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 - 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 Privoxy > 3.0.6 -> 3.0.7.
36 See http://www.privoxy.org/ for more information. The current code maturity
37 level is "unknown". Development work is in progress. There may be new
38 features, bugs, partially working aspects, etc, all of which may not be
39 documented. Use 3.0.6 for production systems and where stability is necessary.
40 Please report any problems.
42 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
44 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
45 privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
46 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
47 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
48 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
51 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
57 NEWS! November 2006, Privoxy 3.0.6 is released. This is a significant upgrade
58 with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. It is also the first
59 stable release in quite some time. There are fifteen new actions available, and
60 several actions have enhanced capabilities. Multiple filter files are now
61 supported as well. There are many improvements and refinements. See the "What's
62 New" section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
63 specifics. Preliminary work on 3.0.7 is already underway.
65 NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 BETA is released. This is a significant
66 upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed.
68 There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle was
69 used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine some old ones.
70 It will remain a development cycle with no actual release. 3.0.5 is the fruit
73 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
74 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
75 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
76 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
78 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
82 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
83 User Manual, for all other installation types.
85 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
89 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
90 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
92 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
93 configuration and usage issues.
95 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
96 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
97 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
99 Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
101 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
103 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
107 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
108 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
109 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
110 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
111 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
112 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
113 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
114 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
115 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
117 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
118 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
119 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
120 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
122 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
123 p.p/, as well other options.
125 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
129 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
130 User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
131 look at developer-manual.
133 The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
134 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
136 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
137 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
140 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
142 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
144 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
145 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
146 with the best support:
148 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
152 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
153 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
155 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
156 list, where the developers also hang around.
158 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
160 6.2. Reporting Problems
162 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
164 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
165 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
167 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
170 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
172 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
174 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
175 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
176 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
177 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
179 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
180 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
181 available from our the files section of our project page.
183 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
185 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
187 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
188 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
190 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
191 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
192 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
193 help to solve the issue.
195 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
196 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
197 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
198 see if the problem is configuration related.
200 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
201 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
202 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
204 Please be sure to provide the following information:
206 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
207 CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
208 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
210 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
211 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
214 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
215 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
217 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
218 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
220 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
221 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
223 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
224 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
226 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
229 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
230 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
233 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
236 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
237 understanding actions, and action debugging.
239 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
241 6.3. Request New Features
243 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
244 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
245 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
247 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
251 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
252 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
253 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
254 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?