1 /*********************************************************************
3 * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,v $
5 * Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
7 * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2007 the SourceForge
8 * Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
10 * Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
11 * by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and
12 * Junkbusters Corporation. http://www.junkbusters.com
14 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it
15 * and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
16 * Public License as published by the Free Software
17 * Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
18 * your option) any later version.
20 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will
21 * be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
22 * implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
23 * PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public
24 * License for more details.
26 * The GNU General Public License should be included with
27 * this file. If not, you can view it at
28 * http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
29 * or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
30 * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301,
33 *********************************************************************/
35 2007-11-03: The next stable release of Privoxy is being readied. The
36 developers consider the current sources to be stable, and are doing last minute
37 house keeping and fine tuning. There are many new features and enhancements,
38 many of which may not be fully documented at this point. Please refer to the
39 ChangeLog for what's new. 3.0.7 stable release is expected by the end of
42 And PLEASE report any problems or comments!
44 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
46 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
47 privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
48 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
49 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
50 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
53 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
55 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
59 NEWS! November 2006, Privoxy 3.0.6 is released. This is a significant upgrade
60 with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. It is also the first
61 stable release in quite some time. There are fifteen new actions available, and
62 several actions have enhanced capabilities. Multiple filter files are now
63 supported as well. There are many improvements and refinements. See the "What's
64 New" section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
65 specifics. Preliminary work on 3.0.7 is already underway.
67 NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 BETA is released. This is a significant
68 upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed.
70 There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle was
71 used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine some old ones.
72 It will remain a development cycle with no actual release. 3.0.5 is the fruit
75 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
76 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
77 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
78 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
85 User Manual, for all other installation types.
87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
91 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
92 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
94 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
95 configuration and usage issues.
97 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
98 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
99 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
101 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
105 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
106 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
107 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
108 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
109 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
110 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
111 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
112 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
113 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
115 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
116 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
117 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
118 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
120 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
121 p.p/, as well other options.
123 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
127 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
128 User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
129 look at developer-manual.
131 The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
132 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
134 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
135 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
138 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
140 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
142 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
143 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
144 with the best support:
146 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
150 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
151 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
153 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
154 list, where the developers also hang around.
156 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
158 6.2. Reporting Problems
160 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
162 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
163 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
165 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
168 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
170 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
172 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
173 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
174 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
175 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
177 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
178 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
179 available from our the files section of our project page.
181 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
183 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
185 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
186 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
188 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
189 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
190 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
191 help to solve the issue.
193 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
194 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
195 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
196 see if the problem is configuration related.
198 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
199 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
200 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
202 Please be sure to provide the following information:
204 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
205 CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
206 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
208 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
209 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
212 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
213 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
215 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
216 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
218 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
219 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
221 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
222 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
224 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
227 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
228 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
231 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
234 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
235 understanding actions, and action debugging.
237 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
239 6.3. Request New Features
241 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
242 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
243 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
245 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
249 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
250 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
251 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
252 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?