</I
1284 prepending the name with a <TT
1287 > character. The effect is that
1288 access to untrusted sites will be granted -- but only if a link from this
1289 trusted referrer was used to get there. The link target will then be added
1293 > so that future, direct accesses will be
1294 granted. Sites added via this mechanism do not become trusted referrers
1295 themselves (i.e. they are added with a <TT
1299 There is a limit of 512 such entries, after which new entries will not be
1303 > If you use the <TT
1306 > operator in the trust file, it may grow
1307 considerably over time.
1310 > It is recommended that <SPAN
1316 >--disable-force</TT
1319 >--disable-toggle</TT
1323 > --disable-editor</TT
1324 > options, if this feature is to be
1328 > Possible applications include limiting Internet access for children.
1344 > These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem.
1345 Note that you might also want to invoke
1353 command line option when debugging.
1366 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1372 > Key values that determine what information gets logged.
1385 >0 (i.e.: only fatal errors (that cause Privoxy to exit) are logged)</P
1388 >Effect if unset:</DT
1391 > Default value is used (see above).
1398 > The available debug levels are:
1407 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1408 > debug 1 # Log the destination for each request <SPAN
1411 > let through. See also debug 1024.
1412 debug 2 # show each connection status
1413 debug 4 # show I/O status
1414 debug 8 # show header parsing
1415 debug 16 # log all data written to the network
1416 debug 32 # debug force feature
1417 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
1418 debug 128 # debug redirects
1419 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
1420 debug 512 # Common Log Format
1421 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests <SPAN
1424 > didn't let through, and the reason why.
1425 debug 2048 # CGI user interface
1426 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
1427 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors
1428 debug 32768 # log all data read from the network
1429 debug 65536 # Log the applying actions</PRE
1434 > To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use
1441 > A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request
1442 as it happens. <SPAN
1446 >1, 1024, 4096 and 8192 are recommended</I
1449 so that you will notice when things go wrong. The other levels are
1450 probably only of interest if you are hunting down a specific problem.
1451 They can produce a hell of an output (especially 16).
1454 > If you are used to the more verbose settings, simply enable the debug lines
1458 > If you want to use pure CLF (Common Log Format), you should set <SPAN
1468 > and not enable anything else.
1474 > has a hard-coded limit for the
1475 length of log messages. If it's reached, messages are logged truncated
1476 and marked with <SPAN
1478 >"... [too long, truncated]"</SPAN
1482 > Please don't file any support requests without trying to reproduce
1483 the problem with increased debug level first. Once you read the log
1484 messages, you may even be able to solve the problem on your own.
1495 NAME="SINGLE-THREADED"
1496 >7.3.2. single-threaded</A
1501 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1507 > Whether to run only one server thread.
1535 >Effect if unset:</DT
1538 > Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability to
1539 serve multiple requests simultaneously.
1546 > This option is only there for debugging purposes.
1551 >It will drastically reduce performance.</I
1570 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1576 > The hostname shown on the CGI pages.
1598 >Effect if unset:</DT
1601 > The hostname provided by the operating system is used.
1608 > On some misconfigured systems resolving the hostname fails or
1609 takes too much time and slows Privoxy down. Setting a fixed hostname
1610 works around the problem.
1613 > In other circumstances it might be desirable to show a hostname
1614 other than the one returned by the operating system. For example
1615 if the system has several different hostnames and you don't want
1616 to use the first one.
1619 > Note that Privoxy does not validate the specified hostname value.
1631 NAME="ACCESS-CONTROL"
1632 >7.4. Access Control and Security</A
1635 > This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects
1646 NAME="LISTEN-ADDRESS"
1647 >7.4.1. listen-address</A
1652 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1658 > The address and TCP port on which <SPAN
1662 listen for client requests.
1700 >Effect if unset:</DT
1703 > Bind to 127.0.0.1 (IPv4 localhost), port 8118. This is suitable and
1704 recommended for home users who run <SPAN
1708 the same machine as their browser.
1715 > You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port.
1718 > If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to
1719 serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you
1720 will need to override the default.
1723 > You can use this statement multiple times to make
1727 > listen on more ports or more
1731 > addresses. Suitable if your operating system does not
1732 support sharing <ABBR
1742 > If a hostname is used instead of an IP address, <SPAN
1746 will try to resolve it to an IP address and if there are multiple, use the first
1750 > If the address for the hostname isn't already known on the system
1751 (for example because it's in /etc/hostname), this may result in DNS
1755 > If the specified address isn't available on the system, or if the
1756 hostname can't be resolved, <SPAN
1763 > IPv6 addresses containing colons have to be quoted by brackets.
1764 They can only be used if <SPAN
1768 been compiled with IPv6 support. If you aren't sure if your version
1769 supports it, have a look at
1772 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</TT
1776 > Some operating systems will prefer IPv6 to IPv4 addresses even if the
1777 system has no IPv6 connectivity which is usually not expected by the user.
1778 Some even rely on DNS to resolve localhost which mean the "localhost" address
1779 used may not actually be local.
1782 > It is therefore recommended to explicitly configure the intended IP address
1783 instead of relying on the operating system, unless there's a strong reason not to.
1786 > If you leave out the address, <SPAN
1790 IPv4 interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable from the
1791 Internet and/or the local network. Be aware that some GNU/Linux distributions
1792 modify that behaviour without updating the documentation. Check for non-standard
1793 patches if your <SPAN
1796 > version behaves differently.
1799 > If you configure <SPAN
1802 > to be reachable from the
1803 network, consider using <A
1804 HREF="config.html#ACLS"
1805 >access control lists</A
1807 (ACL's, see below), and/or a firewall.
1813 > to untrusted users, you will
1814 also want to make sure that the following actions are disabled: <TT
1817 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
1818 >enable-edit-actions</A
1824 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1825 >enable-remote-toggle</A
1834 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1838 a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network
1839 (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address.
1840 You want it to serve requests from inside only:
1849 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1850 > listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118</PRE
1855 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1859 IPv6-capable machine and you want it to listen on the IPv6 address
1860 of the loopback device:
1869 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1870 > listen-address [::1]:8118</PRE
1889 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1895 > Initial state of "toggle" status
1911 >Effect if unset:</DT
1914 > Act as if toggled on
1921 > If set to 0, <SPAN
1927 >"toggled off"</SPAN
1928 > mode, i.e. mostly behave like a normal,
1929 content-neutral proxy with both ad blocking and content filtering
1932 >enable-remote-toggle</TT
1944 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1945 >7.4.3. enable-remote-toggle</A
1950 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1956 > Whether or not the <A
1957 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle"
1977 >Effect if unset:</DT
1980 > The web-based toggle feature is disabled.
1987 > When toggled off, <SPAN
1990 > mostly acts like a normal,
1991 content-neutral proxy, i.e. doesn't block ads or filter content.
1994 > Access to the toggle feature can <SPAN
2001 controlled separately by <SPAN
2004 > or HTTP authentication,
2005 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
2016 toggle it for all users. So this option is <SPAN
2023 for multi-user environments with untrusted users.
2026 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
2027 capable of using this option.
2034 documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
2037 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
2041 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
2052 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-HTTP-TOGGLE"
2053 >7.4.4. enable-remote-http-toggle</A
2058 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2064 > Whether or not Privoxy recognizes special HTTP headers to change its behaviour.
2080 >Effect if unset:</DT
2083 > Privoxy ignores special HTTP headers.
2090 > When toggled on, the client can change <SPAN
2094 behaviour by setting special HTTP headers. Currently the only supported
2095 special header is <SPAN
2097 >"X-Filter: No"</SPAN
2098 >, to disable filtering for
2099 the ongoing request, even if it is enabled in one of the action files.
2102 > This feature is disabled by default. If you are using
2106 > in a environment with trusted clients,
2107 you may enable this feature at your discretion. Note that malicious client
2108 side code (e.g Java) is also capable of using this feature.
2111 > This option will be removed in future releases as it has been obsoleted
2112 by the more general header taggers.
2123 NAME="ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
2124 >7.4.5. enable-edit-actions</A
2129 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2135 > Whether or not the <A
2136 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
2156 >Effect if unset:</DT
2159 > The web-based actions file editor is disabled.
2166 > Access to the editor can <SPAN
2173 controlled separately by <SPAN
2176 > or HTTP authentication,
2177 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
2188 modify its configuration for all users.
2191 > This option is <SPAN
2198 with untrusted users and as a lot of <SPAN
2202 users don't read documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
2205 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
2206 capable of using the actions editor and you shouldn't enable
2207 this options unless you understand the consequences and are
2208 sure your browser is configured correctly.
2211 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
2215 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
2226 NAME="ENFORCE-BLOCKS"
2227 >7.4.6. enforce-blocks</A
2232 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2238 > Whether the user is allowed to ignore blocks and can <SPAN
2240 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2269 >Effect if unset:</DT
2272 > Blocks are not enforced.
2282 > is mainly used to block and filter
2283 requests as a service to the user, for example to block ads and other
2284 junk that clogs the pipes. <SPAN
2288 isn't perfect and sometimes innocent pages are blocked. In this situation it
2289 makes sense to allow the user to enforce the request and have
2296 > In the default configuration <SPAN
2303 > page contains a <SPAN
2305 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2307 link to adds a special string (the force prefix) to the request URL.
2308 If that link is used, <SPAN
2312 detect the force prefix, remove it again and let the request pass.
2318 > can also be used to enforce
2319 a network policy. In that case the user obviously should not be able to
2320 bypass any blocks, and that's what the <SPAN
2322 >"enforce-blocks"</SPAN
2324 option is for. If it's enabled, <SPAN
2330 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2331 > link. If the user adds the force
2332 prefix by hand, it will not be accepted and the circumvention attempt
2352 >7.4.7. ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</A
2355 NAME="PERMIT-ACCESS"
2363 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2369 > Who can access what.
2421 > are IPv4 addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid
2439 > are subnet masks in CIDR notation, i.e. integer
2440 values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole
2441 destination part are optional.
2444 > If your system implements
2446 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
2460 > can be IPv6 addresses delimeted by
2467 or a service name, and
2501 any port will match. If no <TT
2512 > is given, the complete IP
2513 address has to match (i.e. 32 bits for IPv4 and 128 bits for IPv6).
2517 >Effect if unset:</DT
2520 > Don't restrict access further than implied by <TT
2530 > Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems
2531 administrators, and <SPAN
2535 >are not usually needed by individual users</I
2538 For a typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that
2542 > only listens on the localhost
2543 (127.0.0.1) or internal (home) network address by means of the
2545 HREF="config.html#LISTEN-ADDRESS"
2557 > Please see the warnings in the FAQ that <SPAN
2561 is not intended to be a substitute for a firewall or to encourage anyone
2562 to defer addressing basic security weaknesses.
2565 > Multiple ACL lines are OK.
2566 If any ACLs are specified, <SPAN
2570 to IP addresses that match at least one <TT
2574 and don't match any subsequent <TT
2577 > line. In other words, the
2578 last match wins, with the default being <TT
2587 > is using a forwarder (see <TT
2591 for a particular destination URL, the <TT
2597 that is examined is the address of the forwarder and <SPAN
2604 of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local
2608 > to determine the IP address of the
2609 ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for).
2612 > You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address lookups take
2613 time. All DNS names must resolve! You can <SPAN
2619 > use domain patterns
2623 > or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to multiple
2624 IP addresses, only the first one is used.
2627 > Some systems allow IPv4 clients to connect to IPv6 server sockets.
2628 Then the client's IPv4 address will be translated by the system into
2629 IPv6 address space with special prefix ::ffff:0:0/96 (so called IPv4
2630 mapped IPv6 address). <SPAN
2634 and maps such ACL addresses automatically.
2637 > Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects
2638 if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other sites
2646 > Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and
2654 is OK. The absence of a <TT
2666 > destination addresses are OK:
2676 > permit-access localhost</PRE
2681 > Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to
2682 nothing but www.example.com (or other domains hosted on the same system):
2692 > permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32</PRE
2697 > Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere,
2698 with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access the IP address behind
2699 www.dirty-stuff.example.com:
2709 > permit-access 192.168.45.64/26
2710 deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com</PRE
2715 > Allow access from the IPv4 network 192.0.2.0/24 even if listening on
2716 an IPv6 wild card address (not supported on all platforms):
2725 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2726 > permit-access 192.0.2.0/24</PRE
2731 > This is equivalent to the following line even if listening on an
2732 IPv4 address (not supported on all platforms):
2741 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2742 > permit-access [::ffff:192.0.2.0]/120</PRE
2756 >7.4.8. buffer-limit</A
2761 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2767 > Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering.
2783 >Effect if unset:</DT
2786 > Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit.
2793 > For content filtering, i.e. the <TT
2800 > actions, it is necessary that
2804 > buffers the entire document body.
2805 This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending
2806 data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust -- with nasty consequences.
2810 > When a document buffer size reaches the <TT
2814 flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to
2815 filter the rest of the document is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads
2816 running, which might require up to <TT
2826 >, unless you have enabled <SPAN
2828 >"single-threaded"</SPAN
2841 NAME="ENABLE-PROXY-AUTHENTICATION-FORWARDING"
2842 >7.4.9. enable-proxy-authentication-forwarding</A
2847 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2853 > Whether or not proxy authentication through <SPAN
2872 >Effect if unset:</DT
2875 > Proxy authentication headers are removed.
2882 > Privoxy itself does not support proxy authentication, but can
2883 allow clients to authenticate against Privoxy's parent proxy.
2886 > By default Privoxy (3.0.21 and later) don't do that and remove
2887 Proxy-Authorization headers in requests and Proxy-Authenticate
2888 headers in responses to make it harder for malicious sites to
2889 trick inexperienced users into providing login information.
2892 > If this option is enabled the headers are forwarded.
2895 > Enabling this option is <SPAN
2902 no parent proxy that requires authentication or if the local network between
2903 Privoxy and the parent proxy isn't trustworthy. If proxy authentication is
2904 only required for some requests, it is recommended to use a client header filter
2905 to remove the authentication headers for requests where they aren't needed.
2916 NAME="TRUSTED-CGI-REFERER"
2917 >7.4.10. trusted-cgi-referer</A
2922 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2928 > A trusted website or webpage whose links can be followed to reach sensitive CGI pages
2935 >URL or URL prefix</P
2944 >Effect if unset:</DT
2947 > No external pages are considered trusted referers.
2957 > accepts configuration changes through CGI pages like
2959 HREF="config.html#CLIENT-SPECIFIC-TAG"
2963 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
2966 the Referer header to see if the request comes from a trusted source.
2969 > By default only the webinterface domains
2971 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/"
2973 >config.privoxy.org</A
2981 are considered trustworthy.
2982 Requests originating from other domains are rejected to prevent
2983 third-parties from modifiying Privoxy's state by e.g. embedding
2984 images that result in CGI requests.
2987 > In some environments it may be desirable to embed links to CGI pages
2988 on external pages, for example on an Intranet homepage the Privoxy admin
2994 >"trusted-cgi-referer"</SPAN
2995 > option can be used to add that page,
2996 or the whole domain, as trusted source so the resulting requests aren't
2998 Requests are accepted if the specified trusted-cgi-refer is the prefix
3020 > Declaring pages the admin doesn't control trustworthy may allow
3021 malicious third parties to modify Privoxy's internal state against
3022 the user's wishes and without the user's knowledge.
3042 > This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of
3043 multiple proxies.</P
3045 > Forwarding can be used to chain Privoxy with a caching proxy to speed
3046 up browsing. Using a parent proxy may also be necessary if the machine
3050 > runs on has no direct Internet access.</P
3052 > Note that parent proxies can severely decrease your privacy level.
3053 For example a parent proxy could add your IP address to the request
3054 headers and if it's a caching proxy it may add the <SPAN
3058 header to revalidation requests again, even though you configured Privoxy
3059 to remove it. It may also ignore Privoxy's header time randomization and use the
3060 original values which could be used by the server as cookie replacement
3061 to track your steps between visits.</P
3063 > Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. <SPAN
3067 supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols.</P
3079 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3085 > To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed.
3117 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3120 that specifies to which requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
3139 is the DNS name or IP address of the parent HTTP proxy through which the requests should be forwarded,
3140 optionally followed by its listening port (default: 8000).
3141 Use a single dot (<TT
3146 >"no forwarding"</SPAN
3163 >Effect if unset:</DT
3166 > Don't use parent HTTP proxies.
3181 >, then requests are not
3182 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers.
3191 numerical IPv6 address (if
3193 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
3197 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
3198 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
3203 > containing an IPv6 address
3204 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
3205 regular expressions already).
3208 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
3215 > Everything goes to an example parent proxy, except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle):
3225 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8080
3231 > Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests
3232 to that ISP's sites:
3242 > forward / caching-proxy.isp.example.net:8000
3243 forward .isp.example.net .</PRE
3248 > Parent proxy specified by an IPv6 address:
3257 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
3258 > forward / [2001:DB8::1]:8000</PRE
3263 > Suppose your parent proxy doesn't support IPv6:
3272 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
3273 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8000
3274 forward ipv6-server.example.org .
3275 forward <[2-3][0-9a-f][0-9a-f][0-9a-f]:*> .</PRE
3289 >7.5.2. forward-socks4, forward-socks4a, forward-socks5 and forward-socks5t</A
3292 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4"
3295 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4A"
3300 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3306 > Through which SOCKS proxy (and optionally to which parent HTTP proxy) specific requests should be routed.
3350 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3352 > that specifies to which
3353 requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
3372 are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names
3384 >"no HTTP forwarding"</SPAN
3385 >), and the optional
3391 > parameters are TCP ports,
3392 i.e. integer values from 1 to 65535
3408 >Effect if unset:</DT
3411 > Don't use SOCKS proxies.
3418 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
3421 > The difference between <TT
3426 >forward-socks4a</TT
3428 is that in the SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the SOCKS
3429 server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally.
3435 > the DNS resolution will happen on the remote server as well.
3440 >forward-socks5t</TT
3441 > works like vanilla <TT
3448 > additionally use Tor-specific SOCKS extensions. Currently the only supported
3449 SOCKS extension is optimistic data which can reduce the latency for the first request made
3450 on a newly created connection.
3465 numerical IPv6 address (if
3467 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
3471 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
3472 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
3477 > containing an IPv6 address
3478 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
3479 regular expressions already).
3490 >, then requests are not
3491 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through
3499 > From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all
3503 > domains, but everything outbound goes through
3504 their ISP's proxy by way of example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to
3515 > forward-socks4a / socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.isp.example.net:8080
3516 forward .example.com .</PRE
3521 > A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this:
3531 > forward-socks4 / socks-gw.example.com:1080 .</PRE
3536 > To chain Privoxy and Tor, both running on the same system, you would use
3547 > forward-socks5t / 127.0.0.1:9050 .</PRE
3552 > Note that if you got Tor through one of the bundles, you may
3553 have to change the port from 9050 to 9150 (or even another one).
3554 For details, please check the documentation on the
3556 HREF="https://torproject.org/"
3565 > network can't be used to
3566 reach your local network, if you need to access local servers you
3567 therefore might want to make some exceptions:
3577 > forward 192.168.*.*/ .
3579 forward 127.*.*.*/ .</PRE
3584 > Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will
3585 be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is that you
3586 can't reach the local network through <SPAN
3590 at all. Of course this may actually be desired and there is no reason
3591 to make these exceptions if you aren't sure you need them.
3594 > If you also want to be able to reach servers in your local network by
3595 using their names, you will need additional exceptions that look like
3606 > forward localhost/ .</PRE
3619 NAME="ADVANCED-FORWARDING-EXAMPLES"
3620 >7.5.3. Advanced Forwarding Examples</A
3623 > If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content
3624 only to their subscribers, you can configure multiple <SPAN
3628 which have connections to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that
3635 > users can see the internal content of all ISPs.</P
3637 > Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.example.net. And host-b has a PPP connection to
3638 isp-b.example.org. Both run <SPAN
3642 configuration can look like this:</P
3654 forward .isp-b.example.net host-b:8118</PRE
3669 forward .isp-a.example.org host-a:8118</PRE
3674 > Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either
3675 host-a or host-b and be able to browse the internal content
3676 of both isp-a and isp-b.</P
3678 > If you intend to chain <SPAN
3685 > locally, then chaining as
3688 >browser -> squid -> privoxy</TT
3689 > is the recommended way.</P
3691 > Assuming that <SPAN
3698 run on the same box, your <SPAN
3701 > configuration could then look like this:</P
3710 > # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP)
3711 cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query
3713 # Define ACL for protocol FTP
3716 # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy
3717 always_direct allow ftp
3719 # Forward all the rest to Privoxy
3720 never_direct allow all</PRE
3725 > You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to <SPAN
3728 >'s address and port.
3729 Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult <TT
3737 > You could just as well decide to only forward requests you suspect
3738 of leading to Windows executables through a virus-scanning parent proxy,
3741 >antivir.example.com</TT
3752 forward /.*\.(exe|com|dll|zip)$ antivir.example.com:8010</PRE
3762 NAME="FORWARDED-CONNECT-RETRIES"
3763 >7.5.4. forwarded-connect-retries</A
3768 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3774 > How often Privoxy retries if a forwarded connection request fails.
3784 >Number of retries.</I
3802 >Effect if unset:</DT
3805 > Connections forwarded through other proxies are treated like direct connections and no retry attempts are made.
3815 >forwarded-connect-retries</I
3817 > is mainly interesting
3818 for socks4a connections, where <SPAN
3821 > can't detect why the connections failed.
3822 The connection might have failed because of a DNS timeout in which case a retry makes sense,
3823 but it might also have failed because the server doesn't exist or isn't reachable. In this
3824 case the retry will just delay the appearance of Privoxy's error message.
3827 > Note that in the context of this option, <SPAN
3829 >"forwarded connections"</SPAN
3830 > includes all connections
3831 that Privoxy forwards through other proxies. This option is not limited to the HTTP CONNECT method.
3834 > Only use this option, if you are getting lots of forwarding-related error messages
3835 that go away when you try again manually. Start with a small value and check Privoxy's
3836 logfile from time to time, to see how many retries are usually needed.
3843 > forwarded-connect-retries 1
3856 >7.6. Miscellaneous</A
3863 NAME="ACCEPT-INTERCEPTED-REQUESTS"
3864 >7.6.1. accept-intercepted-requests</A
3869 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3875 > Whether intercepted requests should be treated as valid.
3903 >Effect if unset:</DT
3906 > Only proxy requests are accepted, intercepted requests are treated as invalid.
3913 > If you don't trust your clients and want to force them
3918 option and configure your packet filter to redirect outgoing
3919 HTTP connections into <SPAN
3925 > Note that intercepting encrypted connections (HTTPS) isn't supported.
3928 > Make sure that <SPAN
3932 aren't redirected as well. Additionally take care that
3936 > can't intentionally connect
3937 to itself, otherwise you could run into redirection loops if
3941 > listening port is reachable
3942 by the outside or an attacker has access to the pages you visit.
3945 > If you are running Privoxy as intercepting proxy without being
3946 able to intercept all client requests you may want to adjust
3947 the CGI templates to make sure they don't reference content from
3955 > accept-intercepted-requests 1
3966 NAME="ALLOW-CGI-REQUEST-CRUNCHING"
3967 >7.6.2. allow-cgi-request-crunching</A
3972 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3978 > Whether requests to <SPAN
3981 > CGI pages can be blocked or redirected.
4009 >Effect if unset:</DT
4015 > ignores block and redirect actions for its CGI pages.
4025 > ignores block or redirect actions
4026 for its CGI pages. Intercepting these requests can be useful in multi-user
4027 setups to implement fine-grained access control, but it can also render the complete
4028 web interface useless and make debugging problems painful if done without care.
4031 > Don't enable this option unless you're sure that you really need it.
4038 > allow-cgi-request-crunching 1
4049 NAME="SPLIT-LARGE-FORMS"
4050 >7.6.3. split-large-forms</A
4055 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4061 > Whether the CGI interface should stay compatible with broken HTTP clients.
4089 >Effect if unset:</DT
4092 > The CGI form generate long GET URLs.
4102 > CGI forms can lead to
4103 rather long URLs. This isn't a problem as far as the HTTP
4104 standard is concerned, but it can confuse clients with arbitrary
4105 URL length limitations.
4108 > Enabling split-large-forms causes <SPAN
4112 to divide big forms into smaller ones to keep the URL length down.
4113 It makes editing a lot less convenient and you can no longer
4114 submit all changes at once, but at least it works around this
4118 > If you don't notice any editing problems, there is no reason
4119 to enable this option, but if one of the submit buttons appears
4120 to be broken, you should give it a try.
4127 > split-large-forms 1
4138 NAME="KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
4139 >7.6.4. keep-alive-timeout</A
4144 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4150 > Number of seconds after which an open connection will no longer be reused.
4160 >Time in seconds.</I
4172 >Effect if unset:</DT
4175 > Connections are not kept alive.
4182 > This option allows clients to keep the connection to <SPAN
4186 alive. If the server supports it, <SPAN
4190 the connection to the server alive as well. Under certain
4191 circumstances this may result in speed-ups.
4197 > will close the connection to the server if
4198 the client connection gets closed, or if the specified timeout
4199 has been reached without a new request coming in. This behaviour
4200 can be changed with the <A
4201 HREF="#CONNECTION-SHARING"
4203 >connection-sharing</A
4207 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4211 has been compiled without keep-alive support.
4214 > Note that a timeout of five seconds as used in the default
4215 configuration file significantly decreases the number of
4216 connections that will be reused. The value is used because
4217 some browsers limit the number of connections they open to
4218 a single host and apply the same limit to proxies. This can
4219 result in a single website <SPAN
4223 connections the browser allows, which means connections to
4224 other websites can't be opened until the connections currently
4228 > Several users have reported this as a Privoxy bug, so the
4229 default value has been reduced. Consider increasing it to
4230 300 seconds or even more if you think your browser can handle
4231 it. If your browser appears to be hanging, it probably can't.
4238 > keep-alive-timeout 300
4249 NAME="TOLERATE-PIPELINING"
4250 >7.6.5. tolerate-pipelining</A
4255 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4261 > Whether or not pipelined requests should be served.
4283 >Effect if unset:</DT
4286 > If Privoxy receives more than one request at once, it terminates the
4287 client connection after serving the first one.
4297 > currently doesn't pipeline outgoing requests,
4298 thus allowing pipelining on the client connection is not
4299 guaranteed to improve the performance.
4305 > tries to discourage clients from pipelining
4306 by discarding aggressively pipelined requests, which forces the
4307 client to resend them through a new connection.
4310 > This option lets <SPAN
4313 > tolerate pipelining. Whether or not
4314 that improves performance mainly depends on the client configuration.
4317 > If you are seeing problems with pages not properly loading,
4318 disabling this option could work around the problem.
4325 > tolerate-pipelining 1
4336 NAME="DEFAULT-SERVER-TIMEOUT"
4337 >7.6.6. default-server-timeout</A
4342 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4348 > Assumed server-side keep-alive timeout if not specified by the server.
4358 >Time in seconds.</I
4370 >Effect if unset:</DT
4373 > Connections for which the server didn't specify the keep-alive
4374 timeout are not reused.
4381 > Enabling this option significantly increases the number of connections
4382 that are reused, provided the <A
4383 HREF="#KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
4385 >keep-alive-timeout</A
4390 > While it also increases the number of connections problems
4394 > tries to reuse a connection that already has
4395 been closed on the server side, or is closed while <SPAN
4399 is trying to reuse it, this should only be a problem if it
4400 happens for the first request sent by the client. If it happens
4401 for requests on reused client connections, <SPAN
4405 close the connection and the client is supposed to retry the
4406 request without bothering the user.
4409 > Enabling this option is therefore only recommended if the
4411 HREF="#CONNECTION-SHARING"
4413 >connection-sharing</A
4418 > It is an error to specify a value larger than the <A
4419 HREF="#KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
4421 >keep-alive-timeout</A
4425 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4429 has been compiled without keep-alive support.
4436 > default-server-timeout 60
4447 NAME="CONNECTION-SHARING"
4448 >7.6.7. connection-sharing</A
4453 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4459 > Whether or not outgoing connections that have been kept alive
4460 should be shared between different incoming connections.
4482 >Effect if unset:</DT
4485 > Connections are not shared.
4492 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4496 has been compiled without keep-alive support, or if it's disabled.
4503 > Note that reusing connections doesn't necessary cause speedups.
4504 There are also a few privacy implications you should be aware of.
4507 > If this option is effective, outgoing connections are shared between
4508 clients (if there are more than one) and closing the browser that initiated
4509 the outgoing connection does no longer affect the connection between <SPAN
4513 and the server unless the client's request hasn't been completed yet.
4516 > If the outgoing connection is idle, it will not be closed until either
4520 > or the server's timeout is reached.
4521 While it's open, the server knows that the system running <SPAN
4528 > If there are more than one client (maybe even belonging to multiple users),
4529 they will be able to reuse each others connections. This is potentially
4530 dangerous in case of authentication schemes like NTLM where only the
4531 connection is authenticated, instead of requiring authentication for
4535 > If there is only a single client, and if said client can keep connections
4536 alive on its own, enabling this option has next to no effect. If the client
4537 doesn't support connection keep-alive, enabling this option may make sense
4541 > to keep outgoing connections alive even if the client
4542 itself doesn't support it.
4545 > You should also be aware that enabling this option increases the likelihood
4546 of getting the "No server or forwarder data" error message, especially if you
4547 are using a slow connection to the Internet.
4550 > This option should only be used by experienced users who
4551 understand the risks and can weight them against the benefits.
4558 > connection-sharing 1
4569 NAME="SOCKET-TIMEOUT"
4570 >7.6.8. socket-timeout</A
4575 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4581 > Number of seconds after which a socket times out if
4582 no data is received.
4592 >Time in seconds.</I
4604 >Effect if unset:</DT
4607 > A default value of 300 seconds is used.
4614 > The default is quite high and you probably want to reduce it.
4615 If you aren't using an occasionally slow proxy like Tor, reducing
4616 it to a few seconds should be fine.
4623 > socket-timeout 300
4634 NAME="MAX-CLIENT-CONNECTIONS"
4635 >7.6.9. max-client-connections</A
4640 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4646 > Maximum number of client connections that will be served.
4656 >Positive number.</I
4668 >Effect if unset:</DT
4671 > Connections are served until a resource limit is reached.
4681 > creates one thread (or process) for every incoming client
4682 connection that isn't rejected based on the access control settings.
4685 > If the system is powerful enough, <SPAN
4688 > can theoretically deal with
4689 several hundred (or thousand) connections at the same time, but some
4690 operating systems enforce resource limits by shutting down offending
4691 processes and their default limits may be below the ones <SPAN
4695 require under heavy load.
4701 > to enforce a connection limit below the thread
4702 or process limit used by the operating system makes sure this doesn't
4703 happen. Simply increasing the operating system's limit would work too,
4707 > isn't the only application running on the system,
4708 you may actually want to limit the resources used by <SPAN
4717 > is only used by a single trusted user, limiting the
4718 number of client connections is probably unnecessary. If there
4719 are multiple possibly untrusted users you probably still want to
4720 additionally use a packet filter to limit the maximal number of
4721 incoming connections per client. Otherwise a malicious user could
4722 intentionally create a high number of connections to prevent other
4723 users from using <SPAN
4729 > Obviously using this option only makes sense if you choose a limit
4730 below the one enforced by the operating system.
4733 > One most POSIX-compliant systems <SPAN
4736 > can't properly deal with
4737 more than FD_SETSIZE file descriptors at the same time and has to reject
4738 connections if the limit is reached. This will likely change in a
4739 future version, but currently this limit can't be increased without
4743 > with a different FD_SETSIZE limit.
4750 > max-client-connections 256
4761 NAME="LISTEN-BACKLOG"
4762 >7.6.10. listen-backlog</A
4767 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4773 > Connection queue length requested from the operating system.
4795 >Effect if unset:</DT
4798 > A connection queue length of 128 is requested from the operating system.
4805 > Under high load incoming connection may queue up before Privoxy
4806 gets around to serve them. The queue length is limitted by the
4807 operating system. Once the queue is full, additional connections
4808 are dropped before Privoxy can accept and serve them.
4811 > Increasing the queue length allows Privoxy to accept more
4812 incomming connections that arrive roughly at the same time.
4815 > Note that Privoxy can only request a certain queue length,
4816 whether or not the requested length is actually used depends
4817 on the operating system which may use a different length instead.
4820 > On many operating systems a limit of -1 can be specified to
4821 instruct the operating system to use the maximum queue length
4822 allowed. Check the listen man page to see if your platform allows this.
4825 > On some platforms you can use "netstat -Lan -p tcp" to see the effective
4829 > Effectively using a value above 128 usually requires changing
4830 the system configuration as well. On FreeBSD-based system the
4831 limit is controlled by the kern.ipc.soacceptqueue sysctl.
4838 > listen-backlog 4096
4849 NAME="ENABLE-ACCEPT-FILTER"
4850 >7.6.11. enable-accept-filter</A
4855 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4861 > Whether or not Privoxy should use an accept filter
4883 >Effect if unset:</DT
4886 > No accept filter is enabled.
4893 > Accept filters reduce the number of context switches by not
4894 passing sockets for new connections to Privoxy until a complete
4895 HTTP request is available.
4898 > As a result, Privoxy can process the whole request right away
4899 without having to wait for additional data first.
4902 > For this option to work, Privoxy has to be compiled with
4903 FEATURE_ACCEPT_FILTER and the operating system has to support
4904 it (which may require loading a kernel module).
4907 > Currently accept filters are only supported on FreeBSD-based
4910 HREF="https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=accf_http"
4915 to learn how to enable the support in the operating system.
4922 > enable-accept-filter 1
4933 NAME="HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOC-RETURNS-OK"
4934 >7.6.12. handle-as-empty-doc-returns-ok</A
4939 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4945 > The status code Privoxy returns for pages blocked with
4950 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
4952 >+handle-as-empty-document</A
4976 >Effect if unset:</DT
4979 > Privoxy returns a status 403(forbidden) for all blocked pages.
4986 > Privoxy returns a status 200(OK) for pages blocked with +handle-as-empty-document
4987 and a status 403(Forbidden) for all other blocked pages.
4994 > This directive was added as a work-around for Firefox bug 492459:
4997 >"Websites are no longer rendered if SSL requests for JavaScripts are blocked by a proxy."</SPAN
5000 HREF="https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=492459"
5002 > https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=492459</A
5004 the bug has been fixed for quite some time, but this directive is also useful
5005 to make it harder for websites to detect whether or not resources are being
5017 NAME="ENABLE-COMPRESSION"
5018 >7.6.13. enable-compression</A
5023 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5029 > Whether or not buffered content is compressed before delivery.
5051 >Effect if unset:</DT
5054 > Privoxy does not compress buffered content.
5061 > Privoxy compresses buffered content before delivering it to the client,
5062 provided the client supports it.
5069 > This directive is only supported if Privoxy has been compiled with
5070 FEATURE_COMPRESSION, which should not to be confused with FEATURE_ZLIB.
5073 > Compressing buffered content is mainly useful if Privoxy and the
5074 client are running on different systems. If they are running on the
5075 same system, enabling compression is likely to slow things down.
5076 If you didn't measure otherwise, you should assume that it does
5077 and keep this option disabled.
5080 > Privoxy will not compress buffered content below a certain length.
5091 NAME="COMPRESSION-LEVEL"
5092 >7.6.14. compression-level</A
5097 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5103 > The compression level that is passed to the zlib library when compressing buffered content.
5113 >Positive number ranging from 0 to 9.</I
5128 > Compressing the data more takes usually longer than compressing
5129 it less or not compressing it at all. Which level is best depends
5130 on the connection between Privoxy and the client. If you can't
5131 be bothered to benchmark it for yourself, you should stick with
5132 the default and keep compression disabled.
5135 > If compression is disabled, the compression level is irrelevant.
5149 > # Best speed (compared to the other levels)
5155 # No compression. Only useful for testing as the added header
5156 # slightly increases the amount of data that has to be sent.
5157 # If your benchmark shows that using this compression level
5158 # is superior to using no compression at all, the benchmark
5159 # is likely to be flawed.
5160 compression-level 0</PRE
5173 NAME="CLIENT-HEADER-ORDER"
5174 >7.6.15. client-header-order</A
5179 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5185 > The order in which client headers are sorted before forwarding them.
5195 >Client header names delimited by spaces or tabs</I
5213 > leaves the client headers in the order they
5214 were sent by the client. Headers are modified in-place, new headers
5215 are added at the end of the already existing headers.
5218 > The header order can be used to fingerprint client requests
5219 independently of other headers like the User-Agent.
5222 > This directive allows to sort the headers differently to better
5223 mimic a different User-Agent. Client headers will be emitted
5224 in the order given, headers whose name isn't explicitly specified
5225 are added at the end.
5228 > Note that sorting headers in an uncommon way will make fingerprinting
5229 actually easier. Encrypted headers are not affected by this directive.
5240 NAME="CLIENT-SPECIFIC-TAG"
5241 >7.6.16. client-specific-tag</A
5246 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5252 > The name of a tag that will always be set for clients that
5253 requested it through the webinterface.
5263 >Tag name followed by a description that will be shown in the webinterface</I
5296 > This is an experimental feature. The syntax is likely to change
5304 > Client-specific tags allow Privoxy admins to create different
5305 profiles and let the users chose which one they want without
5306 impacting other users.
5309 > One use case is allowing users to circumvent certain blocks
5310 without having to allow them to circumvent all blocks.
5311 This is not possible with the
5313 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
5314 >enable-remote-toggle feature</A
5316 because it would bluntly disable all blocks for all users and also affect
5317 other actions like filters.
5318 It also is set globally which renders it useless in most multi-user setups.
5321 > After a client-specific tag has been defined with the client-specific-tag
5322 directive, action sections can be activated based on the tag by using a
5324 HREF="actions-file.html#CLIENT-TAG-PATTERN"
5328 The CLIENT-TAG pattern is evaluated at the same priority
5329 as URL patterns, as a result the last matching pattern wins.
5330 Tags that are created based on client or server headers are evaluated
5331 later on and can overrule CLIENT-TAG and URL patterns!
5334 > The tag is set for all requests that come from clients that requested
5336 Note that "clients" are differentiated by IP address,
5337 if the IP address changes the tag has to be requested again.
5340 > Clients can request tags to be set by using the CGI interface <A
5341 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/client-tags"
5343 >http://config.privoxy.org/client-tags</A
5345 The specific tag description is only used on the web page and should
5346 be phrased in away that the user understand the effect of the tag.
5360 > # Define a couple of tags, the described effect requires action sections
5361 # that are enabled based on CLIENT-TAG patterns.
5362 client-specific-tag circumvent-blocks Overrule blocks but do not affect other actions
5363 disable-content-filters Disable content-filters but do not affect other actions</PRE
5376 NAME="CLIENT-TAG-LIFETIME"
5377 >7.6.17. client-tag-lifetime</A
5382 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5388 > How long a temporarily enabled tag remains enabled.
5398 >Time in seconds.</I
5431 > This is an experimental feature. The syntax is likely to change
5439 > In case of some tags users may not want to enable them permanently,
5440 but only for a short amount of time, for example to circumvent a block
5441 that is the result of an overly-broad URL pattern.
5444 > The CGI interface <A
5445 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/client-tags"
5447 >http://config.privoxy.org/client-tags</A
5449 therefore provides a "enable this tag temporarily" option.
5450 If it is used, the tag will be set until the client-tag-lifetime
5465 > # Increase the time to life for temporarily enabled tags to 3 minutes
5466 client-tag-lifetime 180</PRE
5479 NAME="TRUST-X-FORWARDED-FOR"
5480 >7.6.18. trust-x-forwarded-for</A
5485 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5491 > Whether or not Privoxy should use IP addresses specified with the X-Forwarded-For header
5534 > This is an experimental feature. The syntax is likely to change
5542 > If clients reach Privoxy through another proxy, for example a load
5543 balancer, Privoxy can't tell the client's IP address from the connection.
5544 If multiple clients use the same proxy, they will share the same
5545 client tag settings which is usually not desired.
5548 > This option lets Privoxy use the X-Forwarded-For header value as
5549 client IP address. If the proxy sets the header, multiple clients
5550 using the same proxy do not share the same client tag settings.
5553 > This option should only be enabled if Privoxy can only be reached
5554 through a proxy and if the proxy can be trusted to set the header
5555 correctly. It is recommended that ACL are used to make sure only
5556 trusted systems can reach Privoxy.
5559 > If access to Privoxy isn't limited to trusted systems, this option
5560 would allow malicious clients to change the client tags for other
5561 clients or increase Privoxy's memory requirements by registering
5562 lots of client tag settings for clients that don't exist.
5576 > # Allow systems that can reach Privoxy to provide the client
5577 # IP address with a X-Forwarded-For header.
5578 trust-x-forwarded-for 1</PRE
5591 NAME="RECEIVE-BUFFER-SIZE"
5592 >7.6.19. receive-buffer-size</A
5597 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
5603 > The size of the buffer Privoxy uses to receive data from the server.
5628 > Increasing the receive-buffer-size increases Privoxy's memory usage but
5629 can lower the number of context switches and thereby reduce the
5630 cpu usage and potentially increase the throughput.
5633 > This is mostly relevant for fast network connections and
5634 large downloads that don't require filtering.
5637 > Reducing the buffer size reduces the amount of memory Privoxy
5638 needs to handle the request but increases the number of systemcalls
5639 and may reduce the throughput.
5642 > A dtrace command like:
5645 >"sudo dtrace -n 'syscall::read:return /execname == "privoxy"/ { @[execname] = llquantize(arg0, 10, 0, 5, 20); @m = max(arg0)}'"</SPAN
5647 can be used to properly tune the receive-buffer-size.
5648 On systems without dtrace, strace or truss may be used as
5649 less convenient alternatives.
5652 > If the buffer is too large it will increase Privoxy's memory
5653 footprint without any benefit. As the memory is (currently)
5654 cleared before using it, a buffer that is too large can
5655 actually reduce the throughput.
5669 > # Increase the receive buffer size
5670 receive-buffer-size 32768</PRE
5685 >7.7. Windows GUI Options</A
5691 > has a number of options specific to the
5692 Windows GUI interface:</P
5694 NAME="ACTIVITY-ANIMATION"
5699 >"activity-animation"</SPAN
5704 > icon will animate when
5708 > is active. To turn off, set to 0.</P
5710 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5715 >activity-animation 1</I
5724 >"log-messages"</SPAN
5729 > copies log messages to the console
5731 The log detail depends on the <A
5732 HREF="config.html#DEBUG"
5736 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5745 NAME="LOG-BUFFER-SIZE"
5750 >"log-buffer-size"</SPAN
5751 > is set to 1, the size of the log buffer,
5752 i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the
5753 console window, will be limited to <SPAN
5755 >"log-max-lines"</SPAN
5758 > Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and
5759 eat up all your memory!</P
5761 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5766 >log-buffer-size 1</I
5770 NAME="LOG-MAX-LINES"
5775 >log-max-lines</SPAN
5776 > is the maximum number of lines held
5777 in the log buffer. See above.</P
5779 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5784 >log-max-lines 200</I
5788 NAME="LOG-HIGHLIGHT-MESSAGES"
5793 >"log-highlight-messages"</SPAN
5798 > will highlight portions of the log
5799 messages with a bold-faced font:</P
5801 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5806 >log-highlight-messages 1</I
5810 NAME="LOG-FONT-NAME"
5813 > The font used in the console window:</P
5815 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5820 >log-font-name Comic Sans MS</I
5824 NAME="LOG-FONT-SIZE"
5827 > Font size used in the console window:</P
5829 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5838 NAME="SHOW-ON-TASK-BAR"
5843 >"show-on-task-bar"</SPAN
5844 > controls whether or not
5848 > will appear as a button on the Task bar
5851 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5856 >show-on-task-bar 0</I
5860 NAME="CLOSE-BUTTON-MINIMIZES"
5865 >"close-button-minimizes"</SPAN
5866 > is set to 1, the Windows close
5867 button will minimize <SPAN
5870 > instead of closing
5871 the program (close with the exit option on the File menu).</P
5873 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5878 >close-button-minimizes 1</I
5887 >"hide-console"</SPAN
5888 > option is specific to the MS-Win console
5892 >. If this option is used,
5896 > will disconnect from and hide the
5899 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
5914 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
5925 HREF="configuration.html"
5943 HREF="actions-file.html"
5953 >Privoxy Configuration</TD