Add a Handbook section about HTTP Pings. https://redmine.stoutner.com/issues/976

[PrivacyBrowserPC.git] / doc / index.docbook

diff --git a/doc/index.docbook b/doc/index.docbook
index f4da41f597401406984ccced2bfa93a28c42b0c3..0d0e6f8ff3f967cb1563a5a35677a0ba98a6e415 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/index.docbook
+++ b/doc/index.docbook
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@
       <para>
         &privacybrowser; is a web browser that respects your privacy.
       </para>
+
+      <para>
+        The only way to prevent data from being abused is to prevent it from being collected in the first place.
+      </para>
     </abstract>
 
     <!-- This is a set of Keywords for indexing by search engines. -->
@@ -297,6 +301,40 @@
         Domain settings for all domains can be accessed through <xref linkend="settings-domain-settings"/>. When domain settings are active, the URL line edit will have a green background.
       </para>
     </sect1>
+
+    <!-- HTTP Pings. -->
+    <sect1 id="http-pings">
+      <title>HTTP Pings</title>
+
+      <para>
+        HTTP hyperlinks can have an extra <ulink url="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/a#ping">ping attribute</ulink> that sends a POST request to a different URL.
+        These HTTP pings are commonly used for tracking.
+        <ulink url="https://www.theregister.com/2019/04/06/apple_safari_changes/">Most browsers</ulink> send HTTP pings without informing the user
+        <ulink url="https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html/2018May/0027.html">in any way</ulink>
+        (despite what The Register article says, current versions of FireFox also happily send HTTP pings).
+      </para>
+
+      <para>
+        Privacy Browser blocks all HTTP pings and presents a dialog informing the user every time the current tab attempts to send one.
+        Hopefully, as more people become aware of what HTTP pings are, web sites will become more embarrassed about using them.
+        This is a classic example of how those who wrote the HTTP specs do not have the best interests of internet users at heart. I would like the day to come where they are removed from the specs.
+      </para>
+    </sect1>
+
+    <!-- Spell Checking. -->
+    <sect1 id="spell-checking">
+      <title>Spell Checking</title>
+
+      <para>
+        Privacy Browser uses the binary <filename>.bdic</filename> Hunspell dictionary format <ulink url="https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qtwebengine-features.html#spellchecker">utilized by Qt WebEngine</ulink>
+        which was <ulink url="https://sites.google.com/a/chromium.org/dev/developers/how-tos/editing-the-spell-checking-dictionaries">created by Google for Chromium</ulink>.
+        Debian’s Hunspell dictionary language packages are slowly adding support for the <filename>.bdic</filename> format. Those which have are listed by Privacy Browser as suggested packages.
+      </para>
+
+      <para>
+        Once a <filename>.bdic</filename> dictionary is installed, it can be enabled in Privacy Browser’s settings.
+      </para>
+    </sect1>
   </chapter>
 
   <!-- Commands. -->