Proxifier Documentation
Standard Edition
Version 2.91
Portable Edition Version 2.91
Standard Edition
Version 2.91
Portable Edition Version 2.91
| http://www.proxifier.com |
Working with Proxifier
Name resolution through proxy server
Proxification of Windows Services
Working through a chain of proxy servers
Additional Info
Order and support
Proxifier is a program that allows network applications that do not support working through proxy servers operate through a HTTP or SOCKS proxy server or a chain of proxy servers.
With Proxifier you can easily tunnel all connections on the system or separate applications.
Improved compatibility with third-party firewall and antivirus products
The new version of Proxifier is less likely to conflict with third-party firewall and antivirus products. For instance, the new version works correctly with the latest version of Kaspersky Internet Security.
Support of extended network functions
Proxifier now processes some advanced network API functions that may be used by modern network applications. For example, Proxifier now can work with VmWare vSphere client.
Improved "DNS through Proxy" performance
On some Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines "DNS through Proxy" feature (when enabled) was able to cause high CPU utilization.
The new version of Proxifier DNS module fixes this problem and improves performance of DNS names processing.
Windows 7 support
This version of Proxifier was tested on Windows 7. Now the Microsoft's new operating system is officially supported by Proxifier (Standard and Portable editions).
- "Proxifier" exe-file context menu may stay after uninstallation of Proxifier. (Standard Edition)
- Correct processing of the Proxifier settings files (.prx) when opening by a double-click from Explorer. (Standard Edition)
- Minor code tweaks and adjustments.
The following imrovments and fixes were introduced:
Sometimes under certain circumstances Proxifier were able to freeze. The new version is free from this defect.
Correct processing of Proxification Rules when the "DNS through Proxy" is enabled on Windows Vista.
HTTP proxy support now works properly on Windows Vista. (Options->Advanced->HTTP_Traffic)
A few improvements in the Proxifier Layered Service Provider. It resulted in improved compatibility with the third party programs.
Correct processing of the prx-files from Explorer.
System wide Proxifier Settings
Now you can specify Proxifier Settings for all users on the system at once. To do this just save Proxifier Settings into a current.prx file (File->Save_Settings_As..) and place it into the:
"\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data" or its equivalent on your system.
Windows Vista Support
You can now use Proxifier with Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system.
Improved "DNS through proxy" feature
This feature was noticeably improved and extended in the new version.
- Now Proxifier can test your DNS settings and choose the optimal mode automatically;
- New option was added: "Resolve Locally then Remotely";
- Proxification Rules work more smoothly in "DNS through proxy" mode.
HTTP Traffic Processing
Now both editions of Proxifier can "intercept" HTTP traffic and redirect it through any generic HTTP proxy server. Thus the feature can be used only for the applications that use HTTP protocol (e.g. web browsers). The options are available at:
Options->Advanced->HTTP_Traffic.Please note: this feature is intended for advanced users only.
Major update to Proxifier Portable Edition
Almost all features of the Standard Edition was added to the new Portable Edition. It includes the following:
- Flexible Proxification Rules;
- Built-in Proxy Checker;
- Proxy Server address as a hostname;
- And others.
If you already use Proxifier - this information will help you to migrate to Proxifier 2.x
Installation
Please, make sure that you have uninstalled any existing Proxifier 1.x versions from your system.
Migration
from the old options to the new ones
Option Old Versions New Version Proxification Mode
Options -> Tunnel_All_Applications
Options -> Proxification_Rules
"Yes" - Auto Mode Process_All_except_the_following "No" - Manual Mode Process_Only_the_following Direct Connections Options -> Direct_Connections
Applications list.
Options -> Proxification_Rules
Create a rule and specify the applications.
Proxification of Loopback Connections
Options -> Do_not_tunnel_loopback_ _connections
Check/uncheck the option.
Options -> Proxification_Rules
Enable/Disable "Loopback" rule.
New behavior
of the Proxifier main window
Now to exit Proxifier please click File -> Exit or click on Proxifier icon on the System Tray and select Exit.
If you close the Proxifier window, Proxifier will continue to run in the System Tray.
Settings
files
Proxifier 2.x saves current settings (proxy list and proxification rules) on exit (without prompting) into a special file. However, you can save settings into another file by clicking File -> Save Settings As… menu item.
If you open a prx-file of an older Proxifier version you will be prompted to convert the file into the new format. Please, note that old prx-files don't contain Proxification rules, thus the Proxification rules will be set to default values after the converting.
Install and launch Proxifier. The Proxifier icon showing traffic (information
flow) will appear on the taskbar. Double click the icon to open the main window
of the program.
By default, Proxifier is configured to process all network connections (TCP/IP)
on the system. Thus Proxifier will manage all internet applications and allow
them to directly connect to the internet. So if you gain access outside your
network without a proxy you can still utilize the features of Proxifier (bandwidth,
individual application control, etc).
To make the connections work through a proxy server or a chain of proxy servers,
you must first specify their IP address and port. Click Proxy Settings
in the Options menu or click on the icon located on the toolbar:
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WARNING: If you were using proxies before you installed the Proxifier, then you should disable any old proxy settings. This means that your applications should be configured to connect "directly" to the Internet (rather than through proxies). |
Click the Add button in the new dialog window:
Fill in the form specifying the parameters of the proxy server (type, address, port) that you want to add and click OK:
(this is not a real proxy, only a sample)
Your proxy server will appear in the list, click OK to confirm the use of this server:
From now on all new network connections will be established through the specified
proxy server.
If you do NOT want to "tunnel" all connections, but only separate programs, click the Process Only the following + Manually proxified applications item in the Options -> Proxification Rules dialog window. Then, to "tunnel" any application, right-click on its icon shortcut and click Proxifier in the context menu.
The application will be started and all its connections will work through the specified proxy server.
Another way to tunnel only selected connections is Proxification Rules.
(Proxifier Standard Edition only)
To be able to work successfully with Proxifier, you should understand the
term 'proxification'. Proxification means processing a network connection
in such a way that it works through one or more proxy servers. For client
applications the process of proxification is absolutely transparent, it means
that the application does not know that its connections work through a proxy
server.
Note: only TCP/IP connections are supported.
Proxifier can work in two modes:
By default, Proxifier will tunnel all connections automatically after the
installation. (Except loopback connections).
To specify the connections that should be (or should not be) proxified automatically,
please create one or several Proxification Rules.
If you don't want to have all connections proxified automatically by default,
please click Options -> Proxification Rules -> Process Only
the following.
Note: These changes will affect only newly established connections.
Now to process an application, right-click its icon shortcut and select the Proxifier item in the context menu:
Proxification of Microsoft® Outlook® by Proxifier
To add a proxy server, click either Proxy Settings in the
Options menu or the corresponding item on the toolbar:
It will open a dialog window where you can add, edit or delete a proxy server used by Proxifier. If several proxy servers are specified, you can change their order in the chain.
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WARNING: If you were using proxies before you installed the Proxifier, then you should disable any old proxy settings. This means that your applications should be configured to connect "directly" to the Internet (rather than through proxies). |
To add a proxy server, click the Add button. It will open
the form where you can specify the parameter of the proxy server:
IP Address
The IP address of the proxy server.
Port
The port number to connect to the proxy server (usually 1080, 80, 8080, 3128,
etc.)
Protocol
The protocol used by the proxy server. Proxifier supports three types of protocols:
HTTP proxy with SSL tunnel support is also known as:
- HTTPS proxy
- CONNECT proxy
- SSL proxy
Attention! Not every HTTP proxy server supports SSL tunneling, therefore, not every HTTP proxy server can be used.
Settings (depend on the type of the proxy server)
Additional proxy server parameters.
Username and Password for SOCKS v5, User ID for SOCK v4.
SOCKS 4A extension allows remote name resolving ("DNS through proxy"
feature) for SOCKS v4 proxy.
"Appear as Internet Explorer 6.0" - If checked, Proxifier emulates browser's environment and appears as Internet Explorer 6.0 (some firewalls deny all request that do not come from a browser).
"Use NTLM authentication" - NTLM is widely used authentication protocol, it uses encryption for secure transmission of passwords. Not every proxy supports this.
This feature allows you to specify the connections that should be proxified. The rules can be based on target IP addresses, port numbers and application names.
To access this feature please click Proxification Rules in the Options menu. The following dialog window will appear:
As you can see there is a predefined rule – "Loopback". When this rule is enabled – Proxifier doesn't tunnel connections to the loopback interface (IP address 127.0.0.1).
First of all you should choose one of the following modes:
Process All except the following + manually proxified:
Proxifier will Process ALL connections EXCEPT the ones that match the rules AND all manually proxified applications will be proxified.
The mode is useful when you plan to use Proxifier in almost all of your network activities.
For the connections that should not go through proxy server – please create corresponding rules.
Process Only the following + manually proxified:
Proxifier will tunnel ONLY the connections that match the rules AND all manually proxified applications will be proxified.
The mode is useful when the most of your connections should be established directly; however some connections should go through a proxy server. All you need is to create the rules for these connections.
You can Add a rule, Copy, Edit (double-click) or Remove (Delete button) a selected rule. Default button will reset the rules and the options to default values.
The following form is used to Add (create) or Edit a rule:
Here you can specify Applications, IP Ranges and Port Range. Please note that you can specify several items in each group.
Note:
The rules have no effect on manually proxified applications ('Proxifier' command in the context menu of executable files). In other words, applications started by the 'Proxifier' command will always be redirected through a proxy server.
Warning:
Proxification rules based on IP addresses and Port numbers cannot be used when the DNS through Proxy feature is enabled. Only applications names and target ports can be used.
Proxifier automatically saves current settings (proxy list and proxification
rules) on exit (without prompting) into a special file. However, you can save
settings into another file by clicking File -> Save Settings As…
menu item.
The file with the settings stores all the necessary information about the proxy server(s) and proxification rules.
You can create as many files with Proxifier settings as you like and easily
load them by clicking Load Settings either in the File
menu or on the toolbar icon. Please keep in mind that the loaded settings
do not affect those connections that are already active.
Note:
Proxifier Settings are individual for each user on the System.
The main Proxifier window looks like this:
It consists of the following main parts:
Message window
In this window Proxifier displays the information about connections, errors,
warnings, etc. in the form of text messages. You can specify the types of
messages you would like to get in the View->Output
Level menu.
To work with the text, right-click the message window and use the context
menu.
Connection list
The information about active connections is displayed on this tab. The information
about each connection includes the program name the remote address, time,
and the number of received and sent bytes. You can sort the list by any of
these parameters by just click the corresponding column header.
If you right click on a connection, the context menu will be shown. It contains the following items:
Disconnect - closes selected connections.
End Process - ends process which creates selected connection
Large Icons - check to display large icons, uncheck to display small ones.
The Traffic tab allows you to view the graphic presentation of the data on
the amount of information being transferred. The blue color presents the incoming
traffic, while the green one is the outgoing traffic. The horizontal black
lines indicate the levels of data transfer rate (kilobytes per second). The
white line indicated the average transfer rate for the displayed period of
time.
Right-clicking the Traffic tab will open a context menu. Using it, you can
copy or clear the graph and also specify the type of the graph.
Statistics
This tab shows various statistics on the work of Proxifier: the total number
of connections processed by the program, the number of active connections,
the amount of sent and received bytes, the time Proxifier has been working.
To see the Proxifier icon on the taskbar, check the Icon in The System Tray item in the Options menu. After that the System Tray will have the Proxifier icon in it and the main window of the program will be hidden when minimized. To maximize the main window of the program, double-click its icon with the left mouse button or select the Open Proxifier item from the context menu.
There are two ways for the Proxifier icon to be presented in the system tray:
You can easily switch between the variants of the icon. To do it, right-click the icon and either check or uncheck the Show Traffic item. You can also do the same with the Show Traffic on The Tray Icon item in the Options menu of the main program window.
Using the Incoming Traffic and Outgoing Traffic
items of the context menu, you can specify the graph type to be displayed.
This feature is useful when there is no DNS server running on the LAN or access to the server is restricted.
To configure name resolving please click Name Resolution in the Options menu or the corresponding icon on the toolbar. Name Resolution dialog will appear:
There are three available modes:
Locally
Applications resolve hostnames independently form Proxifier (Proxifier doesn't capture DNS requests). In this mode the local computer should be configured to resolve hostnames.
Remotely
Proxifier will resolve hostnames through the proxy server (or through the last proxy server in the chain). Unfortunately, proxy servers cannot just return an IP address for a hostname, thus Proxifier assigns a 'fake' IP address for each hostname (e.g. 0.0.0.123) that is valid only during Proxifier runtime.
Warning:
If you restart Proxifier, all applications that used Remote Name Resolution should be restarted as well, because their DNS cache becomes invalid.
Try Locally then Remotely
Applications will try to resolve hostname through a local DNS service and then through Proxifier (if the local DNS failed).
To let Proxifier detect the mode automatically please enable the Choose the mode automatically option.
Notes:
Proxifier will process DNS requests only for the applications which connections are also processed. (You can use Proxifcation Rules to specify it).
Proxifier captures DNS request of the applications that use only standard Windows functions to resolve hostnames. Programs that implement specific DNS capabilities will not be proxified. For example 'nslookup' tool will not be proxified.
Important This article is for advanced users only. If you do not understand the topics in this article, we recommend that you do not perform the described actions.
Warning Changing the Windows Services configuration may be dangerous. We do not recommend proxification of Services that are part of Windows (all Services of services.exe, lsass.exe and other).
Windows Services are special programs that usually run in the background from
the Local System account. By default Proxifier don't process Windows Services.
If you want to tunnel TCP/IP connections of a certain service – you
should do the following:
3. Restart the Service.
Windows will save the settings, so there is no need to repeat the configuring after the computer restarts.
From this moment, the service can be proxified as a regular application. Proxifier will examine Proxification Rules for the service as well, so the connections of the service should match the rules if you want to redirect it through a proxy.
Notes
Some services have the Allow service to interact with desktop
option enabled by default. Thus these services can be proxified without any
modifications.
If a service logs on from non Local System account - it can be proxified without modifications as well.
This function can be useful when you have access only to an HTTP proxy server that allows HTTP connections only, or you would like to redirect HTTP traffic through a certain proxy server.
Note:
You can redirect HTTPS traffic as well.
To access this function please click HTTP Settings on the
Options menu or the corresponding icon on the toolbar. HTTP
Options dialog will appear:
To enable the function please click Redirect HTTP(S) traffic to the following HTTP Proxy Server and specify IP address and Port of the proxy server.
Proxifier will redirect traffic to the proxy server only if it can find the target port in the HTTP(S) ports list.
Also you can enable Authentication on the proxy server.
The bottommost option allows you to redirect the HTTP traffic through the
proxy server(s) from the main settings. It can be useful when you cannot access
the HTTP proxy server directly.
Note:
If an HTTP proxy server is already used by a client application (e.g. web
browser) – Proxifier will redirect the traffic to the HTTP proxy server
that is specified in the Proxifier settings.
With Proxifier you can work through a chain of proxy servers (SOCKS4, SOCKS5, HTTP). Connecting to a remote host will be performed sequentially from one proxy server to another, thus, you will securely hide you actual IP address from the remote host.
To create a chain of proxy servers, click Proxy Settings
in the Options menu and add two or more proxies. Connections
between proxy servers will be established in the order they are displayed
in the list. You can change the order using the arrow buttons in the right-hand
part of the window:
(These are not real proxies, only a sample)
Hint: uncheck proxy to disable it.
When working through a chain of proxies, mind the following:
Proxifier can work without a proxy server. This working mode does not differ in any ways from working through a proxy server, except that all connections will be established directly from the local computer to the remote one.
In this mode Proxifier can be used as a powerful tool for monitoring network connections, traffic (can be displayed as an icon in the System Tray); you can use it to log, save and analyze the traffic of various network applications.
Proxifier allows you to save the entire information about all the events taking place during its work to a special log file, and also all the traffic passing through it. The content of the log file is the same as the content of the message window.
To start logging, click Log Level on the View
menu and select the necessary logging level:
0 – logging is off
1 – only errors are logged
2 – all events are logged
3 – all events are logged and the entire traffic is saved
The log file is saved to the Logs subdirectory of the directory where Proxifier is installed. Traffic is saved to the Traffic subdirectory as files with names of the following type to(from)_IP address_N.dmp. Each connection has two files created for it: the incoming traffic is saved to one of them, while the outgoing traffic is saved to the other one.
Attention! Saving traffic on fast networks may require a lot of space on the hard disk.
Currently there are two different editions of Proxifier:
Proxifier Standard Edition
Proxifier Portable Edition
The main goal of the Portable Edition is to help people who have no opportunity to install the software on a computer or deal with multiple computers and would like to save time on installation. With Portable Edition you can work from an Internet cafe or on a computer with guest access only.
Standard Edition is more suitable for users who have their own PCs and for network administrators who would like to install Proxifier for LAN users.
| Feature | Standard Edition | Portable Edition |
| Installation and System Requirements | ||
| Install/Uninstall | Yes (Administrator rights are required) |
No installation is required |
| Run from "Guest" account | Yes | Yes |
| Run from removable media (USB stick, Floppy, etc...) | No | Yes |
| Supported OS | Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista | Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista |
| Settings are stored in | System Registry and File | File |
| Proxy Servers | ||
| Protocols | SOCKS v4(A); SOCKS v5; HTTPS | SOCKS v4(A); SOCKS v5; HTTPS |
| Authentication | Basic/NTLM | Basic/NTLM |
| Proxification | ||
| User applications | All | Applications with User Interface |
| Services | Yes | No |
| Proxification mode | Auto/Manual | Auto |
| Proxification Rules | Yes | Yes |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| DNS through proxy server | Yes | Yes |
| Auto run on Windows startup | Yes | No |
| Logging/Traffic capture | Yes | Yes |
| Help system | Online/Help File | Online |
Proxy Checker is a free tool that allows you to test proxy servers and to see if the proxy server can work with Proxifier or not.
Proxy Checker allows you to:
Screenshots:
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| Main Window | Test Settings | Proxy Server Settings |
You may use and distribute Proxy Checker as a stand alone application (ProxyChecker.exe). Proxy Checker is free software and available only for personal, noncommercial use. It is also integrated into the current version of Proxifier.
To add or edit properties of the proxy server please click Proxy Server... button. (stand alone mode only).
To adjust Proxy Checker settings please click Test Settings... button. The Settings dialog will appear and allow you to:
(Proxifier Standard Edition only)
When Proxifier is installed, the Windows network is automatically configured to work with it. But if the Windows network configuration is not properly done for some reason and the following message is displayed when you try to launch Proxifier:
"Fatal error: Windows Network is not properly configured to work with Proxifier. Please, run NetConf to configure."
Please, run the application NetConf.exe Start->Programs->Proxifier->Network Configurator. This application will help you quickly configure Windows Network for working with Proxifier. In some cases you will have to restart your computer after that.
To get the full list of the network error codes and their description please go to:
http://www.proxifier.com/documentation/neterr.htm
(Information for the users of previous versions of Proxifier)
Proxifier 2.x provides new approach to Direct Connections. Now to specify applications that should be connected directly please create a corresponding Proxification Rule.
Please contact our support team using the following e-mail:
Before you contact us, please do the following:
If you contact Technical Support, please provide as much information as you can about your problem, including:
You can purchase the full version of Proxifier here:
http://www.proxifier.com/order.htm
Registration benefits:
Fully functional,
unrestricted copy of the software.
All future minor
version UPDATES for FREE!
Free technical
support.
We provide a 30 day money back guarantee. If you aren't completely satisfied with Proxifier, just let us know and you'll receive a prompt full refund.
Most orders are delivered to your email less than 24 hours after your order.
Our commerce partner, Avangate, processes every order using only the absolute safest SSL encryption.
The unregistered version of Proxifier has the following limitations:
Unregistered version works
only 31 days after the day of its installation.
On start, the program displays
the "nag screen".
When you purchase the full version of Proxifier, you'll get the registration
key (serial number) which will remove the nag screen and all limitations.
