How to configure Internet Explorer to use a proxy server

You can configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to use a proxy server to connect to the Internet. A proxy server acts as a security barrier between your internal network and the Internet, keeping others on the Internet from being able to obtain access to information that is located on your internal network. This article describes how to configure Internet Explorer to use a proxy server over a Local Area Network (LAN) connection and lists the proxies that Internet Explorer supports.

Important: The procedures that are described in this article may require information about your proxy server that can only be provided by your system administrator. Because of this, you may need to contact your system administrator before you proceed.

To configure Internet Explorer to use a proxy over a LAN connection, use the procedure in the appropriate section.

Internet Explorer 6.0

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, click the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings.
2. Under Proxy server, click to select the Use a proxy server for your LAN check box.
3. In the Address box, type the IP address of the proxy server.
4. In the Port box, type the port number that is used by the proxy server for client connections (by default, 8080).
5. You can click to select the Bypass proxy server for local addresses check box if you do not want the proxy server computer to be used when you connect to a computer on the local network (this may speed up performance).
6. Click OK to close the LAN Settings dialog box.
7. Click OK again to close the Internet Options dialog box.

Internet Explorer 5

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet.
2. Click the Connections tab, click LAN Settings, and then click to select the Use Proxy Server check box.
3. In the Address box, type the appropriate proxy server information, and use the following format:
   http://<address>
4. Click Advanced, and then type the appropriate proxy settings in the Servers area. Use the following syntax for the proxy settings:
   http://<address>:<port>
   where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server, and <port> is the port number that is assigned to the proxy server. For example, if the proxy server's address is "proxy.example.microsoft.com" and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box should appear like this:
   http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80
   Important: If you use a backslash (\) instead of a slash (/) in the proxy server's address, the settings disappear from the Proxy Server box and Internet Explorer does not find the proxy server.
   
   If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your proxy server, make sure not to type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.
   
   If you do not know the Web address or port number of the proxy server, contact your network administrator. Also, if there are any Web servers on the local network for which you want to bypass the proxy, type the appropriate host names in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box. For example, if you do not want to use the proxy server to obtain access to the "example.com" Web server on your LAN, type example.com in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box.

Internet Explorer 4.0, 4.01 for Windows 95 and Windows NT

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet.
2. Click the Connection tab, and then click to select the Access the Internet using a proxy server check box.
3. Click Advanced, and then type the appropriate proxy settings in the Servers area. Use the following syntax for the proxy settings
   http://<address>:<port>
   where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server, and <port> is the port number that is assigned to the proxy server. For example, if the proxy server's address is "proxy.example.microsoft.com" and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box should look like this:
   http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80
   Important: If you use a backslash (\) instead of a slash (/) in the proxy server's address, the settings disappear from the Proxy Server box and Internet Explorer does not find the proxy server.
   
   If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your proxy server, make sure that you do not type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.
   
   If you do not know the Web address or port number of the proxy server, contact your network administrator. Also, if there are any Web servers on the local network for which you want to bypass the proxy, type the appropriate host names in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box. For example, if you do not want to use the proxy server to access the "example.com" Web server on your LAN, type example.com in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box.

Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 3.1

1. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the View menu.
2. Click the Connection tab.
3. Click Advanced, and then type the appropriate proxy settings in the Servers area. Use the following syntax for the proxy settings
   http://<address>:<port>
   where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server, and <port> is the port number that is assigned to the proxy server. For example, if the proxy server's address is "proxy.example.microsoft.com" and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box should look like this:
   http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80
   Important: If you use a backslash (\) instead of a slash (/) in the proxy server's address, the settings disappear from the Proxy Server box and Internet Explorer does not find the proxy server.
   
   If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your proxy server, make sure not to type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.
   
   If you do not know the Web address or port number of the proxy server, contact your network administrator. Also, if there are any Web servers on the local network for which you want to bypass the proxy, type the appropriate host names in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box. For example, if you do not want to use the proxy server to access the "example.com" Web server on your LAN, type example.com in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box.

Internet Explorer 3.0

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Internet Tools, and then click Get On The Internet to start the Internet Connection Wizard.
2. Click Next, click Manual, and then click Next to start the Internet Setup Wizard.
3. Click Next, click Connect Using My Local Area Network, click Next, and then follow the instructions in the remainder of the Internet Setup Wizard. Make sure to click to select the Use Proxy Server check box when it appears and type the appropriate proxy settings in the Proxy Server box. Use the following syntax for the proxy settings
   http://<address>:<port>
   where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server, and <port> is the port number that is assigned to the proxy server. For example, if the proxy server's address is "proxy.example.microsoft.com" and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box should look like this:
   http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80
   Important: If you use a backslash (\) instead of a slash (/) in the proxy server's address, the settings disappear from the Proxy Server box, and Internet Explorer does not find the proxy server.
   
   If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your proxy server, make sure not to type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.
   
   If you do not know the Web address or port number of the proxy server, contact your network administrator. Also, if there are any Web servers on the local network for which you want to bypass the proxy, type the appropriate host names in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box. For example, if you do not want to use the proxy server to access the "example.com" Web server on your LAN, type example.com in the Don't Use Proxy For These Addresses box.

Internet Explorer 2.0

1. If you have already run the Internet Setup Wizard, skip to step 2. If you have not run the Internet Setup Wizard, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Internet Tools, and then click Internet Setup Wizard. Follow the instructions in the Internet Setup Wizard, selecting the Direct LAN Connection option when you are prompted.
2. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click to select the Use Proxy Server check box.
4. In the Proxy Server box, type the appropriate proxy settings. Use the following syntax
   http://<address>:<port>
   where <address> is the Web address of the proxy server and <port> is the port number assigned to the proxy server. For example, if the proxy server's address is "proxy.example.microsoft.com" and the port number is 80, the setting in the Proxy Server box should look like this:
   http://proxy.example.microsoft.com:80
   Important: If you use a backslash (\) instead of a slash (/) in the proxy server's address, the settings disappear from the Proxy Server box and Internet Explorer does not find the proxy server.
   
   If you do not know the Web address or port number of the proxy server, contact your network administrator.
   
   If you are using the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the proxy server, make sure not to type leading zeros. For example, use 130.25.0.1 instead of 130.025.000.001.
5. If there are any Web servers on the local network for which you want to bypass the proxy, type the appropriate host names in the Bypass Proxy On box. For example, if you do not want to use the proxy server to access the "example.com" Web server on your LAN, type example.com in the Bypass Proxy On box.
6. Click OK.

Note that Internet Explorer 2.0 does not support different proxies for different Web types. For example, you cannot configure a different proxy for File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Web sites and Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) Web sites. However, Internet Explorer 3.0 does support different proxies for different Web types.

Proxies supported by Internet Explorer 3.0

Internet Explorer 3.0 supports the following proxy servers:

• Socks V4
• CERN-compliant proxies
• HTTP 1.1 Proxy Authentication with CERN-compliant proxies
• SSL Tunneling with CERN-compliant proxies
• Specialized FTP proxy support, including TIS Gauntlet and WinGate