tor-android/external/privoxy/doc/webserver/user-manual/quickstart.html

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>Privoxy 3.0.12 User Manual</TH
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><DIV
CLASS="SECT1"
><H1
CLASS="SECT1"
><A
NAME="QUICKSTART"
>4. Quickstart to Using Privoxy</A
></H1
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> Install <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>. See the <A
HREF="installation.html"
>Installation Section</A
> below for platform specific
information.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Advanced users and those who want to offer <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>
service to more than just their local machine should check the <A
HREF="config.html"
>main config file</A
>, especially the <A
HREF="config.html#ACCESS-CONTROL"
>security-relevant</A
> options. These are
off by default.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Start <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>, if the installation program has
not done this already (may vary according to platform). See the section
<A
HREF="startup.html"
>Starting <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
></A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Set your browser to use <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> as HTTP and
HTTPS (SSL) <A
HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server"
TARGET="_top"
>proxy</A
>
by setting the proxy configuration for address of
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>127.0.0.1</TT
> and port <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>8118</TT
>.
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>DO NOT</I
></SPAN
> activate proxying for <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>FTP</TT
> or
any protocols besides HTTP and HTTPS (SSL) unless you intend to prevent your
browser from using these protocols.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Flush your browser's disk and memory caches, to remove any cached ad images.
If using <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> to manage
<A
HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie"
TARGET="_top"
>cookies</A
>,
you should remove any currently stored cookies too.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> A default installation should provide a reasonable starting point for
most. There will undoubtedly be occasions where you will want to adjust the
configuration, but that can be dealt with as the need arises. Little
to no initial configuration is required in most cases, you may want
to enable the
<A
HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
TARGET="_top"
>web-based action editor</A
> though.
Be sure to read the warnings first.
</P
><P
> See the <A
HREF="configuration.html"
>Configuration section</A
> for more
configuration options, and how to customize your installation.
You might also want to look at the <A
HREF="quickstart.html#QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
>next section</A
> for a quick
introduction to how <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> blocks ads and
banners.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> If you experience ads that slip through, innocent images that are
blocked, or otherwise feel the need to fine-tune
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
> behavior, take a look at the <A
HREF="actions-file.html"
>actions files</A
>. As a quick start, you might
find the <A
HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
>richly commented examples</A
>
helpful. You can also view and edit the actions files through the <A
HREF="http://config.privoxy.org"
TARGET="_top"
>web-based user interface</A
>. The
Appendix <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<A
HREF="appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT"
>Troubleshooting: Anatomy of an
Action</A
>"</SPAN
> has hints on how to understand and debug actions that
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"misbehave"</SPAN
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Please see the section <A
HREF="contact.html"
>Contacting the
Developers</A
> on how to report bugs, problems with websites or to get
help.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Now enjoy surfing with enhanced control, comfort and privacy!
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="QUICKSTART-AD-BLOCKING"
>4.1. Quickstart to Ad Blocking</A
></H2
><P
> Ad blocking is but one of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
>
array of features. Many of these features are for the technically minded advanced
user. But, ad and banner blocking is surely common ground for everybody.</P
><P
>
This section will provide a quick summary of ad blocking so
you can get up to speed quickly without having to read the more extensive
information provided below, though this is highly recommended.</P
><P
> First a bit of a warning ... blocking ads is much like blocking SPAM: the
more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to block
things that were not intended. And the more likely that some things
may not work as intended. So there is a trade off here. If you want
extreme ad free browsing, be prepared to deal with more
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"problem"</SPAN
> sites, and to spend more time adjusting the
configuration to solve these unintended consequences. In short, there is
not an easy way to eliminate <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>all</I
></SPAN
> ads. Either take
the easy way and settle for <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>most</I
></SPAN
> ads blocked with the
default configuration, or jump in and tweak it for your personal surfing
habits and preferences.</P
><P
> Secondly, a brief explanation of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's </SPAN
>
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"actions"</SPAN
>. <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Actions"</SPAN
> in this context, are
the directives we use to tell <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> to perform
some task relating to HTTP transactions (i.e. web browsing). We tell
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> to take some <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"action"</SPAN
>. Each
action has a unique name and function. While there are many potential
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>actions</SPAN
> in <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
>
arsenal, only a few are used for ad blocking. <A
HREF="actions-file.html#ACTIONS"
>Actions</A
>, and <A
HREF="actions-file.html"
>action
configuration files</A
>, are explained in depth below.</P
><P
> Actions are specified in <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
> configuration,
followed by one or more URLs to which the action should apply. URLs
can actually be URL type <A
HREF="actions-file.html#AF-PATTERNS"
>patterns</A
> that use
wildcards so they can apply potentially to a range of similar URLs. The
actions, together with the URL patterns are called a section.</P
><P
> When you connect to a website, the full URL will either match one or more
of the sections as defined in <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
> configuration,
or not. If so, then <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> will perform the
respective actions. If not, then nothing special happens. Furthermore, web
pages may contain embedded, secondary URLs that your web browser will
use to load additional components of the page, as it parses the
original page's HTML content. An ad image for instance, is just an URL
embedded in the page somewhere. The image itself may be on the same server,
or a server somewhere else on the Internet. Complex web pages will have many
such embedded URLs. <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> can deal with each URL individually, so, for
instance, the main page text is not touched, but images from such-and-such
server are blocked.</P
><P
> The most important actions for basic ad blocking are: <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
>, <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
>handle-as-image</A
></TT
>,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
>handle-as-empty-document</A
></TT
>,and
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
>set-image-blocker</A
></TT
>:</P
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
> - this is perhaps
the single most used action, and is particularly important for ad blocking.
This action stops any contact between your browser and any URL patterns
that match this action's configuration. It can be used for blocking ads,
but also anything that is determined to be unwanted. By itself, it simply
stops any communication with the remote server and sends
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>'s own built-in BLOCKED page instead to
let you now what has happened (with some exceptions, see below).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
>handle-as-image</A
></TT
> -
tells <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> to treat this URL as an image.
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>'s default configuration already does this
for all common image types (e.g. GIF), but there are many situations where this
is not so easy to determine. So we'll force it in these cases. This is particularly
important for ad blocking, since only if we know that it's an image of
some kind, can we replace it with an image of our choosing, instead of the
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> BLOCKED page (which would only result in
a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"broken image"</SPAN
> icon). There are some limitations to this
though. For instance, you can't just brute-force an image substitution for
an entire HTML page in most situations.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-EMPTY-DOCUMENT"
>handle-as-empty-document</A
></TT
> -
sends an empty document instead of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy's</SPAN
>
normal BLOCKED HTML page. This is useful for file types that are neither
HTML nor images, such as blocking JavaScript files.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#SET-IMAGE-BLOCKER"
>set-image-blocker</A
></TT
> - tells
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> what to display in place of an ad image that
has hit a block rule. For this to come into play, the URL must match a
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
> action somewhere in the
configuration, <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>and</I
></SPAN
>, it must also match an
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#HANDLE-AS-IMAGE"
>handle-as-image</A
></TT
> action.
</P
><P
> The configuration options on what to display instead of the ad are:
</P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> <20><><EFBFBD><SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>pattern</I
></SPAN
> - a checkerboard pattern, so that an ad
replacement is obvious. This is the default.
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> <20><><EFBFBD><SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>blank</I
></SPAN
> - A very small empty GIF image is displayed.
This is the so-called <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"invisible"</SPAN
> configuration option.
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> <20><><EFBFBD><SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>http://&#60;URL&#62;</I
></SPAN
> - A redirect to any image anywhere
of the user's choosing (advanced usage).
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
></LI
></UL
></P
><P
> Advanced users will eventually want to explore <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
>
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
>filters</A
></TT
> as well. Filters
are very different from <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>blocks</A
></TT
>.
A <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"block"</SPAN
> blocks a site, page, or unwanted contented. Filters
are a way of filtering or modifying what is actually on the page. An example
filter usage: a text replacement of <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"no-no"</SPAN
> for
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"nasty-word"</SPAN
>. That is a very simple example. This process can be
used for ad blocking, but it is more in the realm of advanced usage and has
some pitfalls to be wary off.</P
><P
> The quickest way to adjust any of these settings is with your browser through
the special <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> editor at <A
HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
TARGET="_top"
>http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
>
(shortcut: <A
HREF="http://p.p/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://p.p/show-status</A
>). This
is an internal page, and does not require Internet access.</P
><P
> Note that as of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> 3.0.7 beta the
action editor is disabled by default. Check the
<A
HREF="config.html#ENABLE-EDIT-ACTIONS"
TARGET="_top"
>enable-edit-actions
section in the configuration file</A
> to learn why and in which
cases it's safe to enable again.</P
><P
> If you decided to enable the action editor, select the appropriate
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"actions"</SPAN
> file, and click
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Edit</SPAN
>"</SPAN
>. It is best to put personal or
local preferences in <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>user.action</TT
> since this is not
meant to be overwritten during upgrades, and will over-ride the settings in
other files. Here you can insert new <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"actions"</SPAN
>, and URLs for ad
blocking or other purposes, and make other adjustments to the configuration.
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Privoxy</SPAN
> will detect these changes automatically.</P
><P
> A quick and simple step by step example:</P
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> Right click on the ad image to be blocked, then select
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIMENUITEM"
>Copy Link Location</SPAN
>"</SPAN
> from the
pop-up menu.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Set your browser to
<A
HREF="http://config.privoxy.org/show-status"
TARGET="_top"
>http://config.privoxy.org/show-status</A
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Find <TT
CLASS="FILENAME"
>user.action</TT
> in the top section, and click
on <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Edit</SPAN
>"</SPAN
>:
</P
><P
> <DIV
CLASS="FIGURE"
><A
NAME="AEN530"
></A
><P
><B
>Figure 1. Actions Files in Use</B
></P
><DIV
CLASS="MEDIAOBJECT"
><P
><IMG
SRC="files-in-use.jpg"></P
></DIV
></DIV
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> You should have a section with only
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
> listed under
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Actions:"</SPAN
>.
If not, click a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Insert new section below</SPAN
>"</SPAN
>
button, and in the new section that just appeared, click the
<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Edit</SPAN
> button right under the word <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Actions:"</SPAN
>.
This will bring up a list of all actions. Find
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
> near the top, and click
in the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Enabled"</SPAN
> column, then <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Submit</SPAN
>"</SPAN
>
just below the list.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Now, in the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
><A
HREF="actions-file.html#BLOCK"
>block</A
></TT
> actions section,
click the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Add</SPAN
>"</SPAN
> button, and paste the URL the
browser got from <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIMENUITEM"
>Copy Link Location</SPAN
>"</SPAN
>.
Remove the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>http://</TT
> at the beginning of the URL. Then, click
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>Submit</SPAN
>"</SPAN
> (or
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"<SPAN
CLASS="GUIBUTTON"
>OK</SPAN
>"</SPAN
> if in a pop-up window).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Now go back to the original page, and press <B
CLASS="KEYCAP"
>SHIFT-Reload</B
>
(or flush all browser caches). The image should be gone now.
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
><P
> This is a very crude and simple example. There might be good reasons to use a
wildcard pattern match to include potentially similar images from the same
site. For a more extensive explanation of <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"patterns"</SPAN
>, and
the entire actions concept, see <A
HREF="actions-file.html"
>the Actions
section</A
>.</P
><P
> For advanced users who want to hand edit their config files, you might want
to now go to the <A
HREF="actions-file.html#ACT-EXAMPLES"
>Actions Files Tutorial</A
>.
The ideas explained therein also apply to the web-based editor.</P
><P
> There are also various
<A
HREF="actions-file.html#FILTER"
>filters</A
> that can be used for ad blocking
(filters are a special subset of actions). These
fall into the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"advanced"</SPAN
> usage category, and are explained in
depth in later sections. </P
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