How to find out the proxy settings on your computer
A proxy server is usually not installed on your computer; it runs
on a separate computer on the network, and the network has been
configured so that your computer is forced to go through the proxy
server.
In order to tell your computer to go through the proxy server,
someone has to enter proxy settings into your browser. These
instructions describe how to find out your browser's proxy settings.
For Netscape Communicator -- i.e. Netscape 4.0 and later versions
Look under "Edit", pick "Preferences", and then in the list of
preferences in the dialog box that comes up, click on
"Advanced" and select "Proxies". Three choices should be displayed:
Direct connection to the Internet",
"Manual proxy configuration" and "Automatic proxy configuration".
- If No Proxies is selected, Netscape is not configured to
use a proxy server. If you are able to browse the Web at
all from that machine using Netscape, then your Internet access is
not being censored by a proxy.
- If Manual proxy configuration is selected, click on "View".
You should see a list of proxy entries: "FTP Proxy", "Gopher Proxy",
etc. The proxy server that is being used to censor Internet access
is the entry next to "HTTP Proxy". That is the entry you want to
make a note of, if you are gathering information about what proxy
server your school uses.
- If Automatic proxy configuration is selected, there will be
a URL given in the text space. This is not a URL that you can
load into Netscape directly -- if you do, Netscape will complain:
"Server sent an unrequested proxy automatic configuration file to
Netscape. Configuration file will be ignored." This is the URL
that you need to make a note of, if you are gathering information
about what proxy server your school uses.
For Netscape Navigator -- i.e. Netscape 3.x and earlier versions
Look under "Options", pick "Network Preferences", and select
the "Proxies" tab. Three choices should be displayed: "No proxies",
"Manual proxy configuration" and "Automatic proxy configuration".
- If No Proxies is selected, Netscape is not configured to
use a proxy server. If you are able to browse the Web at
all from that machine using Netscape, then your Internet access is
not being censored by a proxy.
- If Manual proxy configuration is selected, click on "View".
You should see a list of proxy entries: "FTP Proxy", "Gopher Proxy",
etc. The proxy server that is being used to censor Internet access
is the entry next to "HTTP Proxy". That is the entry you want to
make a note of, if you are gathering information about what proxy
server your school uses.
- If Automatic proxy configuration is selected, there will be
a URL given in the text space. This is not a URL that you can
load into Netscape directly -- if you do, Netscape will complain:
"Server sent an unrequested proxy automatic configuration file to
Netscape. Configuration file will be ignored." This is the URL
that you need to make a note of, if you are gathering information
about what proxy server your school uses.
For Microsoft Internet Explorer -- all versions
Look under "View", pick "Internet Options" and click on the
"Connection" tab.
- Under the bottom section, marked "Automatic configuration",
there may or may not be a yellow triangle with the advisory
message: "Automatic configuration set. This may override current
Internet settings." If this message is present, click on the
"Configure" button. You should see a URL, which usually ends in
".pac". This is the URL
that you need to make a note of, if you are gathering information
about what proxy server your school uses.
- Under the section marked "Proxy server" there should be a box
marked "Access the Internet using a proxy server." If that box
is checked (and the above-mentioned "Automatic configuration"
message is not displayed in
the "Automatic configuration" area) then your browser is configured
to use the proxy server specified in the "Address:" and "Port:"
fields. That is the entry you want to
make a note of, if you are gathering information about what proxy
server your school uses.
If the "Automatic configuration set" message is not displayed,
and the box next to "Access the Internet using a proxy
server" is not checked, then Internet Explorer is not configured
to use a proxy server. If you are able to browse the Web at
all from that machine using Internet Explorer, then your Internet
access is not being censored by a proxy.
bennett@peacefire.org