1 /*********************************************************************
3 * File : $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/readme.sgml,v $
5 * Purpose : README file to give a short intro.
7 * Copyright : Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2006 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 This README is included with the development version of Privoxy 3.0.5. See
36 http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity level
37 is "BETA", but seems stable to us :).
39 If there are no significant problems with this release, Privoxy 3.0.6 (stable)
40 will soon follow. There are expected to be no new features in the meantime.
41 Please report any problems on the respective SourceForge Project Tracker (see
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 BIG NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 is released. This is a significant
60 upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. There are
61 fifteen new actions available, and several actions have enhanced capabilities.
62 Multiple filter files are now supported as well. See the "What's New" section
63 and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
65 There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle was
66 used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine some old ones.
67 It will remain a development cycle with no actual release. 3.0.5 is the fruit
70 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
71 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
72 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
73 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
75 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
79 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
80 User Manual, for all other installation types.
82 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
86 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
87 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
89 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
90 configuration and usage issues.
92 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
93 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
94 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
96 Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
98 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
100 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
104 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
105 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
106 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
107 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
108 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
109 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
110 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
111 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
112 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
114 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
115 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
116 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
117 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
119 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
120 p.p/, as well other options.
122 All configuration files are subject to unannounced changes during the
125 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
129 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory, but it may not be
130 completed at this point. In particular, see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and
131 those interested in Privoxy development, should look at developer-manual.
133 The most up to date source of information on the current development version,
134 may still be either comments in the source code, or the included configuration
135 files. The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
136 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter' in
137 the top-level source directory.
139 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
140 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
143 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
145 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
147 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
148 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
149 with the best support:
151 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
155 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
156 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
158 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
159 list, where the developers also hang around.
161 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
163 6.2. Reporting Problems
165 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
167 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
168 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
170 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
173 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
175 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
177 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
178 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
179 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
180 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
182 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
183 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
184 available from our the files section of our project page.
186 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
188 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
190 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
191 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
193 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
194 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
195 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
196 help to solve the issue.
198 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
199 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
200 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
201 see if the problem is configuration related.
203 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
204 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
205 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
207 Please be sure to provide the following information:
209 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
210 CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
211 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
213 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
214 SP2), if you are using some kind of Unix flavour, sending the output of
215 "uname -a" should do.
217 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
218 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
220 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
221 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
223 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
224 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
226 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
227 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
229 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
232 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
233 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
236 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
239 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
240 understanding actions, and action debugging.
242 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
244 6.3. Request New Features
246 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
247 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
248 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
250 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
254 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
255 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
256 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
257 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?