How to Change Proxy Settings in Chrome to Protect Your Privacy Online

What is a web proxy?

A web proxy or a proxy server is a server that acts as a go-between for requests from clients asking for resources from other servers. It is one of the most popular and most effective ways of hiding your IP address from the websites you visit. Web proxies usually look like search engines, and they are super easy to access even for laymen. Using a proxy server will mask your real location from the websites you're visiting, which makes it ideal if you're trying to browse incognito.

Why should I use a proxy server?

Most proxy users use them to hide their online activities from their Internet Service Provider, and to hide the websites they're going to. In this case of hackers, proxies are valuable because they can shield them from law enforcement and other agencies that could be tracking their actions. If you suspect someone is spying on you or tracking your online activities then a proxy is just for you.

Other reasons to use proxies include visiting websites you've been IP banned from. This is a common tactic for online trolls once they've been banned from a website. Since the proxy server hides your real IP address you can bypass an IP ban. However, it won't help in the case of a range ban.

If you plan on using a proxy server make sure you do your research about the safety and reliability of it. Keep in mind that all your login credentials, your name, address, your bank account and credits, everything you enter will be logged by this proxy. You need to make sure it's secure before you use it.

How to set up a proxy in Chrome.

Unfortunately, Google Chrome doesn't have any specific configuration options for setting a proxy server because it uses the same proxy settings found as Internet Explorer and Windows. Don't worry though, you can still do the setup procedure from within Google Chrome itself. It will launch the Internet Properties window from Windows from where you can do the rest.

If you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

Press the "Customize and control Google Chrome" button on the upper right-hand corner of Chrome. It's the three dots icon. Then select Settings. You'll see a long drop-down menu. Press "Show advanced settings." Scroll further down the extended list until you see the Network section. From there select "Change proxy settings". This will open the Internet Properties window. In that window you'll see a few things, we're interested in the LAN settings button found in the Connections tab.

In the LAN settings window you can set up your proxy server. You can choose an automatic configuration script if you want, or you can use a proxy server for your LAN and provide an IP address and port number yourself.

When you're finished with the settings click OK and close the window. Your proxy changes will be applied to Chrome as wells as Internet Explorer by default.

If you’re using Windows 10.

If you want to configure a proxy server in Windows 10, you need to open the Settings menu first. To do that simply press Windows + I on your keyboard. This will open the Settings tab window immediately. From there find the section named "Network & Internet". In here you will find various subsections with all kinds of different settings. The last one is named Proxy and that is what we're looking for. Open the Proxy tab. On the right side you'll see two there are two different sections that can be configured: "Automatic proxy setup" and "Manual proxy setup" just like with the Windows 7 and 8.1 version. Choose the one you want and set it up.