Setting up a proxy in Windows 10
Setting up a proxy in Windows 10 is not as simple as Microsoft is trying to show. Many of you will learn about this only when the computer will suddenly drop out of the network. Or, which also happens, when a newly installed system stubbornly refuses to connect to the World of Tanks server. Familiar, isn’t it? If you have ever dealt with something similar and even thought about switching to Linux, hold it.
What is it?
If you omit technical details that are of little interest to an ordinary person (and you will hardly need them, admit it), it turns out that a proxy server is an intermediary between you and any website on the network.
After all, you don’t connect directly to Odnoklassniki or Yandex.Music. So, tracing the path when connecting to Google.ru may require up to 10-15 intermediaries. And the more of them in the chain, the less reliable connection will be. On the other hand, tracking the request source, i.e. your computer, will be much harder.
We have released more information about proxy servers in our other blog posts.
Setting up a proxy in Windows 10: how to do it right?
In the simplest case, this “difficult” and “requiring high professionalism” work is done in 5 minutes, including the tea break.
- To begin, press the key combination “Windows” + “I” on the keyboard (the first is the system key on the keyboard, usually to the left of the space) and in the resulting window select the “Network and Internet” section. But if you like to create difficulties for yourself and then overcome them, the same effect can be achieved using the menu: “Start” – the icon in the upper left corner of the screen – “Settings” – “Network and Internet”.
- Select the bottom menu item: “Proxy”.
Further configuration of the Windows 10 proxy depends on specific requirements, but if you are not a network administrator, it is better to refrain from adventurous actions. Otherwise, you won’t be able to crush monsters in WoW or listen to your favorite music from Vkontakte.
Be careful
Menu items that are better to avoid unless absolutely necessary
- “Define parameters automatically”
- “Use configuration script”
If you don’t know what they are for, leave the default settings. Otherwise, setting up a Windows 10 proxy server will result in a fascinating quest for you with the search for a computer wizard. Are you sure you want to participate in this?
- “Manual proxy setting”
This option is worth more detailed considering. Most often, manual configuration of Windows 10 proxy is used to integrate a specialized (software or hardware) proxy server into the system. Another option is the need to create a stable channel of communication with any resource on the network (for example, MMORG game website). Sometimes in this way, the user wants to achieve the possibility of anonymous surfing, but there are easier methods to do this. Simply put, you can change proxy settings only if you clearly understand what you are doing and why.
What’s the result
This is a brief excerpt from the topic stated in the title. The information is sufficient to make the minimum steps to configure Windows proxy (this phrase is taken from the vocabulary of a regular PC user). For an advanced setting, it is best to turn to well-informed people, and not try to do it yourself, it’s faster and easier.