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 Privoxy 3.0.6. See http://www.privoxy.org/ for
36 more information. The current code maturity level is "stable".
38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
41 privacy, modifying web page data, managing cookies, controlling access, and
42 removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a
43 very flexible configuration and can be customized to suit individual needs and
44 tastes. Privoxy has application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user
47 Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
53 NEWS! November 2006, Privoxy 3.0.6 is released. This is a significant upgrade
54 with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. It is also the first
55 stable release in quite some time. There are fifteen new actions available, and
56 several actions have enhanced capabilities. Multiple filter files are now
57 supported as well. There are many improvements and refinements. See the "What's
58 New" section and the "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and
59 specifics. Preliminary work on 3.0.7 is already underway.
61 NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 BETA is released. This is a significant
62 upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed.
64 There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle was
65 used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine some old ones.
66 It will remain a development cycle with no actual release. 3.0.5 is the fruit
69 NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another maintenance
70 release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines the configuration and
71 works around some known third-party problems. See the ChangeLog for complete
72 details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is recommended.
74 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
78 See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source, and the
79 User Manual, for all other installation types.
81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 privoxy [--help] [--version] [--no-daemon] [--pidfile PIDFILE] [--user USER
86 [.GROUP]] [--chroot] [config_file]
88 See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and other
89 configuration and usage issues.
91 If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look for a
92 file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which will look for
93 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will fail to start.
95 Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start
97 Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
103 See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
104 'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and local
105 configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of the magic is
106 in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any actions
107 customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically installed in /
108 etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable itself is installed.
109 There are many significant changes and advances from earlier versions. The User
110 Manual has an explanation of all configuration options, and examples: http://
111 www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.
113 Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or whatever
114 you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT is localhost:
115 8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS) traffic. Do not try it
116 with FTP or other protocols for the simple reason it does not work.
118 The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via http://
119 p.p/, as well other options.
121 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
125 There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular, see the
126 User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy development, should
127 look at developer-manual.
129 The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
130 configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and 'default.filter'.
132 Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
133 documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't have it,
136 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
138 6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS
140 We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and its
141 configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can provide you
142 with the best support:
144 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
148 For casual users, our support forum at SourceForge is probably best suited:
149 http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
151 All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the users mailing
152 list, where the developers also hang around.
154 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
156 6.2. Reporting Problems
158 "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:
160 * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that don't
161 function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another being turned "on".
163 * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that might
166 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
168 6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems
170 Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
171 blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration related
172 problem of default.action file, to http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=
173 11118&atid=460288, the Actions File Tracker.
175 New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available based on
176 your feedback. These will be announced on the ijbswa-announce list and
177 available from our the files section of our project page.
179 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
181 6.2.2. Reporting Bugs
183 Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: http://sourceforge.net/
184 tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.
186 Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been submitted
187 and observe the additional hints at the top of the submit form. If already
188 submitted, please feel free to add any info to the original report that might
189 help to solve the issue.
191 Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
192 first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists. If
193 you are using your own custom configuration, please try the stock configs to
194 see if the problem is configuration related.
196 If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed in the
197 meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to upgrade to the
198 latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your bug.
200 Please be sure to provide the following information:
202 * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the source from
203 CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as shown in http://
204 config.privoxy.org/show-version).
206 * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows XP
207 SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of "uname -a"
210 * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
211 Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
213 * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate the
214 problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
216 * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers of
217 Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
219 * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as Tor. If
220 so, please try disabling the other proxy.
222 * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does Privoxy work
225 * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such as config
226 or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file entries for each action
229 * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to contact
232 The appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful information on
233 understanding actions, and action debugging.
235 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
237 6.3. Request New Features
239 You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
240 improvement through our feature request tracker at http://sourceforge.net/
241 tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
243 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
247 For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
248 interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are also
249 welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all Privoxy-related
250 mailing lists, including list archives, at: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?