X-Git-Url: http://www.privoxy.org/gitweb/%40user-manual%40%40helplink%40ACTIONS-FILE?a=blobdiff_plain;f=doc%2Fwebserver%2Fuser-manual%2Factions-file.html;h=9963c8851be084015d44a9bde9595925444abd75;hb=7ecdaff4e6e989eaa70d1ffec88c0e5dfbeb19bb;hp=38deb3e865950993a383a20b22a5490318564b69;hpb=5fd77903894c0798908743d90ce72b9bdf2cce7d;p=privoxy.git diff --git a/doc/webserver/user-manual/actions-file.html b/doc/webserver/user-manual/actions-file.html index 38deb3e8..9963c885 100644 --- a/doc/webserver/user-manual/actions-file.html +++ b/doc/webserver/user-manual/actions-file.html @@ -1,1079 +1,2110 @@ - - - -
-The actions files are used to define what actions Privoxy takes for which URLs, and thus determines - how ad images, cookies and various other aspects of HTTP content and - transactions are handled, and on which sites (or even parts thereof). - There are a number of such actions, with a wide range of functionality. - Each action does something a little different. These actions give us a - veritable arsenal of tools with which to exert our control, preferences - and independence. Actions can be combined so that their effects are - aggregated when applied against a given set of URLs.
- -There are three action files included with Privoxy with differing purposes:
- -match-all.action - is used to define - which "actions" relating to - banner-blocking, images, pop-ups, content modification, cookie - handling etc should be applied by default. It should be the first - actions file loaded
-default.action - defines many exceptions - (both positive and negative) from the default set of actions that's - configured in match-all.action. It is a set - of rules that should work reasonably well as-is for most users. This - file is only supposed to be edited by the developers. It should be - the second actions file loaded.
-user.action - is intended to be for - local site preferences and exceptions. As an example, if your ISP or - your bank has specific requirements, and need special handling, this - kind of thing should go here. This file will not be upgraded.
-Edit Set to - Cautious Set to Medium - Set to Advanced
- -These have increasing levels of aggressiveness and have no influence on your browsing unless - you select them explicitly in the editor. A default - installation should be pre-set to Cautious. - New users should try this for a while before adjusting the settings - to more aggressive levels. The more aggressive the settings, then the - more likelihood there is of problems such as sites not working as - they should.
- -The Edit button allows you to turn - each action on/off individually for fine-tuning. The Cautious button changes the actions list to - low/safe settings which will activate ad blocking and a minimal set - of Privoxy's features, and - subsequently there will be less of a chance for accidental problems. - The Medium button sets the list to a - medium level of other features and a low level set of privacy - features. The Advanced button sets the - list to a high level of ad blocking and medium level of privacy. See - the chart below. The latter three buttons over-ride any changes via - with the Edit button. More fine-tuning - can be done in the lower sections of this internal page.
- -While the actions file editor allows to enable these settings in - all actions files, they are only supposed to be enabled in the first - one to make sure you don't unintentionally overrule earlier - rules.
- -The default profiles, and their associated actions, as pre-defined - in default.action are:
- -Table 1. Default Configurations
- -Feature | - -Cautious | - -Medium | - -Advanced | -
---|---|---|---|
Ad-blocking Aggressiveness | - -medium | - -high | - -high | -
Ad-filtering by size | - -no | - -yes | - -yes | -
Ad-filtering by link | - -no | - -no | - -yes | -
Pop-up killing | - -blocks only | - -blocks only | - -blocks only | -
Privacy Features | - -low | - -medium | - -medium/high | -
Cookie handling | - -none | - -session-only | - -kill | -
Referer forging | - -no | - -yes | - -yes | -
GIF de-animation | - -no | - -yes | - -yes | -
Fast redirects | - -no | - -no | - -yes | -
HTML taming | - -no | - -no | - -yes | -
JavaScript taming | - -no | - -no | - -yes | -
Web-bug killing | - -no | - -yes | - -yes | -
Image tag reordering | - -no | - -yes | - -yes | -
The list of actions files to be used are defined in the main - configuration file, and are processed in the order they are defined (e.g. - default.action is typically processed before - user.action). The content of these can all be - viewed and edited from http://config.privoxy.org/show-status. The over-riding - principle when applying actions, is that the last action that matches a - given URL wins. The broadest, most general rules go first (defined in - default.action), followed by any exceptions - (typically also in default.action), which are - then followed lastly by any local preferences (typically in user.action). - Generally, user.action has the last word.
- -An actions file typically has multiple sections. If you want to use - "aliases" in an actions file, you have to - place the (optional) alias - section at the top of that file. Then comes the default set of rules - which will apply universally to all sites and pages (be very careful with using such a universal - set in user.action or any other actions file - after default.action, because it will override - the result from consulting any previous file). And then below that, - exceptions to the defined universal policies. You can regard user.action as an appendix to default.action, with the advantage that it is a separate - file, which makes preserving your personal settings across Privoxy upgrades easier.
- -Actions can be used to block anything you want, including ads, - banners, or just some obnoxious URL whose content 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), content can be - modified, some JavaScripts tamed, user-tracking fooled, and much more. - See below for a complete list of - actions.
- -Note that some actions, like - cookie suppression or script disabling, may render some sites unusable - that rely on these techniques to work properly. Finding the right mix - of actions is not always easy and certainly a matter of personal taste. - And, things can always change, requiring refinements in the - configuration. In general, it can be said that the more "aggressive" your default settings (in the top section - of the actions file) are, the more exceptions for "trusted" sites you will have to make later. If, for - example, you want to crunch all cookies per default, you'll have to - make exceptions from that rule for sites that you regularly use and - that require cookies for actually useful purposes, like maybe your - bank, favorite shop, or newspaper.
- -We have tried to provide you with reasonable rules to start from in - the distribution actions files. But there is no general rule of thumb - on these things. There just are too many variables, and sites are - constantly changing. Sooner or later you will want to change the rules - (and read this chapter again :).
-The easiest way to edit the actions files is with a browser by using - our browser-based editor, which can be reached from http://config.privoxy.org/show-status. Note: the config file - option enable-edit-actions must be - enabled for this to work. The editor allows both fine-grained control - over every single feature on a per-URL basis, and easy choosing from - wholesale sets of defaults like "Cautious", - "Medium" or "Advanced". Warning: the "Advanced" setting is more aggressive, and will be more - likely to cause problems for some sites. Experienced users only!
- -If you prefer plain text editing to GUIs, you can of course also - directly edit the the actions files with your favorite text editor. - Look at default.action which is richly - commented with many good examples.
-Actions files are divided into sections. There are special sections, - like the "alias" sections which will be - discussed later. For now let's concentrate on regular sections: They - have a heading line (often split up to multiple lines for readability) - which consist of a list of actions, separated by whitespace and - enclosed in curly braces. Below that, there is a list of URL and tag - patterns, each on a separate line.
- -To determine which actions apply to a request, the URL of the - request is compared to all URL patterns in each "action file". Every time it matches, the list of - applicable actions for the request is incrementally updated, using the - heading of the section in which the pattern is located. The same is - done again for tags and tag patterns later on.
- -If multiple applying sections set the same action differently, the - last match wins. If not, the effects are aggregated. E.g. a URL might - match a regular section with a heading line of { - +handle-as-image - }, then later another one with just { - +block }, resulting in - both actions to apply. And - there may well be cases where you will want to combine actions - together. Such a section then might look like:
- -
- - { +handle-as-image +block{Banner ads.} } + + |
# Tag all requests with the Range header set +{+client-header-tagger{range-requests}} +/ - |
# Tag all requests with the client IP address +# +# (Technically the client IP address isn't included in the +# client headers but client-header taggers can set it anyway. +# For details see the tagger in default.filter) +{+client-header-tagger{client-ip-address}} +/ - |
Stop useless download menus from popping up, or change the browser's rendering mode
Replaces the "Content-Type:" HTTP server header. +
Parameterized.
Any string. +
The "Content-Type:" HTTP server header is used by the + browser to decide what to do with the document. The value of this + header can cause the browser to open a download menu instead of + displaying the document by itself, even if the document's format is + supported by the browser. +
The declared content type can also affect which rendering mode + the browser chooses. If XHTML is delivered as "text/html", + many browsers treat it as yet another broken HTML document. + If it is send as "application/xml", browsers with + XHTML support will only display it, if the syntax is correct. +
If you see a web site that proudly uses XHTML buttons, but sets + "Content-Type: text/html", you can use Privoxy + to overwrite it with "application/xml" and validate + the web master's claim inside your XHTML-supporting browser. + If the syntax is incorrect, the browser will complain loudly. +
You can also go the opposite direction: if your browser prints + error messages instead of rendering a document falsely declared + as XHTML, you can overwrite the content type with + "text/html" and have it rendered as broken HTML document. +
By default content-type-overwrite only replaces + "Content-Type:" headers that look like some kind of text. + If you want to overwrite it unconditionally, you have to combine it with + force-text-mode. + This limitation exists for a reason, think twice before circumventing it. +
Most of the time it's easier to replace this action with a custom + server-header filter. + It allows you to activate it for every document of a certain site and it will still + only replace the content types you aimed at. +
Of course you can apply content-type-overwrite + to a whole site and then make URL based exceptions, but it's a lot + more work to get the same precision. +
# Check if www.example.net/ really uses valid XHTML +{ +content-type-overwrite{application/xml} } +www.example.net/ - |
Remove a client header Privoxy has no dedicated action for.
Deletes every header sent by the client that contains the string the user supplied as parameter. +
Parameterized.
Any string. +
This action allows you to block client headers for which no dedicated + Privoxy action exists. + Privoxy will remove every client header that + contains the string you supplied as parameter. +
Regular expressions are not supported and you can't + use this action to block different headers in the same request, unless + they contain the same string. +
crunch-client-header is only meant for quick tests. + If you have to block several different headers, or only want to modify + parts of them, you should use a + client-header filter. +
Warning |
Don't block any header without understanding the consequences. + |
# Block the non-existent "Privacy-Violation:" client header +{ +crunch-client-header{Privacy-Violation:} } +/ + |
Prevent yet another way to track the user's steps between sessions.
Deletes the "If-None-Match:" HTTP client header. +
Boolean.
N/A +
Removing the "If-None-Match:" HTTP client header + is useful for filter testing, where you want to force a real + reload instead of getting status code "304" which + would cause the browser to use a cached copy of the page. +
It is also useful to make sure the header isn't used as a cookie + replacement (unlikely but possible). +
Blocking the "If-None-Match:" header shouldn't cause any + caching problems, as long as the "If-Modified-Since:" header + isn't blocked or missing as well. +
It is recommended to use this action together with + hide-if-modified-since + and + overwrite-last-modified. +
# Let the browser revalidate cached documents but don't +# allow the server to use the revalidation headers for user tracking. +{+hide-if-modified-since{-60} \ + +overwrite-last-modified{randomize} \ + +crunch-if-none-match} +/ |
Prevent the web server from setting HTTP cookies on your system +
Deletes any "Set-Cookie:" HTTP headers from server replies. +
Boolean.
N/A +
This action is only concerned with incoming HTTP cookies. For + outgoing HTTP cookies, use + crunch-outgoing-cookies. + Use both to disable HTTP cookies completely. +
It makes no sense at all to use this action in conjunction + with the session-cookies-only action, + since it would prevent the session cookies from being set. See also + filter-content-cookies. +
+crunch-incoming-cookies |
Remove a server header Privoxy has no dedicated action for.
Deletes every header sent by the server that contains the string the user supplied as parameter. +
Parameterized.
Any string. +
This action allows you to block server headers for which no dedicated + Privoxy action exists. Privoxy + will remove every server header that contains the string you supplied as parameter. +
Regular expressions are not supported and you can't + use this action to block different headers in the same request, unless + they contain the same string. +
crunch-server-header is only meant for quick tests. + If you have to block several different headers, or only want to modify + parts of them, you should use a custom + server-header filter. +
Warning |
Don't block any header without understanding the consequences. + |
# Crunch server headers that try to prevent caching +{ +crunch-server-header{no-cache} } +/ |
Prevent the web server from reading any HTTP cookies from your system +
Deletes any "Cookie:" HTTP headers from client requests. +
Boolean.
N/A +
This action is only concerned with outgoing HTTP cookies. For + incoming HTTP cookies, use + crunch-incoming-cookies. + Use both to disable HTTP cookies completely. +
It makes no sense at all to use this action in conjunction + with the session-cookies-only action, + since it would prevent the session cookies from being read. +
+crunch-outgoing-cookies |
Stop those annoying, distracting animated GIF images.
De-animate GIF animations, i.e. reduce them to their first or last image. +
Parameterized.
"last" or "first" +
This will also shrink the images considerably (in bytes, not pixels!). If + the option "first" is given, the first frame of the animation + is used as the replacement. If "last" is given, the last + frame of the animation is used instead, which probably makes more sense for + most banner animations, but also has the risk of not showing the entire + last frame (if it is only a delta to an earlier frame). +
You can safely use this action with patterns that will also match non-GIF + objects, because no attempt will be made at anything that doesn't look like + a GIF. +
+deanimate-gifs{last} |
Work around (very rare) problems with HTTP/1.1
Downgrades HTTP/1.1 client requests and server replies to HTTP/1.0. +
Boolean.
N/A +
This is a left-over from the time when Privoxy + didn't support important HTTP/1.1 features well. It is left here for the + unlikely case that you experience HTTP/1.1-related problems with some server + out there. +
Note that enabling this action is only a workaround. It should not + be enabled for sites that work without it. While it shouldn't break + any pages, it has an (usually negative) performance impact. +
If you come across a site where enabling this action helps, please report it, + so the cause of the problem can be analyzed. If the problem turns out to be + caused by a bug in Privoxy it should be + fixed so the following release works without the work around. +
{+downgrade-http-version} +problem-host.example.com |
Modify content using a programming language of your choice.
All instances of text-based type, most notably HTML and JavaScript, to which + this action applies, can be filtered on-the-fly through the specified external + filter. + By default plain text documents are exempted from filtering, because web + servers often use the text/plain MIME type for all files + whose type they don't know.) +
Multi-value.
The name of an external content filter, as defined in the + filter file. + External filters can be defined in one or more files as defined by the + filterfile + option in the config file. +
When used in its negative form, + and without parameters, all filtering with external + filters is completely disabled. +
External filters are scripts or programs that can modify the content in + case common filters + aren't powerful enough. With the exception that this action doesn't + use pcrs-based filters, the notes in the + filter section apply. +
Warning |
Currently external filters are executed with Privoxy's privileges. + Only use external filters you understand and trust. + |
This feature is experimental, the syntax + may change in the future. +
+external-filter{fancy-filter} |
Fool some click-tracking scripts and speed up indirect links.
Detects redirection URLs and redirects the browser without contacting + the redirection server first. +
Parameterized.
"simple-check" to just search for the string "http://" + to detect redirection URLs. +
"check-decoded-url" to decode URLs (if necessary) before searching + for redirection URLs. +
Many sites, like yahoo.com, don't just link to other sites. Instead, they + will link to some script on their own servers, giving the destination as a + parameter, which will then redirect you to the final target. URLs + resulting from this scheme typically look like: + "http://www.example.org/click-tracker.cgi?target=http%3a//www.example.net/". +
Sometimes, there are even multiple consecutive redirects encoded in the + URL. These redirections via scripts make your web browsing more traceable, + since the server from which you follow such a link can see where you go + to. Apart from that, valuable bandwidth and time is wasted, while your + browser asks the server for one redirect after the other. Plus, it feeds + the advertisers. +
This feature is currently not very smart and is scheduled for improvement. + If it is enabled by default, you will have to create some exceptions to + this action. It can lead to failures in several ways: +
Not every URLs with other URLs as parameters is evil. + Some sites offer a real service that requires this information to work. + For example a validation service needs to know, which document to validate. + fast-redirects assumes that every URL parameter that + looks like another URL is a redirection target, and will always redirect to + the last one. Most of the time the assumption is correct, but if it isn't, + the user gets redirected anyway. +
Another failure occurs if the URL contains other parameters after the URL parameter. + The URL: + "http://www.example.org/?redirect=http%3a//www.example.net/&foo=bar". + contains the redirection URL "http://www.example.net/", + followed by another parameter. fast-redirects doesn't know that + and will cause a redirect to "http://www.example.net/&foo=bar". + Depending on the target server configuration, the parameter will be silently ignored + or lead to a "page not found" error. You can prevent this problem by + first using the redirect action + to remove the last part of the URL, but it requires a little effort. +
To detect a redirection URL, fast-redirects only + looks for the string "http://", either in plain text + (invalid but often used) or encoded as "http%3a//". + Some sites use their own URL encoding scheme, encrypt the address + of the target server or replace it with a database id. In theses cases + fast-redirects is fooled and the request reaches the + redirection server where it probably gets logged. +
{ +fast-redirects{simple-check} } + one.example.com - |
Get rid of HTML and JavaScript annoyances, banner advertisements (by size), + do fun text replacements, add personalized effects, etc.
All instances of text-based type, most notably HTML and JavaScript, to which + this action applies, can be filtered on-the-fly through the specified regular + expression based substitutions. (Note: as of version 3.0.3 plain text documents + are exempted from filtering, because web servers often use the + text/plain MIME type for all files whose type they don't know.) +
Multi-value.
The name of a content filter, as defined in the filter file. + Filters can be defined in one or more files as defined by the + filterfile + option in the config file. + default.filter is the collection of filters + supplied by the developers. Locally defined filters should go + in their own file, such as user.filter. +
When used in its negative form, + and without parameters, all filtering is completely disabled. +
For your convenience, there are a number of pre-defined filters available + in the distribution filter file that you can use. See the examples below for + a list. +
Filtering requires buffering the page content, which may appear to + slow down page rendering since nothing is displayed until all content has + passed the filters. (The total time until the page is completely rendered + doesn't change much, but it may be perceived as slower since the page is + not incrementally displayed.) + This effect will be more noticeable on slower connections. +
"Rolling your own" + filters requires a knowledge of + "Regular + Expressions" and + "HTML". + This is very powerful feature, and potentially very intrusive. + Filters should be used with caution, and where an equivalent + "action" is not available. +
The amount of data that can be filtered is limited to the + buffer-limit + option in the main config file. The + default is 4096 KB (4 Megs). Once this limit is exceeded, the buffered + data, and all pending data, is passed through unfiltered. +
Inappropriate MIME types, such as zipped files, are not filtered at all. + (Again, only text-based types except plain text). Encrypted SSL data + (from HTTPS servers) cannot be filtered either, since this would violate + the integrity of the secure transaction. In some situations it might + be necessary to protect certain text, like source code, from filtering + by defining appropriate -filter exceptions. +
Compressed content can't be filtered either, but if Privoxy + is compiled with zlib support and a supported compression algorithm + is used (gzip or deflate), Privoxy can first decompress the content + and then filter it. +
If you use a Privoxy version without zlib support, but want filtering to work on + as much documents as possible, even those that would normally be sent compressed, + you must use the prevent-compression + action in conjunction with filter. +
Content filtering can achieve some of the same effects as the + block + action, i.e. it can be used to block ads and banners. But the mechanism + works quite differently. One effective use, is to block ad banners + based on their size (see below), since many of these seem to be somewhat + standardized. +
Feedback with suggestions for new or + improved filters is particularly welcome! +
The below list has only the names and a one-line description of each + predefined filter. There are more + verbose explanations of what these filters do in the filter file chapter. +
+filter{js-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying JavaScript abuse. |
+filter{js-events} # Kill JavaScript event bindings and timers (Radically destructive! Only for extra nasty sites). |
+filter{html-annoyances} # Get rid of particularly annoying HTML abuse. |
+filter{content-cookies} # Kill cookies that come in the HTML or JS content. |
+filter{refresh-tags} # Kill automatic refresh tags if refresh time is larger than 9 seconds. |
+filter{unsolicited-popups} # Disable only unsolicited pop-up windows. |
+filter{all-popups} # Kill all popups in JavaScript and HTML. |
+filter{img-reorder} # Reorder attributes in <img> tags to make the banners-by-* filters more effective. |
+filter{banners-by-size} # Kill banners by size. |
+filter{banners-by-link} # Kill banners by their links to known clicktrackers. |
+filter{webbugs} # Squish WebBugs (1x1 invisible GIFs used for user tracking). |
+filter{tiny-textforms} # Extend those tiny textareas up to 40x80 and kill the hard wrap. |
+filter{jumping-windows} # Prevent windows from resizing and moving themselves. |
+filter{frameset-borders} # Give frames a border and make them resizable. |
+filter{iframes} # Removes all detected iframes. Should only be enabled for individual sites. |
+filter{demoronizer} # Fix MS's non-standard use of standard charsets. |
+filter{shockwave-flash} # Kill embedded Shockwave Flash objects. |
+filter{quicktime-kioskmode} # Make Quicktime movies saveable. |
+filter{fun} # Text replacements for subversive browsing fun! |
+filter{crude-parental} # Crude parental filtering. Note that this filter doesn't work reliably. |
+filter{ie-exploits} # Disable some known Internet Explorer bug exploits. |
+filter{site-specifics} # Cure for site-specific problems. Don't apply generally! |
+filter{no-ping} # Removes non-standard ping attributes in <a> and <area> tags. |
+filter{google} # CSS-based block for Google text ads. Also removes a width limitation and the toolbar advertisement. |
+filter{yahoo} # CSS-based block for Yahoo text ads. Also removes a width limitation. |
+filter{msn} # CSS-based block for MSN text ads. Also removes tracking URLs and a width limitation. |
+filter{blogspot} # Cleans up some Blogspot blogs. Read the fine print before using this. |
Force Privoxy to treat a document as if it was in some kind of text format.
Declares a document as text, even if the "Content-Type:" isn't detected as such. +
Boolean.
N/A +
As explained above, + Privoxy tries to only filter files that are + in some kind of text format. The same restrictions apply to + content-type-overwrite. + force-text-mode declares a document as text, + without looking at the "Content-Type:" first. +
Warning |
Think twice before activating this action. Filtering binary data + with regular expressions can cause file damage. + |
+force-text-mode + |
Change the forwarding settings based on User-Agent or request origin
Overrules the forward directives in the configuration file. +
Parameterized.
"forward ." to use a direct connection without any additional proxies.
"forward 127.0.0.1:8123" to use the HTTP proxy listening at 127.0.0.1 port 8123. +
"forward-socks4a 127.0.0.1:9050 ." to use the socks4a proxy listening at + 127.0.0.1 port 9050. Replace "forward-socks4a" with "forward-socks4" + to use a socks4 connection (with local DNS resolution) instead, use "forward-socks5" + for socks5 connections (with remote DNS resolution). +
"forward-socks4a 127.0.0.1:9050 proxy.example.org:8000" to use the socks4a proxy + listening at 127.0.0.1 port 9050 to reach the HTTP proxy listening at proxy.example.org port 8000. + Replace "forward-socks4a" with "forward-socks4" to use a socks4 connection + (with local DNS resolution) instead, use "forward-socks5" + for socks5 connections (with remote DNS resolution). +
"forward-webserver 127.0.0.1:80" to use the HTTP + server listening at 127.0.0.1 port 80 without adjusting the + request headers. +
This makes it more convenient to use Privoxy to make + existing websites available as onion services as well. +
Many websites serve content with hardcoded URLs and + can't be easily adjusted to change the domain based + on the one used by the client. +
Putting Privoxy between Tor and the webserver (or an stunnel + that forwards to the webserver) allows to rewrite headers and + content to make client and server happy at the same time. +
Using Privoxy for webservers that are only reachable through + onion addresses and whose location is supposed to be secret + is not recommended and should not be necessary anyway. +
This action takes parameters similar to the + forward directives in the configuration + file, but without the URL pattern. It can be used as replacement, but normally it's only + used in cases where matching based on the request URL isn't sufficient. +
Warning |
Please read the description for the forward directives before + using this action. Forwarding to the wrong people will reduce your privacy and increase the + chances of man-in-the-middle attacks. + If the ports are missing or invalid, default values will be used. This might change + in the future and you shouldn't rely on it. Otherwise incorrect syntax causes Privoxy + to exit. Due to design limitations, invalid parameter syntax isn't detected until the + action is used the first time. + Use the show-url-info CGI page + to verify that your forward settings do what you thought the do. + |
# Use an ssh tunnel for requests previously tagged as
+# "User-Agent: fetch libfetch/2.0" and make sure
+# resuming downloads continues to work.
+#
+# This way you can continue to use Tor for your normal browsing,
+# without overloading the Tor network with your FreeBSD ports updates
+# or downloads of bigger files like ISOs.
+#
+# Note that HTTP headers are easy to fake and therefore their
+# values are as (un)trustworthy as your clients and users.
+{+forward-override{forward-socks5 10.0.0.2:2222 .} \
+ -hide-if-modified-since \
+ -overwrite-last-modified \
+}
+TAG:^User-Agent: fetch libfetch/2\.0$
+ |
Mark URLs that should be replaced by empty documents if they get blocked
This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs. + If the block action also applies, + the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML "BLOCKED" + page, or an empty document will be sent to the client as a substitute for the blocked content. + The empty document isn't literally empty, but actually contains a single space. +
Boolean.
N/A +
Some browsers complain about syntax errors if JavaScript documents + are blocked with Privoxy's + default HTML page; this option can be used to silence them. + And of course this action can also be used to eliminate the Privoxy + BLOCKED message in frames. +
The content type for the empty document can be specified with + content-type-overwrite{}, + but usually this isn't necessary. +
# Block all documents on example.org that end with ".js", +# but send an empty document instead of the usual HTML message. +{+block{Blocked JavaScript} +handle-as-empty-document} +example.org/.*\.js$ + |
Mark URLs as belonging to images (so they'll be replaced by images if they do get blocked, rather than HTML pages)
This action alone doesn't do anything noticeable. It just marks URLs as images. + If the block action also applies, + the presence or absence of this mark decides whether an HTML "blocked" + page, or a replacement image (as determined by the set-image-blocker action) will be sent to the + client as a substitute for the blocked content. +
Boolean.
N/A +
The below generic example section is actually part of default.action. + It marks all URLs with well-known image file name extensions as images and should + be left intact. +
Users will probably only want to use the handle-as-image action in conjunction with + block, to block sources of banners, whose URLs don't + reflect the file type, like in the second example section. +
Note that you cannot treat HTML pages as images in most cases. For instance, (in-line) ad + frames require an HTML page to be sent, or they won't display properly. + Forcing handle-as-image in this situation will not replace the + ad frame with an image, but lead to error messages. +
# Generic image extensions: +# +{+handle-as-image} +/.*\.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png|bmp|ico)$ -
8.5.21. hide-accept-language
8.5.22. hide-content-disposition
8.5.23. hide-if-modified-since
8.5.24. hide-from-header
8.5.25. hide-referrer
8.5.26. hide-user-agent
8.5.27. limit-connect
8.5.28. limit-cookie-lifetime
8.5.29. prevent-compression
- 8.5.28. overwrite-last-modified- -
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8.5.30. overwrite-last-modified
- 8.5.29. - redirect- -
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8.5.31. redirect
- 8.5.30. server-header-filter- -
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8.5.32. server-header-filter
- 8.5.31. server-header-tagger- -
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8.5.33. server-header-tagger
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- 8.5.32. session-cookies-only- -
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- 8.5.33. set-image-blocker- -
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- 8.5.34. - Summary- -Note that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page - to misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many - ways a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP - header content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way - to have hard and fast rules for all sites. See the Appendix for a brief example on - troubleshooting actions. -
- 8.6. Aliases- -Custom "actions", known to Privoxy as "aliases", - can be defined by combining other actions. These can in turn be invoked - just like the built-in actions. Currently, an alias name can contain - any character except space, tab, "=", - "{" and "}", but - we strongly recommend that - you only use "a" to "z", "0" to "9", "+", and "-". Alias names are not case sensitive, and are not - required to start with a "+" or "-" sign, since they are merely textually expanded. - -Aliases can be used throughout the actions file, but they - must be defined in a special section - at the top of the file! And there can only be one such section - per actions file. Each actions file may have its own alias section, and - the aliases defined in it are only visible within that file. - -There are two main reasons to use aliases: One is to save typing for - frequently used combinations of actions, the other one is a gain in - flexibility: If you decide once how you want to handle shops by - defining an alias called "shop", you can - later change your policy on shops in one place, and your changes will take - effect everywhere in the actions file where the "shop" alias is used. Calling aliases by their purpose - also makes your actions files more readable. - -Currently, there is one big drawback to using aliases, though: - Privoxy's built-in web-based action - file editor honors aliases when reading the actions files, but it - expands them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are of - course preserved, but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit - sections that use aliases with it. - -Now let's define some aliases... - -
8.5.34. session-cookies-only
8.5.35. set-image-blocker
8.5.36. SummaryNote that many of these actions have the potential to cause a page to + misbehave, possibly even not to display at all. There are many ways + a site designer may choose to design his site, and what HTTP header + content, and other criteria, he may depend on. There is no way to have hard + and fast rules for all sites. See the Appendix for a brief example on troubleshooting + actions. 8.6. AliasesCustom "actions", known to Privoxy + as "aliases", can be defined by combining other actions. + These can in turn be invoked just like the built-in actions. + Currently, an alias name can contain any character except space, tab, + "=", + "{" and "}", but we strongly + recommend that you only use "a" to "z", + "0" to "9", "+", and "-". + Alias names are not case sensitive, and are not required to start with a + "+" or "-" sign, since they are merely textually + expanded. Aliases can be used throughout the actions file, but they must be + defined in a special section at the top of the file! + And there can only be one such section per actions file. Each actions file may + have its own alias section, and the aliases defined in it are only visible + within that file. There are two main reasons to use aliases: One is to save typing for frequently + used combinations of actions, the other one is a gain in flexibility: If you + decide once how you want to handle shops by defining an alias called + "shop", you can later change your policy on shops in + one place, and your changes will take effect everywhere + in the actions file where the "shop" alias is used. Calling aliases + by their purpose also makes your actions files more readable. Currently, there is one big drawback to using aliases, though: + Privoxy's built-in web-based action file + editor honors aliases when reading the actions files, but it expands + them before writing. So the effects of your aliases are of course preserved, + but the aliases themselves are lost when you edit sections that use aliases + with it. Now let's define some aliases...
...and put them to use. These sections would appear in the lower - part of an actions file and define exceptions to the default actions - (as specified further up for the "/" - pattern): - -
...and put them to use. These sections would appear in the lower part of an + actions file and define exceptions to the default actions (as specified further + up for the "/" pattern):
Aliases like "shop" and "fragile" are typically used for "problem" sites that require more than one action to be - disabled in order to function properly. -
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+ .osdn.net8.7. Actions - Files Tutorial- -The above chapters have shown which - actions files there are and how they are organized, how actions are - specified and applied to URLs, how patterns work, and how to define - and use aliases. Now, let's - look at an example match-all.action, - default.action and user.action file and see how all these pieces come - together: - -
- 8.7.1. - match-all.action- -Remember all actions are - disabled when matching starts, so we have to explicitly enable - the ones we want. - -While the match-all.action file only - contains a single section, it is probably the most important one. It - has only one pattern, "/", but this pattern matches all URLs. Therefore, the - set of actions used in this "default" - section will be applied to all - requests as a start. It can be partly or wholly overridden by - other actions files like default.action and - user.action, but it will still be largely - responsible for your overall browsing experience. - -Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so - there is no need to disable any actions here. (Remember: a - "+" preceding the action name enables the - action, a "-" disables!). Also note how - this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into - multiple lines with line continuation. - -
Aliases like "shop" and "fragile" are typically used for + "problem" sites that require more than one action to be disabled + in order to function properly. 8.7. Actions Files TutorialThe above chapters have shown which actions files + there are and how they are organized, how actions are specified and applied + to URLs, how patterns work, and how to + define and use aliases. Now, let's look at an + example match-all.action, default.action + and user.action file and see how all these pieces come together: 8.7.1. match-all.actionRemember all actions are disabled when matching starts, + so we have to explicitly enable the ones we want. While the match-all.action file only contains a + single section, it is probably the most important one. It has only one + pattern, "/", but this pattern + matches all URLs. Therefore, the set of + actions used in this "default" section will + be applied to all requests as a start. It can be partly or + wholly overridden by other actions files like default.action + and user.action, but it will still be largely responsible + for your overall browsing experience. Again, at the start of matching, all actions are disabled, so there is + no need to disable any actions here. (Remember: a "+" + preceding the action name enables the action, a "-" disables!). + Also note how this long line has been made more readable by splitting it into + multiple lines with line continuation.
The default behavior is now set. -
- 8.7.2. - default.action- -If you aren't a developer, there's no need for you to edit the - default.action file. It is maintained by - the Privoxy developers and if you - disagree with some of the sections, you should overrule them in your - user.action. - -Understanding the default.action file - can help you with your user.action, - though. - -The first section in this file is a special section for internal - use that prevents older Privoxy - versions from reading the file: - -
The default behavior is now set. 8.7.2. default.actionIf you aren't a developer, there's no need for you to edit the + default.action file. It is maintained by + the Privoxy developers and if you disagree with some of the + sections, you should overrule them in your user.action. Understanding the default.action file can + help you with your user.action, though. The first section in this file is a special section for internal use + that prevents older Privoxy versions from reading the file:
After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the - example section from the above chapter on aliases, that also - explains why and how aliases are used: - -
After that comes the (optional) alias section. We'll use the example + section from the above chapter on aliases, + that also explains why and how aliases are used:
The first of our specialized sections is concerned with - "fragile" sites, i.e. sites that require - minimum interference, because they are either very complex or very - keen on tracking you (and have mechanisms in place that make them - unusable for people who avoid being tracked). We will simply use our - pre-defined fragile alias instead of stating - the list of actions explicitly: - -
The first of our specialized sections is concerned with "fragile" + sites, i.e. sites that require minimum interference, because they are either + very complex or very keen on tracking you (and have mechanisms in place that + make them unusable for people who avoid being tracked). We will use + our pre-defined fragile alias instead of stating the list + of actions explicitly:
Shopping sites are not as fragile, but they typically require - cookies to log in, and pop-up windows for shopping carts or item - details. Again, we'll use a pre-defined alias: - -
Shopping sites are not as fragile, but they typically + require cookies to log in, and pop-up windows for shopping + carts or item details. Again, we'll use a pre-defined alias:
The fast-redirects action, - which may have been enabled in match-all.action, breaks some sites. So disable it - for popular sites where we know it misbehaves: - -
The fast-redirects + action, which may have been enabled in match-all.action, + breaks some sites. So disable it for popular sites where we know it misbehaves:
It is important that Privoxy - knows which URLs belong to images, so that if they are to be blocked, a substitute - image can be sent, rather than an HTML page. Contacting the remote - site to find out is not an option, since it would destroy the loading - time advantage of banner blocking, and it would feed the advertisers - information about you. We can mark any URL as an image with the - handle-as-image action, - and marking all URLs that end in a known image file extension is a - good start: - -
It is important that Privoxy knows which + URLs belong to images, so that if they are to + be blocked, a substitute image can be sent, rather than an HTML page. + Contacting the remote site to find out is not an option, since it + would destroy the loading time advantage of banner blocking, and it + would feed the advertisers information about you. We can mark any + URL as an image with the handle-as-image action, + and marking all URLs that end in a known image file extension is a + good start:
And then there are known banner sources. They often use scripts to - generate the banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the - request is for an image. Hence we block them and mark them as images in one go, with - the help of our +block-as-image alias - defined above. (We could of course just as well use +block +handle-as-image here.) - Remember that the type of the replacement image is chosen by the - set-image-blocker - action. Since all URLs have matched the default section with its - +set-image-blocker{pattern} - action before, it still applies and needn't be repeated: - -
And then there are known banner sources. They often use scripts to + generate the banners, so it won't be visible from the URL that the + request is for an image. Hence we block them and + mark them as images in one go, with the help of our + +block-as-image alias defined above. (We could of + course just as well use +block + +handle-as-image here.) + Remember that the type of the replacement image is chosen by the + set-image-blocker + action. Since all URLs have matched the default section with its + +set-image-blocker{pattern} + action before, it still applies and needn't be repeated:
One of the most important jobs of Privoxy is to block banners. Many of these can - be "blocked" by the filter{banners-by-size} action, - which we enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner - images from the pages while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't - request them anymore, and hence they don't need to be blocked here. - But this naturally doesn't catch all banners, and some people choose - not to use filters, so we need a comprehensive list of patterns for - banner URLs here, and apply the block action to them. - -First comes many generic patterns, which do most of the work, by - matching typical domain and path name components of banners. Then - comes a list of individual patterns for specific sites, which is - omitted here to keep the example short: - -
One of the most important jobs of Privoxy + is to block banners. Many of these can be "blocked" + by the filter{banners-by-size} + action, which we enabled above, and which deletes the references to banner + images from the pages while they are loaded, so the browser doesn't request + them anymore, and hence they don't need to be blocked here. But this naturally + doesn't catch all banners, and some people choose not to use filters, so we + need a comprehensive list of patterns for banner URLs here, and apply the + block action to them. First comes many generic patterns, which do most of the work, by + matching typical domain and path name components of banners. Then comes + a list of individual patterns for specific sites, which is omitted here + to keep the example short:
It's quite remarkable how many advertisers actually call their - banner servers ads.company.com, or - call the directory in which the banners are stored simply - "banners". So the above generic patterns - are surprisingly effective. - -But being very generic, they necessarily also catch URLs that we - don't want to block. The pattern .*ads. e.g. - catches "nasty-ads.nasty-corp.com" as intended, - but also "downloads.sourcefroge.net" or - "adsl.some-provider.net." So here - come some well-known exceptions to the +block section above. - -Note that these are exceptions to exceptions from the default! - Consider the URL "downloads.sourcefroge.net": Initially, all actions - are deactivated, so it wouldn't get blocked. Then comes the defaults - section, which matches the URL, but just deactivates the block action - once again. Then it matches .*ads., an - exception to the general non-blocking policy, and suddenly +block applies. - And now, it'll match .*loads., where - -block - applies, so (unless it matches again further down) it ends up with no - block - action applying. - -
It's quite remarkable how many advertisers actually call their banner + servers ads.company.com, or call the directory + in which the banners are stored literally "banners". So the above + generic patterns are surprisingly effective. But being very generic, they necessarily also catch URLs that we don't want + to block. The pattern .*ads. e.g. catches + "nasty-ads.nasty-corp.com" as intended, + but also "downloads.sourcefroge.net" or + "adsl.some-provider.net." So here come some + well-known exceptions to the +block + section above. Note that these are exceptions to exceptions from the default! Consider the URL + "downloads.sourcefroge.net": Initially, all actions are deactivated, + so it wouldn't get blocked. Then comes the defaults section, which matches the + URL, but just deactivates the block + action once again. Then it matches .*ads., an exception to the + general non-blocking policy, and suddenly + +block applies. And now, it'll match + .*loads., where -block + applies, so (unless it matches again further down) it ends up + with no block action applying.
Filtering source code can have nasty side effects, so make an - exception for our friends at sourceforge.net, and all paths with - "cvs" in them. Note that -filter - disables all filters in one - fell swoop! - -
Filtering source code can have nasty side effects, + so make an exception for our friends at sourceforge.net, + and all paths with "cvs" in them. Note that + -filter + disables all filters in one fell swoop!
The actual default.action is of course - much more comprehensive, but we hope this example made clear how it - works. -
- 8.7.3. - user.action- -So far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general - policies, which would be a reasonable starting point for many people. - Now, you might want to be more specific and have customized rules - that are more suitable to your personal habits and preferences. These - would be for narrowly defined situations like your ISP or your bank, - and should be placed in user.action, which - is parsed after all other actions files and hence has the last word, - over-riding any previously defined actions. user.action is also a safe place for your personal settings, - since default.action is actively maintained - by the Privoxy developers and you'll - probably want to install updated versions from time to time. - -So let's look at a few examples of things that one might typically - do in user.action: - -
As aliases are local to - the actions file that they are defined in, you can't use the ones - from default.action, unless you repeat them - here: - -
The actual default.action is of course much more + comprehensive, but we hope this example made clear how it works. 8.7.3. user.actionSo far we are painting with a broad brush by setting general policies, + which would be a reasonable starting point for many people. Now, + you might want to be more specific and have customized rules that + are more suitable to your personal habits and preferences. These would + be for narrowly defined situations like your ISP or your bank, and should + be placed in user.action, which is parsed after all other + actions files and hence has the last word, over-riding any previously + defined actions. user.action is also a + safe place for your personal settings, since + default.action is actively maintained by the + Privoxy developers and you'll probably want + to install updated versions from time to time. So let's look at a few examples of things that one might typically do in + user.action:
As aliases are local to the actions + file that they are defined in, you can't use the ones from + default.action, unless you repeat them here:
Say you have accounts on some sites that you visit regularly, and - you don't want to have to log in manually each time. So you'd like to - allow persistent cookies for these sites. The allow-all-cookies alias defined above does exactly - that, i.e. it disables crunching of cookies in any direction, and the - processing of cookies to make them only temporary. - -
Say you have accounts on some sites that you visit regularly, and + you don't want to have to log in manually each time. So you'd like + to allow persistent cookies for these sites. The + allow-all-cookies alias defined above does exactly + that, i.e. it disables crunching of cookies in any direction, and the + processing of cookies to make them only temporary.
Your bank is allergic to some filter, but you don't know which, so - you disable them all: - -
Some file types you may not want to filter for various - reasons: - -
Your bank is allergic to some filter, but you don't know which, so you disable them all:
Some file types you may not want to filter for various reasons:
Example of a simple block - action. Say you've seen an ad on your favourite page on example.com - that you want to get rid of. You have right-clicked the image, - selected "copy image location" and pasted - the URL below while removing the leading http://, into a { +block{} } section. Note that { - +handle-as-image } need not be specified, since all URLs ending - in .gif will be tagged as images by the - general rules as set in default.action anyway: - -
Example of a simple block action. Say you've + seen an ad on your favourite page on example.com that you want to get rid of. + You have right-clicked the image, selected "copy image location" + and pasted the URL below while removing the leading http://, into a + { +block{} } section. Note that { +handle-as-image + } need not be specified, since all URLs ending in + .gif will be tagged as images by the general rules as set + in default.action anyway:
The URLs of dynamically generated banners, especially from large - banner farms, often don't use the well-known image file name - extensions, which makes it impossible for Privoxy to guess the file type just by looking - at the URL. You can use the +block-as-image - alias defined above for these cases. Note that objects which match - this rule but then turn out NOT to be an image are typically rendered - as a "broken image" icon by the browser. - Use cautiously. - -
The URLs of dynamically generated banners, especially from large banner + farms, often don't use the well-known image file name extensions, which + makes it impossible for Privoxy to guess + the file type just by looking at the URL. + You can use the +block-as-image alias defined above for + these cases. + Note that objects which match this rule but then turn out NOT to be an + image are typically rendered as a "broken image" icon by the + browser. Use cautiously.
Now you noticed that the default configuration breaks Forbes - Magazine, but you were too lazy to find out which action is the - culprit, and you were again too lazy to give feedback, so you just used the fragile alias on the site, and -- whoa! -- it worked. The fragile aliases disables those actions that are most - likely to break a site. Also, good for testing purposes to see if it - is Privoxy that is causing the - problem or not. We later find other regular sites that misbehave, and - add those to our personalized list of troublemakers: - -
Now you noticed that the default configuration breaks Forbes Magazine, + but you were too lazy to find out which action is the culprit, and you + were again too lazy to give feedback, so + you just used the fragile alias on the site, and + -- whoa! -- it worked. The fragile + aliases disables those actions that are most likely to break a site. Also, + good for testing purposes to see if it is Privoxy + that is causing the problem or not. We later find other regular sites + that misbehave, and add those to our personalized list of troublemakers:
You like the "fun" text replacements in - default.filter, but it is disabled in the - distributed actions file. So you'd like to turn it on in your - private, update-safe config, once and for all: - -
Note that the above is not really a good idea: There are - exceptions to the filters in default.action - for things that really shouldn't be filtered, like code on - CVS->Web interfaces. Since user.action - has the last word, these exceptions won't be valid for the - "fun" filtering specified here. - -You might also worry about how your favourite free websites are - funded, and find that they rely on displaying banner advertisements - to survive. So you might want to specifically allow banners for those - sites that you feel provide value to you: - -
You like the "fun" text replacements in default.filter, + but it is disabled in the distributed actions file. + So you'd like to turn it on in your private, + update-safe config, once and for all:
Note that the above is not really a good idea: There are exceptions + to the filters in default.action for things that + really shouldn't be filtered, like code on CVS->Web interfaces. Since + user.action has the last word, these exceptions + won't be valid for the "fun" filtering specified here. You might also worry about how your favourite free websites are + funded, and find that they rely on displaying banner advertisements + to survive. So you might want to specifically allow banners for those + sites that you feel provide value to you:
Note that allow-ads has been aliased to - -block, -filter{banners-by-size}, - and -filter{banners-by-link} - above. - -Invoke another alias here to force an over-ride of the MIME type - application/x-sh which typically would open - a download type dialog. In my case, I want to look at the shell - script, and then I can save it should I choose to. - -
user.action is generally the best place - to define exceptions and additions to the default policies of - default.action. Some actions are safe to - have their default policies set here though. So let's set a default - policy to have a "blank" image as opposed - to the checkerboard pattern for ALL sites. "/" of course matches all URL paths and patterns: - -
|
Note that allow-ads has been aliased to + -block, + -filter{banners-by-size}, and + -filter{banners-by-link} above.
Invoke another alias here to force an over-ride of the MIME type application/x-sh which typically would open a download type + dialog. In my case, I want to look at the shell script, and then I can save + it should I choose to.
{ handle-as-text } + /.*\.sh$ |
user.action is generally the best place to define + exceptions and additions to the default policies of + default.action. Some actions are safe to have their + default policies set here though. So let's set a default policy to have a + "blank" image as opposed to the checkerboard pattern for + ALL sites. "/" of course matches all URL + paths and patterns:
{ +set-image-blocker{blank} } +/ # ALL sites |