Privoxy
Encyclopedia
Privoxy is a non-caching
web proxy with filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page
data and HTTP headers before the page is rendered by the browser. Privoxy is a "privacy enhancing proxy", filtering Web pages and removing advertisements. Privoxy can be customized by users, for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.
Privoxy is based on the Internet Junkbuster
and is released under the GNU General Public License
. It runs on GNU
/Linux
, OpenWrt
, Windows
, Mac OS X
, OS/2
, AmigaOS
, BeOS
, and most flavors of Unix
. Almost any Web browser can use it. The software is hosted at SourceForge
.
Privoxy is frequently used in combination with Tor
or the Vidalia project
or Squid and can be used to bypass Internet censorship
.
Web cache
A web cache is a mechanism for the temporary storage of web documents, such as HTML pages and images, to reduce bandwidth usage, server load, and perceived lag...
web proxy with filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
data and HTTP headers before the page is rendered by the browser. Privoxy is a "privacy enhancing proxy", filtering Web pages and removing advertisements. Privoxy can be customized by users, for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.
Privoxy is based on the Internet Junkbuster
Internet Junkbuster
The Internet Junkbuster is a web proxy that can block ads and cookies. It was developed by the Junkbusters Corporation and released under the GNU General Public License...
and is released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. It runs on GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
/Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, OpenWrt
OpenWrt
OpenWrt is a Linux distribution primarily targeted at routing on embedded devices. It comprises a set of about 2000 software packages, installed and uninstalled via the opkg package management system. OpenWrt can be configured using the command-line interface of BusyBox ash, or the web interface...
, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, AmigaOS
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
, BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
, and most flavors of Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
. Almost any Web browser can use it. The software is hosted at SourceForge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
.
Privoxy is frequently used in combination with Tor
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
or the Vidalia project
Vidalia project
Vidalia is a cross-platform controller GUI for Tor, built using the Qt. It allows the user to start, stop, and view the status of Tor; monitor bandwidth usage; view, filter, and search log messages; and configure some aspects of Tor...
or Squid and can be used to bypass Internet censorship
Internet censorship
Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet. It may be carried out by governments or by private organizations either at the behest of government or on their own initiative...
.
See also
- Content-control softwareContent-control softwareContent-control software, also known as censorware or web filtering software, is a term for software designed and optimized for controlling what content is permitted to a reader, especially when it is used to restrict material delivered over the Web...
- Web acceleratorWeb acceleratorA web accelerator is a proxy server that reduces web site access times. They can be a self-contained hardware appliance or installable software....
which discusses host-based HTTP acceleration - Proxy serverProxy serverIn computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
which discusses client-side proxies - Reverse proxyReverse proxyIn computer networks, a reverse proxy is a type of proxy server that retrieves resources on behalf of a client from one or more servers. These resources are then returned to the client as though it originated from the reverse proxy itself...
which discusses origin-side proxies - Comparison of web serversComparison of web servers-Overview:-Features:- Operating system support :...
- Comparison of lightweight web serversComparison of lightweight web serversLightweight web servers are web servers which have been designed to run with very small resource overhead because of hardware, environment, or simply for the challenge of it....
- Internet Cache ProtocolInternet Cache ProtocolThe Internet Cache Protocol is a protocol used for coordinating web caches. Its purpose is to find out the most appropriate location to retrieve a requested object from in the situation where multiple caches are in use at a single site...