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42 >Privoxy 3.0.6 User Manual</TH
80 >4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy</H1
91 HREF="installation.html"
92 >Installation Section</A
93 > below for platform specific
99 > Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
103 service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
107 HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
108 >security-relevant</A
118 >, if the installation program has
119 not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
131 > Set your browser to use <SPAN
136 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server"
140 by setting the proxy configuration for address of
154 > activate proxying for <TT
158 any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)! It won't work!
163 > Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
169 HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
173 you should remove any currently stored cookies too.
178 > A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
179 most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
180 configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
181 to no initial configuration is required in most cases.
185 HREF="configuration.html"
186 >Configuration section</A
188 configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
189 You might also want to look at the <A
190 HREF="quickstart.html#QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
193 introduction to how <SPAN
201 > If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
202 blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
206 > behavior, take a look at the <A
207 HREF="actions-file.html"
209 >. As a quick start, you might
211 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
212 >richly commented examples</A
214 helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
215 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
217 >web-based user interface</A
222 HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
223 >Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
226 > has hints on how to understand and debug actions that
235 > For easy access to <SPAN
238 >'s most important controls, drag the provided
240 HREF="appendix.html#BOOKMARKLETS"
242 > into your browser's
248 > Please see the section <A
252 > on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get
258 > Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
268 NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
270 >4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</H2
272 > Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
276 array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
277 user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
280 This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
281 you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
282 information provided below, though this is highly recommended.</P
284 > First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
285 more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
286 things that were not intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
287 extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
291 > sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
292 configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
293 not an easy way to eliminate <SPAN
300 the easy way and settle for <SPAN
306 > ads blocked with the
307 default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
308 habits and preferences.</P
310 > Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
320 > in this context, are
321 the directives we use to tell <SPAN
325 some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
333 action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
341 arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
342 HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
345 HREF="actions-file.html"
347 configuration files</A
348 >, are explained in depth below.</P
350 > Actions are specified in <SPAN
354 followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
355 can actually be URL type <A
356 HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
359 wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
360 actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
362 > When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
363 of the sections as defined in <SPAN
367 or not. If so, then <SPAN
371 respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
372 pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
373 use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
374 original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
375 embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
376 or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
377 such embedded URLs.</P
379 > The actions we need to know about for ad blocking are: <TT
382 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
388 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
395 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
396 >set-image-blocker</A
408 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
411 > - this action stops
412 any contact between your browser and any URL patterns that match this
413 action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads, but also anything
414 that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply stops any
415 communication with the remote server and sends <SPAN
419 own built-in BLOCKED page instead to let you now what has happened.
427 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
434 > to treat this URL as an image.
438 >'s default configuration already does this
439 for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
440 is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
441 important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
442 some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
446 > BLOCKED page (which would only result in
449 >"broken image"</SPAN
450 > icon). There are some limitations to this
451 though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
452 an entire HTML page in most situations.
460 HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
461 >set-image-blocker</A
467 > what to display in place of an ad image that
468 has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
472 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
475 > action somewhere in the
482 >, it must also match an
486 HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
492 > The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
507 > - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
508 replacement is obvious. This is the default.
528 > - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
529 This is the so-called <SPAN
532 > configuration option.
550 >http://<URL></I
552 > - A redirect to any image anywhere
553 of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
564 > The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
569 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
571 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
576 >http://p.p/show-status</A
578 is an internal page, and does not require Internet access. Select the
589 >. It is best to put personal or
590 local preferences in <TT
594 meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
595 other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
599 blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
603 > will detect these changes automatically.</P
605 > A quick and simple step by step example:</P
612 > Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
617 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
625 > Set your browser to
627 HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
629 >http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
638 > in the top section, and click
655 >Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
661 SRC="files-in-use.jpg"></P
669 > You should have a section with only
673 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
681 If not, click a <SPAN
685 >Insert new section below</SPAN
688 button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
692 > button right under the word <SPAN
696 This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
700 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
703 > near the top, and click
722 HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
732 > button, and paste the URL the
733 browser got from <SPAN
737 >Copy Link Location</SPAN
743 > at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
757 > if in a pop-up window).
762 > Now go back to the original page, and press <B
766 (or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
772 > This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
773 wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
774 site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
778 the entire actions concept, see <A
779 HREF="actions-file.html"
784 > For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
786 HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
787 >Actions Files Tutorial</A
789 The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.</P
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836 >What's New in this Release</TD
846 >Starting Privoxy</TD