4 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</TITLE
7 CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.76b+
10 TITLE="General Information"
11 HREF="general.html"><LINK
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31 >Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions</H1
40 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org"
42 >Privoxy Developers</A
48 >$Id: faq.sgml,v 2.23 2006/10/21 22:19:52 hal9 Exp $<BR></P
58 > This FAQ gives quick answers to frequently asked questions about
60 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/"
64 It is not a substitute for the
66 HREF="../user-manual/index.html"
70 >Privoxy User Manual</I
80 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server"
84 with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
85 privacy, modifying web page data, managing
87 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
91 controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other obnoxious
92 Internet junk. Privoxy has a very flexible configuration and can be
93 customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Privoxy has application for
94 both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.</P
96 > Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).</P
98 > Please note that this document is a work in progress. This copy represents
99 the state at the release of version 3.0.6.
100 You can find the latest version of the document at <A
101 HREF="http://www.privoxy.org/faq/"
103 >http://www.privoxy.org/faq/</A
109 contact the developers.
121 >Table of Contents</B
126 >General Information</A
132 HREF="general.html#WHO_USES"
133 >Who should use Privoxy?</A
137 HREF="general.html#BESTCHOICE"
138 >Is Privoxy the best choice for
143 HREF="general.html#PROXYMORON"
152 HREF="general.html#OTHERSTUFF"
153 >Does Privoxy do anything more than ad blocking?</A
157 HREF="general.html#NEWJB"
158 >What is this new version of
166 HREF="general.html#AEN78"
170 >? Why change the name from
171 Junkbuster at all?</A
175 HREF="general.html#DIFFERS"
176 >How does Privoxy differ
177 from the old Junkbuster?</A
181 HREF="general.html#WHATSANAD"
182 >How does Privoxy know what is
183 an ad, and what is not?</A
187 HREF="general.html#AEN159"
188 >Can Privoxy make mistakes?
189 This does not sound very scientific.</A
193 HREF="general.html#AEN165"
194 >Will I have to configure Privoxy
195 before I can use it?</A
199 HREF="general.html#LAN"
200 >Can Privoxy run as a server on a network?</A
204 HREF="general.html#BROWSERS2"
205 >My browser does the same things as
206 Privoxy. Why should I use Privoxy at all?</A
210 HREF="general.html#WHYTRUST"
211 >Why should I trust Privoxy?</A
215 HREF="general.html#LICENSE"
216 >Is there is a license or fee? What about a
217 warranty? Registration?</A
221 HREF="general.html#SPYWARE"
222 >Can Privoxy remove spyware? Adware? Viruses?</A
226 HREF="general.html#OTHERADS"
227 >Can I use Privoxy with other ad-blocking software?</A
231 HREF="general.html#JOINTEAM"
232 >I would like to help you, what can I do?</A
238 HREF="general.html#JOINTEAM-WORK"
239 >Would you like to participate?</A
243 HREF="general.html#JOINTEAM-MONEY"
248 HREF="general.html#JOINTEAM-SOFTWARE"
257 HREF="installation.html"
264 HREF="installation.html#WHICHBROWSERS"
265 >Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?</A
269 HREF="installation.html#WHICHOS"
270 >Which operating systems are supported?</A
274 HREF="installation.html#EMAIL-CLIENT"
275 >Can I use Privoxy with my email client?</A
279 HREF="installation.html#NEWINSTALL"
281 Privoxy over Junkbuster?</A
285 HREF="installation.html#FIRSTSTEP"
286 >I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything
287 special I have to do now?</A
291 HREF="installation.html#LOCALHOST"
292 >What is the proxy address of Privoxy?</A
296 HREF="installation.html#NOTHING"
297 >I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening.
298 All the ads are there. What's wrong?</A
302 HREF="installation.html#NOTUSED"
305 >"Privoxy is not being used"</SPAN
306 > dummy page although
307 Privoxy is running and being used.</A
313 HREF="configuration.html"
320 HREF="configuration.html#AEN351"
321 >What exactly is an <SPAN
328 HREF="configuration.html#ACTIONSS"
332 > concept confuses me. Please list
340 HREF="configuration.html#AEN374"
341 >How are actions files configured? What is the easiest
346 HREF="configuration.html#AEN382"
347 >There are several different <SPAN
355 HREF="configuration.html#GETUPDATES"
356 >Where can I get updated Actions Files?</A
360 HREF="configuration.html#NEWCONFIG"
361 >Can I use my old config files?</A
365 HREF="configuration.html#DIFFICULT"
366 >Why is the configuration so complicated?</A
370 HREF="configuration.html#YAHOO"
371 >How can I make my Yahoo/Hotmail/Gmail account work?</A
375 HREF="configuration.html#CONFIGFILES"
376 >What's the difference between the
390 HREF="configuration.html#BROWSECONFIG"
391 >Why can I change the configuration
392 with a browser? Does that not raise security issues?</A
396 HREF="configuration.html#AEN488"
400 > file? What is a <SPAN
407 HREF="configuration.html#LANCONFIG"
408 >How can I set up Privoxy to act as a proxy for my
413 HREF="configuration.html#AEN531"
414 >Instead of ads, now I get a checkerboard pattern. I don't want to see anything.</A
418 HREF="configuration.html#AEN548"
419 >Why would anybody want to see a checkerboard pattern?</A
423 HREF="configuration.html#AEN554"
424 >I see some images being replaced by a text
425 instead of the checkerboard image. Why and how do I get rid of this?</A
429 HREF="configuration.html#SRVANY"
430 >Can Privoxy run as a service
435 HREF="configuration.html#OTHERPROXY"
436 >How can I make Privoxy work with other
437 proxies like Squid or Tor?</A
441 HREF="configuration.html#PORT-80"
442 >Can I just set Privoxy to use port 80
443 and thus avoid individual browser configuration?</A
447 HREF="configuration.html#TRANSPARENT"
448 >Can Privoxy run as a <SPAN
455 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK"
456 >How can I configure Privoxy for use with Outlook
461 HREF="configuration.html#OUTLOOK-MORE"
462 >How can I have separate rules just for HTML mail?</A
466 HREF="configuration.html#SNEAKY-COOKIES"
467 >I sometimes notice cookies sneaking through. How?</A
471 HREF="configuration.html#EVIL-COOKIES"
472 >Are all cookies bad? Why?</A
476 HREF="configuration.html#ALLOW-COOKIES"
477 >How can I allow permanent cookies for my trusted sites?</A
481 HREF="configuration.html#MULTIPLES"
482 >Can I have separate configurations for different users?</A
486 HREF="configuration.html#WHITELISTS"
487 >Can I set-up Privoxy as a whitelist of
495 HREF="configuration.html#NO-ADBLOCK"
496 >How can I turn off ad-blocking?</A
500 HREF="configuration.html#TEMPLATES"
501 >How can I have custom template pages, like the
512 HREF="configuration.html#BLOCKALL"
513 >How can I remove the <SPAN
515 >"Go There Anyway"</SPAN
536 HREF="misc.html#AEN712"
537 >How much does Privoxy slow my browsing down? This
538 has to add extra time to browsing.</A
542 HREF="misc.html#LOADINGTIMES"
543 >I notice considerable
544 delays in page requests compared to the old Junkbuster. What's wrong?</A
548 HREF="misc.html#CONFIGURL"
549 >What are "http://config.privoxy.org/" and
554 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS"
555 >How can I submit new ads, or report
560 HREF="misc.html#NEWADS2"
561 >If I do submit missed ads, will
562 they be included in future updates?</A
566 HREF="misc.html#NOONECARES"
567 >Why doesn't anyone answer my support
573 >How can I hide my IP address?</A
577 HREF="misc.html#AEN784"
578 >Can Privoxy guarantee I am anonymous?</A
582 HREF="misc.html#AEN802"
583 >A test site says I am not using a Proxy.</A
588 >How do I use Privoxy
589 together with Tor?</A
593 HREF="misc.html#AEN859"
594 >Might some things break because header information or
595 content is being altered?</A
599 HREF="misc.html#AEN873"
600 >Can Privoxy act as a <SPAN
604 speed up web browsing?</A
608 HREF="misc.html#AEN882"
609 >What about as a firewall? Can Privoxy protect me?</A
613 HREF="misc.html#AEN887"
614 >I have large empty spaces / a checkerboard pattern now where
615 ads used to be. Why?</A
619 HREF="misc.html#AEN895"
620 >How can Privoxy filter Secure (HTTPS) URLs?</A
624 HREF="misc.html#AEN909"
625 >Privoxy runs as a <SPAN
629 secure is it? Do I need to take any special precautions?</A
633 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF"
634 >How can I temporarily disable Privoxy?</A
638 HREF="misc.html#REALLYOFF"
643 out of the picture?</A
647 HREF="misc.html#TURNOFF2"
648 >How can I tell Privoxy to totally ignore certain sites?</A
652 HREF="misc.html#CRUNCH"
653 >My logs show Privoxy <SPAN
657 ads, but also its own internal CGI pages. What is a <SPAN
664 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS"
665 >Can Privoxy effect files that I download
666 from a webserver? FTP server?</A
670 HREF="misc.html#DOWNLOADS2"
671 >I just downloaded a Perl script, and Privoxy
672 altered it! Yikes, what is wrong!</A
676 HREF="misc.html#HOSTSFILE"
677 >Should I continue to use a <SPAN
680 > file for ad-blocking?</A
684 HREF="misc.html#SEEALSO"
685 >Where can I find more information about Privoxy
686 and related issues?</A
690 HREF="misc.html#MICROSUCK"
691 >I've noticed that Privoxy changes <SPAN
698 >! Why are you manipulating my browsing?</A
711 HREF="trouble.html#AEN1062"
712 >I cannot connect to any websites. Or, I am getting
715 >"connection refused"</SPAN
716 > message with every web page. Why?</A
720 HREF="trouble.html#ERROR503"
721 >Why am I getting a 503 Error (WSAECONNREFUSED) on every page?</A
725 HREF="trouble.html#AEN1085"
726 >I just added a new rule, but the steenkin ad is
727 still getting through. How?</A
731 HREF="trouble.html#BADSITE"
732 >One of my favorite sites does not work with Privoxy.
737 HREF="trouble.html#DUN"
738 >After installing Privoxy, I have to log in
739 every time I start IE. What gives?</A
743 HREF="trouble.html#FTP"
744 >I cannot connect to any FTP sites. Privoxy
749 HREF="trouble.html#OSXIE"
750 >In Mac OSX, I can't configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use
751 Privoxy as the HTTP proxy.</A
755 HREF="trouble.html#OSXUNINSTALL"
756 >In Mac OSX, I dragged the Privoxy folder to the trash in order to
757 uninstall it. Now the finder tells me I don't have sufficient privileges to
762 HREF="trouble.html#OSXIMAGES"
763 >In Mac OSX Panther (10.3), images often fail to load and/or I
764 experience random delays in page loading. I'm using
768 > as my browser's proxy setting.</A
772 HREF="trouble.html#BLANKPAGE"
773 >I get a completely blank page at one site. <SPAN
779 ><html><body></body></html></SPAN
781 Privoxy the page loads fine.</A
785 HREF="trouble.html#NOHOSTNAME"
786 >My logs show many <SPAN
788 >"Unable to get my own hostname"</SPAN
794 HREF="trouble.html#INUSE"
795 >When I try to launch Privoxy, I get an
798 >"port 8118 is already in use"</SPAN
799 > (or similar wording).
804 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER"
805 >Pages with UTF-8 fonts are garbled.</A
809 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER2"
810 >Why are binary files (such as images) corrupted when Privoxy
815 HREF="trouble.html#DEMORONIZER3"
819 > and why is it there?</A
823 HREF="trouble.html#WINDOWOPEN"
824 >Why do I keep seeing <SPAN
826 >"PrivoxyWindowOpen()"</SPAN
827 > in raw source code?</A
831 HREF="trouble.html#DNSERRORS"
832 >I am getting too many DNS errors like <SPAN
834 >"404 No Such Domain"</SPAN
836 can't Privoxy do this better?</A
840 HREF="trouble.html#ALLCPU"
841 >At one site Privoxy just hangs, and starts taking
842 all CPU. Why is this?</A
846 HREF="trouble.html#SLOWCRAWL"
847 >I just installed Privoxy, and all my
848 browsing has slowed to a crawl. What gives?</A
852 HREF="trouble.html#PREVENTCOMP"
853 >Why do my filters work on some sites but not on others?</A
860 >Contacting the developers, Bug Reporting and Feature Requests</A
866 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-SUPPORT"
871 HREF="contact.html#REPORTING"
872 >Reporting Problems</A
878 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-ADS"
879 >Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems</A
883 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-BUGS"
890 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-FEATURE"
891 >Request New Features</A
895 HREF="contact.html#CONTACT-OTHER"
902 HREF="copyright.html"
903 >Privoxy Copyright, License and History</A
909 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1373"
914 HREF="copyright.html#AEN1389"
927 SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
968 >General Information</TD