How to Configure Proxy on Windows 11/10 and 7

A proxy is an intermediary server that sits between a client and a destination server.

You can think of a proxy as a post office or messenger. When a client requests resources from the internet, such as a web page or a PDF document, the request is sent to the proxy server instead of directly to the destination server. The proxy then forwards the request to the destination server and relays the response back to the client.

What benefits using proxies?

• Mask the IP address of the client, providing a degree of anonymity when accessing the internet.
• Restrict or filter content accessed by clients, such as blocking certain websites or filtering out malicious content.
• Act as a barrier between clients and the internet, providing an additional layer of security by inspecting and filtering incoming and outgoing traffic for malicious content or threats.
• Enable users to access information that they cannot directly reach.

If you own a proxy server or have purchased a proxy service from a third-party provider, you can use the instructions in this post to configure it on Windows.

Proxy Configuration

Since the user interface of settings varies across different versions of Windows, I will provide separate demonstrations.

Windows 11

Settings on Windows 11 is single page app alike, therefore it’s easy to find the entry. Go to Settings – Network & internet, click on the option named Proxy on the right hand.

On the top is Automatic proxy setup. Click on the Set up button next to ‘Use setup script’, and then fill out the ‘Script address’ field if your proxy service provider has provided a link to a script that sets up your proxy automatically.

Or you can set up proxy by clicking on the Edit button under Manual proxy setup section.

Here you need to input Proxy IP address and its port. There are specific destination servers that you’d like to directly connect to? Just put their addresses in the biggest text box, separated with (;). If you want to bypass local addresses, you can check ‘Don’t use the proxy server for local(intranet) address’.

The final step is to click Save button to take effect.

Windows 10

Navigate to Settings – Network & Internet, the Proxy entry is located at the bottom of left menu.

Automatic proxy setup is the first section of Proxy settings. Turn on the option ‘Use setup script’, and then fill out the ‘Script address’ field if your proxy service provider has provided a link to a script that sets up your proxy automatically.

Alternatively, you can set the proxy manually.

Croll the page down to ‘Manual proxy Setup’ section, switch on the option ‘Use a proxy server’, and then input proxy address and its port. There are specific destination servers that you’d like to directly connect to? Just put their addresses in the biggest text box, separated with (;). If you want to bypass local addresses, you can check ‘Don’t use the proxy server for local(intranet) address’.

At last, don’t foget to click the Save button.

Windows 7

Unlike Windows 11 and Windows 10, there is no Settings on Windows 7, you need to go to Control Panel – Network and Internet, and then click on Internet Options.

Switch to Connections tab on the top menu, you’ll see a button labelled LAN Settings, click on it to open the proxy setting window.

Despite the difference of interface, definition and usage of these options and fileds are totally the same as those on Windows 11 and Windows 10, so I won’t repeat here, please read the introduction under the tabs of Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Deal with Proxy Issues

If your software and applications have trouble communicating with the internet after setting up proxy, turning off proxy would be the first action that I recommend to take.

There are many factors which may cause this situation, but most usually it’s caused by failure of proxy server, if your settings are correct. Double check your settings, don’t miss every single letter, every single number, and every single punctuation mark. If issues persist, then you should check your own proxy server, or look the proxy service provider for help.