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45 >Privoxy 3.0.13 User Manual</TH
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67 HREF="actions-file.html"
82 >7. The Main Configuration File</A
85 > Again, the main configuration file is named <TT
89 Linux/Unix/BSD and OS/2, and <TT
93 Configuration lines consist of an initial keyword followed by a list of
94 values, all separated by whitespace (any number of spaces or tabs). For
100 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
105 >confdir /etc/privoxy</I
112 > Assigns the value <TT
119 > and thus indicates that the configuration
120 directory is named <SPAN
122 >"/etc/privoxy/"</SPAN
125 > All options in the config file except for <TT
132 > are optional. Watch out in the below description
133 for what happens if you leave them unset.</P
135 > The main config file controls all aspects of <SPAN
139 operation that are not location dependent (i.e. they apply universally, no matter
140 where you may be surfing).</P
147 >7.1. Local Set-up Documentation</A
150 > If you intend to operate <SPAN
154 than just yourself, it might be a good idea to let them know how to reach
155 you, what you block and why you do that, your policies, etc.
163 >7.1.1. user-manual</A
174 > Location of the <SPAN
184 >A fully qualified URI</P
199 >Effect if unset:</DT
203 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/"
205 >http://www.privoxy.org/<TT
212 will be used, where <TT
227 > The User Manual URI is the single best source of information on
231 >, and is used for help links from some
232 of the internal CGI pages. The manual itself is normally packaged with the
233 binary distributions, so you probably want to set this to a locally
240 > The best all purpose solution is simply to put the full local
259 > user-manual /usr/share/doc/privoxy/user-manual</PRE
266 > The User Manual is then available to anyone with access to
270 >, by following the built-in URL:
273 >http://config.privoxy.org/user-manual/</TT
275 (or the shortcut: <TT
277 >http://p.p/user-manual/</TT
281 > If the documentation is not on the local system, it can be accessed
282 from a remote server, as:
293 > user-manual http://example.com/privoxy/user-manual/</PRE
318 > If set, this option should be <SPAN
322 >the first option in the config
325 >, because it is used while the config file is being read
341 NAME="TRUST-INFO-URL"
342 >7.1.2. trust-info-url</A
353 > A URL to be displayed in the error page that users will see if access to an untrusted page is denied.
375 >Effect if unset:</DT
378 > No links are displayed on the "untrusted" error page.
385 > The value of this option only matters if the experimental trust mechanism has been
387 HREF="config.html#TRUSTFILE"
398 > If you use the trust mechanism, it is a good idea to write up some on-line
399 documentation about your trust policy and to specify the URL(s) here.
400 Use multiple times for multiple URLs.
403 > The URL(s) should be added to the trustfile as well, so users don't end up
404 locked out from the information on why they were locked out in the first place!
416 >7.1.3. admin-address</A
427 > An email address to reach the <SPAN
452 >Effect if unset:</DT
455 > No email address is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
469 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
481 NAME="PROXY-INFO-URL"
482 >7.1.4. proxy-info-url</A
493 > A URL to documentation about the local <SPAN
497 configuration or policies.
519 >Effect if unset:</DT
522 > No link to local documentation is displayed on error pages and the CGI user interface.
536 are unset, the whole "Local Privoxy Support" box on all generated pages will
540 > This URL shouldn't be blocked ;-)
553 >7.2. Configuration and Log File Locations</A
559 > can (and normally does) use a number of
560 other files for additional configuration, help and logging.
561 This section of the configuration file tells <SPAN
565 where to find those other files. </P
567 > The user running <SPAN
571 permission for all configuration files, and write permission to any files
572 that would be modified, such as log files and actions files.</P
590 >The directory where the other configuration files are located.</P
602 >/etc/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
611 > installation dir (Windows) </P
614 >Effect if unset:</DT
658 >An alternative directory where the templates are loaded from.</P
673 >Effect if unset:</DT
676 >The templates are assumed to be located in confdir/template.</P
685 > original templates are usually
686 overwritten with each update. Use this option to relocate customized
687 templates that should be kept. As template variables might change
688 between updates, you shouldn't expect templates to work with
692 > releases other than the one
693 they were part of, though.
716 > The directory where all logging takes place
733 >/var/log/privoxy (Unix) <SPAN
742 > installation dir (Windows) </P
745 >Effect if unset:</DT
778 >7.2.4. actionsfile</A
781 NAME="DEFAULT.ACTION"
784 NAME="STANDARD.ACTION"
799 HREF="actions-file.html"
808 >Complete file name, relative to <TT
824 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
825 > match-all.action # Actions that are applied to all sites and maybe overruled later on.</P
832 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
833 > default.action # Main actions file</P
840 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
841 > user.action # User customizations</P
851 >Effect if unset:</DT
854 > No actions are taken at all. More or less neutral proxying.
864 > lines are permitted, and are in fact recommended!
868 The default values are <TT
875 > actions file maintained by the developers, and
879 >, where you can make your personal additions.
883 Actions files contain all the per site and per URL configuration for
884 ad blocking, cookie management, privacy considerations, etc.
885 There is no point in using <SPAN
889 least one actions file.
892 > Note that since Privoxy 3.0.7, the complete filename, including the <SPAN
896 extension has to be specified. The syntax change was necessary to be consistent
897 with the other file options and to allow previously forbidden characters.
909 >7.2.5. filterfile</A
912 NAME="DEFAULT.FILTER"
924 HREF="filter-file.html"
933 >File name, relative to <TT
942 >default.filter (Unix) <SPAN
948 > default.filter.txt (Windows)</P
951 >Effect if unset:</DT
954 > No textual content filtering takes place, i.e. all
958 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
967 actions in the actions files are turned neutral.
977 > lines are permitted.
981 HREF="filter-file.html"
983 > contain content modification
985 HREF="appendix.html#REGEX"
986 >regular expressions</A
987 >. These rules permit
988 powerful changes on the content of Web pages, and optionally the headers
989 as well, e.g., you could try to disable your favorite JavaScript annoyances,
990 re-write the actual displayed text, or just have some fun
991 playing buzzword bingo with web pages.
998 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1007 actions rely on the relevant filter (<TT
1013 to be defined in a filter file!
1016 > A pre-defined filter file called <TT
1020 a number of useful filters for common problems is included in the distribution.
1021 See the section on the <TT
1024 HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
1031 > It is recommended to place any locally adapted filters into a separate
1052 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1058 > The log file to use
1065 >File name, relative to <TT
1078 >Unset (commented out)</I
1080 >. When activated: logfile (Unix) <SPAN
1086 > privoxy.log (Windows).</P
1089 >Effect if unset:</DT
1092 > No logfile is written.
1099 > The logfile is where all logging and error messages are written. The level
1100 of detail and number of messages are set with the <TT
1104 option (see below). The logfile can be useful for tracking down a problem with
1108 > (e.g., it's not blocking an ad you
1109 think it should block) and it can help you to monitor what your browser
1113 > Depending on the debug options below, the logfile may be a privacy risk
1114 if third parties can get access to it. As most users will never look
1118 > 3.0.7 and later only log fatal
1122 > For most troubleshooting purposes, you will have to change that,
1123 please refer to the debugging section for details.
1126 > Your logfile will grow indefinitely, and you will probably want to
1127 periodically remove it. On Unix systems, you can do this with a cron job
1131 >). For Red Hat based Linux distributions, a
1135 > script has been included.
1138 > Any log files must be writable by whatever user <SPAN
1142 is being run as (on Unix, default user id is <SPAN
1157 >7.2.7. trustfile</A
1162 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1168 > The name of the trust file to use
1175 >File name, relative to <TT
1188 >Unset (commented out)</I
1190 >. When activated: trust (Unix) <SPAN
1196 > trust.txt (Windows)</P
1199 >Effect if unset:</DT
1202 > The entire trust mechanism is disabled.
1209 > The trust mechanism is an experimental feature for building white-lists and should
1210 be used with care. It is <SPAN
1216 > recommended for the casual user.
1219 > If you specify a trust file, <SPAN
1223 access to sites that are specified in the trustfile. Sites can be listed
1230 > character limits access to this site
1231 only (and any sub-paths within this site), e.g.
1234 >~www.example.com</TT
1238 >~www.example.com/features/news.html</TT
1242 > Or, you can designate sites as <SPAN
1246 >trusted referrers</I
1249 prepending the name with a <TT
1252 > character. The effect is that
1253 access to untrusted sites will be granted -- but only if a link from this
1254 trusted referrer was used to get there. The link target will then be added
1258 > so that future, direct accesses will be
1259 granted. Sites added via this mechanism do not become trusted referrers
1260 themselves (i.e. they are added with a <TT
1264 There is a limit of 512 such entries, after which new entries will not be
1268 > If you use the <TT
1271 > operator in the trust file, it may grow
1272 considerably over time.
1275 > It is recommended that <SPAN
1281 >--disable-force</TT
1284 >--disable-toggle</TT
1288 > --disable-editor</TT
1289 > options, if this feature is to be
1293 > Possible applications include limiting Internet access for children.
1309 > These options are mainly useful when tracing a problem.
1310 Note that you might also want to invoke
1318 command line option when debugging.
1331 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1337 > Key values that determine what information gets logged.
1350 >0 (i.e.: only fatal errors (that cause Privoxy to exit) are logged)</P
1353 >Effect if unset:</DT
1356 > Default value is used (see above).
1363 > The available debug levels are:
1373 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1374 > debug 1 # Log the destination for each request <SPAN
1377 > let through. See also debug 1024.
1378 debug 2 # show each connection status
1379 debug 4 # show I/O status
1380 debug 8 # show header parsing
1381 debug 16 # log all data written to the network into the logfile
1382 debug 32 # debug force feature
1383 debug 64 # debug regular expression filters
1384 debug 128 # debug redirects
1385 debug 256 # debug GIF de-animation
1386 debug 512 # Common Log Format
1387 debug 1024 # Log the destination for requests <SPAN
1390 > didn't let through, and the reason why.
1391 debug 2048 # CGI user interface
1392 debug 4096 # Startup banner and warnings.
1393 debug 8192 # Non-fatal errors</PRE
1400 > To select multiple debug levels, you can either add them or use
1407 > A debug level of 1 is informative because it will show you each request
1408 as it happens. <SPAN
1412 >1, 1024, 4096 and 8192 are recommended</I
1415 so that you will notice when things go wrong. The other levels are
1416 probably only of interest if you are hunting down a specific problem.
1417 They can produce a hell of an output (especially 16).
1424 > used to ship with the debug levels recommended above enabled by
1425 default, but due to privacy concerns 3.0.7 and later are configured to
1426 only log fatal errors.
1429 > If you are used to the more verbose settings, simply enable the debug lines
1433 > If you want to use pure CLF (Common Log Format), you should set <SPAN
1443 > and not enable anything else.
1449 > has a hard-coded limit for the
1450 length of log messages. If it's reached, messages are logged truncated
1451 and marked with <SPAN
1453 >"... [too long, truncated]"</SPAN
1457 > Please don't file any support requests without trying to reproduce
1458 the problem with increased debug level first. Once you read the log
1459 messages, you may even be able to solve the problem on your own.
1470 NAME="SINGLE-THREADED"
1471 >7.3.2. single-threaded</A
1476 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1482 > Whether to run only one server thread.
1510 >Effect if unset:</DT
1513 > Multi-threaded (or, where unavailable: forked) operation, i.e. the ability to
1514 serve multiple requests simultaneously.
1521 > This option is only there for debugging purposes.
1526 >It will drastically reduce performance.</I
1545 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1551 > The hostname shown on the CGI pages.
1573 >Effect if unset:</DT
1576 > The hostname provided by the operating system is used.
1583 > On some misconfigured systems resolving the hostname fails or
1584 takes too much time and slows Privoxy down. Setting a fixed hostname
1585 works around the problem.
1588 > In other circumstances it might be desirable to show a hostname
1589 other than the one returned by the operating system. For example
1590 if the system has several different hostnames and you don't want
1591 to use the first one.
1594 > Note that Privoxy does not validate the specified hostname value.
1606 NAME="ACCESS-CONTROL"
1607 >7.4. Access Control and Security</A
1610 > This section of the config file controls the security-relevant aspects
1621 NAME="LISTEN-ADDRESS"
1622 >7.4.1. listen-address</A
1627 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1633 > The IP address and TCP port on which <SPAN
1637 listen for client requests.
1663 >Effect if unset:</DT
1666 > Bind to 127.0.0.1 (IPv4 localhost), port 8118. This is suitable and
1667 recommended for home users who run <SPAN
1671 the same machine as their browser.
1678 > You will need to configure your browser(s) to this proxy address and port.
1681 > If you already have another service running on port 8118, or if you want to
1682 serve requests from other machines (e.g. on your local network) as well, you
1683 will need to override the default.
1686 > IPv6 addresses containing colons have to be quoted by brackets.
1689 > If you leave out the IP address, <SPAN
1693 bind to all IPv4 interfaces (addresses) on your machine and may become reachable
1694 from the Internet. In that case, consider using <A
1695 HREF="config.html#ACLS"
1696 >access control lists</A
1697 > (ACL's, see below), and/or
1698 a firewall. If the hostname is localhost, <SPAN
1702 will explicitly try to bind to an IPv4 address. For other hostnames it depends
1703 on the operating system which IP version will be used.
1709 > to untrusted users, you will
1710 also want to make sure that the following actions are disabled: <TT
1713 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
1714 >enable-edit-actions</A
1720 HREF="config.html#ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1721 >enable-remote-toggle</A
1730 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1734 a machine which has the address 192.168.0.1 on your local private network
1735 (192.168.0.0) and has another outside connection with a different address.
1736 You want it to serve requests from inside only:
1746 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1747 > listen-address 192.168.0.1:8118</PRE
1754 > Suppose you are running <SPAN
1758 IPv6-capable machine and you want it to listen on the IPv6 address
1759 of the loopback device:
1769 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
1770 > listen-address [::1]:8118</PRE
1791 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1797 > Initial state of "toggle" status
1813 >Effect if unset:</DT
1816 > Act as if toggled on
1823 > If set to 0, <SPAN
1829 >"toggled off"</SPAN
1830 > mode, i.e. mostly behave like a normal,
1831 content-neutral proxy with both ad blocking and content filtering
1834 >enable-remote-toggle</TT
1838 > The windows version will only display the toggle icon in the system tray
1839 if this option is present.
1850 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-TOGGLE"
1851 >7.4.3. enable-remote-toggle</A
1856 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1862 > Whether or not the <A
1863 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/toggle"
1883 >Effect if unset:</DT
1886 > The web-based toggle feature is disabled.
1893 > When toggled off, <SPAN
1896 > mostly acts like a normal,
1897 content-neutral proxy, i.e. doesn't block ads or filter content.
1900 > Access to the toggle feature can <SPAN
1907 controlled separately by <SPAN
1910 > or HTTP authentication,
1911 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
1922 toggle it for all users. So this option is <SPAN
1929 for multi-user environments with untrusted users.
1932 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
1933 capable of using this option.
1940 documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
1943 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
1947 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
1958 NAME="ENABLE-REMOTE-HTTP-TOGGLE"
1959 >7.4.4. enable-remote-http-toggle</A
1964 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
1970 > Whether or not Privoxy recognizes special HTTP headers to change its behaviour.
1986 >Effect if unset:</DT
1989 > Privoxy ignores special HTTP headers.
1996 > When toggled on, the client can change <SPAN
2000 behaviour by setting special HTTP headers. Currently the only supported
2001 special header is <SPAN
2003 >"X-Filter: No"</SPAN
2004 >, to disable filtering for
2005 the ongoing request, even if it is enabled in one of the action files.
2008 > This feature is disabled by default. If you are using
2012 > in a environment with trusted clients,
2013 you may enable this feature at your discretion. Note that malicious client
2014 side code (e.g Java) is also capable of using this feature.
2017 > This option will be removed in future releases as it has been obsoleted
2018 by the more general header taggers.
2029 NAME="ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
2030 >7.4.5. enable-edit-actions</A
2035 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2041 > Whether or not the <A
2042 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
2062 >Effect if unset:</DT
2065 > The web-based actions file editor is disabled.
2072 > Access to the editor can <SPAN
2079 controlled separately by <SPAN
2082 > or HTTP authentication,
2083 so that everybody who can access <SPAN
2094 modify its configuration for all users.
2097 > This option is <SPAN
2104 with untrusted users and as a lot of <SPAN
2108 users don't read documentation, this feature is disabled by default.
2111 > Note that malicious client side code (e.g Java) is also
2112 capable of using the actions editor and you shouldn't enable
2113 this options unless you understand the consequences and are
2114 sure your browser is configured correctly.
2117 > Note that you must have compiled <SPAN
2121 support for this feature, otherwise this option has no effect.
2132 NAME="ENFORCE-BLOCKS"
2133 >7.4.6. enforce-blocks</A
2138 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2144 > Whether the user is allowed to ignore blocks and can <SPAN
2146 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2175 >Effect if unset:</DT
2178 > Blocks are not enforced.
2188 > is mainly used to block and filter
2189 requests as a service to the user, for example to block ads and other
2190 junk that clogs the pipes. <SPAN
2194 isn't perfect and sometimes innocent pages are blocked. In this situation it
2195 makes sense to allow the user to enforce the request and have
2202 > In the default configuration <SPAN
2209 > page contains a <SPAN
2211 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2213 link to adds a special string (the force prefix) to the request URL.
2214 If that link is used, <SPAN
2218 detect the force prefix, remove it again and let the request pass.
2224 > can also be used to enforce
2225 a network policy. In that case the user obviously should not be able to
2226 bypass any blocks, and that's what the <SPAN
2228 >"enforce-blocks"</SPAN
2230 option is for. If it's enabled, <SPAN
2236 >"go there anyway"</SPAN
2237 > link. If the user adds the force
2238 prefix by hand, it will not be accepted and the circumvention attempt
2258 >7.4.7. ACLs: permit-access and deny-access</A
2261 NAME="PERMIT-ACCESS"
2269 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2275 > Who can access what.
2327 > are IPv4 addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid
2345 > are subnet masks in CIDR notation, i.e. integer
2346 values from 2 to 30 representing the length (in bits) of the network address. The masks and the whole
2347 destination part are optional.
2350 > If your system implements
2352 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
2366 > can be IPv6 addresses delimeted by
2373 or a service name, and
2407 any port will match. If no <TT
2418 > is given, the complete IP
2419 address has to match (i.e. 32 bits for IPv4 and 128 bits for IPv6).
2423 >Effect if unset:</DT
2426 > Don't restrict access further than implied by <TT
2436 > Access controls are included at the request of ISPs and systems
2437 administrators, and <SPAN
2441 >are not usually needed by individual users</I
2444 For a typical home user, it will normally suffice to ensure that
2448 > only listens on the localhost
2449 (127.0.0.1) or internal (home) network address by means of the
2451 HREF="config.html#LISTEN-ADDRESS"
2463 > Please see the warnings in the FAQ that <SPAN
2467 is not intended to be a substitute for a firewall or to encourage anyone
2468 to defer addressing basic security weaknesses.
2471 > Multiple ACL lines are OK.
2472 If any ACLs are specified, <SPAN
2476 to IP addresses that match at least one <TT
2480 and don't match any subsequent <TT
2483 > line. In other words, the
2484 last match wins, with the default being <TT
2493 > is using a forwarder (see <TT
2497 for a particular destination URL, the <TT
2503 that is examined is the address of the forwarder and <SPAN
2510 of the ultimate target. This is necessary because it may be impossible for the local
2514 > to determine the IP address of the
2515 ultimate target (that's often what gateways are used for).
2518 > You should prefer using IP addresses over DNS names, because the address lookups take
2519 time. All DNS names must resolve! You can <SPAN
2525 > use domain patterns
2529 > or partial domain names. If a DNS name resolves to multiple
2530 IP addresses, only the first one is used.
2533 > Some systems allows IPv4 client to connect to IPv6 server socket.
2534 Then the client's IPv4 address will be translated by system into
2535 IPv6 address space with special prefix ::ffff:0:0/96 (so called IPv4
2536 mapped IPv6 address). <SPAN
2540 and maps such ACL addresses automatically.
2543 > Denying access to particular sites by ACL may have undesired side effects
2544 if the site in question is hosted on a machine which also hosts other sites
2552 > Explicitly define the default behavior if no ACL and
2560 is OK. The absence of a <TT
2572 > destination addresses are OK:
2583 > permit-access localhost</PRE
2590 > Allow any host on the same class C subnet as www.privoxy.org access to
2591 nothing but www.example.com (or other domains hosted on the same system):
2602 > permit-access www.privoxy.org/24 www.example.com/32</PRE
2609 > Allow access from any host on the 26-bit subnet 192.168.45.64 to anywhere,
2610 with the exception that 192.168.45.73 may not access the IP address behind
2611 www.dirty-stuff.example.com:
2622 > permit-access 192.168.45.64/26
2623 deny-access 192.168.45.73 www.dirty-stuff.example.com</PRE
2630 > Allow access from the IPv4 network 192.0.2.0/24 even if listening on
2631 an IPv6 wild card address (not supported on all platforms):
2641 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2642 > permit-access 192.0.2.0/24</PRE
2649 > This is equivalent to the following line even if listening on an
2650 IPv4 address (not supported on all platforms):
2660 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2661 > permit-access [::ffff:192.0.2.0]/120</PRE
2677 >7.4.8. buffer-limit</A
2682 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2688 > Maximum size of the buffer for content filtering.
2704 >Effect if unset:</DT
2707 > Use a 4MB (4096 KB) limit.
2714 > For content filtering, i.e. the <TT
2721 > actions, it is necessary that
2725 > buffers the entire document body.
2726 This can be potentially dangerous, since a server could just keep sending
2727 data indefinitely and wait for your RAM to exhaust -- with nasty consequences.
2731 > When a document buffer size reaches the <TT
2735 flushed to the client unfiltered and no further attempt to
2736 filter the rest of the document is made. Remember that there may be multiple threads
2737 running, which might require up to <TT
2747 >, unless you have enabled <SPAN
2749 >"single-threaded"</SPAN
2767 > This feature allows routing of HTTP requests through a chain of
2768 multiple proxies.</P
2770 > Forwarding can be used to chain Privoxy with a caching proxy to speed
2771 up browsing. Using a parent proxy may also be necessary if the machine
2775 > runs on has no direct Internet access.</P
2777 > Note that parent proxies can severely decrease your privacy level.
2778 For example a parent proxy could add your IP address to the request
2779 headers and if it's a caching proxy it may add the <SPAN
2783 header to revalidation requests again, even though you configured Privoxy
2784 to remove it. It may also ignore Privoxy's header time randomization and use the
2785 original values which could be used by the server as cookie replacement
2786 to track your steps between visits.</P
2788 > Also specified here are SOCKS proxies. <SPAN
2792 supports the SOCKS 4 and SOCKS 4A protocols.</P
2804 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
2810 > To which parent HTTP proxy specific requests should be routed.
2842 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
2845 that specifies to which requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
2864 is the DNS name or IP address of the parent HTTP proxy through which the requests should be forwarded,
2865 optionally followed by its listening port (default: 8000).
2866 Use a single dot (<TT
2871 >"no forwarding"</SPAN
2888 >Effect if unset:</DT
2891 > Don't use parent HTTP proxies.
2906 >, then requests are not
2907 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made directly to the web servers.
2916 numerical IPv6 address (if
2918 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
2922 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
2923 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
2928 > containing an IPv6 address
2929 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
2930 regular expressions already).
2933 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
2940 > Everything goes to an example parent proxy, except SSL on port 443 (which it doesn't handle):
2951 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8080
2959 > Everything goes to our example ISP's caching proxy, except for requests
2960 to that ISP's sites:
2971 > forward / caching-proxy.isp.example.net:8000
2972 forward .isp.example.net .</PRE
2979 > Parent proxy specified by an IPv6 address:
2989 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
2990 > foward / [2001:DB8::1]:8000</PRE
2997 > Suppose your parent proxy doesn't support IPv6:
3007 CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
3008 > forward / parent-proxy.example.org:8000
3009 forward ipv6-server.example.org .
3010 forward <[2-3][0-9a-f][0-9a-f][0-9a-f]:*> .</PRE
3026 >7.5.2. forward-socks4, forward-socks4a and forward-socks5</A
3029 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4"
3032 NAME="FORWARD-SOCKS4A"
3037 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3043 > Through which SOCKS proxy (and optionally to which parent HTTP proxy) specific requests should be routed.
3087 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
3089 > that specifies to which
3090 requests (i.e. URLs) this forward rule shall apply. Use <TT
3109 are IP addresses in dotted decimal notation or valid DNS names
3121 >"no HTTP forwarding"</SPAN
3122 >), and the optional
3128 > parameters are TCP ports,
3129 i.e. integer values from 1 to 65535
3145 >Effect if unset:</DT
3148 > Don't use SOCKS proxies.
3155 > Multiple lines are OK, they are checked in sequence, and the last match wins.
3158 > The difference between <TT
3163 >forward-socks4a</TT
3165 is that in the SOCKS 4A protocol, the DNS resolution of the target hostname happens on the SOCKS
3166 server, while in SOCKS 4 it happens locally.
3172 > the DNS resolution will happen on the remote server as well.
3187 numerical IPv6 address (if
3189 HREF="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3493"
3193 implemented). To prevent clashes with the port delimiter, the whole IP
3194 address has to be put into brackets. On the other hand a <TT
3199 > containing an IPv6 address
3200 has to be put into angle brackets (normal brackets are reserved for
3201 regular expressions already).
3212 >, then requests are not
3213 forwarded to another HTTP proxy but are made (HTTP-wise) directly to the web servers, albeit through
3221 > From the company example.com, direct connections are made to all
3225 > domains, but everything outbound goes through
3226 their ISP's proxy by way of example.com's corporate SOCKS 4A gateway to
3238 > forward-socks4a / socks-gw.example.com:1080 www-cache.isp.example.net:8080
3239 forward .example.com .</PRE
3246 > A rule that uses a SOCKS 4 gateway for all destinations but no HTTP parent looks like this:
3257 > forward-socks4 / socks-gw.example.com:1080 .</PRE
3264 > To chain Privoxy and Tor, both running on the same system, you would use
3276 > forward-socks5 / 127.0.0.1:9050 .</PRE
3286 > network can't be used to
3287 reach your local network, if you need to access local servers you
3288 therefore might want to make some exceptions:
3299 > forward 192.168.*.*/ .
3301 forward 127.*.*.*/ .</PRE
3308 > Unencrypted connections to systems in these address ranges will
3309 be as (un)secure as the local network is, but the alternative is that you
3310 can't reach the local network through <SPAN
3314 at all. Of course this may actually be desired and there is no reason
3315 to make these exceptions if you aren't sure you need them.
3318 > If you also want to be able to reach servers in your local network by
3319 using their names, you will need additional exceptions that look like
3331 > forward localhost/ .</PRE
3346 NAME="ADVANCED-FORWARDING-EXAMPLES"
3347 >7.5.3. Advanced Forwarding Examples</A
3350 > If you have links to multiple ISPs that provide various special content
3351 only to their subscribers, you can configure multiple <SPAN
3355 which have connections to the respective ISPs to act as forwarders to each other, so that
3362 > users can see the internal content of all ISPs.</P
3364 > Assume that host-a has a PPP connection to isp-a.example.net. And host-b has a PPP connection to
3365 isp-b.example.org. Both run <SPAN
3369 configuration can look like this:</P
3382 forward .isp-b.example.net host-b:8118</PRE
3399 forward .isp-a.example.org host-a:8118</PRE
3405 > Now, your users can set their browser's proxy to use either
3406 host-a or host-b and be able to browse the internal content
3407 of both isp-a and isp-b.</P
3409 > If you intend to chain <SPAN
3416 > locally, then chaining as
3419 >browser -> squid -> privoxy</TT
3420 > is the recommended way. </P
3422 > Assuming that <SPAN
3429 run on the same box, your <SPAN
3432 > configuration could then look like this:</P
3442 > # Define Privoxy as parent proxy (without ICP)
3443 cache_peer 127.0.0.1 parent 8118 7 no-query
3445 # Define ACL for protocol FTP
3448 # Do not forward FTP requests to Privoxy
3449 always_direct allow ftp
3451 # Forward all the rest to Privoxy
3452 never_direct allow all</PRE
3458 > You would then need to change your browser's proxy settings to <SPAN
3461 >'s address and port.
3462 Squid normally uses port 3128. If unsure consult <TT
3470 > You could just as well decide to only forward requests you suspect
3471 of leading to Windows executables through a virus-scanning parent proxy,
3474 >antivir.example.com</TT
3486 forward /.*\.(exe|com|dll|zip)$ antivir.example.com:8010</PRE
3497 NAME="FORWARDED-CONNECT-RETRIES"
3498 >7.5.4. forwarded-connect-retries</A
3503 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3509 > How often Privoxy retries if a forwarded connection request fails.
3519 >Number of retries.</I
3537 >Effect if unset:</DT
3540 > Connections forwarded through other proxies are treated like direct connections and no retry attempts are made.
3550 >forwarded-connect-retries</I
3552 > is mainly interesting
3553 for socks4a connections, where <SPAN
3556 > can't detect why the connections failed.
3557 The connection might have failed because of a DNS timeout in which case a retry makes sense,
3558 but it might also have failed because the server doesn't exist or isn't reachable. In this
3559 case the retry will just delay the appearance of Privoxy's error message.
3562 > Note that in the context of this option, <SPAN
3564 >"forwarded connections"</SPAN
3565 > includes all connections
3566 that Privoxy forwards through other proxies. This option is not limited to the HTTP CONNECT method.
3569 > Only use this option, if you are getting lots of forwarding-related error messages
3570 that go away when you try again manually. Start with a small value and check Privoxy's
3571 logfile from time to time, to see how many retries are usually needed.
3578 > forwarded-connect-retries 1
3591 >7.6. Miscellaneous</A
3598 NAME="ACCEPT-INTERCEPTED-REQUESTS"
3599 >7.6.1. accept-intercepted-requests</A
3604 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3610 > Whether intercepted requests should be treated as valid.
3638 >Effect if unset:</DT
3641 > Only proxy requests are accepted, intercepted requests are treated as invalid.
3648 > If you don't trust your clients and want to force them
3653 option and configure your packet filter to redirect outgoing
3654 HTTP connections into <SPAN
3660 > Make sure that <SPAN
3664 aren't redirected as well. Additionally take care that
3668 > can't intentionally connect
3669 to itself, otherwise you could run into redirection loops if
3673 > listening port is reachable
3674 by the outside or an attacker has access to the pages you visit.
3681 > accept-intercepted-requests 1
3692 NAME="ALLOW-CGI-REQUEST-CRUNCHING"
3693 >7.6.2. allow-cgi-request-crunching</A
3698 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3704 > Whether requests to <SPAN
3707 > CGI pages can be blocked or redirected.
3735 >Effect if unset:</DT
3741 > ignores block and redirect actions for its CGI pages.
3751 > ignores block or redirect actions
3752 for its CGI pages. Intercepting these requests can be useful in multi-user
3753 setups to implement fine-grained access control, but it can also render the complete
3754 web interface useless and make debugging problems painful if done without care.
3757 > Don't enable this option unless you're sure that you really need it.
3764 > allow-cgi-request-crunching 1
3775 NAME="SPLIT-LARGE-FORMS"
3776 >7.6.3. split-large-forms</A
3781 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3787 > Whether the CGI interface should stay compatible with broken HTTP clients.
3815 >Effect if unset:</DT
3818 > The CGI form generate long GET URLs.
3828 > CGI forms can lead to
3829 rather long URLs. This isn't a problem as far as the HTTP
3830 standard is concerned, but it can confuse clients with arbitrary
3831 URL length limitations.
3834 > Enabling split-large-forms causes <SPAN
3838 to divide big forms into smaller ones to keep the URL length down.
3839 It makes editing a lot less convenient and you can no longer
3840 submit all changes at once, but at least it works around this
3844 > If you don't notice any editing problems, there is no reason
3845 to enable this option, but if one of the submit buttons appears
3846 to be broken, you should give it a try.
3853 > split-large-forms 1
3864 NAME="KEEP-ALIVE-TIMEOUT"
3865 >7.6.4. keep-alive-timeout</A
3870 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3876 > Number of seconds after which an open connection will no longer be reused.
3886 >Time in seconds.</I
3898 >Effect if unset:</DT
3901 > Connections are not kept alive.
3908 > This option allows clients to keep the connection to <SPAN
3912 alive. If the server supports it, <SPAN
3916 the connection to the server alive as well. Under certain
3917 circumstances this may result in speed-ups.
3923 > will close the connection to the server if
3924 the client connection gets closed, or if the specified timeout
3925 has been reached without a new request coming in. This behaviour
3926 can be changed with the <A
3927 HREF="#CONNECTION-SHARING"
3929 >connection-sharing</A
3933 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
3937 has been compiled without keep-alive support.
3944 > keep-alive-timeout 300
3955 NAME="CONNECTION-SHARING"
3956 >7.6.5. connection-sharing</A
3961 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
3967 > Whether or not outgoing connections that have been kept alive
3968 should be shared between different incoming connections.
3990 >Effect if unset:</DT
3993 > Connections are not shared.
4000 > This option has no effect if <SPAN
4004 has been compiled without keep-alive support, or if it's disabled.
4011 > Note that reusing connections doesn't necessary cause speedups.
4012 There are also a few privacy implications you should be aware of.
4015 > If this option is effective, outgoing connections are shared between
4016 clients (if there are more than one) and closing the client that initiated
4017 the outgoing connection does no longer affect the connection between <SPAN
4021 and the server unless the client's request hasn't been completed yet.
4024 > If the outgoing connection is idle, it will not be closed until either
4028 > or the server's timeout is reached.
4029 While it's open, the server knows that the system running <SPAN
4036 > If there are more than one client (maybe even belonging to multiple users),
4037 they will be able to reuse each others connections. This is potentially
4038 dangerous in case of authentication schemes like NTLM where only the
4039 connection is authenticated, instead of requiring authentication for
4043 > If there is only a single client, and if said client can keep connections
4044 alive on its own, enabling this option has next to no effect. If the client
4045 doesn't support connection keep-alive, enabling this option may make sense
4049 > to keep outgoing connections alive even if the client
4050 itself doesn't support it.
4053 > This option should only be used by experienced users who
4054 understand the risks and can weight them against the benefits.
4061 > connection-sharing 1
4072 NAME="SOCKET-TIMEOUT"
4073 >7.6.6. socket-timeout</A
4078 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4084 > Number of seconds after which a socket times out if
4085 no data is received.
4095 >Time in seconds.</I
4107 >Effect if unset:</DT
4110 > A default value of 300 seconds is used.
4117 > For SOCKS requests the timeout currently doesn't start until
4118 the SOCKS server accepted the request. This will be fixed in
4126 > socket-timeout 300
4137 NAME="MAX-CLIENT-CONNECTIONS"
4138 >7.6.7. max-client-connections</A
4143 CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
4149 > Maximum number of client connections that will be served.
4159 >Positive number.</I
4171 >Effect if unset:</DT
4174 > Connections are served until a resource limit is reached.
4184 > creates one thread (or process) for every incoming client
4185 connection that isn't rejected based on the access control settings.
4188 > If the system is powerful enough, <SPAN
4191 > can theoretically deal with
4192 several hundred (or thousand) connections at the same time, but some
4193 operating systems enforce resource limits by shutting down offending
4194 processes and their default limits may be below the ones <SPAN
4198 require under heavy load.
4204 > to enforce a connection limit below the thread
4205 or process limit used by the operating system makes sure this doesn't
4206 happen. Simply increasing the operating system's limit would work too,
4210 > isn't the only application running on the system,
4211 you may actually want to limit the resources used by <SPAN
4220 > is only used by a single trusted user, limiting the
4221 number of client connections is probably unnecessary. If there
4222 are multiple possibly untrusted users you probably still want to
4223 additionally use a packet filter to limit the maximal number of
4224 incoming connections per client. Otherwise a malicious user could
4225 intentionally create a high number of connections to prevent other
4226 users from using <SPAN
4232 > Obviously using this option only makes sense if you choose a limit
4233 below the one enforced by the operating system.
4240 > max-client-connections 256
4253 >7.7. Windows GUI Options</A
4259 > has a number of options specific to the
4260 Windows GUI interface:</P
4262 NAME="ACTIVITY-ANIMATION"
4267 >"activity-animation"</SPAN
4272 > icon will animate when
4276 > is active. To turn off, set to 0.</P
4281 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4286 >activity-animation 1</I
4289 </P
4299 >"log-messages"</SPAN
4304 > will log messages to the console
4310 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4318 </P
4323 NAME="LOG-BUFFER-SIZE"
4329 >"log-buffer-size"</SPAN
4330 > is set to 1, the size of the log buffer,
4331 i.e. the amount of memory used for the log messages displayed in the
4332 console window, will be limited to <SPAN
4334 >"log-max-lines"</SPAN
4337 > Warning: Setting this to 0 will result in the buffer to grow infinitely and
4338 eat up all your memory!</P
4343 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4348 >log-buffer-size 1</I
4351 </P
4356 NAME="LOG-MAX-LINES"
4361 >log-max-lines</SPAN
4362 > is the maximum number of lines held
4363 in the log buffer. See above.</P
4368 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4373 >log-max-lines 200</I
4376 </P
4381 NAME="LOG-HIGHLIGHT-MESSAGES"
4386 >"log-highlight-messages"</SPAN
4391 > will highlight portions of the log
4392 messages with a bold-faced font:</P
4397 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4402 >log-highlight-messages 1</I
4405 </P
4410 NAME="LOG-FONT-NAME"
4413 > The font used in the console window:</P
4418 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4423 >log-font-name Comic Sans MS</I
4426 </P
4431 NAME="LOG-FONT-SIZE"
4434 > Font size used in the console window:</P
4439 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4447 </P
4452 NAME="SHOW-ON-TASK-BAR"
4458 >"show-on-task-bar"</SPAN
4459 > controls whether or not
4463 > will appear as a button on the Task bar
4469 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4474 >show-on-task-bar 0</I
4477 </P
4482 NAME="CLOSE-BUTTON-MINIMIZES"
4487 >"close-button-minimizes"</SPAN
4488 > is set to 1, the Windows close
4489 button will minimize <SPAN
4492 > instead of closing
4493 the program (close with the exit option on the File menu).</P
4498 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4503 >close-button-minimizes 1</I
4506 </P
4516 >"hide-console"</SPAN
4517 > option is specific to the MS-Win console
4521 >. If this option is used,
4525 > will disconnect from and hide the
4531 CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT"
4539 </P
4550 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
4561 HREF="configuration.html"
4579 HREF="actions-file.html"
4589 >Privoxy Configuration</TD