<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >Starting Privoxy</TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.79"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="Privoxy 3.0.12 User Manual" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="Quickstart to Using Privoxy" HREF="quickstart.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="Privoxy Configuration" HREF="configuration.html"><LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="../p_doc.css"><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> <LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="p_doc.css"> </head ><BODY CLASS="SECT1" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >Privoxy 3.0.12 User Manual</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="quickstart.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" ></TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="configuration.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT1" ><H1 CLASS="SECT1" ><A NAME="STARTUP" >5. Starting Privoxy</A ></H1 ><P > Before launching <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > for the first time, you will want to configure your browser(s) to use <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > as a HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server" TARGET="_top" >proxy</A >. The default is 127.0.0.1 (or localhost) for the proxy address, and port 8118 (earlier versions used port 8000). This is the one configuration step <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >that must be done</I ></SPAN >!</P ><P > Please note that <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > can only proxy HTTP and HTTPS traffic. It will not work with FTP or other protocols.</P ><P > <DIV CLASS="FIGURE" ><A NAME="AEN585" ></A ><P ><B >Figure 2. Proxy Configuration Showing Mozilla/Netscape HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) Settings</B ></P ><DIV CLASS="MEDIAOBJECT" ><P ><IMG SRC="proxy_setup.jpg"></P ></DIV ></DIV > </P ><P > With <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Firefox</SPAN >, this is typically set under:</P ><P CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT" > <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Tools</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Options</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Advanced</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Network</SPAN > -><SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Connection</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Settings</SPAN ><br> </P ><P > Or optionally on some platforms:</P ><P CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT" > <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Edit</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Preferences</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >General</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Connection Settings</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Manual Proxy Configuration</SPAN ><br> </P ><P > With <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Netscape</SPAN > (and <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Mozilla</SPAN >), this can be set under:</P ><P CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT" > <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Edit</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Preferences</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Advanced</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Proxies</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >HTTP Proxy</SPAN ><br> </P ><P > For <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Internet Explorer v.5-7</SPAN >: </P ><P CLASS="LITERALLAYOUT" > <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Tools</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Internet Options</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >Connections</SPAN > -> <SPAN CLASS="GUIBUTTON" >LAN Settings</SPAN ></P ><P > Then, check <SPAN CLASS="QUOTE" >"Use Proxy"</SPAN > and fill in the appropriate info (Address: 127.0.0.1, Port: 8118). Include HTTPS (SSL), if you want HTTPS proxy support too (sometimes labeled <SPAN CLASS="QUOTE" >"Secure"</SPAN >). Make sure any checkboxes like <SPAN CLASS="QUOTE" >"Use the same proxy server for all protocols"</SPAN > is <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >UNCHECKED</I ></SPAN >. You want only HTTP and HTTPS (SSL)!</P ><P > <DIV CLASS="FIGURE" ><A NAME="AEN630" ></A ><P ><B >Figure 3. Proxy Configuration Showing Internet Explorer HTTP and HTTPS (Secure) Settings</B ></P ><DIV CLASS="MEDIAOBJECT" ><P ><IMG SRC="proxy2.jpg"></P ></DIV ></DIV > </P ><P > After doing this, flush your browser's disk and memory caches to force a re-reading of all pages and to get rid of any ads that may be cached. Remove any <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie" TARGET="_top" >cookies</A >, if you want <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > to manage that. You are now ready to start enjoying the benefits of using <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN >!</P ><P > <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > itself is typically started by specifying the main configuration file to be used on the command line. If no configuration file is specified on the command line, <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > will look for a file named <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >config</TT > in the current directory. Except on Win32 where it will try <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >config.txt</TT >.</P ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-REDHAT" >5.1. Red Hat and Fedora</A ></H2 ><P > A default Red Hat installation may not start <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > upon boot. It will use the file <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >/etc/privoxy/config</TT > as its main configuration file.</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > # /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start</PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ><P > Or ...</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > # service privoxy start</PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-DEBIAN" >5.2. Debian</A ></H2 ><P > We use a script. Note that Debian typically starts <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > upon booting per default. It will use the file <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >/etc/privoxy/config</TT > as its main configuration file.</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > # /etc/init.d/privoxy start</PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-WINDOWS" >5.3. Windows</A ></H2 ><P >Click on the <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > Icon to start <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN >. If no configuration file is specified on the command line, <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > will look for a file named <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >config.txt</TT >. Note that Windows will automatically start <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > when the system starts if you chose that option when installing.</P ><P > <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > can run with full Windows service functionality. On Windows only, the <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > program has two new command line arguments to install and uninstall <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > as a service. See the <A HREF="installation.html#INSTALLATION-PACK-WIN" >Windows Installation instructions</A > for details.</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-UNICES" >5.4. Solaris, NetBSD, FreeBSD, HP-UX and others</A ></H2 ><P >Example Unix startup command:</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > # /usr/sbin/privoxy /etc/privoxy/config</PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-OS2" >5.5. OS/2</A ></H2 ><P > During installation, <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > is configured to start automatically when the system restarts. You can start it manually by double-clicking on the <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > icon in the <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > folder.</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-MACOSX" >5.6. Mac OS X</A ></H2 ><P > After downloading the privoxy software, unzip the downloaded file by double-clicking on the zip file icon. Then, double-click on the installer package icon and follow the installation process.</P ><P > The privoxy service will automatically start after a successful installation. In addition, the privoxy service will automatically start every time your computer starts up.</P ><P > To prevent the privoxy service from automatically starting when your computer starts up, remove or rename the folder named /Library/StartupItems/Privoxy.</P ><P > A simple application named Privoxy Utility has been created which enables administrators to easily start and stop the privoxy service.</P ><P > In addition, the Privoxy Utility presents a simple way for administrators to edit the various privoxy config files. A method to uninstall the software is also available.</P ><P > An administrator username and password must be supplied in order for the Privoxy Utility to perform any of the tasks.</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-AMIGAOS" >5.7. AmigaOS</A ></H2 ><P > Start <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > (with RUN <>NIL:) in your <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >startnet</TT > script (AmiTCP), in <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >s:user-startup</TT > (RoadShow), as startup program in your startup script (Genesis), or as startup action (Miami and MiamiDx). <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > will automatically quit when you quit your TCP/IP stack (just ignore the harmless warning your TCP/IP stack may display that <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > is still running).</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="START-GENTOO" >5.8. Gentoo</A ></H2 ><P > A script is again used. It will use the file <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >/etc/privoxy/config </TT > as its main configuration file.</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > /etc/init.d/privoxy start </PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ><P > Note that <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > is not automatically started at boot time by default. You can change this with the <TT CLASS="LITERAL" >rc-update</TT > command.</P ><P > <TABLE BORDER="0" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" > rc-update add privoxy default </PRE ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="CMDOPTIONS" >5.9. Command Line Options</A ></H2 ><P > <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > may be invoked with the following command-line options:</P ><P > <P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--version</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > Print version info and exit. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--help</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > Print short usage info and exit. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--no-daemon</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > Don't become a daemon, i.e. don't fork and become process group leader, and don't detach from controlling tty. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--pidfile FILE</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > On startup, write the process ID to <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >FILE</I ></SPAN >. Delete the <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >FILE</I ></SPAN > on exit. Failure to create or delete the <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >FILE</I ></SPAN > is non-fatal. If no <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >FILE</I ></SPAN > option is given, no PID file will be used. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--user USER[.GROUP]</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > After (optionally) writing the PID file, assume the user ID of <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >USER</I ></SPAN >, and if included the GID of GROUP. Exit if the privileges are not sufficient to do so. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--chroot</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > Before changing to the user ID given in the <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--user</I ></SPAN > option, chroot to that user's home directory, i.e. make the kernel pretend to the <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > process that the directory tree starts there. If set up carefully, this can limit the impact of possible vulnerabilities in <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > to the files contained in that hierarchy. Unix only. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >--pre-chroot-nslookup hostname</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > Specifies a hostname to look up before doing a chroot. On some systems, initializing the resolver library involves reading config files from /etc and/or loading additional shared libraries from /lib. On these systems, doing a hostname lookup before the chroot reduces the number of files that must be copied into the chroot tree. </P ><P > For fastest startup speed, a good value is a hostname that is not in /etc/hosts but that your local name server (listed in /etc/resolv.conf) can resolve without recursion (that is, without having to ask any other name servers). The hostname need not exist, but if it doesn't, an error message (which can be ignored) will be output. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >configfile</I ></SPAN > </P ><P > If no <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >configfile</I ></SPAN > is included on the command line, <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > will look for a file named <SPAN CLASS="QUOTE" >"config"</SPAN > in the current directory (except on Win32 where it will look for <SPAN CLASS="QUOTE" >"config.txt"</SPAN > instead). Specify full path to avoid confusion. If no config file is found, <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > will fail to start. </P ></LI ></UL ></P ><P > On <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >MS Windows</SPAN > only there are two additional command-line options to allow <SPAN CLASS="APPLICATION" >Privoxy</SPAN > to install and run as a <SPAN CLASS="emphasis" ><I CLASS="EMPHASIS" >service</I ></SPAN >. See the <A HREF="installation.html#INSTALLATION-PACK-WIN" >Window Installation section</A > for details.</P ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="quickstart.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Home</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="configuration.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >Quickstart to Using Privoxy</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" > </TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >Privoxy Configuration</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >