In today's digital age, the internet has become an essential tool for communication, research, and business. However, there are times when we need to control and monitor the internet usage within our organization. This is where a proxy server comes into play. A proxy server acts as an intermediary between client devices and the internet, allowing administrators to manage and regulate internet access.

Configuring a proxy server in a Windows environment is a straightforward process that can be done using either the Command Prompt (CMD) or PowerShell. In this article, we will explore the steps involved in setting up a proxy server on a Windows machine and provide practical examples to illustrate the process.

Examples:

1. Configuring Proxy Server using CMD:

   • Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
   • Use the following command to set the proxy server address and port:

     netsh winhttp set proxy proxy-server="http=proxy.example.com:8080;https=proxy.example.com:8080" bypass-list="*.example.com"

   • Replace "proxy.example.com" with the actual proxy server address and "8080" with the appropriate port number.
   • The "bypass-list" parameter allows you to specify websites that should bypass the proxy server.
   • To disable the proxy server, use the following command:

     netsh winhttp reset proxy

2. Configuring Proxy Server using PowerShell:

   • Open PowerShell as an administrator.
   • Use the following command to set the proxy server address and port:

     Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" -Name ProxyServer -Value "http=proxy.example.com:8080;https=proxy.example.com:8080"

   • Replace "proxy.example.com" with the actual proxy server address and "8080" with the appropriate port number.
   • To enable proxy server authentication, use the following command:

     Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" -Name ProxyEnable -Value 1

   • To disable the proxy server, use the following command:

     Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings" -Name ProxyEnable -Value 0