/*********************************************************************
 *
 * File        :  $Source: /cvsroot/ijbswa/current/README,v $
 *
 * Purpose     :  README file to give a short intro.
 *
 * Copyright   :  Written by and Copyright (C) 2001 - 2004  the SourceForge
 *                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 it 
 *                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 with
 *                this file.  If not, you can view it at
 *                http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
 *                or write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
 *                Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
 *
 *********************************************************************/

This README is included with Privoxy 3.0.3. See http://www.privoxy.org/ for
more information. The current code maturity level is "stable".

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Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting
privacy, modifying web page content, managing 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).

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1. IMPORTANT CHANGES

MORE 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.

NEWS! March 2003, Privoxy 3.0.2 is released. This is the first maintenance
release of Privoxy. There are no significant new features in this release. Some
bugs are fixed, and some existing features have been enhanced. See ChangeLog
for details. Upgrading from 3.0.0 is recommended.

REALLY BIG NEWS! August 2002: The long-awaited, oft-delayed stable version of
Privoxy 3.0 is finally released! This is way behind schedule, but better late
than never. The developers all hope the wait was worth it.

NEWS! As of 03/24/02, the name of this project has been changed from ijbswa/
Junkbuster to Privoxy. This is reflected in many of the included files.

WARNING! If upgrading from earlier versions of this project via RPM packages,
the new package will delete any previously installed 'Junkbuster' packages.

IMPORTANT! READ! Configuration Change as of 17 Mar 2002: The default listening
port is now 8118 due to conflicts with port 8000 assignment. You will need to
change your browser if upgrading!!! And maybe firewall, etc.

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2. INSTALL

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

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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 based distributions: /etc/rc.d/init.d/privoxy start

Or for SuSE: /etc/rc.d/privoxy start

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

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4. CONFIGURATION

See: 'config', 'default.action', 'user.action', and 'default.filter'.
'user.action' is 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 installed in /etc/privoxy. On Windows, then wherever the executable
itself is installed. There are many significant changes and advances since
Junkbuster v2.0.x. 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.

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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.

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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:

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6.1. Get Support

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

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

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6.2. Report Bugs

Please report all bugs only through our bug tracker: 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 submit form.

Please try to verify that it is a Privoxy bug, and not a browser or site bug
first. If unsure, try toggling off Privoxy, and see if the problem persists.
The appendix of the user manual also has helpful information on action
debugging. 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, chances are that the bug has been found and
fixed in the meantime. We would appreciate if you could take the time to
upgrade to the latest version (or even the latest CVS snapshot) and verify your
bug, but this is not required for reporting.

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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 http://sourceforge.net/
tracker/?atid=361118&group_id=11118.

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6.4. Report Ads or Other Actions-Related Problems

Please send feedback on ads that slipped through, innocent images that were
blocked, and any other problems relating to the default.action file through our
actions feedback mechanism located at http://www.privoxy.org/actions/. On this
page, you will also find a bookmark which will take you back there from any
troubled site and even pre-fill the form!

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

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6.5. 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: http://sourceforge.net/mail/?
group_id=11118.

