1 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
5 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</TITLE
8 CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.79"><LINK
10 TITLE="General Information"
11 HREF="general.html"><LINK
14 HREF="../p_doc.css"><META
15 HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"
17 charset=ISO-8859-1"></HEAD
33 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</A
43 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/"
45 >Privoxy Developers</A
51 >$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.135 2017/03/27 10:22:27 fabiankeil Exp $<BR></P
61 > This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
63 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/"
67 It is not a substitute for the
69 HREF="../user-manual/index.html"
73 >Privoxy User Manual</I
80 > Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities
81 for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling
82 access, and removing ads and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
83 flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes.
84 It has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.</P
86 > Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.</P
88 > Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public Interest (SPI).</P
90 > Helping hands and donations are welcome:
97 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE"
99 >https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE</A
106 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
108 >https://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE</A
115 > Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy represents
116 the state at the release of version 3.0.27.
117 You can find the latest version of the document at <A
118 HREF="https://www.privoxy.org/faq/"
120 >https://www.privoxy.org/faq/</A
126 contact the developers.
138 >Table of Contents</B
143 >General Information</A
149 HREF="general.html#WHO-USES"
150 >Who should give <SPAN
157 HREF="general.html#BESTCHOICE"
158 >Is Privoxy the best choice for
163 HREF="general.html#PROXYMORON"
172 HREF="general.html#OTHERSTUFF"
173 >Does Privoxy do anything more than ad blocking?</A
177 HREF="general.html#NEWJB"
178 >What is this new version of
186 HREF="general.html#WHYPRIVOXY"
190 >? Why change the name from
191 Junkbuster at all?</A
195 HREF="general.html#DIFFERS"
196 >How does Privoxy differ
197 from the old Junkbuster?</A
201 HREF="general.html#WHATSANAD"
202 >How does Privoxy know what is an ad, and what is not?</A
206 HREF="general.html#MISTAKES"
207 >Can Privoxy make mistakes?
208 This does not sound very scientific.</A
212 HREF="general.html#CONFIGORNOT"
213 >Will I have to configure Privoxy
214 before I can use it?</A
218 HREF="general.html#LAN"
219 >Can Privoxy run as a server on a network?</A
223 HREF="general.html#BROWSERS2"
224 >My browser does the same things as
225 Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</A
229 HREF="general.html#WHYTRUST"
230 >Why should I trust Privoxy?</A
234 HREF="general.html#LICENSE"
235 >Is there is a license or fee? What about a
236 warranty? Registration?</A
240 HREF="general.html#SPYWARE"
241 >Can Privoxy remove spyware? Adware? Viruses?</A
245 HREF="general.html#OTHERADS"
246 >Can I use Privoxy with other ad-blocking software?</A
250 HREF="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS"
251 >I would like to help you, what can I do?</A
257 HREF="general.html#PARTICIPATE"
258 >Would you like to participate?</A
262 HREF="general.html#DONATE"
263 >Would you like to donate?</A
269 HREF="general.html#SPONSOR"
270 >How can I become a sponsor and get my logo or link on privoxy.org?</A
276 HREF="installation.html"
283 HREF="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS"
284 >Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?</A
288 HREF="installation.html#WHICHOS"
289 >Which operating systems are supported?</A
293 HREF="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT"
294 >Can I use Privoxy with my email client?</A
298 HREF="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP"
299 >I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
300 special I have to do now?</A
304 HREF="installation.html#LOCALHOST"
305 >What is the proxy address of Privoxy?</A
309 HREF="installation.html#NOTHING"
310 >I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
311 All the ads are there. What's wrong?</A
315 HREF="installation.html#NOTUSED"
318 >"Privoxy is not being used"</SPAN
319 > dummy page although
320 Privoxy is running and being used.</A
326 HREF="configuration.html"
333 HREF="configuration.html#ACTIONSFILE"
334 >What exactly is an <SPAN
341 HREF="configuration.html#ACTIONSS"
345 > concept confuses me. Please list
353 HREF="configuration.html#ACTCONFIG"
354 >How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
359 HREF="configuration.html#AEN419"
360 >There are several different <SPAN
368 HREF="configuration.html#GETUPDATES"
369 >Where can I get updated Actions Files?</A
373 HREF="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG"
374 >Can I use my old config files?</A
378 HREF="configuration.html#DIFFICULT"
379 >Why is the configuration so complicated?</A
383 HREF="configuration.html#YAHOO"
384 >How can I make my Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</A
388 HREF="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES"
389 >What's the difference between the
403 HREF="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG"
404 >Why can I change the configuration
405 with a browser? Does that not raise security issues?</A
409 HREF="configuration.html#FILTERFILE"
413 > file? What is a <SPAN
420 HREF="configuration.html#LANCONFIG"
421 >How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my
426 HREF="configuration.html#NOSEEUM"
427 >Instead of ads, now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see anything.</A
431 HREF="configuration.html#WHYSEEUM"
432 >Why would anybody want to see a checkerboard pattern?</A
436 HREF="configuration.html#BLOCKEDBYTEXT"
437 >I see some images being replaced with text
438 instead of the checkerboard image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</A
442 HREF="configuration.html#SRVANY"
443 >Can Privoxy run as a service
448 HREF="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY"
449 >How can I make Privoxy work with other proxies?</A
453 HREF="configuration.html#PORT-80"
454 >Can I just set Privoxy to use port 80
455 and thus avoid individual browser configuration?</A
459 HREF="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT"
460 >Can Privoxy run as a <SPAN
467 HREF="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING"
468 >Can Privoxy run as a <SPAN
470 >"intercepting"</SPAN
475 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK"
476 >How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</A
480 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE"
481 >How can I have separate rules just for HTML mail?</A
485 HREF="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES"
486 >I sometimes notice cookies sneaking through. How?</A
490 HREF="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES"
491 >Are all cookies bad? Why?</A
495 HREF="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES"
496 >How can I allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</A
500 HREF="configuration.html#MULTIPLES"
501 >Can I have separate configurations for different users?</A
505 HREF="configuration.html#WHITELISTS"
506 >Can I set-up Privoxy as a whitelist of
514 HREF="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK"
515 >How can I turn off ad-blocking?</A
519 HREF="configuration.html#TEMPLATES"
520 >How can I have custom template pages, like the
531 HREF="configuration.html#BLOCKALL"
532 >How can I remove the <SPAN
534 >"Go There Anyway"</SPAN
555 HREF="misc.html#SLOWSME"
556 >How much does Privoxy slow my browsing down? This
557 has to add extra time to browsing.</A
561 HREF="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES"
562 >I notice considerable
563 delays in page requests. What's wrong?</A
567 HREF="misc.html#CONFIGURL"
568 >What are "http://config.privoxy.org/" and
573 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS"
574 >How can I submit new ads, or report
579 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS2"
580 >If I do submit missed ads, will
581 they be included in future updates?</A
585 HREF="misc.html#NOONECARES"
586 >Why doesn't anyone answer my support
592 >How can I hide my IP address?</A
596 HREF="misc.html#ANONFORSURE"
597 >Can Privoxy guarantee I am anonymous?</A
601 HREF="misc.html#PROXYTEST"
602 >A test site says I am not using a Proxy.</A
607 >How do I use Privoxy
608 together with Tor?</A
612 HREF="misc.html#SITEBREAK"
613 >Might some things break because header information or
614 content is being altered?</A
618 HREF="misc.html#CACHING"
619 >Can Privoxy act as a <SPAN
623 speed up web browsing?</A
627 HREF="misc.html#FIREWALL"
628 >What about as a firewall? Can Privoxy protect me?</A
632 HREF="misc.html#WASTED"
633 >I have large empty spaces / a checkerboard pattern now where
634 ads used to be. Why?</A
639 >How can Privoxy filter Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</A
643 HREF="misc.html#HTTP2"
644 >Does Privoxy support HTTP/2?</A
648 HREF="misc.html#SECURE"
649 >Privoxy runs as a <SPAN
653 secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?</A
657 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF"
658 >Can I temporarily disable Privoxy?</A
662 HREF="misc.html#REALLYOFF"
667 out of the picture?</A
671 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF2"
672 >How can I tell Privoxy to totally ignore certain sites?</A
676 HREF="misc.html#CRUNCH"
677 >My logs show Privoxy <SPAN
681 ads, but also its own internal CGI pages. What is a <SPAN
688 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS"
689 >Can Privoxy affect files that I download
690 from a webserver? FTP server?</A
694 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2"
695 >I just downloaded a Perl script, and Privoxy
696 altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</A
700 HREF="misc.html#HOSTSFILE"
701 >Should I continue to use a <SPAN
704 > file for ad-blocking?</A
708 HREF="misc.html#SEEALSO"
709 >Where can I find more information about Privoxy
710 and related issues?</A
714 HREF="misc.html#MICROSUCK"
715 >I've noticed that Privoxy changes <SPAN
722 >! Why are you manipulating my browsing?</A
726 HREF="misc.html#VALID"
727 >Does Privoxy produce <SPAN
730 > HTML (or XHTML)?</A
734 HREF="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY"
735 >How did you manage to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</A
748 HREF="trouble.html#REFUSED"
749 >I cannot connect to any websites. Or, I am getting
752 >"connection refused"</SPAN
753 > message with every web page. Why?</A
757 HREF="trouble.html#ERROR503"
758 >Why am I getting a 503 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</A
762 HREF="trouble.html#FLUSHIT"
763 >I just added a new rule, but the steenkin ad is
764 still getting through. How?</A
768 HREF="trouble.html#BADSITE"
769 >One of my favorite sites does not work with Privoxy.
774 HREF="trouble.html#DUN"
775 >After installing Privoxy, I have to log in
776 every time I start IE. What gives?</A
780 HREF="trouble.html#FTP"
781 >I cannot connect to any FTP sites. Privoxy
786 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXIE"
787 >In Mac OS X, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use
788 Privoxy as the HTTP proxy.</A
792 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL"
793 >In Mac OS X, I dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to
794 uninstall it. Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
799 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES"
800 >In Mac OS X Panther (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I
801 experience random delays in page loading. I'm using
805 > as my browser's proxy setting.</A
809 HREF="trouble.html#MACOSXACCOUNTDELETION"
810 >I just upgraded to Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) and now <SPAN
818 HREF="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME"
819 >My logs show many <SPAN
821 >"Unable to get my own hostname"</SPAN
827 HREF="trouble.html#INUSE"
828 >When I try to launch Privoxy, I get an
831 >"port 8118 is already in use"</SPAN
832 > (or similar wording).
837 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER"
838 >Pages with UTF-8 fonts are garbled.</A
842 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2"
843 >Why are binary files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy
848 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3"
852 > and why is it there?</A
856 HREF="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN"
857 >Why do I keep seeing <SPAN
859 >"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</SPAN
860 > in raw source code?</A
864 HREF="trouble.html#DNSERRORS"
865 >I am getting too many DNS errors like <SPAN
867 >"404 No Such Domain"</SPAN
869 can't Privoxy do this better?</A
873 HREF="trouble.html#ALLCPU"
874 >At one site Privoxy just hangs, and starts taking
875 all CPU. Why is this?</A
879 HREF="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL"
880 >I just installed Privoxy, and all my
881 browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives?</A
885 HREF="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP"
886 >Why do my filters work on some sites but not on others?</A
890 HREF="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS"
891 >On some HTTPS sites my browser warns me about unauthenticated content,
892 the URL bar doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
897 HREF="trouble.html#SE-LINUX"
898 >I get selinux error messages. How can I fix this?</A
902 HREF="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS"
906 > with Gentoo's portage and it appears to be very slow. Why?</A
910 HREF="trouble.html#TAINTED-SOCKETS"
911 >What are tainted sockets and how do I prevent them?</A
915 HREF="trouble.html#PCRE-STACK-LIMIT"
916 >After adding my custom filters, <SPAN
919 > crashes when visitting certain websites</A
923 HREF="trouble.html#FILE-PERMISSIONS"
924 >What to do if editing the config file of privoxy is access denied?</A
931 >Contacting the developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests</A
937 HREF="contact.html#SUFFICIENT-INFORMATION"
938 >Please provide sufficient information</A
942 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT"
947 HREF="contact.html#REPORTING"
948 >Reporting Problems</A
954 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS"
955 >Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</A
959 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS"
966 HREF="contact.html#SECURITY-CONTACT"
967 >Reporting security problems</A
971 HREF="contact.html#MAILING-LISTS"
976 HREF="contact.html#SF-TRACKERS"
977 >SourceForge support trackers</A
983 HREF="copyright.html"
984 >Privoxy Copyright, License and History</A
990 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1501"
995 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1510"
1008 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
1049 >General Information</TD