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# Privoxy

From ArchWiki

Summary
This article explains how to install and configure Privoxy alongside the Tor network.
Required software
Tor
Privoxy
Related
Tor
Polipo

Privoxy is a filtering proxy for the HTTP protocol, frequently used in combination with Tor. Privoxy is a web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for protecting privacy, filtering web page content, managing cookies, controlling access, and removing ads, banners, pop-ups, etc. It supports both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks.

Using Privoxy is necessary when they use a SOCKS proxy directly because browsers leak your DNS requests, which reduces your anonymity.

## Installation and setup

Install the privoxy package from the official repositories.

    # pacman -S privoxy

When Privoxy is used in conjunction with Tor the two applications need to exchange information through a chain, which requires the specification of forwarding rules.

Warning: If you do not want to use Tor or another proxy there is no need to edit `/etc/privoxy/config`. In fact, chaining to an invalid target will prevent your browser from opening any website.

Edit your `/etc/privoxy/config` file and add this line at the end (be sure to include the . at the end and preserve the file owner and group permissions as `privoxy`):

    forward-socks5 / localhost:9050 .

This example uses the default port used by Tor. If you changed the port number modify the example accordingly. The same basic example is valid for other targets. If you plan on chaining to another proxy specify the method (here SOCKS5) and the port to suit your needs. Refer to section 5 of the manual inside `/etc/privoxy/config` for a complete list of options and examples.

The above will forward all browser traffic through Tor. To only forward .onion sites through Tor, use this instead:

    forward-socks4a .onion localhost:9050 .

To forward .i2p sites through the I2P router, add the following to `/etc/privoxy/config`:

    forward .i2p localhost:4444

Finally, if you plan to make Privoxy available to other computers in your network, just add:

    listen-address [SERVER-IP]:[PORT]

For example:

    listen-address 192.168.1.1:8118

## Ad Blocking with Privoxy

Using an ad blocking extension in a web browser can increase page load time. Additionally, extensions like AdBlock Plus are not supported by all browsers. A useful alternative is to install system-wide ad blocking by setting a proxy address in your preferred browser.

Once Privoxy has been installed download and install an AdBlock Plus easylist importer from AUR (i.e. privoxy-blocklist). You can optionally use an AUR Helper to do so.

To block tracking via embedded Facebook "Like" button, Twitter "follow", and Google Plus "+1", edit `/etc/privoxy/user.action` and add these lines to the end:

    {+block-as-image{Facebook "like" and similar tracking URLs.}}
    www.facebook.com/(extern|plugins)/(login_status|like(box)?|activity|fan)\.php
    platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button?
    plusone.google.com

## Usage

Start the Privoxy service:

    # systemctl start privoxy.service

Enable the Privoxy service at boot:

    # systemctl enable privoxy.service

Configure your program to use Privoxy. The default address is:

    localhost:8118

For Firefox, go to:

    Preferences > Advanced > Network > Settings

For Chromium you can use:

    $ chromium --proxy-server="localhost:8118"

## Troubleshooting

If errors appear when accessing `/var/log/privoxy/`, user can add the following after `/bin/bash` in `/etc/rc.d/privoxy` and then restart privoxy.

    if [ ! -d /var/log/privoxy ] then
       mkdir /var/log/privoxy
       touch /var/log/privoxy/errorfile
       touch /var/log/privoxy/logfile
       chown -R privoxy:adm /var/log/privoxy
    fi

## External Links

- Official Website
- Blocking Ads on Arch Linux with Privoxy

Retrieved from "https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php?title=Privoxy&oldid=266300"
Category:

- Proxy servers

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