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39 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</TH
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82 >3.1. Can I use my old config files?</A
85 > There are major changes to <SPAN
92 > configuration from version 2.0.x to
93 2.9.x and later. Most of the older files will not work at all. This is
94 especially true of <TT
97 >. If this is the case, you
98 will need to re-enter your old data into the new configuration structure.
99 This is probably also a good recommendation even if upgrading from 2.9.x to
100 3.x since there were many minor changes along the way.
109 >3.2. What is an <SPAN
118 > files are where various actions that
122 > might take, are configured.
123 Typically, you would define a set of default actions that apply
124 to all URLs, then add exceptions to these defaults.</P
126 > Actions can be defined on a per site basis, or for groups of sites. Actions
127 can also be grouped together and then applied to one or more sites. There
128 are many possible actions that might apply to any given site. As an example,
129 if we are blocking cookies as one of our default
133 >, but need to accept cookies from a given
134 site, we would define this in our <SPAN
142 > comes with several default
146 > files, with varying degrees
147 of filtering and blocking, as starting points for your own
148 configuration (see below).</P
159 > concept confuses me. Please list
166 > These are all explained in the
168 HREF="../user-manual/configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE"
172 Please refer to that.</P
180 >3.4. How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
184 > The easiest way to do this, is to access <SPAN
188 with your web browser at <A
195 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
197 >Edit the actions list</A
199 from the selection list. You can also do this by editing the appropriate
200 file with a text editor.</P
204 HREF="../user-manual/configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE"
208 detailed explanation of these and other configuration files, and their
209 various options and syntax.</P
217 >3.5. What are the differences between
218 intermediate.action, basic.action, etc.?</A
224 > is not easy. To help you get
225 started, we provide you with three different default configurations. The
226 following table shows you, which features are enabled in each configuration.
236 >Table 1. Default Configurations</B
262 >intermediate.action</TH
384 >jon's +no-cookies-keep (i.e. session cookies only)</TD
411 >no-popup windows</TD
519 >content-modification</TD
633 >3.6. Why can I change the configuration with a
634 browser? Does that not raise security issues?</A
637 >What I don't understand, is how I can browser edit the config file as a
638 regular user, while the whole <TT
642 belongs to the user <SPAN
645 >, with only 644 permissions.
648 >When you use the browser-based editor, <SPAN
652 itself is writing to the config files. Because
656 > is running as the user <SPAN
660 update the config files.
663 >If you don't like this, setting <SPAN
665 >"enable-edit-actions 0"</SPAN
667 config file will disable the browser-based editor. If you're that paranoid,
668 you should also consider setting <SPAN
670 >"enable-remote-toggle 0"</SPAN
672 browser-based enabling/disabling of <SPAN
678 >Note that normally only local users can connect to
682 >, so this is not (normally) a security
694 >"default.filter"</SPAN
700 >"default.filter"</SPAN
701 > file is used to <SPAN
705 web page content. By <SPAN
708 > we mean it can modify, remove,
712 > on the page, including HTML tags, and
713 JavaScript. Regular expressions are used to accomplish this, and operate
714 on a line by line basis. This is potentially a very powerful feature, but
715 requires some expertise. </P
717 > If you are familiar with regular expressions, and HTML, you can look at
721 > with a text editor and see
722 some of things it can be used for.</P
724 > Presently, there is no GUI editor option for this part of the configuration,
725 but you can disable/enable various sections of the included default
728 >"Actions List Editor"</SPAN
729 > from your browser.</P
737 >3.8. How can I set up <SPAN
740 > to act as a proxy for my
747 > only responds to requests
748 from localhost. To have it act as a server for a network, this needs to be
749 changed in the main config file where the <SPAN
753 configuration is located. In that file is a <SPAN
755 >"listen-address"</SPAN
757 option. It may be commented out with a <SPAN
761 it is uncommented, and assign it the address of the LAN gateway interface,
762 and port number to use:</P
772 > listen-address 192.168.1.1:8118
779 > Save the file, and restart <SPAN
783 all browsers on the network then to use this address and port number.</P
791 >3.9. Instead of ads, now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see anything.</A
794 > This is a configuration option for images that
798 > is stopping. You have the choice of a checkerboard
799 pattern, a transparent 1x1 GIF image (aka <SPAN
803 URL of your choice. Note that to fit this category, the URL must match both
812 > If you want to see nothing, then change the <SPAN
814 >"+image-blocker"</SPAN
818 >"+image-blocker{blank}"</SPAN
819 >. This can be done from the
822 >"Edit Actions List"</SPAN
827 >. Or by hand editing the appropriate
828 actions file. This will only effect what is defined as <SPAN
832 though. Also, some URLs that generate the bright red <SPAN
836 banner, can be moved to the <SPAN
838 >"+image-blocker"</SPAN
840 same reason, but there are some limits and risks to this (see below).</P
848 >3.10. Why would anybody want to see a checkerboard pattern?</A
851 > This can be helpful for troubleshooting problems. It might also be good
852 for anyone new to <SPAN
856 see if their favorite pages are displaying correctly, and
860 > is not inadvertently removing something
869 >3.11. I see large red banners on some pages that say
873 >. Why and how do I get rid of this?</A
876 > These are URLs that match something in one of
880 > block actions (+block). It is meant
881 to be a warning so that you know something has been blocked and an easy way
882 for you to see why. These are handled differently than what has been defined
886 > (e.g. ad banners). Depending on the
887 URL itself, it is sometimes hard for <SPAN
891 really know whether there is indeed an ad image there or not. And there are
892 limitations as to what <SPAN
901 > For instance, if the ad is in a frame, then it is embedded in the separate
902 HTML page used for the frame. In this case, you cannot just substitute an
903 aribitray image (like we would for a <SPAN
906 > image), for an HTML
907 page. The browser is expecting an HTML page, and that is what it must have
908 for frames. So this situation can be a little trickier to deal with, and
917 > If you want these to be treated as if they were images, so that they can be
918 made invisible, you can try moving the offending URL from the
922 > section to the <SPAN
926 your actions file. Just be forewarned, if any URL is made
930 >, you may not have any inkling that something has
931 been removed from that page, or why. If this approach does not work, then you are
932 probably dealing with a frame (or <SPAN
935 >), and the only thing
936 that can go there is an HTML page of some sort.</P
938 > To deal with this situation, you could modify the
945 > HTML template that is used by
949 > to display this, and make it something
950 more to your liking. Currently, there is no configuration option for this.
951 You will have to modify, or create your own page, and use this to replace
954 >templates/blocked</TT
959 > uses to display the <SPAN
965 > Another way to deal with this is find why and where
969 > is blocking the frame, and
970 diable this. Then let the <SPAN
972 >"+image-blocker"</SPAN
974 handle the ad that is embedded in the frame's HTML page. </P
982 >3.12. I cannot see all of the <SPAN
986 see is a bright red square.</A
989 > There is not enough space to fit the entire page. Try right clicking on the
990 visible, red portion, and select <SPAN
994 This will usually allow you to see the entire Privoxy <SPAN
998 page, and from there you can see just what is being blocked, and why.</P
1013 > Yes, it can run as a system service using <B
1017 The only catch is that this will effectively disable the
1021 > icon in the taskbar. You can have
1022 one or the other, but not both at this time :( </P
1024 > There is a pending feature request for this functionality. See
1026 HREF="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=361118&aid=485617&group_id=11118"
1028 >http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=detail&atid=361118&aid=485617&group_id=11118</A
1030 for details, and a sample configuration. </P
1038 >3.14. How can I make <SPAN
1048 > This can be done. See the <A
1049 HREF="../user-manual/configuration.html#FORWARDING"
1053 which describes how to do this. </P
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