Privoxy Frequently Asked Questions
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# 2. Installation

### 2.1. Which browsers are supported by Privoxy?

Any browser that can be configured to use a proxy, which should be virtually all browsers. Direct browser support is not necessary since Privoxy runs as a separate application and talks to the browser in the standardized HTTP protocol, just like a web server does.

### 2.2. Which operating systems are supported?

At present, Privoxy is known to run on Windows(95, 98, ME, 2000, XP), Linux (RedHat, SuSE, Debian, Conectiva, Gentoo, Slackware), Mac OSX, OS/2, AmigaOS, BeOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, and more flavors of Unix.

But any operating system that runs TCP/IP, can conceivably take advantage of Privoxy in a networked situation where Privoxy would run as a server on a LAN gateway. Then only the "gateway" needs to be running one of the above operating systems.

Source code is freely available, so porting to other operating systems is always a possibility.

### 2.3. Can I install Privoxy over Junkbuster?

We recommend you un-install Junkbuster first to minimize conflicts and confusion. You may want to save your old configuration files for future reference. The configuration files and syntax have substantially changed, so you will need to manually port your old patterns. See the note to upgraders and installation chapter in the user manual for details.

Note: Some installers may automatically un-install Junkbuster, if present!

### 2.4. I just installed Privoxy. Is there anything special I have to do now?

All browsers must be told to use Privoxy as a proxy by specifying the correct proxy address and port number in the appropriate configuration area for the browser. See below. You should also flush your browser's memory and disk cache to get rid of any cached junk items.

### 2.5. What is the proxy address of Privoxy?

If you set up the Privoxy to run on the computer you browse from (rather than your ISP's server or some networked computer on a LAN), the proxy will be on `127.0.0.1` (sometimes referred to as "localhost", which is the special name used by every computer on the Internet to refer to itself) and the port will be 8118 (unless you have Privoxy to run on a different port with the listen-address config option).

When configuring your browser's proxy settings you typically enter the word "localhost" or the IP address "127.0.0.1" in the boxes next to "HTTP" and "Secure" (HTTPS) and then the number "8118" for "port". This tells your browser to send all web requests to Privoxy instead of directly to the Internet.

Privoxy can also be used to proxy for a Local Area Network. In this case, your would enter either the IP address of the LAN host where Privoxy is running, or the equivalent hostname. Port assignment would be same as above. Note that Privoxy doesn't listen on any LAN interfaces by default.

Privoxy does not currently handle protocols such as FTP, SMTP, IM, IRC, ICQ, or other Internet protocols.

### 2.6. I just installed Privoxy, and nothing is happening. All the ads are there. What's wrong?

Did you configure your browser to use Privoxy as a proxy? It does not sound like it. See above. You might also try flushing the browser's caches to force a full re-reading of pages. You can verify that Privoxy is running, and your browser is correctly configured by entering the special URL: http://config.privoxy.org/. This should take you to a page titled "This is Privoxy.." with access to Privoxy's internal configuration. If you see this, then you are good to go. If you receive a page saying "Privoxy is not running", then the browser is not set up to use your Privoxy installation. If you receive anything else (probably nothing at all), it could either be that the browser is not set up correctly, or that Privoxy is not running at all. Check the log file.

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