

   /*********************************************************************
    *
    * File        :  $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/doc/source/readme.sg
   ml,v $
    *
    * Purpose     :  README file to give a short intro.
    *
    * Copyright   :  Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2006  the SourceF
   orge
    *                Privoxy team. http://www.privoxy.org/
    *
    *                Based on the Internet Junkbuster originally written
    *                by and Copyright (C) 1997 Anonymous Coders and
    *                Junkbusters Corporation.  http://www.junkbusters.com
    *
    *                This program is free software; you can redistribute i
   t
    *                and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General
    *                Public License as published by the Free Software
    *                Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
    *                your option) any later version.
    *
    *                This program is distributed in the hope that it will
    *                be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
    *                implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
    *                PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public
    *                License for more details.
    *
    *                The GNU General Public License should be included wit
   h
    *                this file.  If not, you can view it at
    *                http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
    *                or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
    *                51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-130
   1,
    *                USA
    *
    *********************************************************************/

   This README is included with Privoxy 3.0.6. See http://www.privoxy.org/
   for more information. The current code maturity level is "stable".
     __________________________________________________________________

   Privoxy is a [1]web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for
   protecting privacy, modifying web page data, managing [2]cookies,
   controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups and other
   obnoxious Internet junk. Privoxy has a very flexible configuration and
   can be customized to suit individual needs and tastes. Privoxy has
   application for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.

   Privoxy is based on Internet Junkbuster (tm).
     __________________________________________________________________

1. IMPORTANT CHANGES

   NEWS! November 2006, Privoxy 3.0.6 is released. This is a significant
   upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs fixed. It is
   also the first stable release in quite some time. There are fifteen new
   actions available, and several actions have enhanced capabilities.
   Multiple filter files are now supported as well. There are many
   improvements and refinements. See the "What's New" section and the
   "Upgrader's Notes" in the User Manual for details and specifics.
   Preliminary work on 3.0.7 is already underway.

   NEWS! September 2006, Privoxy 3.0.5 BETA is released. This is a
   significant upgrade with many new and enhanced features, and many bugs
   fixed.

   There was and will not be an official 3.0.4 release. This release cycle
   was used to gather our thoughts, play with some new ideas and refine
   some old ones. It will remain a development cycle with no actual
   release. 3.0.5 is the fruit of these efforts.

   NEWS! January 2004, Privoxy 3.0.3 is released. This is the another
   maintenance release of Privoxy which fixes more bugs, further refines
   the configuration and works around some known third-party problems. See
   the ChangeLog for complete details. Upgrading from 3.0.2 is
   recommended.
     __________________________________________________________________

2. INSTALL

   See the INSTALL file in this directory, for installing from raw source,
   and the User Manual, for all other installation types.
     __________________________________________________________________

3. RUN

   privoxy [----help] [----version] [----no-daemon] [----pidfile PIDFILE]
   [----user USER[.GROUP]] [----chroot] [config_file]

   See the man page or User Manual for an explanation of each option, and
   other configuration and usage issues.

   If no config_file is specified on the command line, Privoxy will look
   for a file named 'config' in the current directory (except Win32 which
   will look for 'config.txt'). If no config_file is found, Privoxy will
   fail to start.

   Or for Red Hat and Fedora based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy
   start

   Or Debian: /etc/init.d/privoxy start
     __________________________________________________________________

4. CONFIGURATION

   See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', 'default.filter', and
   'user.filter'. 'user.action' and 'user.filter' are for personal and
   local configuration preferences. These are all well commented. Most of
   the magic is in '*.action' files. 'user.action' should be used for any
   actions customizations. On Unix-like systems, these files are typically
   installed in /etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable
   itself is installed. There are many significant changes and advances
   from earlier versions. The User Manual has an explanation of all
   configuration options, and examples:
   http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/.

   Be sure to set your browser(s) for HTTP/HTTPS Proxy at <IP>:<Port>, or
   whatever you specify in the config file under 'listen-address'. DEFAULT
   is localhost:8118. Note that Privoxy ONLY proxies HTTP (and HTTPS)
   traffic. Do not try it with FTP or other protocols for the simple
   reason it does not work.

   The actions list can be configured via the web interface accessed via
   http://p.p/, as well other options.
     __________________________________________________________________

5. DOCUMENTATION

   There should be documentation in the 'doc' subdirectory. In particular,
   see the User Manual there, the FAQ, and those interested in Privoxy
   development, should look at developer-manual.

   The source and configuration files are all well commented. The main
   configuration files are: 'config', 'default.action', and
   'default.filter'.

   Included documentation may vary according to platform and packager. All
   documentation is posted on http://www.privoxy.org, in case you don't
   have it, or can't find it.
     __________________________________________________________________

6. CONTACTING THE DEVELOPERS, BUG REPORTING AND FEATURE REQUESTS

   We value your feedback. In fact, we rely on it to improve Privoxy and
   its configuration. However, please note the following hints, so we can
   provide you with the best support:
     __________________________________________________________________

6.1. Get Support

   For casual users, our [3]support forum at SourceForge is probably best
   suited: [4]http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118

   All users are of course welcome to discuss their issues on the [5]users
   mailing list, where the developers also hang around.
     __________________________________________________________________

6.2. Reporting Problems

   "Problems" for our purposes, come in two forms:

     * Configuration issues, such as ads that slip through, or sites that
       don't function properly due to one Privoxy "action" or another
       being turned "on".
     * "Bugs" in the programming code that makes up Privoxy, such as that
       might cause a crash.
     __________________________________________________________________

6.2.1. Reporting Ads or Other Configuration Problems

   Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that
   were blocked, sites that don't work properly, and other configuration
   related problem of default.action file, to
   [6]http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288, the
   Actions File Tracker.

   New, improved default.action files may occasionally be made available
   based on your feedback. These will be announced on the
   [7]ijbswa-announce list and available from our the [8]files section of
   our [9]project page.
     __________________________________________________________________

6.2.2. Reporting Bugs

   Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker:
   [10]http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118.

   Before doing so, please make sure that the bug has not already been
   submitted and observe the additional hints at the top of the [11]submit
   form. If already submitted, please feel free to add any info to the
   original report that might help to solve the issue.

   Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or
   site bug first. If unsure, try [12]toggling off Privoxy, and see if the
   problem persists. If you are using your own custom configuration,
   please try the stock configs to see if the problem is configuration
   related.

   If not using the latest version, the bug may have been found and fixed
   in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
   [13]upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and
   verify your bug.

   Please be sure to provide the following information:

     * The exact Privoxy version of the proxy software (if you got the
       source from CVS, please also provide the source code revisions as
       shown in [14]http://config.privoxy.org/show-version).
     * The operating system and versions you run Privoxy on, (e.g. Windows
       XP SP2), if you are using a Unix flavor, sending the output of
       "uname -a" should do.
     * The name, platform, and version of the browser you were using (e.g.
       Internet Explorer v5.5 for Mac).
     * The URL where the problem occurred, or some way for us to duplicate
       the problem (e.g. http://somesite.example.com/?somethingelse=123).
     * Whether your version of Privoxy is one supplied by the developers
       of Privoxy via SourceForge, or somewhere else.
     * Whether you are using Privoxy in tandem with another proxy such as
       Tor. If so, please try disabling the other proxy.
     * Whether you are using a personal firewall product. If so, does
       Privoxy work without it?
     * Any other pertinent information to help identify the problem such
       as config or log file excerpts (yes, you should have log file
       entries for each action taken).
     * Please provide your SF login, or email address, in case we need to
       contact you.

   The [15]appendix of the Privoxy User Manual also has helpful
   information on understanding actions, and action debugging.
     __________________________________________________________________

6.3. Request New Features

   You are welcome to submit ideas on new features or other proposals for
   improvement through our feature request tracker at
   [16]http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.
     __________________________________________________________________

6.4. Other

   For any other issues, feel free to use the mailing lists. Technically
   interested users and people who wish to contribute to the project are
   also welcome on the developers list! You can find an overview of all
   Privoxy-related mailing lists, including list archives, at:
   [17]http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118.

References

   1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server
   2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_cookie
   3. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
   4. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=211118
   5. http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-users
   6. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=460288
   7. http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ijbswa-announce
   8. http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=11118
   9. http://sf.net/projects/ijbswa/
  10. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=11118&atid=111118
  11. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=11118&atid=111118
  12. http://config.privoxy.org/toggle?set=disable
  13. http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/installation.html
  14. http://config.privoxy.org/show-version
  15. http://www.privoxy.org/user-manual/appendix.html#ACTIONSANAT
  16. http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118
  17. http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=11118
