Change Proxy Settings

Need to hide your web activity from prying eyes? Are you blocked from accessing the websites you need, by your school, office, or government? Proxies allow you to bypass blocks placed on your connection and mask your IP, making your actions more difficult to trace. Once you find a proxy server that you want to connect to, you simply need to enter that information into your web browser. Read this guide to find out how.

Steps

Firefox

  1. Click the Firefox menu. This is located in the upper-left corner of the Firefox window. Click Options.
  2. Select the Advanced options. It is located at the top of the Options window on the far right.
  3. Select the Network tab. Click the Settings button at the top of the Network page in the Connections section.
  4. Choose the “Manual proxy configuration” option. This will enable the text fields below it, where you can enter your proxy information.
  5. Enter your proxy information. In the HTTP proxy field, enter the address or domain of your proxy, and set the port if necessary. If you want to connect to a different proxy for FTP or SSL, enter the information into the fields below. Otherwise, check the “Use this proxy server for all protocols” to enable the proxy for all traffic through Firefox.
    • Firefox proxy settings only affect traffic through your Firefox browser. Other internet applications will use your direct connection.
  6. Press OK to save your changes. You may need to restart Firefox in order for the changes to take effect.

Chrome

  1. Click the Chrome menu button. This is located at the top-right corner of the Chrome window, and looks like three horizontal bars.
  2. Select Settings. This will open a new tab in your browser. Click the “Show advanced settings…” link at the bottom of the page.
  3. Click the “Change proxy settings” button. This is located in the Network section of the advanced settings. Clicking the button will open the Internet Properties window.
    • Note: Changing Chrome’s proxy settings is tied to your operating system, and as such will affect all of your programs that are connected to the internet. If you don’t want to change these settings, you will need to download a Chrome extension such as ProxySwitchSharp or Proxy Helper.
  4. Click the “LAN settings” button. This will open another new window. Check the box in the “Proxy server” section, and uncheck the “Automatically detect settings” box.
  5. Enter your proxy information. Enter in the IP address or domain as well as the port you are connecting to. Click OK when you are finished.
    • When you are done using your proxy and want to go back to your direct connection, open the LAN settings again, recheck the “Automatically detect settings” box and uncheck the box in the “Proxy server” section.[1]

Internet Explorer

  1. Click the Tools menu. Depending on your version of Internet Explorer, this may in the standard menu bar, or it may be the gear icon in the top-right corner.
  2. Select “Internet options”. Regardless of which menu you use, this option will be located at the bottom of the menu.
  3. Click the Connections tab. Under the “Local Area Network (LAN) settings” header, click the “LAN settings” button. This will open another new window.
  4. Enable the proxy settings. Check the box in the “Proxy server” section, and uncheck the “Automatically detect settings” box.
  5. Enter your proxy information. Enter in the IP address or domain as well as the port you are connecting to. Click OK when you are finished. You may need to restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect.
    • Connecting to a proxy server will affect all internet traffic on your computer.
    • When you are done using your proxy and want to go back to your direct connection, open the LAN settings again, recheck the “Automatically detect settings” box and uncheck the box in the “Proxy server” section.[2]

Safari

  1. Click the Safari menu. Select Preferences, and then choose the Advanced option on the far right end of the toolbar.
  2. Click the “Change Settings” button next to “Proxies”. This will open the Network section of the System Preferences screen. Changing Safari’s proxy server settings will affect all network traffic on your computer.
  3. Select your active network connection. Available connections will be listed in the left frame. Your active connection will have a green icon next to it.
  4. Click the “Advanced” button. Once the advanced menu opens, click the Proxies tab.
  5. Select your proxy type. For most people, you will want to select the “Web Proxy” and the “Secure Web Proxy” boxes. Make sure “Auto Proxy Discovery” is unchecked.
  6. Enter your proxy information. In the box that appears, enter the proxy address or domain. The box next to it is for the port. If your proxy requires a password, check the box to allow the password to be entered.
  7. Click OK to save your changes. You may need to restart Safari for them to take effect. If you want to switch back to your direct connection, open the Network menu again and uncheck the “Web Proxy” and “Secure Web Proxy” boxes.[3]

Opera

  1. Click the Opera button. From the menu that appears, hover your cursor over Settings and then select Preferences.
  2. Click on the Advanced tab in the Preferences window. Click the “Proxy Servers” button. This will open the Proxy configuration window.
  3. Select “Use manual proxy configuration”. Check the boxes for the protocols that you want the proxy to affect. Most users should check HTTP and HTTPS. Alternatively, you can check the “Use this proxy for all protocols” box.
  4. Enter your proxy information. In the “Proxy server” field, enter in the IP address or domain of the proxy you are connecting to. Enter the port into the “Port” field. Press OK when you are finished. You may need to restart Opera for the changes to take effect.
    • If you want to revert to your direct connection, open the Proxy configuration window again and elect “Use automatic proxy configuration”.[4]



Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/96815?hl=en
  2. ↑ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/135982
  3. ↑ http://kb.k12usa.com/Knowledgebase/Proxy-Settings-on-a-Mac-OS-X
  4. ↑ http://www.cactusvpn.com/setup/opera-proxy-setup/
Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Change_Proxy_Settings&oldid=351414"