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40 >Privoxy 3.0.3 User Manual</TH
48 HREF="upgradersnote.html"
77 >4. Quickstart to Using <SPAN
88 > If upgrading, from versions before 2.9.16, please back up any configuration
90 HREF="upgradersnote.html"
101 HREF="installation.html"
102 >Installation Section</A
103 > below for platform specific
109 > Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
113 service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
117 HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
118 >security-relevant</A
128 >, if the installation program has
129 not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
141 > Set your browser to use <SPAN
145 HTTPS (SSL) proxy by setting the proxy configuration for address of
156 > and earlier versions of
160 > used port 8000.) See the section <A
167 for more details on this.
172 > Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
176 > to manage cookies, you should
177 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.
189 HREF="configuration.html"
190 >Configuration section</A
192 configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
197 > If you experience ads that slipped through, innocent images that are
198 blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
202 > behaviour, take a look at the <A
203 HREF="actions-file.html"
205 >. As a quick start, you might
207 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
208 >richly commented examples</A
210 helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
211 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
213 >web-based user interface</A
218 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
222 > has hints how to debug actions that
231 > For easy access to Privoxy's most important controls, drag the provided
233 HREF="appendix.html#BOOKMARKLETS"
235 > into your browser's
241 > Please see the section <A
245 > on how to report bugs or problems with websites or to get
251 > Now enjoy surfing with enhanced comfort and privacy!
261 NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
262 >4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</A
265 > Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
269 array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
270 user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
273 This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
274 you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
275 information provided below, though this is highly recommended.</P
277 > First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
278 more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
279 things that were not intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
280 extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
284 > sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
285 configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
286 not an easy way to eliminate <SPAN
293 the easy way and settle for <SPAN
299 > ads blocked with the
300 default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
301 habits and preferences.</P
303 > Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
313 > in this context, are
314 the directives we use to tell <SPAN
318 some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
326 action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
334 arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
335 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
338 HREF="actions-file.html"
340 configuration files</A
341 >, are explained in depth below.</P
343 > Actions are specified in <SPAN
347 followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
348 can actually be URL type <A
349 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
352 wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
353 actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
355 > When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
356 of the sections as defined in <SPAN
360 or not. If so, then <SPAN
364 respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
365 pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
366 use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
367 original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
368 embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
369 or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
370 such embedded URLs.</P
372 > The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: <VAR
375 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
381 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
388 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
389 >set-image-blocker</A
401 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
404 > - this action stops
405 any contact between your browser and any URL patterns that match this
406 action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, but also anything
407 that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any
408 communication with the remote server and sends <SPAN
412 own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened.
420 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
427 > to treat this URL as an image.
431 >'s default configuration already does this
432 for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
433 is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
434 important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
435 some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
439 > BLOCKED page (which would only result in
442 >"broken image"</SPAN
443 > icon). There are some limitations to this
444 though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
445 an entire HTML page in most situations.
453 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
454 >set-image-blocker</A
460 > what to display in place of an ad image that
461 has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
465 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
468 > action somewhere in the
475 >, it must also match an
479 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
485 > The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
500 > - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
501 replacement is obvious. This is the default.
521 > - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
522 This is the so-called <SPAN
525 > configuration option.
543 >http://<URL></I
545 > - A redirect to any image anywhere
546 of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
557 > The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
562 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
564 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
569 >http://p.p/show-status</A
571 is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
582 >. It is best to put personal or
583 local preferences in <TT
587 meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
588 other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
592 blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
596 > will detect these changes automatically.</P
598 > A quick and simple step by step example:</P
605 > Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
610 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
618 > Set your browser to
620 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
622 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
631 > in the top section, and click
648 >Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
654 SRC="../images/files-in-use.jpg"></P
662 > You should have a section with only
666 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
674 If not, click a <SPAN
678 >Insert new section below</SPAN
681 button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
685 > button right under the word <SPAN
689 This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
693 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
696 > near the top, and click
715 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
725 > button, and paste the URL the
726 browser got from <SPAN
730 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
736 > at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
750 > if in a pop-up window).
755 > Now go back to the original page, and press <B
759 (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
765 > This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
766 wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
767 site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
771 the entire actions concept, see <A
772 HREF="actions-file.html"
777 > For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
779 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
780 >Actions Files Tutorial</A
782 The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.</P
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829 >Note to Upgraders</TD