4 >Quickstart to Using Privoxy</TITLE
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15 TITLE="Starting Privoxy"
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38 >Privoxy User Manual</TH
46 HREF="upgradersnote.html"
73 >4. Quickstart to Using <SPAN
84 > If upgrading, from versions before 2.9.16, please back up any configuration
86 HREF="upgradersnote.html"
97 HREF="installation.html"
98 >Installation Section</A
99 > below for platform specific
105 > Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
109 service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
113 HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
114 >security-relevant</A
124 >, if the installation program has
125 not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
137 > Set your browser to use <SPAN
141 HTTPS proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of
152 > and earlier versions of
156 > used port 8000.) See the section <A
163 for more details on this.
168 > Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
173 > A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
174 most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
175 configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
176 to no initial configuration is required in most cases.
180 HREF="configuration.html"
181 >Configuration section</A
183 configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
189 > If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are
190 blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
194 > behaviour, take a look at the <A
195 HREF="actions-file.html"
197 >. As a quick start, you might
199 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
200 >richly commented examples</A
202 helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
203 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
205 >web-based user interface</A
210 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
214 > has hints how to debug actions that
223 > Please see the section <A
227 > on how to report bugs or problems with websites or to get
233 > Now enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy!
243 NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
244 >4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</A
247 > Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
251 array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
252 user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
255 This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
256 you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
257 information provided below, though this is highly recommeneded.</P
259 > First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
260 more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
261 things that were not intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
262 extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
266 > sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
267 configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
268 not an easy way to eliminate <I
272 the easy way and settle for <I
275 > ads blocked with the
276 default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
277 habits and preferences.</P
279 > Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
289 > in this context, are
290 the directives we use to tell <SPAN
294 some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
302 action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
310 arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
311 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
314 HREF="actions-file.html"
316 configuration files</A
317 >, are explained in depth below.</P
319 > Actions are specified in <SPAN
323 followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
324 can actually be URL type <A
325 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
328 wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
329 actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
331 > When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
332 of the sections as defined in <SPAN
336 or not. If so, then <SPAN
340 respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Futhermore, web
341 pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
342 use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
343 original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just a URL
344 embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
345 or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
346 such embedded URLs.</P
348 > The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: <TT
351 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
357 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
364 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
365 >set-image-blocker</A
377 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
380 > - this action stops
381 any contact between your browser and any URL patterns that match this
382 action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, but also anything
383 that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any
384 communication with the remote server and sends <SPAN
388 own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened.
396 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
403 > to treat this URL as an image.
407 >'s default configuration already does this
408 for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
409 is not as easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
410 important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image, we can replace
411 it by an image instead of the BLOCKED page, which would only result in a
414 >"broken image"</SPAN
415 > icon. There are some limitations to this though. For
416 instance, you can't just brute-force an image substituion for an entire HTML page
425 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
426 >set-image-blocker</A
432 > what to display in place of an ad image that
433 has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
437 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
440 > action somewhere in the
444 >, it must also match an
448 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
454 > The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
466 > - a checkboard pattern, so that an ad
467 replacement is obvious. This is the default.
484 > - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
485 This is the so-called <SPAN
488 > configuration option.
504 >http://<URL></I
505 > - A redirect to any image anywhere
506 of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
517 > The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
522 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
524 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
529 >http://p.p/show-status</A
531 is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
542 >. It is best to put personal or
543 local preferences in <TT
547 meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
548 other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
552 blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
556 > will detect these changes automatically.</P
558 > A quick and simple step by step example:</P
565 > Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
570 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
578 > Set your browser to
580 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
582 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
591 > in the top section, and click
608 >Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
614 SRC="../images/files-in-use.jpg"
615 ALT="Screenshot of Files in Use"
625 > You should have a section with only
629 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
637 If not, click a <SPAN
641 >Insert new section below</SPAN
644 button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
648 > button right under the word <SPAN
652 This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
656 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
659 > near the top, and click
678 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
688 > button, and paste the URL the
689 browser got from <SPAN
693 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
699 > at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
713 > if in a pop-up window).
718 > Now go back to the original page, and press <B
722 (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
728 > This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
729 wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
730 site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
734 the entire actions concept, see <A
735 HREF="actions-file.html"
740 > For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
742 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
743 >Actions Files Tutorial</A
745 The ideas explained thererin also apply to the web-based editor.</P
763 HREF="upgradersnote.html"
788 >Note to Upgraders</TD