Internet Junkbuster

Last updated
Internet Junkbuster
Original author Junkbusters Corporation
Type Filtering proxy
License GNU General Public License
Website http://internet.junkbuster.com/

The Internet Junkbuster is a web proxy that can block ads,cookies, and other unwanted content from web traffic. [1] [2] It was developed by the Junkbusters Corporation and released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). [3] It was developed mainly during the late 1990s. it functioned by checking requested URLs, including those for images, against a blocklist. [4] The last official release of Internet Junkbuster was version 2.0.2, released in 1998. [5] As it was released under the GPL, the source code could legally be copied, modified, and redistributed by others.

Contents

After 1998, some developers maintained and patched Junkbuster’s code to add small improvements, including simple additional filtering like banner image replacements and basic pop‑up blocking. [6] This effort resulted in a minor build known as version 2.0.2‑10 around the year 2000. [5] [6] However, the original project itself did not see further official updates, and the original Junkbusters website is no longer maintained. [7]

As Junkbuster’s codebase was released under an open‑source license, other developers were able to build a successor project. This led to the creation of Privoxy , a more advanced web proxy that expanded filtering capabilities, added configuration flexibility, and improved support for modern web protocols. [5] [6] [8] [9] Privoxy’s first stable release (version 3.0) was released in August 2002, and it continues to be actively maintained by volunteer developers. [5] [6]

Junkbuster's developers also released Guidescope, a consumer-oriented version of Junkbuster, which is no longer actively developed. [1]

Reception

A review by InfoWorld in 2000 gave it a score of "Good" but criticized it for the technical knowledge needed to modify the blocklist by manually editing a .ini file. [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Maximum Security. Sams Publishing. 2003. p. 155. ISBN   978-0-672-32459-8.
  2. ↑ Gilles, John. "Junkbuster Strips Banners, Cookies". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  3. ↑ "The GNU General Public License". Junkbusters. February 3, 2001. Archived from the original on February 3, 2001. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Orubeondo, Ana (11 September 2000). "Junkbuster blocks unwanted Web content". InfoWorld. p. 64.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Privoxy Copyright, License and History". www.privoxy.org. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "General Information". www.privoxy.org. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  7. ↑ "junkbusters.com, 18 November 2024". Internet Archive. 18 November 2024. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  8. ↑ Nek, Dimitri (2023-07-09). "What is Privoxy? How it Works, Features, Functions, and Benefits Explained | Web Hosting Geeks' Blog" . Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  9. ↑ "Privoxy". www.spi-inc.org. Retrieved 2025-12-27.

The article contains material from InfoAnarchy

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.