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45 >Privoxy 3.0.9 User Manual</TH
82 >4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy</A
94 HREF="installation.html"
95 >Installation Section</A
96 > below for platform specific
102 > Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
106 service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
110 HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
111 >security-relevant</A
121 >, if the installation program has
122 not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
134 > Set your browser to use <SPAN
139 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server"
143 by setting the proxy configuration for address of
157 > activate proxying for <TT
161 any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) unless you intend to prevent your
162 browser from using these protocols.
167 > Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
173 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
177 you should remove any currently stored cookies too.
182 > A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
183 most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
184 configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
185 to no initial configuration is required in most cases, you may want
188 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
190 >web-based action editor</A
192 Be sure to read the warnings first.
196 HREF="configuration.html"
197 >Configuration section</A
199 configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
200 You might also want to look at the <A
201 HREF="quickstart.html#QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
204 introduction to how <SPAN
212 > If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
213 blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
217 > behavior, take a look at the <A
218 HREF="actions-file.html"
220 >. As a quick start, you might
222 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
223 >richly commented examples</A
225 helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
226 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
228 >web-based user interface</A
233 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
234 >Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
237 > has hints on how to understand and debug actions that
246 > Please see the section <A
250 > on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get
256 > Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
266 NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
267 >4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</A
270 > Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
274 array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
275 user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
278 This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
279 you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
280 information provided below, though this is highly recommended.</P
282 > First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
283 more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
284 things that were not intended. And the more likely that some things
285 may not work as intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
286 extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
290 > sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
291 configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
292 not an easy way to eliminate <SPAN
299 the easy way and settle for <SPAN
305 > ads blocked with the
306 default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
307 habits and preferences.</P
309 > Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
319 > in this context, are
320 the directives we use to tell <SPAN
324 some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
332 action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
340 arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
341 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
344 HREF="actions-file.html"
346 configuration files</A
347 >, are explained in depth below.</P
349 > Actions are specified in <SPAN
353 followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
354 can actually be URL type <A
355 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
358 wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
359 actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
361 > When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
362 of the sections as defined in <SPAN
366 or not. If so, then <SPAN
370 respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
371 pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
372 use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
373 original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
374 embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
375 or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
376 such embedded URLs. <SPAN
379 > can deal with each URL individually, so, for
380 instance, the main page text is not touched, but images from such-and-such
381 server are blocked.</P
383 > The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: <TT
386 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
392 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
399 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
400 >handle-as-empty-document</A
406 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
407 >set-image-blocker</A
419 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
423 the single most used action, and is particularly important for ad blocking.
424 This action stops any contact between your browser and any URL patterns
425 that match this action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads,
426 but also anything that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply
427 stops any communication with the remote server and sends
431 >'s own built-in BLOCKED page instead to
432 let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below).
440 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
447 > to treat this URL as an image.
451 >'s default configuration already does this
452 for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
453 is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
454 important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
455 some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
459 > BLOCKED page (which would only result in
462 >"broken image"</SPAN
463 > icon). There are some limitations to this
464 though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
465 an entire HTML page in most situations.
473 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
474 >handle-as-empty-document</A
477 sends an empty document instead of <SPAN
481 normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither
482 HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files.
490 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
491 >set-image-blocker</A
497 > what to display in place of an ad image that
498 has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
502 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
505 > action somewhere in the
512 >, it must also match an
516 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
522 > The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
537 > - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
538 replacement is obvious. This is the default.
558 > - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
559 This is the so-called <SPAN
562 > configuration option.
580 >http://<URL></I
582 > - A redirect to any image anywhere
583 of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
594 > Advanced users will eventually want to explore <SPAN
601 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
605 are very different from <TT
608 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
615 > blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented. Filters
616 are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the page. An example
617 filter usage: a text replacement of <SPAN
624 >. That is a very simple example. This process can be
625 used for ad blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has
626 some pitfalls to be wary off.</P
628 > The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
633 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
635 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
640 >http://p.p/show-status</A
642 is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.</P
644 > Note that as of <SPAN
648 action editor is disabled by default. Check the
650 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
653 section in the configuration file</A
654 > to learn why and in which
655 cases it's safe to enable again.</P
657 > If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
668 >. It is best to put personal or
669 local preferences in <TT
673 meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
674 other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
678 blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
682 > will detect these changes automatically.</P
684 > A quick and simple step by step example:</P
691 > Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
696 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
704 > Set your browser to
706 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
708 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
717 > in the top section, and click
734 >Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
740 SRC="files-in-use.jpg"></P
748 > You should have a section with only
752 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
760 If not, click a <SPAN
764 >Insert new section below</SPAN
767 button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
771 > button right under the word <SPAN
775 This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
779 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
782 > near the top, and click
801 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
811 > button, and paste the URL the
812 browser got from <SPAN
816 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
822 > at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
836 > if in a pop-up window).
841 > Now go back to the original page, and press <B
845 (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
851 > This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
852 wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
853 site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
857 the entire actions concept, see <A
858 HREF="actions-file.html"
863 > For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
865 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
866 >Actions Files Tutorial</A
868 The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.</P
870 > There are also various
872 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
874 > that can be used for ad blocking
875 (filters are a special subset of actions). These
879 > usage category, and are explained in
880 depth in later sections. </P
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927 >What's New in this Release</TD
937 >Starting Privoxy</TD