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User reviews
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22 out of 34 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: Privoxy 3.0.8
"Good freeware alternative to Ad Muncher"
Pros: Its free.
Its light on the resources.
It does the job in filtering advertisements.
It is pretty easy to update the filters. Unfortunately the last official update from the developers was from jan2004, but you can find a filter list from google if you search for Privoxy Action File.
The log in Privoxy is more comprehensible than Ad Muncher's log.
The system tray icon is better than Ad Muncher's.
Cons: It uses 3x as much RAM as Ad Muncher.
Ad Muncher seems to filter more than Privoxy. Privoxy seems to miss a lot of ads.
Ad Muncher does a better job in removal of ads. You will find that Privoxy will leave behind a white box where the advertisement once was, or a checkered box, where as Ad Muncher will leave neither.
Like all ad filters, Privoxy will make your webpages open a little slower due to the filtering process. The problem is that it is a LOT slower than Ad Muncher...
Because this is a PROXY, this program seems to be limited to filtering just browsers like IE, FireFox, and Opera, and whatever browser that lets you add a proxy. Ad Muncher on the other hand can go as far as filtering AIM and a bunch of other advertisement-full programs.
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5 stars
Version: Privoxy 3.0.8
Pros: It is everything a $75+ commercial proxy is - and everything it isn't. I'm not a privacy freak so I'm not intimate about the other proxies out there and what they have to offer, but I do know that none have had as much development as Privoxy did. It does not have have a GUI interface per se (all configuration is done through text files) except for its traffic monitor, but that also means you are free to have full control of the program and tweak it in more ways than what a GUI would offer. But this also means it easily intimidates regular users (see cons)
Privoxy isn't just a proxy - by default, it also filters malicious scripts through heuristics, a web debugger (I haven't played around with it yet), and from the looks of it a content blocker.
Open source software will always be better than software produced for financial gain, and Privoxy is Exhibit A.
Cons: Unfortunately, it is not user friendly since it won't magically do everything for you. If your browser supports proxy connections, and you see the little blue Privoxy icon in the system tray, then you need to do some typing to complete the process:
(These steps assume Privoxy is running and listening on its default port, 8118)
In Firefox, head to Tools->Options...->Advanced->Network->Settings->Change it to Manual Proxy Configuration, then put "localhost" as the HTTP proxy and "8118" as the HTTP proxy port. You don't need to fill in anything else.
In IE, go to Tools->Internet Options->Connections->LAN Settings->Check the 'Use a proxy server for your LAN' and fill in "localhost" for the address and "8118" for the port. Again, everything else is optional.
In Opera, go to Tools->Preferences->Advanced->Network->Proxy Servers->Check HTTP and fill in "localhost", and "8118" for its port. Check 'Enable HTTP 1.1 for proxy' while you are at it.
Visit a website and if all went well, there should be an entry in the monitor. I hope this helps.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
3 stars
Version: Privoxy 3.0.8
Cons: I tried this software becouse I have windows 98 and there is not much out there for the version. It has no way of accessing the program I can find. Although it was downloaded into my program files I can not find it listed there. I neither like it nor can I find where it has caused harm. It could be working to some extent but if I don't see the popups I am not aware of I can't know its working. I still get pop ups so it is not a total fix.
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5 stars
Version: Privoxy 3.0.8
Pros: Virtually eliminates all ads (except text based ones).
I love this program because I will never have to see those ********** talking smilies ever again.
Cons: Configuration is a tad complicated. If it had a GUI config, would be a bit better
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