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30 <body class="ARTICLE">
32 <div class="TITLEPAGE">
33 <h1 class="TITLE"><a name="AEN2" id="AEN2">Privoxy Frequently Asked
36 <p class="PUBDATE"><sub><a href="copyright.html">Copyright</a> ©
37 2001-2011 by <a href="http://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy
38 Developers</a></sub><br></p>
40 <p class="PUBDATE">$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.81 2011/09/04 11:10:12 fabiankeil
43 <div class="ABSTRACT">
44 <a name="AEN9" id="AEN9"></a>
46 <p>This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
47 <a href="http://www.privoxy.org/" target="_top">Privoxy</a>. It is
48 not a substitute for the <a class="CITETITLE c1" href=
49 "../user-manual/index.html" target="_top">Privoxy User
52 <p>What is Privoxy?</p>
54 <p>Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering
55 capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP
56 headers, controlling access, and removing ads and other obnoxious
57 Internet junk. Privoxy has a flexible configuration and can be
58 customized to suit individual needs and tastes. It has application
59 for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.</p>
61 <p>Privoxy is Free Software and licensed under the GNU GPLv2.</p>
63 <p>Privoxy is an associated project of Software in the Public
66 <p>Helping hands and donations are welcome:</p>
70 <p><a href="http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE"
72 "_top">http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#PARTICIPATE</a></p>
76 <p><a href="http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE"
78 "_top">http://www.privoxy.org/faq/general.html#DONATE</a></p>
82 <p>Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy
83 represents the state at the release of version 3.0.18. You can find
84 the latest version of the document at <a href=
85 "http://www.privoxy.org/faq/" target=
86 "_top">http://www.privoxy.org/faq/</a>. Please see the <a href=
87 "contact.html">Contact section</a> if you want to contact the
95 <dt class="c2">Table of Contents</dt>
97 <dt>1. <a href="general.html">General Information</a></dt>
101 <dt>1.1. <a href="general.html#WHO-USES">Who should give
102 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> a try?</a></dt>
104 <dt>1.2. <a href="general.html#BESTCHOICE">Is Privoxy the best
105 choice for me?</a></dt>
107 <dt>1.3. <a href="general.html#PROXYMORON">What is a <span class=
108 "QUOTE">"proxy"</span>? How does Privoxy work?</a></dt>
110 <dt>1.4. <a href="general.html#OTHERSTUFF">Does Privoxy do
111 anything more than ad blocking?</a></dt>
113 <dt>1.5. <a href="general.html#NEWJB">What is this new version of
114 <span class="QUOTE">"Junkbuster"</span>?</a></dt>
116 <dt>1.6. <a href="general.html#AEN85">Why <span class=
117 "QUOTE">"Privoxy"</span>? Why change the name from Junkbuster at
120 <dt>1.7. <a href="general.html#DIFFERS">How does Privoxy differ
121 from the old Junkbuster?</a></dt>
123 <dt>1.8. <a href="general.html#WHATSANAD">How does Privoxy know
124 what is an ad, and what is not?</a></dt>
126 <dt>1.9. <a href="general.html#AEN163">Can Privoxy make mistakes?
127 This does not sound very scientific.</a></dt>
129 <dt>1.10. <a href="general.html#AEN169">Will I have to configure
130 Privoxy before I can use it?</a></dt>
132 <dt>1.11. <a href="general.html#LAN">Can Privoxy run as a server
133 on a network?</a></dt>
135 <dt>1.12. <a href="general.html#BROWSERS2">My browser does the
136 same things as Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</a></dt>
138 <dt>1.13. <a href="general.html#WHYTRUST">Why should I trust
141 <dt>1.14. <a href="general.html#LICENSE">Is there is a license or
142 fee? What about a warranty? Registration?</a></dt>
144 <dt>1.15. <a href="general.html#SPYWARE">Can Privoxy remove
145 spyware? Adware? Viruses?</a></dt>
147 <dt>1.16. <a href="general.html#OTHERADS">Can I use Privoxy with
148 other ad-blocking software?</a></dt>
150 <dt>1.17. <a href="general.html#HELP-THE-DEVELOPERS">I would like
151 to help you, what can I do?</a></dt>
155 <dt>1.17.1. <a href="general.html#PARTICIPATE">Would you like
156 to participate?</a></dt>
158 <dt>1.17.2. <a href="general.html#DONATE">Would you like to
165 <dt>2. <a href="installation.html">Installation</a></dt>
169 <dt>2.1. <a href="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS">Which browsers
170 are supported by Privoxy?</a></dt>
172 <dt>2.2. <a href="installation.html#WHICHOS">Which operating
173 systems are supported?</a></dt>
175 <dt>2.3. <a href="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT">Can I use
176 Privoxy with my email client?</a></dt>
178 <dt>2.4. <a href="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP">I just installed
179 Privoxy. Is there anything special I have to do now?</a></dt>
181 <dt>2.5. <a href="installation.html#LOCALHOST">What is the proxy
182 address of Privoxy?</a></dt>
184 <dt>2.6. <a href="installation.html#NOTHING">I just installed
185 Privoxy, and nothing is happening. All the ads are there. What's
188 <dt>2.7. <a href="installation.html#NOTUSED">I get a <span class=
189 "QUOTE">"Privoxy is not being used"</span> dummy page although
190 Privoxy is running and being used.</a></dt>
194 <dt>3. <a href="configuration.html">Configuration</a></dt>
198 <dt>3.1. <a href="configuration.html#AEN369">What exactly is an
199 <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> file?</a></dt>
201 <dt>3.2. <a href="configuration.html#ACTIONSS">The <span class=
202 "QUOTE">"actions"</span> concept confuses me. Please list some of
203 these <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span>.</a></dt>
205 <dt>3.3. <a href="configuration.html#AEN392">How are actions
206 files configured? What is the easiest way to do this?</a></dt>
208 <dt>3.4. <a href="configuration.html#AEN401">There are several
209 different <span class="QUOTE">"actions"</span> files. What are
210 the differences?</a></dt>
212 <dt>3.5. <a href="configuration.html#GETUPDATES">Where can I get
213 updated Actions Files?</a></dt>
215 <dt>3.6. <a href="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG">Can I use my old
216 config files?</a></dt>
218 <dt>3.7. <a href="configuration.html#DIFFICULT">Why is the
219 configuration so complicated?</a></dt>
221 <dt>3.8. <a href="configuration.html#YAHOO">How can I make my
222 Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</a></dt>
224 <dt>3.9. <a href="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES">What's the
225 difference between the <span class="QUOTE">"Cautious"</span>,
226 <span class="QUOTE">"Medium"</span> and <span class=
227 "QUOTE">"Advanced"</span> defaults?</a></dt>
229 <dt>3.10. <a href="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG">Why can I
230 change the configuration with a browser? Does that not raise
231 security issues?</a></dt>
233 <dt>3.11. <a href="configuration.html#AEN489">What is the
234 <tt class="FILENAME">default.filter</tt> file? What is a
235 <span class="QUOTE">"filter"</span>?</a></dt>
237 <dt>3.12. <a href="configuration.html#LANCONFIG">How can I set up
238 Privoxy to act as a proxy for my LAN?</a></dt>
240 <dt>3.13. <a href="configuration.html#AEN540">Instead of ads, now
241 I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see
244 <dt>3.14. <a href="configuration.html#AEN557">Why would anybody
245 want to see a checkerboard pattern?</a></dt>
247 <dt>3.15. <a href="configuration.html#AEN563">I see some images
248 being replaced with text instead of the checkerboard image. Why
249 and how do I get rid of this?</a></dt>
251 <dt>3.16. <a href="configuration.html#SRVANY">Can Privoxy run as
252 a service on Win2K/NT/XP?</a></dt>
254 <dt>3.17. <a href="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY">How can I make
255 Privoxy work with other proxies?</a></dt>
257 <dt>3.18. <a href="configuration.html#PORT-80">Can I just set
258 Privoxy to use port 80 and thus avoid individual browser
259 configuration?</a></dt>
261 <dt>3.19. <a href="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT">Can Privoxy
262 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"transparent"</span> proxy?</a></dt>
264 <dt>3.20. <a href="configuration.html#INTERCEPTING">Can Privoxy
265 run as a <span class="QUOTE">"intercepting"</span>
268 <dt>3.21. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK">How can I
269 configure Privoxy for use with Outlook?</a></dt>
271 <dt>3.22. <a href="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE">How can I
272 have separate rules just for HTML mail?</a></dt>
274 <dt>3.23. <a href="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES">I sometimes
275 notice cookies sneaking through. How?</a></dt>
277 <dt>3.24. <a href="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES">Are all
278 cookies bad? Why?</a></dt>
280 <dt>3.25. <a href="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES">How can I
281 allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</a></dt>
283 <dt>3.26. <a href="configuration.html#MULTIPLES">Can I have
284 separate configurations for different users?</a></dt>
286 <dt>3.27. <a href="configuration.html#WHITELISTS">Can I set-up
287 Privoxy as a whitelist of <span class="QUOTE">"good"</span>
290 <dt>3.28. <a href="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK">How can I turn
291 off ad-blocking?</a></dt>
293 <dt>3.29. <a href="configuration.html#TEMPLATES">How can I have
294 custom template pages, like the <span class=
295 "emphasis EMPHASIS c3">BLOCKED</span> page?</a></dt>
297 <dt>3.30. <a href="configuration.html#BLOCKALL">How can I remove
298 the <span class="QUOTE">"Go There Anyway"</span> link from the
299 <span class="emphasis EMPHASIS c3">BLOCKED</span> page?</a></dt>
303 <dt>4. <a href="misc.html">Miscellaneous</a></dt>
307 <dt>4.1. <a href="misc.html#AEN738">How much does Privoxy slow my
308 browsing down? This has to add extra time to browsing.</a></dt>
310 <dt>4.2. <a href="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES">I notice considerable
311 delays in page requests. What's wrong?</a></dt>
313 <dt>4.3. <a href="misc.html#CONFIGURL">What are
314 "http://config.privoxy.org/" and "http://p.p/"?</a></dt>
316 <dt>4.4. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS">How can I submit new ads, or
317 report problems?</a></dt>
319 <dt>4.5. <a href="misc.html#NEWADS2">If I do submit missed ads,
320 will they be included in future updates?</a></dt>
322 <dt>4.6. <a href="misc.html#NOONECARES">Why doesn't anyone answer
323 my support request?</a></dt>
325 <dt>4.7. <a href="misc.html#IP">How can I hide my IP
328 <dt>4.8. <a href="misc.html#AEN803">Can Privoxy guarantee I am
331 <dt>4.9. <a href="misc.html#AEN821">A test site says I am not
332 using a Proxy.</a></dt>
334 <dt>4.10. <a href="misc.html#TOR">How do I use Privoxy together
337 <dt>4.11. <a href="misc.html#AEN877">Might some things break
338 because header information or content is being altered?</a></dt>
340 <dt>4.12. <a href="misc.html#AEN891">Can Privoxy act as a
341 <span class="QUOTE">"caching"</span> proxy to speed up web
344 <dt>4.13. <a href="misc.html#AEN901">What about as a firewall?
345 Can Privoxy protect me?</a></dt>
347 <dt>4.14. <a href="misc.html#AEN906">I have large empty spaces /
348 a checkerboard pattern now where ads used to be. Why?</a></dt>
350 <dt>4.15. <a href="misc.html#AEN914">How can Privoxy filter
351 Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</a></dt>
353 <dt>4.16. <a href="misc.html#AEN928">Privoxy runs as a
354 <span class="QUOTE">"server"</span>. How secure is it? Do I need
355 to take any special precautions?</a></dt>
357 <dt>4.17. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF">Can I temporarily disable
360 <dt>4.18. <a href="misc.html#REALLYOFF">When <span class=
361 "QUOTE">"disabled"</span> is Privoxy totally out of the
364 <dt>4.19. <a href="misc.html#TURNOFF2">How can I tell Privoxy to
365 totally ignore certain sites?</a></dt>
367 <dt>4.20. <a href="misc.html#CRUNCH">My logs show Privoxy
368 <span class="QUOTE">"crunches"</span> ads, but also its own
369 internal CGI pages. What is a <span class=
370 "QUOTE">"crunch"</span>?</a></dt>
372 <dt>4.21. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS">Can Privoxy effect files
373 that I download from a webserver? FTP server?</a></dt>
375 <dt>4.22. <a href="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2">I just downloaded a Perl
376 script, and Privoxy altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</a></dt>
378 <dt>4.23. <a href="misc.html#HOSTSFILE">Should I continue to use
379 a <span class="QUOTE">"HOSTS"</span> file for
380 ad-blocking?</a></dt>
382 <dt>4.24. <a href="misc.html#SEEALSO">Where can I find more
383 information about Privoxy and related issues?</a></dt>
385 <dt>4.25. <a href="misc.html#MICROSUCK">I've noticed that Privoxy
386 changes <span class="QUOTE">"Microsoft"</span> to <span class=
387 "QUOTE">"MicroSuck"</span>! Why are you manipulating my
390 <dt>4.26. <a href="misc.html#VALID">Does Privoxy produce
391 <span class="QUOTE">"valid"</span> HTML (or XHTML)?</a></dt>
393 <dt>4.27. <a href="misc.html#SURPRISE-PRIVOXY">How did you manage
394 to get Privoxy on my computer without my consent?</a></dt>
398 <dt>5. <a href="trouble.html">Troubleshooting</a></dt>
402 <dt>5.1. <a href="trouble.html#AEN1100">I cannot connect to any
403 websites. Or, I am getting <span class="QUOTE">"connection
404 refused"</span> message with every web page. Why?</a></dt>
406 <dt>5.2. <a href="trouble.html#ERROR503">Why am I getting a 503
407 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</a></dt>
409 <dt>5.3. <a href="trouble.html#AEN1123">I just added a new rule,
410 but the steenkin ad is still getting through. How?</a></dt>
412 <dt>5.4. <a href="trouble.html#BADSITE">One of my favorite sites
413 does not work with Privoxy. What can I do?</a></dt>
415 <dt>5.5. <a href="trouble.html#DUN">After installing Privoxy, I
416 have to log in every time I start IE. What gives?</a></dt>
418 <dt>5.6. <a href="trouble.html#FTP">I cannot connect to any FTP
419 sites. Privoxy is blocking me.</a></dt>
421 <dt>5.7. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIE">In Mac OS X, I can't
422 configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use Privoxy as the HTTP
425 <dt>5.8. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXUNINSTALL">In Mac OS X, I
426 dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to uninstall it.
427 Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
428 empty the trash.</a></dt>
430 <dt>5.9. <a href="trouble.html#MACOSXIMAGES">In Mac OS X Panther
431 (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I experience random
432 delays in page loading. I'm using <tt class=
433 "LITERAL">localhost</tt> as my browser's proxy setting.</a></dt>
435 <dt>5.10. <a href="trouble.html#BLANKPAGE">I get a completely
436 blank page at one site. <span class="QUOTE">"View Source"</span>
437 shows only: <span class=
438 "MARKUP"><html><body></body></html></span>.
439 Without Privoxy the page loads fine.</a></dt>
441 <dt>5.11. <a href="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME">My logs show many
442 <span class="QUOTE">"Unable to get my own hostname"</span> lines.
445 <dt>5.12. <a href="trouble.html#INUSE">When I try to launch
446 Privoxy, I get an error message <span class="QUOTE">"port 8118 is
447 already in use"</span> (or similar wording). Why?</a></dt>
449 <dt>5.13. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER">Pages with UTF-8
450 fonts are garbled.</a></dt>
452 <dt>5.14. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2">Why are binary
453 files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy is used?</a></dt>
455 <dt>5.15. <a href="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3">What is the
456 <span class="QUOTE">"demoronizer"</span> and why is it
459 <dt>5.16. <a href="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN">Why do I keep seeing
460 <span class="QUOTE">"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</span> in raw source
463 <dt>5.17. <a href="trouble.html#DNSERRORS">I am getting too many
464 DNS errors like <span class="QUOTE">"404 No Such Domain"</span>.
465 Why can't Privoxy do this better?</a></dt>
467 <dt>5.18. <a href="trouble.html#ALLCPU">At one site Privoxy just
468 hangs, and starts taking all CPU. Why is this?</a></dt>
470 <dt>5.19. <a href="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL">I just installed
471 Privoxy, and all my browsing has slowed to a crawl. What
474 <dt>5.20. <a href="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP">Why do my filters
475 work on some sites but not on others?</a></dt>
477 <dt>5.21. <a href="trouble.html#SSL-WARNINGS">On some HTTPS sites
478 my browser warns me about unauthenticated content, the URL bar
479 doesn't get highlighted and the lock symbol appears to be broken.
480 What's going on?</a></dt>
482 <dt>5.22. <a href="trouble.html#SE-LINUX">I get selinux error
483 messages. How can I fix this?</a></dt>
485 <dt>5.23. <a href="trouble.html#GENTOO-RICERS">I compiled
486 <span class="APPLICATION">Privoxy</span> with Gentoo's portage
487 and it appears to be very slow. Why?</a></dt>
491 <dt>6. <a href="contact.html">Contacting the developers, Bug
492 Reporting and Feature Requests</a></dt>
496 <dt>6.1. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT">Get
499 <dt>6.2. <a href="contact.html#REPORTING">Reporting
504 <dt>6.2.1. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS">Reporting Ads
505 or Other Configuration Problems</a></dt>
507 <dt>6.2.2. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS">Reporting
512 <dt>6.3. <a href="contact.html#CONTACT-FEATURE">Request New
515 <dt>6.4. <a href="contact.html#MAILING-LISTS">Mailing
520 <dt>7. <a href="copyright.html">Privoxy Copyright, License and
525 <dt>7.1. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1477">License</a></dt>
527 <dt>7.2. <a href="copyright.html#AEN1493">History</a></dt>
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553 <td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">General Information</td>